14.05.2016.

The foundation stone and the new plant in the "Krusik"

Defence Minister Zoran Djordjevic and director of HK "Krusik" ad Valjevo Mladen Petkovic laid the foundation stone for a new primer plant which will employ 120 new workers.

The laying of the foundation stone was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic, representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the Serbian Armed Forces and defence industries. Then the new production plant was opened in that factory of the defence industry.

Putting into operation the new plant factory, Prime Minister Vucic stressed that he was very proud, because that factory is "the story of the fight and not giving up".

- "Krusik" returns to the gate of old glory. In the forthcoming period, the number of employees will increase to more than 2000 in a very

short time. This is a great success. "Krusik" performs well today; it is financed from its own funds and cooperates with the company Yugoimport-SDPR which exports about 70 percent of goods from this factory. I am proud of the workers I met today, and of all who love this plant and Valjevo. We wish "Krusik" to influence the growth of the Serbian economy and to have impact on strengthening the defence capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces, because this is very important in the modern world, the Prime Minister said.

Director of "Krusik" Mladen Petkovic said that in that factory of the defence industry, two large investments in the amount of 19.4 million euros were being realised.

- The first investment is related to the construction of the primer plant for which the foundation stone has been laid today. The value of the investment realised in cooperation with the Yugoimport-SDPR company, is 10 million euros. Primers will be produced primarily for the needs of companies from the group of Serbian defence industry. The second investment relates to the construction of the factory for the production of rocket engine chambers. On the location of that facility, where we are now, there was once "Krušik" toolbox which was destroyed during the 1999 bombing. Today, the Prime Minister Vucic put into operation the machine that is the core of the new technology and thus the conditions for mass production of rockets were created. The investment is worth EUR 9.4 million and "Krusik" is financed from its own funds, Petkovic said.

Area of the new facility of the primer plant will be 1,208 square meters. It will produce initial devices for the needs of the Serbian Armed Forces, primers for the shooting ammunition of Boxer type with wet procedure, calibre 4.5 and 5.5 millimetres. The projected production capacity is 400 million pieces per year.

The hall for cold and rotary extrusion extends to 2,929 square meters with complete infrastructure. Production programme of the factory will be rocket engine chambers for missiles: S5, S8, lightning 128 millimetres, blaze, hail, fire and hurricane (chambers up to 600 millimetres and a length of 6,000 millimetres). The production capacity is 35,000 pieces per year.