THE RIGHT MIX FOR SUCCESS

initiatives to support to the operations of its associates.

What do you see as the advantages of carrying out activities in Serbia and Italy in the business context following the pandemic?

After the Covid-19 Pandemic, I saw great enthusiasm among managers and business owners. I understood that the end of the pandemic was a sort of “time of a new renaissance”. Everyone is exerting efforts to rebuild business and open some new markets. That’s confirmed by the fact that, over recent months, the Chamber has received a large number of requests from Italian companies looking to enter the Serbian market, but also Serbian companies intending to place their products on the Italian market.

The company I head was under pressure, since the automotive sector contracted dramatically, but we succeeded in reorganising our production processes and restarting without big drama.

How much is the Italian business style accepted today among Serbian companies? Which skills do Serbian businesses have to adopt in order to work better with their Italian counterparts?

Italians are hard workers. That is one of the reasons we are leaders in certain market segments, like the automotive, machinery, chemistry, electronics and fashion sectors, for example.

The right mix of positive Italian and Serbian energies and experiences can work wonders in the business world

Serbia has a very good and strong capacity to offer investors major opportunities. Its workers are good and professional. The right mix of positive Italian and Serbian energies and experiences can create the right fertile soil for doing business.

ANNINO DE VENEZIA, GENERAL MANAGER, AUNDE SRB D.O.O THE RIGHT MIX FOR SUCCESS

AUNDE SRB d.o.o. is part of the worldwide AUNDE Italia Group, which is itself part of the AUNDE Group. The company’s manufacturing plant in the Central Serbian city of Jagodina employs approximately 750 workers

Serbia remains a country in a very important geostrategic area, which enables important investments. And we, as Italians, firstly came to Serbia to invest and then developed the trust to continue doing business.

AUNDE SRB, as a part of the worldwide AUNDE Italia Group, has received some important awards in Serbia thanks to its very high turnover level. Its turnover leapt over the course of seven years from six million euros to 29 million. This progress is impressive thanks to some important factors, among which the company’s management would highlight: * Lean manufacturing: representing the right approach to any industrial activity; * Workers loving their job: the environment, the atmosphere, cooperation between workers etc., serve to create the right mix for success. *We are definitively like a small village where everyone knows each other.

The current production area covers around 10,000m2, but that will have increased to around 15,000m2 after July 2022. That’s because AUNDE has

Workers love their job: the environment, atmosphere and cooperation between workers create the right mix for success

gained another two important projects: IKEA and the Junior Jeep of Stellantis Automotive Group.

According to company bosses, there are some things that should be fixed in Serbia, because not everything is simple and perfect, but they trust that the country has great potential to achieve good results in just a few years and have personally witnessed positive changes in terms of infrastructure. This means that Serbia is heading in the right direction and being monitored carefully by all investors.

About 200 children with mothers working at AUNDE SRB have been born over the last seven years, and the company is proud of this important positive impact on society.

AUNDE needs workers that are motivated to learn a job in the automotive sector. At the company they like to say that it feels like they’re all part of a big family, which is true and always important to bear in mind.