Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic, representative of Tigar company Vladimir Nikolic and member of Tigar’s Executive Board Bruno Mason signed an Agreement yesterday  on the expansion of production with which 220 new jobs will be created.

This investment is worth €16 million, of which the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development and the Serbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency (SIEPA) will allocate incentives for every new workplace in the amount of €4,000, totalling €880,000.

The investment is intended for new equipment, and the framework date of realisation of the project is January 2012.

Dinkic underlined that the Serbian government and the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development are backing this project since car tyres are one of Serbia’s top five export products.

An inflow of €200 million from the export of tyres is expected this year, he said and added that since January Serbia has recorded an export of tyres in the amount of €125 million.

The citizens of Pirot should be proud of the fact that every year almost two million Europeans buy car tyres that they produce, the Minister underlined and noted that Serbia should increase production of finished products, as done by Tigar.

With 220 new workers in Tigar, the total number of employees will be 2,300. The Minister voiced the hope that this new investment will increase workers’ salaries as well.

Mason thanked the Serbian government and the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development for the impetus that will contribute to increasing the competitiveness of this factory.

Mason also commended SIEPA as it took only two months to finalise the agreement with SIEPA.

Tigar plans to keep its leadership position in the Serbian market and increase its market share in the global market, he reiterated noting that production will be increased by an additional 1.5 million tyres while exports will grow by more than €40 million. .

The company will produce a total of 6.5 million tyres annually while it plans to up its production to 8 million tyres in 2012.

The main export markets for Tigar Tyres are EU countries (France, UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain), Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the countries of the Middle East.

Tigar Tyres’ parent company Michelin consists of more than 105 manufacturing plants worldwide, and is commercially present in more than 170 countries.

During the visit to the 1. Maj factory in Pirot, Dinkic confirmed that a 20% salary rise for employees was agreed in the talks with the factory’s leadership.

He recalled that after unsuccessful privatisation, the Ministry has supported this factory and it will try to find a serious partner for it so that it could launch negotiations on a new strategic partnership.

For the time being, the 1. Maj factory will launch production by itself and try to increase sales of its products on the domestic market.

Dinkic announced that new potential clients for this factory could be expected in late September, voicing the hope that this will bring more work to its factory workers.

Dinkic noted that suits made by this factory are of the highest quality and are sold at very affordable prices.

The Minister welcomed efforts of the leadership to increase its employees’ salaries. He added that this factory employs 1,500 workers of whom the majority are women and that it is very important for Pirot.