The Hisense Europe Electronics factory is located within the existing Gorenje production site in Velenje, and production takes place in three shifts on four automatic production lines and an additional manual line intended for the production of 70- and 75-inch TV sets. The factory produces between 6,000 and 7,000 TV sets per day, which in the first year will mean 2.5 million devices made for European markets. We intend to increase our production capacity to almost 4 million TV sets per year in the next two years, taking into account the demand from the markets.

"The received incentive will certainly have a positive financial effect on the operations of Hisense Europe Electronics, and even more important will be the message of the Republic of Slovenia, which showed that the environment is favorable to foreign investors," said Hisense Europe Group Executive Vice-President Hanson Han. "In this way, the Republic of Slovenia gives a clear signal that foreign direct investment is an important factor in economic growth and that it brings many beneficial effects to the domestic economy, while Hisense further strengthens its belief that the decision was the right choice for Slovenia."

“The nearly 1 million Euro grant approved by the government to increase the production capacity of Hisense’s TV factory makes a significant contribution to the development of the region by creating more than 700 new jobs. This represents additional state aid to previous projects, for which we have already allocated approximately 19 million euros to Gorenje in the period from 2016. With this, we express the commitment of our ministry in the direction of supporting useful projects that bring new technologies, investments and jobs," said Minister Zdravko Počivalšek. He added that with this project Velenje, Šaleška dolina and Slovenia are gaining new experience, technologies and knowledge in this high-tech activity, and especially emphasized the importance of Hisense Corporation's decision to set up headquarters for the group in Europe in Slovenia. "This is certainly a confirmation of the good work of Gorenje employees and a great recognition for our country," said the Minister.

The decision to increase the capacity of the factory, which has more than doubled the original number of employees since its opening, is based on a significant expansion of sales markets as a result of access to Gorenje's distribution network in almost all European countries and increased TV orders. 

Centralizing production bases in Europe is one of Hisense's most important strategies, as it increases efficiency and consequently reduces costs, and Hisense is also implementing this strategy through the establishment and expansion of a TV factory. Hisense also established the headquarters of the European part of the group in Slovenia and a global development center for kitchen appliances, and a center of Hisense's production operations in Velenje.

In addition to creating new jobs and transferring new knowledge and technologies, such foreign investments also enable the accelerated integration of Slovenian companies into the supply networks of large global companies. The creation of new jobs in the Savinjska-Šaleška region has additional weight in the light of the process of restructuring the coal mining region. An additional potential for the development of the region is the possibility of establishing a local supply network, which is especially important for small businesses. By launching and increasing the production capacity of TV sets in the new factory in Velenje, we will thus contribute to reducing local unemployment, strengthening innovation, expanding production activities, sustainable development and greater competitiveness and internationalization.

In addition to the plans to increase production in the TV factory, we also briefed the Minister and his team on our plans for the period 2021-2025 and highlighted some projects in which we hope for state support in the future. "Hisense Europe intends to increase its annual business volume from 2.5 billion euros to as much as 6.5 billion euros. A large part of this growth will come from products made in Europe, especially in Slovenia," explained Tomaž Korošec, Executive Vice President for Production.