Italian kitchen furniture factory opens in Jagodina

JAGODINA - It is a vital interest of Serbia to have more people in work, Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said on Thursday in Jagodina, central Serbia, at the official launch of a kitchen furniture factory of the Italian manufacturer Mobil Gruppo Turi Cucine.

In a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dacic, along with one of the company owners Vito Turi and Jagodina Mayor Dragan Markovic, opened the production plant which has already started manufacturing kitchen cabinets and is about to employ around 150 people in the coming months.

"Unemployment is Serbia's biggest problem. The (outgoing) government has worked on creating jobs and the next government will continue to do so. We will create a system that will lead to a higher employment rate," said Dacic.

He recalled that Italy has established itself as Serbia's main trading partner, noting that around 1,000 Italian companies are currently operating in Serbia.
"Serbia has gone through major crises. It fell victim to its own mistakes in the privatization process that left many people jobless. And now there is a whole new generation of the unemployed. For that reason, it is our task to ensure more people in work in Serbia," said Dacic.

The factory is planned to hire 150 - 250 people and currently manufactures 130 sets of kitchen cabinets a day, intended for exports primarily to the Russian Federation, Belarus, Turkey, and other countries with which Serbia has free trade agreements.

The test production of Mobil Turi kitchen furniture started on March 12, and the company's first kitchen cabinets made in Jagodina have reached the market of Italy. The company also opened a kitchen showroom in the city.

Mobil Turi is the third Italian company to open a...