Gentherm has officially opened Thursday its production plant worth EUR 20 million located in the Prilep industrial zone, which currently is employing 450 people.

“The new plant of the US company Gentherm will manufacture parts for the automotive industry in Europe. For us, the government and the entire region, it is important that Gentherm has already started hiring staff with the workforce now being over 400 people. In the next few years, 2,000 workers are expected to be employed, which is of major importance for the country, in particular for the inhabitants of Prilep and the nearby towns,” Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev stated at the opening ceremony.

The industrial zones, he added, are of great significance for the Macedonian economy and I welcome the construction of new plants in the zones.

“The Gentherm plant is the first such factory in the Prilep zone and I am confident that its inauguration today heralds a new positive era when this zone will be the home of many future factories and the place where many people will find employment,” stressed Dimitriev.

These expectations, he said, are founded on the fact that a second plant is being built in the zone by the German company Accomplast, which is expected to launch operations in the coming period.

The opening of Gentherm’s plant in the industrial zone in Prilep will contribute to reducing the unemployment rate in the southwestern city in Macedonia, according to Deputy PM for Economic Affairs Vladimir Pesevski. Unemployment in Prilep, he said, in the past 10 years has been reduced by more than 40% with the implementation of the government’s economic policies.

The scope of goods exported from Macedonia, in particular from the industrial zones across the country, will continue to rise in the future, noted the Deputy PM.

“The new Gentherm plant is a proof of the excellent business relations established between Macedonia and the United States. Out of 23 plants operating or being built in the industrial zones, nine have been launched with an American capital and their investments are estimated at more than EUR 150 million. After this investments are concluded in a year or two, the number of workforce in the US companies in Macedonia is expected to stand at 10,000 people,” stated Pesevski adding Macedonia from a business point of view benefited immensely with foreign companies deciding to invest in the country.

The Macedonian Deputy PM also said he was confident that the sound economic policies would contribute to a continual GDP growth, increase in export of goods and further reduction of the unemployment rate, which has been slashed down to 24.5% from 38% in 2006.

A cornerstone for the plant was laid in the Prilep industrial zone by Gentherm in December 2014. “With the opening of the Gentherm factory, the industrial zone in Prilep becomes the fifth functioning economic zone in Macedonia after those in Skopje, Kicevo and Stip,” said Viktor Mizo, director of the Directorate for Technological and Industrial Development Zones.

He elaborated that parts for the needs of the automotive industry in Europe would be manufactured in the plant. “At the moment, 450 people are working in the plant and the number is expected to rise up to 650 by the end of the year. Future stages are planned to create a total of 2,000 jobs,” Mizo said.

The companies located in the industrial zones across Macedonia currently are employing 6,050 people. Close to 7,500 are forecast to be employed by the year’s end. Over 16,000 jobs are projected to be created in the companies in the zones that are working at the moment or are wrapping up their investment endeavors.

VMRO-DPMNE leader Nikola Gruevski was also present at the opening of the plant in Prilep industrial zone.

Gentherm is a global developer and marketer of innovative thermal management technologies for a broad range of heating and cooling and temperature control applications. Automotive products include actively heated and cooled seat systems and cup holders, heated and ventilated seat systems, thermal storage bins, heated automotive interior systems (including heated seats, steering wheels, armrests and other components), cable systems and other electronic devices.