A clear view Stakla

A CLEAR VIEW

Industrija Stakla Pančevo is known for the glass it manufactures in Serbia. Abigail Saltmarsh looks at the company and its hopes for expansion and restructuring.

For more than 80 years, the operation currently known as Industrija Stakla Pančevo has been producing glass in Serbia. Today, it continues to manufacture a variety of products, and is looking to develop its facilities and forge ahead where there are opportunities, according to commercial director Drazen Gajic.

“One of the steps we would like to take would be to find a strategic partner to invest in the company and to install new equipment for the production of flat glass,” says Mr Gajic. “Until 2003, this was something we did here ourselves but today we only process it. Through privatisation, we would like to see that started up again – and the modernisation of the plant we have here could lead to further opportunities too.”

A long history

Founded on 9 September 1930 in Belgrade, Industrija Stakla Pančevo was the first company in the Balkans to manufacture mechanical glass for windows. In the early days, its success saw it work with Saint Gobain in France, Vitrea in the former Czechoslovakia, and Unitbell in Belgium. At that time, a decision was taken to build a modern glass factory machinery in Pancevo near Belgrade, in which they all invested.

After World War II, Industrija Stakla Pančevo operated first as a nationalised company and then as a social enterprise. Today, says Mr Gajic, it remains partly state-owned and partly operational as a social enterprise.

“This means that to some extent our company will follow the same destiny as the country itself,” he explains. “Our company will be developed in keeping with the way the whole country will move.”

A wide range

Today, Industrija Stakla Pančevo’s glass portfolio is broad to say the least. As well as the flat glass it processes.

It manufactures thermal insulating glass, pharmaceutical containers and special glass, which may be cut or ground. It is known for its laminated safety glass and tempered safety glass, as well as its tempered laminated glass with heaters. It also offers combinations with organic glasses and produces mirrors for the automotive industry.

“The major part of our production is the glass that is tempered and laminated for the automotive industry,” Mr Gajic says. “This is also used in the truck and bus cabins, as well as for railway transport.”

Industrija Stakla Pančevo makes glass for domestic appliances, thermo-insulating glass for civil engineerings and ampoules and vials for liquid medicines, for the pharmaceutical industry.

“We are continually looking at developing new products,” says Mr Gajic. “Last year, we developed a new tempered glass for the drivers’ cabins in tractors. This was for the Minsk Tractor Works. We also developed a new glass for minibuses for Phoenix buses, manufactured in Novi Sad, Serbia.”

Knowledge and know-how

The company, which today employs some 183 people, still operates from its 26 hectare site in Belgrade. Technical glass production takes place according to technological

procedures that are on the same level as in developed countries.

One of its main advantages is its long history in technical glass production, its long tradition and its familiarity with the production process. In the domestic market, Glass Industry Pančevo offers a wide variety of products through its sheet glass processing facilities, all produced by workers with high levels of knowledge and experience.

The company has certificates and accreditation for straight and bent tempered and laminated glass, for tempered isolation glass and for thermo-isolating glass. As it looks to restructure, it is constantly improving its production programme and quality control systems, in order to fully comply with buyers’ demand for quality.

It applies the latest technology procedures where it is able to, in cooperation with some of the most prominent sheet and security glass manufacturers all over the world. Achieving these goals is supported by certification for quality management systems in compliance with the ISO 9001:2008 standard, issued by Quality Austria.

Significant opportunities

“We try to stretch our market to the likes of Poland, Russia and Azerbaijan,” says Mr Gajic. “We also export to Germany. We believe there are good opportunities in all these places.”

Indeed, according to Industrija Stakla Pančevo, in the south-east European region, sheet glass supply does not cover current demand. It is manufactured in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria but potential markets for glass from Serbia include countries which have none of their own sheet glass production, such as Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia and Greece. n