Isomat built EUR 8 million worth of plant in Simanovci - Production of powder building materials as of March 9

Greek company Isomat, which opened a branch office in Serbia six years ago, changed its status in late 2010 from a trade company to a production company. Namely, this manufacturer of building materials has built a plant in Simanovci and invested about 8 million euros in it. The production is fully automated, while packaging lines in the plant are based on the state-of-the-arts equipment.

The first products have already come off the liquid building material production line, while the production of powder building materials should start on March 9, Director of Isomat in Serbia Spiridon Vlahos announces for eKapija.

According to Mr. Vlahos, the production capacity of the newly built plant will be "huge": over 250 tonnes of powder materials per shift and 40 tonnes of liquid building materials a day.

They have employed 29 workers and plan to increase that number to 35.

By the way, the product portfolio of Isomat, which operates in Greece since 1980, comprises six categories: hydro-insulation materials, additives for concrete and mortars, adhesives for tiles, repair and paint materials, ready-made mortars, and industrial floors.

Based on the design, development, production and way of distribution of products, Isomat has the appropriate certificate and applies the system of quality control in accordance with the standard ISO 9001: 1999.

Products bear the CE mark on the basis of technical norms of the European standard EN12004:2001+A1:2002, which declares that all products meet European directives.

The only existing production plant of the company is situated in Salonika. When asked why they have decided to open the first production plant outside the mother country in Serbia, Vlahos says:

- We see Serbia and Belgrade as the center of this region. We are already doing business with Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Hungary... Now we plan to supply these countries with the products made in the plant in Simanovci. On the other hand, our plan is to export these products to Russia.

The free trade agreement with Russia is, actually, one of the most important reasons for opening this plant. Namely, representatives of Isomat in Greece tried to conquer the market of Russia by exporting the products from Elada three or four years ago, but that ended in a failure.

Penetration of the market of Russia from Serbia is, among the rest, part of the plan for this year.

Plans and crisis

Isomat has been the market leader in Greece over the last three years. As Vlahos explains, that is a very healthy company with the annual turnover of about EUR 40 million. The general crisis in Greece "did not affect the operations in Serbia" even for a single moment "because they don't have a big market share in our country".

- We made a ten-year plan in 2000 and that's when we decided that we would be among the top five companies in southeast Europe by the end of 2010. And we succeeded in that - says the Director of Isomat in Serbia for eKapija.

When it comes to the crisis in Serbian construction industry in the previous period, Mr. Vlahos says that it has never had a big influence on the operations since Isomat has only been a trade company so far. Even in 2009 - the year of the crisis, the company registered a 40% growth.

Isomat also plans to invest in a new line for the production of paints in 2011.

- The production will first start in Greece. It is a big investment and we expect to start producing paints in Serbia as of June - Vlahos announces.

Plant in Romania

After the plant in Belgrade, Isomat will also have a plant built in Bucharest. It is an investment worth between 9.5 and 10 million euros.

- Everything is ready and we should select the main contractor and commence the construction works in about one month.

Construction is expected to be completed until April 2012. The products from this plant will be exported only to Romania and Moldova.

Even the southwest part of Romania will be "covered" by the products made in Serbia. Namely, as Vlahos explains, a distribution center in Timisoara will be receiving the goods from Belgrade because the costs will be reduced in that way.

Technical support

"Highly qualified and specialized team of engineers is able to offer complete and credible technical information regarding the use of any Isomat product in the construction business", say the people at that company.

Engineers from the Department for Technical Support organize technical seminars every year. Seminars can be attended by all those who want to learn more about the company's products, as well as technical solutions and advantages they offer.