Vukovar company Smiljanić opens facility for the production of crates for fruits and vegetables

This is a project co-financed from EU structural funds with 7.8 million kuna, while the second part of the funds, due to the lack of own accumulation, was obtained through an HBOR loan at a relatively decent interest rate.

The newly opened facilities for the production of wooden crates for packaging and transporting fruits and vegetables by the company “Smiljanić”, into which 12.9 million kuna has been invested, were visited in Vukovar on Thursday by the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Crafts Darko Horvat, who expressed satisfaction with this entrepreneurial venture whose product has found a place in the Croatian market, with possibilities for placement in the EU market.

– This is a project co-financed from EU structural funds with 7.8 million kuna, and that is the modality, while the second part of the funds, due to the lack of own accumulation, was obtained through an HBOR loan at a relatively decent interest rate, and that is the guideline that should be established, Minister Horvat stated to reporters after touring the facility.

Horvat particularly emphasized the importance of the latest Vukovar entrepreneurial project, which has irreplaceable significance as it is being realized in an area that has been exposed to war devastation, but also because it has been realized with the synergy of investors, local government, and the central state, ensuring communal infrastructure as well as energy and telecommunications infrastructure during the realization of the entire project.

For all the administration around the project, a private printing house is needed.

Entrepreneur Mirko Smiljanić, who invested in the crate production facility, announced that in the near future, 21 workers will be employed in the company who will work in the first shift, and the demand for the product will also open the possibility of starting production in the second shift and additional employment. He added that there is a possibility of expanding the facility to produce pallets and a sawmill, but at this moment he does not want to expose himself to the possibility of over-investment.

A maximum of 2000 wooden crates can come out of the facility in one hour, which, as Smiljanić emphasized, are significantly more environmentally friendly than similar imported plastic products, which are made from recycled materials and “should not come into contact with fruits and vegetables.”

Smiljanić also commented on the difficulties he encountered until the realization of the project, saying that “a private printing house is needed” for the necessary papers, which represent “a whole library”.

– The project itself, when completed, had over 700 pages, and work on its preparation began in June 2013, Smiljanić emphasized.

He humorously pointed out that, according to his experience, to realize a project one needs to have a good idea that someone will accept, then a team of experienced consultants who will channel the idea into papers and administration recognized by European funds, a lot of patience and planned money, while the time for project realization should be multiplied by three, and the necessary nerves by a thousand.

The Mayor of Vukovar, Ivan Penava, who accompanied Minister Horvat on the tour of the crate production facilities, emphasized that after years of decline in production and the closure of jobs, five manufacturing companies have opened their facilities in Vukovar in the last year and a half.

– I hope that, with the support of the Government, a positive story will continue to be told, strengthening the Vukovar economy and creating new jobs, Penava said.