Italian kitchen furniture manufacturer Mobilturi plans 40,000 sq. meter factory in Jagodina, Serbia; plant will hire 150 to 250 workers, produce 700 kitchens per day primarily for customers in Russia, Bolorussia, Turkey

Aimee Bellah

April 10, 2014 (IntelliNews ) – Italian kitchen furniture manufacturer Mobilturi will open a plant in Jagodina, central Serbia, on Thursday, April 10, which production will be export-oriented, news agency Tanjug reported.

The plant is located in a renovated facility of 2,000 square metres, which has been adapted to the furniture production, the report said. This facility, however, is a temporary solution for the Italian investors who plan to build a new factory on an area of 40,000 square metres in an industrial zone close to Corridor X in Jagodina.

The authorities of the Italian company and the city of Jagodina signed the contract for the construction of the new factory in August 2013, saying this would be the biggest production unit of Mobilturi in Eastern Europe. The plant will employ 150 to 250 workers and produce 700 kitchens daily. The furniture will be sold abroad – mainly in Russia, Belorussia, Turkey and to other countries, which have duty-free contracts with Serbia.

Mobilturi already started trial production at the existing facility in Jagodina on March 12 with the first kitchens already exported to Italy.

Mobilturi is the third Italian firm to open a plant in Jagodina, the report says. Previously, Confezioni Andrea – a manufacturer of interior and exterior protective covers for the automotive market, opened a newly-built factory in the Serbian city in March 2013, employing 600 workers. On the other hand, Italian supplier of automotive textiles Aunde Italia Group launched its plant only last month and once full production begins it is expected to engage 200 workers.

Jagodina mayor Dragan Markovic has said investors from Italy see the Serbian city as a good location for their production units because of its strategic geographical location, the subsidies of the Serb government of EUR 10,000 per each newly created job, the cheap but qualified labour force and the possibility for duty-free exports to Russia.

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