The automotive supplier industry in Bosnia-Herzegovina (B&H) has experienced a very dynamic development after the end of war in former Yugoslavia. Main areas of the automotive sector are metal processing (precision turning, milling, forming), toolmaking, plastic processing, automotive electrics and automotive textiles. Thereby the highest export rates are reached by the metal processing sector with an export rate of around 40% of the total production. Renowned manufacturers such as MERCEDES, VW and MAN are among the main buyers of supplier products made in BiH. With the VW-factory in Vogosca near Sarajevo a renowned manufacturer itself is present in BiH. At this factory SKD production of various Skoda, Audi and VW-models takes place. Privatisation of the companies is progressing fast as well. The majority of the companies in particular in the Federation is already fully privatised. Several international automotive suppliers have taken a share in BiH-companies or have taken over companies completely. The corresponding investments allowed particularly those companies a high and dynamic growth. Examples of this trend are the companies TMD Ai, (subsidiary of the Slovenian CIMOS-Group), which in the area of metal processing produces high-quality precision parts, or the filter manufacturer UNICO FILTER, which has recently been taken over by the German market leader MANN-HUMMEL. But also the investments in the fields of iron and steel production, aluminium production, production of engines and engine parts, production of plastic and rubber parts, textile and leather industry are in general related to the automotive industry. Biggest exporter and second-largest company in the country is the Slovenian manufacturer of car seat covers, PREVENT which has several production sites in BiH for other automotive products as well and a 42% share in VW Sarajevo. About 95% of the seat covers in the VW-models Golf, Polo and Lupo are produced by PREVENT. In addition, PREVENT supplies the French manufacturers RENAULT and PEUGEOT. BEKTO INTERNATIONAL is a modern and well-equipped manufacturer of (thermo)plastic injection parts for the automotive industry. Main companies active in the area of automotive electrics are CAJAVEC FSU, Laktasi (manfacturer of signals, relays and electronic switches) as well as ZRAK-AEO, Kiseljak (manfacturer of electronic special components). In addition, there is a large number of manufacturers in Bosnia-Herzegovina producing a wide range of parts and components, such as brake parts and systems, clutches, engine and gear parts, steering parts and systems, aluminium wheels, drive shafts, car batteries, pumps, and various small parts such as springs, screws, hoses, and components of metal, rubber and plastic. According to the Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia-Herzegovina (FTC-BiH), the export in the metal industry reached an estimated 1.134 billion Euro in 2006. | Industry sector | Export (million Euro) | | Metal and metal products | 713.229 | | Machines and machine parts | 276.074 | | Electrical machines, equipments and parts | 66.529 | | Vehicles and vehicle parts | 64.621 | | Arms and ammunition and parts | 14.377 | | Metal industry sector total | 1,134.832 |
Source: FTC-BiH, 2006 Another advantage of BiH is the relatively high density of research and development institutes, compared to the number of inhabitants. Especially the faculties of mechanical engineering of the universities of Sarajevo, Tuzla, Banja Luka, Zenica and Mostar co-operate closely with the local companies of the automotive supplier industry in a number of R&D-projects.
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