Tigar at the crossroads – Management of Pirot-based giant is expecting recovery, cooperation with Italian agreed again

(Photo: Tigar.com)

The Tigar corporation with more than 1.700 employees, after a difficult consolidation period and inherited high debts from the previous period, is at the crossroads.

The company General Manager, Nebojsa Djenadic, in his interview for Tanjug, said he expects that this company will recover completely despite the inherited debts of EUR 54 mil.

- A total of EUR 45 mil of the amount is a debt to banks and other financial institutions and the remaining EUR 9 mil to suppliers. We are dealing with this problem through extended maturity with two years of grace period where all debts – Djenadic says.

Due to late salaries pay off, on Saturday the staff halted production but it was back to normal in the meantime and the employees in the Tigar plant received their December salary yesterday while today pay off of the salary continues today for the rest of the workers in the corporation.

- When I was appointed General Manager, the employees did not have their health books, three salaries were not paid and the previous five salaries were paid with the support of the state through the loans of RSD 300 and 200 mil. Today, we have health books for all the company staff. Apart from that, during the previous 14 months, production is in progress in all sections, without a day of halt – Djenadic says.

Out of numerous units within Tigar, the plant for rubber shoes production has the best perspective.

- We brought some new buyers; we returned the old ones such as Italian Battistini with which we signed a protocol on delivery of 60.000 pairs of rubber shoes, aiming at the position to deliver 200.000 pairs a year for this customer by 2016.

When it comes to Tehnicka guma, it operates with thirty percent of capacity due to lack of working capital.

- We now stepped into the Russian market with pipes In the first three months, we generated equally to the total result in the last year – Djenadic said.

When it comes to Hemijski proizvodi, he says, there is a problem with space since the plant operates in rented premises. There is no problem with the market. Placement of goods to the markets of South African Republic, Bulgaria as well as in Serbia, has been provided.

Other entities within Tigar, such as Tigar obezbedjenje, Poslovni servis, as well as Slobodna zona Pirot, where Tigar has a 75%, stake, also operate well and have perspective, he said.

Djenadic was appointed General Manager at Tigar in March 2013 and before that he held leading positions in Krusevac-based Trayal.