By: Sara Kovač (nova24tv.si)
“Most of the credit for this investment goes to the tireless mayor of Ormož, Danijel Vrbnjak. He has travelled countless paths and removed all possible obstacles,” former Prime Minister Janez Janša responded to the President’s feathering one’s nest, and also thanked the former Minister of the Economy. The Ministry of Economy, still under the leadership of Zdravko Počivalšek, provided the investor with a state incentive of over six million euros. “Thank you to the Carthago company for the decision to build a company right in our municipality. Sincere thanks to Prime Minister Janez Janša and Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, who played a key role in important decisions and lit a bright light for our municipality in the field of economy,” the mayor of Ormož thanked one year ago, when the foundation stone was laid.
The company Carthago, which is engaged in the production of holiday vehicles, yesterday ceremoniously opened its new plant in Ormož, where they will manufacture modified Malibu Van vans. Production will start on May 3rd with 180 employees and around 40 vehicles per week, and then, according to director Sandra Županec, the capacity will be gradually expanded. The President of the Republic drove the first vehicle through the plant, thus symbolically opening the new production line. The President of the Country, Nataša Pirc Musar, also boasted on Twitter that they opened a new production plant of the Carthago company in Ormož. “The new 50 million investment in Slovenia proves once again that our country is interesting for foreign direct investment and that, despite all the current challenges, it maintains a high level of investor confidence in the Slovenian business environment,” she added.
Danijel Vrbnjak, the mayor of the municipality of Ormož, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Carthago company in April 2022 and emphasised that the Carthago company will give Ormož a new impetus in the field of economy. “This will also strengthen other standards in the area of the municipality and the region,” he announced – a year later, at the opening of the plant, he said that it was a big patch on the wound, as Ormož had recently lost more than 500 jobs. “I believe that, given the growth and innovation of the company, this story will be very successful,” he added.
The previous government allocated six million euros for the project to expand the production of the Carthago company in Ormož
“Thank you to the Carthago company for the decision to build a company right in our municipality. Sincere thanks to Prime Minister Janez Janša and Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, who played a key role in important decisions and lit a bright light for our municipality in the field of economy,” the mayor thanked a year ago, when the foundation stone was laid. Carthago was founded in 1979 in Ravensburg, Germany, and its central production unit is today in nearby Aulendorf. The plant in Odranci was opened in 2008, and there they produce motorhomes of several series and modified vans of the Malibu brand and employ around 800 people. Carthago also received six million euros in state incentives for the investment, which after the closure of the once largest employer in Ormož, the eyewear manufacturer Safila, will have a significant impact on the employment statistics in Ormož and the surrounding municipalities.
Markus Kern, chairman of Carthago management, recalled that the Ormož plant was built in less than a year after the foundation stone was laid. “This illustrates the importance of the plant for Carthago today and in the future,” he said. According to him, this is the largest project in the group and “shows what can be achieved if the economy, the state and the local community work hand in hand”. He announced that they plan to have 300 jobs in Ormož by 2024, as they should have produced at least 3,000 vehicles a year by then. The director of Slovenian Carthago, Sandra Županec, believes that the plant in Ormož will be the same success story as the plant in Odranci. They produced 20,000 motorhomes there in ten years, and now they are approaching 40,000. She explained that by moving the production of converted vans to Ormož, space is freed up to strengthen the production of motorhomes in Odranci, which is why additional employment will be added there as well. The Minister of Economy, Tourism and Sport Matjaž Han said that the factory in Ormož will make a significant contribution to the development of the Slovenian economy. “Investments in new jobs and development have long-term effects,” he said. The plant is located in an industrial zone next to the Ormož ring road. Around one hundred employees who have worked in the unit in Odranci will be transferred to it, and at least 80 more employees will be hired.