Kragujevac-based "Košutnjak" - "Interšped" produces furniture for "IKEA", first results of TAM project - €600,000

Kragujevac-based ”Košutnjak” made a real turn. Not only did it receive new name, ”Interšped”, but also it got world famous partner ”Ikea” and open borders, across which the first towing trucks with goods produced in Kragujevac’s suburb have already been delivered to, first of all, French buyers.

Help arrived from EU through program ”TurnAround Management”, famous by English abbreviation TAM, in the scope of which 36 programs are being realized in Serbia. TAM is non-profit program of EBRD, the main financier is EU, through European Agency for Reconstruction, which provided €1.5m in April 2004 as the biggest donator of this project in our country.

How the things look like in practice and which are the effects may be best illustrated on the example of aforementioned Kragujevac-based company in which, after many years of miserable living followed by change of owners, international experts arrived: one citizen of Denmark with experience of expert and director of several companies in field of wood processing and furniture production, and recently, one German, expert for finances and design of business plans that helped in creation of company’s development strategy until 2009.

That’s how the company established connection with ”Ikea”. The contract was signed and the goods from Serbia have been delivered to the stores of famous world manufacturer and dealer for the last 45 days. The value of the contracted works in this year amounts to €600,000. Since the contract is signed on period of few years, it is planned that the production be doubled in 2006, and, according to mid-term plan, reach production and export worth €5m with the help of ”Ikea”.