December the 12th, 2023 – A German investor has arrived in Croatia and is set to open 300 new jobs in Slavonia, Croatia’s most overlooked region.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the German company IMS Gear, the primary activity of which is the production of plastic and metal gear components, as well as systems for the automotive industry, is starting production in Osijek.
On Monday, Osijek Mayor Ivan Radić and IMS Gear Croatia director Alexander Benjamin Senge signed the contract for the purchase and sale of 33,442 square metres of land on the premises of Osijek’s Nemetin Business Zone.
“IMS Gear has production facilities in Germany, the USA, Mexico, and China, and employs around 3,000 workers worldwide. We’re extremely pleased that after Germany, where they already have eight factories, their next destination is right here in Croatia, more specifically in Osijek at our Nemetin Business Zone. They responded to Osijek’s tender for the purchase of land, offering 1,115,100.00 euros, which is more than the estimated value. The planned value of the investment amounts to around six million euros, and it will produce components for the supply of customers from the automotive industry based in Southeastern Europe,” reported Osijek’s mayor, Ivan Radić.
He noted that the City of Osijek initially began expanding the Nemetin Business Zone by asking the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and State Property to donate an additional 36 hectares of land in Nemetin to the City of Osijek for this purpose.
More investment for Osijek’s business zones – more jobs in Slavonia
“In order to attract more investors, we’re planning to invest around 2.2 million euros in the communal infrastructure of our business zones going forward. At the moment in Osijek, we have record high employment and record low unemployment. In the past two years alone, we’ve increased the number of employed people by 2,000. Back at the beginning of this mandate, we exempted investors from needing to pay any municipal contributions during the construction process, thus making Osijek even more competitive compared to other cities. As of January the 1st, 2024, everyone’s wages will rise in Osijek because the city will not replace the abolition of the surtax, which was 13 percent, by increasing the income tax rate, unlike other cities. Every job is important to us, we’re a partner to our fellow citizens and to our businesses. We’re looking forward to this new investment and we’re not going to stop there, either, there’s more good economic news to come,” assured Mayor Radić.
Wolfgang Weber from the Management Board of IMS Gear said that the company has been in business for 160 years and that until now it produced parts for the European market exclusively in Germany. They chose Osijek because of its excellent location and strategic position, an attractive business zone and an extremely accommodating city administration.
The most important thing was the ambition we felt from the city administration, we realised that they wanted to help us and do everything aid us in establishing our company here. We’ve now taken the first step and signed the purchase agreement for the land. The next step is the construction of the building and the final start of production, where, I’m sure, we can count on the help of the City of Osijek again. As for education, Osijek has a great university, so we’ve really found perfect conditions here,” said Weber, adding that production will begin in 2025 and that they will open hundreds of new jobs in Slavonia.
