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Thakrar: The investment in Macedonia justify our expectations
Jatin Thakrar, the Managing Director of Johnson Matthey in Macedonia, plant that produces catalysts, is pleased with the success of investments in the country and believes that success story in Macedonia will continue with a second plant. Regarding the issue of future investments, for the interview for Kurir he says, “We will have to see what the demand for our products is and to make sure that we have success with our expansion.” Any way, he points out that if they are planning future investments they will again take into account the country.
Kurir: What was the initial reason you decided to invest in Macedonia? Weather the second plant will produce the same product as the first – catalysts.
The second plant started production in September 2013 and currently the production is with maximum capacity. With this expansion, the new factory will produce similar parts, which partly stem from the need for approximation with new European legislation on market for heavy vehicles. Namely, with the introduction of new legislation on emissions in Europe, there will be increasing demand for automotive catalysts, and the second plant is designed to expand our facilities to meet the growing demand, mainly for heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses. The initial reason for investing in Macedonia was the decision to increase capacity in the European region. At that time, we were considering different countries, including Macedonia. Macedonia was chosen because it satisfied our criteria, close to the airport, access to a large area of land in industrial zone and nearby large city as a source of labor.
Kurir: How big are the investments and how many new people will be employed at the new plant, i.e. how many employees both factories “Johnson Matthey” in Macedonia will have?
Total investment in both plants is around 130 million euro. In the first plant, we have employed around 450 workers. Currently, we are selecting for several key positions in advance so that we will have time to train them before we start with the production. In the next two years when the two factories will operate at full capacity, we plan to employ another 200 new workers. So far, we are very satisfied with our workforce, and based on the results achieved in the factory following all key indicators of production. From the beginning, we had several revisions from the European automotive consumer groups and all were impressed by the factory and production capabilities of the local team. Moreover, visitors from other companies of “Johnson Matthey” around the world, were also, impressed by their Macedonian colleagues and what they have achieved in a short period from the beginning of the work.
Kurir: Weather your decision for building second factory means that you enjoy the business climate in the country and institutions helped you in recent years, since the factories are open?
Of course, the main reason for re-investing in Macedonia is the satisfying conditions and the initial investment that justified our expectations. The main reason for the second investment is the introduction of Euro 6 standards for emission that should take effect in the European Union from January 2014. This will increase the demand for our products. We are grateful to all government institutions, especially to the Director at the Directorate for Technological Industrial Zones, Viktor Mizo, Ministries of Finance, Transport, Interior and Economy and Narodna Bank of Macedonia and the Agency for Investment in Macedonia. All agencies were service, they helped us in all phases of construction, and they quickly responded to all our requests during production. In general, the cooperation is generally positive and institutions are willing to listen and solve issues that affect our business.
Kurir: What are your plans for future, what are the projections for volume production at two factories and do you think about the possibility of new investments?
Our complete facilities allow us to produce about 10 million catalysts annually from both factories and we hope that we will reach that figure at the end of 2015. Regarding the question of future investment, it depends on how quickly and effectively we can demonstrate the success of the second plant, along with the question of how well our products perform in the market. Therefore, for future expansion we will have to see what the demand for our products is and to make sure that we have success in our expansions. I believe that the success will continue and “Johnson Matthey” certainly will take into account Macedonia for the future investments.
Jatin Thakrar, the Managing Director of Johnson Matthey in Macedonia, plant that produces catalysts, is pleased with the success of investments in the country and believes that success story in Macedonia will continue with a second plant. Regarding the issue of future investments, for the interview for Kurir he says, “We will have to see what the demand for our products is and to make sure that we have success with our expansion.” Any way, he points out that if they are planning future investments they will again take into account the country.
Kurir: What was the initial reason you decided to invest in Macedonia? Weather the second plant will produce the same product as the first – catalysts.
The second plant started production in September 2013 and currently the production is with maximum capacity. With this expansion, the new factory will produce similar parts, which partly stem from the need for approximation with new European legislation on market for heavy vehicles. Namely, with the introduction of new legislation on emissions in Europe, there will be increasing demand for automotive catalysts, and the second plant is designed to expand our facilities to meet the growing demand, mainly for heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses. The initial reason for investing in Macedonia was the decision to increase capacity in the European region. At that time, we were considering different countries, including Macedonia. Macedonia was chosen because it satisfied our criteria, close to the airport, access to a large area of land in industrial zone and nearby large city as a source of labor.
Kurir: How big are the investments and how many new people will be employed at the new plant, i.e. how many employees both factories “Johnson Matthey” in Macedonia will have?
Total investment in both plants is around 130 million euro. In the first plant, we have employed around 450 workers. Currently, we are selecting for several key positions in advance so that we will have time to train them before we start with the production. In the next two years when the two factories will operate at full capacity, we plan to employ another 200 new workers. So far, we are very satisfied with our workforce, and based on the results achieved in the factory following all key indicators of production. From the beginning, we had several revisions from the European automotive consumer groups and all were impressed by the factory and production capabilities of the local team. Moreover, visitors from other companies of “Johnson Matthey” around the world, were also, impressed by their Macedonian colleagues and what they have achieved in a short period from the beginning of the work.
Kurir: Weather your decision for building second factory means that you enjoy the business climate in the country and institutions helped you in recent years, since the factories are open?
Of course, the main reason for re-investing in Macedonia is the satisfying conditions and the initial investment that justified our expectations. The main reason for the second investment is the introduction of Euro 6 standards for emission that should take effect in the European Union from January 2014. This will increase the demand for our products. We are grateful to all government institutions, especially to the Director at the Directorate for Technological Industrial Zones, Viktor Mizo, Ministries of Finance, Transport, Interior and Economy and Narodna Bank of Macedonia and the Agency for Investment in Macedonia. All agencies were service, they helped us in all phases of construction, and they quickly responded to all our requests during production. In general, the cooperation is generally positive and institutions are willing to listen and solve issues that affect our business.
Kurir: What are your plans for future, what are the projections for volume production at two factories and do you think about the possibility of new investments?
Our complete facilities allow us to produce about 10 million catalysts annually from both factories and we hope that we will reach that figure at the end of 2015. Regarding the question of future investment, it depends on how quickly and effectively we can demonstrate the success of the second plant, along with the question of how well our products perform in the market. Therefore, for future expansion we will have to see what the demand for our products is and to make sure that we have success in our expansions. I believe that the success will continue and “Johnson Matthey” certainly will take into account Macedonia for the future investments.
