NORTH MACEDONIA IS A FAVORABLE DESTINATION FOR INVESTMENTS, THE BIGGEST INVESTMENT IS REALIZED SINCE THE OPENING OF THE ZONES

NORTH MACEDONIA IS A FAVORABLE DESTINATION FOR INVESTMENTS, THE BIGGEST INVESTMENT IS REALIZED SINCE THE OPENING OF THE ZONES

Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, together with the director of the Directorate for Technological-Industrial Development Zones, Jovan Despotovski, attended today the beginning of the construction of the second factory of the German pharmaceutical giant “Gereisheimer” in the Technological-Industrial Development Zone-2. Skopje.

The event was attended by Oliver Burgel, Geressheimer’s vice president, as well as Otto Graf, Chargé d’Affaires at the German Embassy.

In the new “Geressheimer” factory with highly advanced technology, specialized medical glass products, vaccine syringes and pharmaceutical products will be produced for the needs of world-famous pharmaceutical companies.

It is an investment of over 126 million euros, which represents a record investment since the establishment of the technological-industrial development zones.

The opening of over 180 new jobs is planned, with an average salary far above the national average.

Prime Minister Kovacevski toured the first factory of “Geressheimer”, where he was presented with the modern process of production of medical plastics in the plants, a project that the German concern started in North Macedonia four years ago.

The initial investment of 25 million has already increased to over 60 million euros.

“Even in the conditions of the biggest energy crisis in the world, the Government encourages investors to invest their funds and create added value for the Macedonian economy, creating favorable conditions for our workers and our staff, to feel valued with the level of wages and conditions for work. , however, with the opportunity to advance in their career through additional training.

Our goal is for citizens to stay in the country to work in modern conditions and have a better standard of living. The investments of highly technologically developed companies are another confirmation that our country is favorable for investment, just like other countries in Europe and the world.

North Macedonia is a safe and solid destination for investments, our human staff offers quality and knowledge, which is proven to be appreciated by regional and global partners and investors. That is why we help all investors who decide to invest with us, through tax exemptions, job support and a set of measures that facilitate the business environment for potential investors.

Initial analyzes show that for every 1 denar invested by the state, the companies returned 4 denars to the budget. That was not the case until 6 years ago, which means that we have investments that bring greater added value for both the state and the citizens.

That is why we are not surprised by the fact that during the biggest energy crisis, we had the best year ever since the existence of TIDZ and it is really a great success. We ended last year 2022 with 2,300 new jobs and over 430 million euros of new investments. and we ended the year with a record export of 3.7 billion euros.

In October last year, we also exceeded the highest export limit of three billion euros, which was the previous highest result achieved in 2021. A total of 16,400 of our fellow citizens work in companies in industrial zones across the country,” Kovacevski said in his address during the visit to the Gereshheimer factory.

The director of TIDZ, Despotovski, also spoke about the significance of this largest single investment.

“The largest investment in history individually, in the history of TIDZ, but also the largest greenfield investment since the independence of the state. Together with the expansion of this facility that we visited today, which we are already working on, and with one that we see here, the two phases of the company reach an investment that is slightly less than 200 million euros, so we are talking about the largest Greenfield investment in the history of S. Macedonia. It is a serious step forward”, said Despotovski, expressing hope that in the next period this investment will be doubled.

“Our fellow citizens who are engaged in this function, work not only for the company, but also for numerous people around the world. Indeed, there is only one point on the investment map where this company is present, which shows that despite the fact that we are still a small point on that global map, we can make a serious contribution to those global challenges,” Despotovski pointed out, adding that the Government, ministers, deputies work for the benefit of the citizens.

The vice president of “Geresheimer”, Oliver Burgel, emphasized that in addition to the good experience in the operation, an additional incentive for the expansion of the investment is the support and conditions that they received from the state as investors.

“We are seeing significant development that has resulted in the need to expand our production to support growing opportunities.” Key to making the decision to expand the investment in North Macedonia was the good experience we had with our first investment, the working conditions in the country, the state of the infrastructure, transparency of costs, the availability of qualified staff and support from the authorities.

This encouraged us to expand the investment right here, in North Macedonia, near the existing factory, which just started in 2019, and which produces primary production of plastics for the pharmaceutical industry,” stressed Burgel.

He added that their growth is due to Gerеssheimer’s focus on satisfying customer taste and excellence in execution, which is part of their corporate strategy initiated by CEO Dietmar Simsen. All this, according to Burgel, leads to the positioning of “Geressheimer” as a credible partner in the health and pharmaceutical industry.

The Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy of Germany, Otto Graf, in his address referred to the significance of this investment in bilateral cooperation. He emphasized:

“Today is a happy day for North Macedonia and Germany. “Geressheimer” invests in new production capacity.

It is due to the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, which is why numerous German investments are taking place in North Macedonia.”