Representatives of Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) took part in the opening ceremony of Belgian company Bekaert’s plant expansion. This company is one of the largest producers of steel wire and tire cords for cars and truck tires.
Prime Minister Iveta Radičová also took part in the event together with deputy economy minister Kristián Takáč, mayor of the town of Sladkovičovo, Anton Szabó, and the top management of Bekaert.
In her speech PM Radičová said she appraised job generation and the fact that Bekaert stresses the issues of work safety and employee social programmes. Moreover, she said the company may bring higher added value to the economy in the form of new technologies, research and development.
Bekaert has been operating in Slovakia for over 10 years and has developed a broad customer base in the country. In order to satisfy growing demand, the company has decided to expand its production platform in Sladkovičovo and so create 100 new jobs.
SARIO CEO Róbert Šimončič said: “One of the basic rules of doing business is that in difficult times you have to focus on existing customers and motivate them to start new activities. For SARIO, existing customers are the established investors, meaning also Bekaert, since it has decided to expand and create new jobs.”
Bekaert currently employs over 2,100 people at its 2 production facilities in Slovakia (Hlohovec and Sládkovičovo), and it has already invested EUR 240 million in the country.
Company profile
Bekaert (www.bekaert.com) is global leader in two technology segments: advanced metal transformation and surface processing, and it is the leader on the market of pulled wires products and their application. Bekaert (Euronext Brussels: BEKB) is a global company with headquarters in Belgium, employing over 28,000 people worldwide. The company offers its services to customers in 120 countries and in 2010 it generated revenues worth EUR 4.5 billion. Source: SARIO