Preparations for the construction of the new TV set factory in Velenje included archaeological excavations on the 3.5-hectare site within Gorenje's industrial complex, where the building is to be erected. Archaeological works had been ordered and completed even before we filed the building permit application, as we were aware that the Institute for Protection of Cultural Heritage had designated the area of the future factory as an archaeological site years ago. By carrying out in advance the activities for obtaining the mandatory cultural heritage protection consent, we entirely avoided potential delays due to the mandatory archaeological excavations.

The next step is to file the building permit application; the factory is scheduled for opening at the end of next year. We intended to complete the first stage of construction next autumn and initially make approximately one million TV appliances per year. In the next stage, we are planning to increase the output capacity to 4 million TV sets annually (by 2023). Thus, between 300 and 400 new jobs will be created in the first stage; in the second stage, the factory is expected to employ one thousand people. The investment is valued at several dozen million euros. TV appliances from our factory will be mostly intended for the European market.

Expansion of production is also planned at Gorenje Valjevo where the existing refrigeration appliance factory currently has 1,500 employees, and their last year's output reached 672,000 units. After the relocation of the remaining production line of built-in refrigerators from Velenje to Valjevo, scheduled for completion in April, the output capacity there will increase by 150,000 appliances per year. In the future, we intend to build an additional cold appliance factory that will employ up to 1,000 more employees and increase the output capacity by extra 750,000 units per year already in the first stage. This will include combined fridge freezers and side-by-side appliances. With the expansion, Gorenje Valjevo will become Hisense Group's centre for refrigeration technology in Europe.

"Hisense Group is the leading electronics and home appliance manufacturer in the Asian market, and their last year's entry as the new strategic owner laid the foundations for even stronger development. This will grant us access to new markets and allow the production of a new set of products, while keeping and boosting the presence of Gorenje Group's strategically important products and brands both in its current markets and in the future, new markets," stresses the chairman of the Committee of Directors Franjo Bobinac.