Austro Panel factory in Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje nears completion — €30m, 14 salaries and 100+ jobs
Austro Panel’s new 20,000 m² plant in Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje will produce sandwich panels, employ over 100 and pay 14 salaries a year.
Construction is nearing completion on a new factory in Bosnia and Herzegovina worth about €30 million, and the plant's payroll will follow an Austrian-style model that provides workers with 14 salaries a year.
The production facility is being built in Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje and will cover 20,000 square metres. Management plans to employ more than 100 workers once operations start.
Production and market commitments
The factory, operated by Austro Panel, will manufacture sandwich panels intended for industrial and other building projects. According to published information, the entire planned production capacity has already been reserved through agreements with European buyers even before full production begins.
Director Darko Juričić told Federal Television that the company will adopt the Austrian payment system, under which the thirteenth salary is paid in June and the fourteenth in December.
Interest in the vacancies has been strong: about 350 applications were received, including 150 from people who currently live and work abroad. Some of those applicants have already returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin work at the new plant.
The investment is credited with renewing interest among emigrants to return, which is notable at a time when a shortage of qualified labour presents a serious challenge across the region. The majority owner of Austro Panel is Stjepan Krajina, born in Austria with roots in Bosnia and Herzegovina; partners from Germany and Austria also participate in the ownership structure.
Photo: federalna.ba
