Approximately two years after the company’s announced plans to expand manufacturing in Serbia, German bath and kitchen supply producer Hansgrohe opened a factory—the first step in a planned EUR 85 mln investment–in the Valjevo Business Zone with President Aleksandar Vucic in attendance.
At the ceremony, which was also attended by Hansgrohe CEO Hans Jeurgen Kalmbach, Minster of Trade Tomislav Momirovic and Minister of Construction Goran Vesic and Minster of Finance Sinisa Mali, Vucic noted that the company’s factory employment will jump from 50 to 1,000 by the end of the year.
In fact, more than a year ago project leader Moritz Allgaier-Burri committed to the plant and the obligation to employ some 1,000 workers last year, with the Serbian government signing off on EUR 15.5 mln in subsidies, as well as a donated parcel of land comprising 15 hectares in 2021.
The company noted one year ago via a company website that the Valjevo project was a “milestone in the history of Hansgrohe, but probably also in Allgaier-Burri’s resume,” as since July 2021, he has been project manager for the factory.
At the time, Allgaier-Burri said: „You don’t get an opportunity like this every day,” adding that „nothing works here without a dedicated team,” while noting that the core team for the planning of the project came down to 15 people.
According to the website, the Hansgrohe Group, based in Schiltach/Southern Germany, enjoys a reputation as a leader in innovation, design and quality within the bath and kitchen industry. Founded in 1901 in the Black Forest, the company gives water form and function with its faucets, showerheads and shower systems. The 120-year history of the company is marked by innovations, such as the first hand-held shower with multiple spray types, the first pull-out kitchen faucet, and the first wall bar to hold a hand-held shower. The company holds more than 18,500 active property rights world-wide.
Photo of company headquarters in Germany by H0m3r, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons.
