New FACC factory in Jakovlje an important greenfield investment for Croatia

The FACC factory, which specialises in the manufacture of light components for the interior of cabins of business jets and passenger aircraft, was formally opened in Jakovlje, Zagreb County on Friday.

The factory started operating in December 2021 after being built for 10 months. It currently employs 170 workers and plans to triple its floor space and hire up to 700 workers by 2025.

The factory is owned by the Austrian company FACC, which in turn is majority-owned by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), which is included on the Fortune 500 list. 

FACC is among the world's leading aviation companies designing, developing and manufacturing advanced light systems for the aviation industry. In the fiscal year 2021, FACC generated €497.6 million in revenue and employed about 3,000 people from 41 countries at 13 locations across the world.

One of the largest Austrian greenfield investments in Croatia

The Jakovlje factory is FACC's largest greenfield investment outside Austria and one of the largest Austrian greenfield investments in Croatia.

The CEO of FACC, Robert Machtlinger, said that about €15 million had been invested in the Jakovlje factory and that the investment could increase by a further €30 to 40 million over the next three years.

Machtlinger said it had not been easy to pick the location for the investment and that Croatia had been selected among eight European countries.

He thanked Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for his support throughout the process and relevant ministers and local authorities for their excellent cooperation in the realisation of this project.

Plenković thanked FACC for choosing Croatia, recalling that he had met with Machtlinger three years ago. He said that the reasons that influenced the decision on investing in Croatia were political stability and the clear direction in governing the country towards deeper European integration - the Schengen area and the euro area.

Among other reasons he cited a qualified workforce, excellent transport connectivity and investment incentives such as tax relief on corporate tax, support for eligible costs related to job creation, support for work-intensive investment projects, and support related to advanced training.

Austrian aviation legend Felix Baumgartner landed in a helicopter outside the factory building with a large key and formally opened the factory together with CEO Machtlinger, Supervisory Board Chairman Pang Zheng and Prime Minister Plenković.

Also attending the opening ceremony were Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Davor Filipović, local government officials, and the Austrian and Chinese ambassadors in Croatia, Josef Markus Wuketich and Qi Qianjin respectively.

Filipović said that apart from employment, this investment was also important for the transfer of knowledge and technology to Croatia.

"This investment clearly shows that Croatia is making progress in competitiveness and the business environment," Filipović said, recalling that Croatia has moved up 13 spots to 46th place in the IMD Global Competitiveness Index 2022, published earlier this week.

Text: Hina

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