A Croatian factory making a very international contribution.
Jim Beam is one of the most famous bourbons in the United States. It has been produced since 1795, and Omco Croatia company from Hum Na Sutli in Hrvatsko Zagorje has received the exclusive right to make moulds which are used to produce bottles for the finest bourbon, reports 24 Sata on October 7, 2015.
Jim Beam has recently re-branded its bottles and will introduce to the market a completely new design which will use the moulds produced in Omco. They have replaced all the packaging for the US market, and the first shipment of moulds from Hum Na Sutli has already been shipped to Kentucky.
In addition to bourbon, the company from Hrvatsko Zagorje takes part in production of bottles for the most popular drink in the world – Coca Cola. Also, Omco took part in the rebranding process for Heineken, with whom it has an exclusive contract to produce moulds for beer bottles. Heineken has already released them to the market, but the new bottles have still not appeared in Croatia. They are waiting for local bottlers to replace old bottles with paper labels with the new ones which have all the information embedded in the glass.
Omco is the world’s leading manufacturer of moulds for glass, and the factory from Hum Na Sutli is one of the leading exporters in Croatia. Eighteen years ago, the company was taken over by a Belgian company owned by three families. “We currently employ 550 people. This year, our turnover is 53 million euros, and we plan to grow and hire new employees. We invest a lot, and we are preparing for a new plant to expand our capacity. Omco exports about 98 percent of its products”, said Darko Ranogajec, director of Omco.
The company has introduced some special privileges for its workers. For example, the company pays them the supplementary health insurance. The average age of employees is 32, while the net salary is above 6,000 kuna. They receive annual allowances, and work in three shifts, including nights, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, which is paid extra.
