Seat covers from Odzaci for whole world - Canada's Magna Seating opens first factory in Serbia and announces new investments

(Magna Seating factory in Odzaci)

After thirty years Odzaci has got a new factory, currently the largest industrial plant in that municipality in Vojvodina. Canada's Magna International opened a Magna Seating business unit in the industrial zone in Odzaci on Thursday. It is the first Serbia-based production facility of that company which will be producing covers and other components for car seats for Smart, Renault and Ford at this factory.

- For Magna Seating, today's event is an exciting step forward in the expansion of its production capacity in eastern Europe - Bernhard Niggermeier, executive vice president of Magna Seating Europe, said at Thursday's opening ceremony.

With the Odzaci-based factory, Magna International opened a total of seven facilities in eastern Europe in the period 2011-2013 to support the increased production of cars in the region, Niggermeier added.

By the way, Magna International has 314 production units and 89 product development, engineering and sales centers in 29 countries, and it employs 123,000 people. The company is engaged in the production of bodies, chassis, seats, drives, electronics, rearview mirrors, doors, and roof systems and modules, as well as complete vehicle engineering and contract manufacturing. The shares of this company are traded on stock exchanges in Toronto (MG) and New York (MGA).

Seats from Serbia in Germany and Spain

According to Niggermeier, Magna Seating is the fifth largest supplier in the automotive industry in Europe and the world with a total of 49 production facilities, nine engineering centers and 18,000 employees in 18 countries. As many as 4 million vehicles of world-famous manufacturers are equipped with the seats made by this company.

Magna has relocated its company from Czech Republic to Odzaci and plans to market complete production from this factory abroad.

- Products made in Odzaci are shipped to Magna factories abroad where seats are finished. Until recently these products had been sent only to factories in Germany, where the European headquarters of this company is located, but as of this September, they are also transported to a Magna facility in the Spanish region of Valencia. The plan for the next year is to start shipping the products from the factory in Serbia to Great Britain and Czech Republic as well - Niggermeier announced.

Magna Seating has so far invested half a million euros in the 4,300 square meter production facility in Odzaci. They plan to invest additional EUR 5 million in the near future. The factory currently employs 314 workers. This number is expected to grow to a total of 450 by the end of the next year.

Serbia on strategic maps of new investors

Canadian Ambassador to Serbia Roman Waschuk pointed out that Serbia had become the 29th country on Magna's strategic map with the opening of factory in Odzaci, thus also making it to the strategic maps of other Canadian companies.

Bojan Pajtic, prime minister of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, said that the talks with Styria about Magna's arrival in Serbia commenced back in 2007, adding that an agreement had been signed with that German province on Thursday to resume cooperation in attracting investment.

One more Magna factory in Odzaci?

Thanks to investments in the industrial zone, Odzaci has made it from a group of underdeveloped municipalities to the group of those developed, Odzaci Mayor Izabela Seric underlined in a talk with eKapija. Seric added that Magna planned to make more investments in Odzaci-based industrial zone.

- Magna has booked another land lot in the industrial zone, where it plans to build another facility of the kind and employ as many workers as it has hired this time – Seric announced.

Industrial zone

Aside from Magna Seating, Greiner Packaging and Standard-gas have also opened their facilities in the industrial zone in Odzaci.

- Our industrial zone also hosts Slovenia's Greiner Packaging that should hire a total of 150 workers by the year's end. There is also Standard-gas, which has employed 30 workers and plans to increase that number to 100 - said the mayor.

Odzaci-based industrial zone covers an area of 22 hectares and expects new investors, Izabela Seric announced.

I.M.