Essex Europe laid down the foundation stone for the facility in Zrenjanin on March 14. A total of EUR 30.4 million will be invested in the factory of enameled copper wires, and more than 150 people will be employed, it was announced during the marking of the beginning of the construction.

Essex Europe produces wires for transformers, electric engines and generators. The company is the European subsidiary of Superior Essex, headquartered in Atlanta, USA, which has 85 years of experience in producing and distributing copper and aluminum wires. Superior Essex is a part of the South Korean LS Group, and the company`s production capacities include facilities in three continents, including factories in the USA, Canada, Mexico, China, Malaysia, Germany, Italy, UK and France. The group has an annual turnover of USD 19 billion.

In Serbia, the company is registered as Essex Balkan.

In order to meet the needs of customers in eastern European countries, strengthen its capacities and thereby provide an efficient response to the demand arising from the development of the trend of vehicle electrification, Essex decided to expand its business. Its representatives said at the ceremony in Zrenjanin that the town had been chosen as the location for the new facility thanks to Serbia`s favorable geographic position and a wide qualified workforce pool.

– Our company employs 3,100 people worldwide, and thanks to their dedication and teamwork, we`ve managed to become the biggest global producer of enameled wires. This constantly reminds us that it is the people who make the difference and enable progress. We believe that the 150 employees of the factory in Zrenjanin, which will become a part of Essex, will develop and advance, acquire knowledge and skills and recognize the values we proudly stand behind in our operations – Christopher Koo, President of LS Group, told the press at the ceremony of the laying down of the foundation stone for the new facility.

The event was also attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, President of the Provincial Government Igor Mirovic and Mayor of Zrenjanin Cedomir Janjic, who pointed out that the town had another 550 ha of equipped and investor-ready building land in the industrial zone.

President Vucic thanked the representatives of Essex Europe for having chosen Zrenjanin for their latest investment and announced that the average net salary of the future workers at the factory would be RSD 90,000.

The Zrenjanin factory will take up 15,000 m2 and is expected to start working in the fourth quarter of 2018. The management team will consist of people from Serbia.

As Essex says, the Zrenjanin factory will be one of the most energy efficient facilities in Serbia, thanks to the optimization of the production process in line with advanced global practices in this field and the company`s strong efforts to achieve sustainable development. The facility will feature top quality equipment so that it could reach top quality standards and enable the development and the implementation of the Industry 4.0 concept in Serbia, which entails the use of digital technologies in the production process.