European union countries are primary markets for companies from Tešanj, which products ended last year in 59 countries of the world. After the export growth from last year, positive results continued also into this year. In tešanj, companies are already preparing for the realisation of new business contracts in 2016.

After more than 23 years of pause, which happened because of the war in BIH, pump and filter company Pobjeda Tešanj became again a direct partner of the well-known company Mercedes. First delivery of parts for motors in trucks and buses, according to the agreement signed at the end of last year, are expected in april 2016.

Products of this company were also used after the war in Mercedes, albeit via an indirect company, while the initial equipping is the end-goal of car parts manufacturers. The company from Tešanj was the first company in former Yugoslavia to have direct deliveries to a german car manufacturer.

“That cooperation began in the 70’s. We placed 50 percent of our production outside Yugoslavia, 50 percent inside Yugoslavia. With the collapse of all markets during war and due to war atrocities initial equppinigs were interrupted. Contrary to our wishes, we had such type of production, that we became an unstable enviroment and therefore had to stop deliveries“, says Kasim Kotorić, executive production manager.

Signing a agreement about new direct deliveries wasn’t a mere formality.

„With the signing of these pre-entry documents, Bosnia and Herzegowina is not anymore on the C list. It jumped in the rating so that these companies can normally work and cooperate with companies from BIH, and companies, which our company belongs to, must satisfy some conditions in order to make initial equippings “, adds Kotorić.

After commiting to obligations from agreement about deliveries of pumps for Mercedes motors, without a smallest fault and on time, in the Tešanj factory must also other conditions be fulfilled, about which is spoken.

„When they came, they first observed cleaniness, order, beginning from the parking lot and only after that they inspected that the workers were properly trained, that they had proper protection gear, and only then they came to that what is called quality control of our production and therewith, the products“, says Šefket Turalić, quality manager.

Ninety-five percent of products from this company is sold outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Germany is the most important market for the export-oriented companies from Tešanj. Companies from Tešanj established a trade with business partners from 25 of 28 members of the European Union. „The only three countries to which markets the economy from Tešanj doesn’t export its products to are Lithuania, Estonia and Malta. Dominant markets to which companies from Tešanj export to are the market of Germany with 39,68 percent, followed by Italy with 19,30 percent, followed by Slovenia with 10,40 percent. It is important to mention that these three countries constitute 70 percent of export market of teh economy from Tešanj“, says Ismar Alagić, director of the agency for development of Tešanj municipality.

Products from Tešanj found their way on markets of 59 countries. The export value in 2014. amounted to 350 million marks and the export was greater than import for 37 million marks. Positive trends continued also in this year.

„We can state that the coverage of export with import of local economy  is bout 107,74 percent“, says Alagić.

Business results in Tešanj are no coincidence.

„We have an education system that we told to adapt, so our mixed school in Tešanj produces profile specialists – welders, CNC-machine operators-who correspond to those people. Local administration adaptet too, because i follow the permits. There where no legal hurdles exist, permits are acquired in record time for Bosnian and Herzegovinian conditions. I think that this result is different in the rest of the country, where constitutional  order is most often mentioned. First, one should work and then change things“, are the words of  Husein Galijašević, one of pre-war businessmen.

„He, who thinks that someone will bring the market, also the commerce to him and everything else, he failed, only he doesn’t know that“, concludes Kasim Kotorić, one of the manager in Pobjeda.

Autor: Arnes Grbešić

Source: www.slobodnaevropa.org