Dr.Oetker starts construction of production facility in Simanovci - Investment valued at EUR 9.5 million

future look of the business complex in Simanovci

Dr.Oetker Srbija began the construction of new office space on 4.5 hectares of land in Simanovci on Wednesday, planning to finish it within the next 18 months. The foundation stone was laid by German Ambassador to Serbia Heinz Wilhelm, Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Dr.Oetker representatives.

The first production facility of Dr.Oetker in Serbia will be among the most modern ones in the company's network, meeting the highest standards for food production.

As Dr.Oetker Srbija Managing Director Zoran Mitic told eKapija, the new plant will be comprised of four sections: office, technical, production and storage. This EUR 9.5 million investment is completely financed from the company's own resources. As Mitic pointed out, this money will be invested in the land and construction works alone, while the equipment will be procured separately.

Heinz Wilhelm, Aleksandar Vucic and Zoran Mitic

- The factory in Simanovci, with a capacity of 6,000 tons a year, will be making Dr.Oetker and C brend powder products for the markets of Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Macedonia, all of which are covered by Dr.Oetker Srbija, and the plan is to later expand the reach to the entire region – said Mitic.

As it was said at the foundation stone laying ceremony, after analyzing the market of central and eastern Europe, Dr.Oetker decided that Serbia was the best destination for their new production facility, and they chose Simanovci because of its vicinity to Belgrade and good traffic infrastructure.

By the way, Dr.Oetker started production in Serbia in August 2013 in a rented space of the former factory Aroma in Banovo Brdo, where it constantly expands product portfolio and boosts production capacity.

Dr.Oetker is a family company with a tradition spanning over 120 years. In the market of Serbia, it operates as a sister company since 2001. Two years ago Dr.Oetker acquired the production of confectionery and powder products from Centroproizvod (now called C Brend) and took over 123 employees of that company.

When asked by eKapija if we can expect some new acquisitions in the Serbian market in the following period, Mitic replied:

- We're considering that option. We must first complete the previous big acquisition we made with this new factory.

Dr.Oetker Srbija currently employs 185 people. The company said that the capacity boost would also lead to a staff increase, but they did not want to reveal the exact number of new hires. However, Aleksandar Vucic announced in his address to the media that the new plant of the German company would employ 250 people.