Ground broken for Carthago's new production facility in Slovenia
Ormož, 16 April - Ground was broken for German motorhome maker Carthago's EUR 45 million new production facility in Ormož on Saturday, with Prime Minister Janez Janša and Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek attending the event. Carthago has had its Slovenian subsidiary in Odranci since 2008, which is now expanding to Ormož, both north-east.
Production at the new factory will start by next spring, initially with 160 new workers, but the number will further increase, said Sandra Županec, director of Carthago's Slovenian subsidiary.
Looking to expand its production facilities, the Odranci-based company, which employs 800 workers, had bought a 100,000 m2 plot of land in the Ormož industrial zone.
The new factory will be converting vans into Malibu Van holiday vehicles, while the factory in Odranci will continue to produce motorhomes.
Both Županec and Carthago group chairman Markus Kern said that the market for motorhomes is currently growing very fast.
However, the investment comes as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine affect the markets. Kern said that the group already feels supply problems and higher prices.
Prime Minister Janša said in his address that the only successful social policy is a policy which creates new jobs. He praised brave business decisions to invest in new programmes.
Minister Počivalšek and Ormož Mayor Danijel Vrbnjak said it was a great relief that things had taken a positive turn in Oromož after Italian group Safilo closed its Slovenian facility in the municipality last year.
The Carthago group, founded in 1979 by Karl-Heinz Schuler, is a leading motorhomes producer in Europe, employing over 1,500 workers, with production facilities in Germany and Slovenia.