Thanks to the quality and innovation of Inmold’s experts and workers, IML robots and sophisticated high-quality tools for injection molding of plastic and non-ferrous metals from Požega reach most of Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, the U.S., Japan, China and other demanding world markets
Inmold’s chief reveals the importance of vision, commitment and good choice of partners and staff for the development of the company, how valuable investment in education can be for securing the best personnel and why family companies are often more successful than others.
Your family business is the pride of Požega and the whole of Serbia. How long did it take you to conquer the world?
My wish was to create a company that would be the pride of our family, but also of the country where we live. I am happy because we managed to grow from a mini-company with 25 employees to a company that today has more than 600 staff.
In all of this, the great experience that I and some of my associates brought to Inmold, my personal capital acquired by selling a part of the company in which I was a co-owner, the loan obtained from the Development Fund, and especially the fact that we chose the right industry, play an important role.
You know, back in 1994, when I started doing private business, Serbia was a country that people said many bad things about. I am pleased that, after almost 30 years, we talk with our business friends with great pride about work, the company and the country we are from, and our partners appreciate and respect us and our country.
Inmold, which manufactures IML robots and sophisticated highquality plastic and non-ferrous metal injection molding tools, is growing year by year. Does this require a new organization, adjustments to the current system and way of working?
Of course, organisational changes in the company due to its growth, to technological progress, and to generally known problems are necessary, and we are constantly in the process of adaptation and change.
At our company, we introduce everything that we see as good, and that we have seen in partner companies, which are examples of good practice, or at the various seminars and training courses in which we participate.
Back in 1994, when I started doing private business, Serbia was a country that people said many bad things about, but today everyone respects us
How much do you adapt the knowledge and experience gained at the biggest fairs, working with foreign suppliers, customers and partners to your company and implement them so that they bring you growth and progress?
Fairs are very important in our sales activities, so we participate in all fair events related to our business. They are a big reason for our growth and development, because through them we learn about achievements in our field of work. I would like to single out the biggest fair we participate in, which is the K fair in Düsseldorf.
This year it takes place from 19th to 27th October, and we will do our best to make our stand in hall 1 noticed and remembered, and to receive, listen to and entertain all our dear guests according to Serbian tradition.
10 years ago, it was a shame to be a worker, everyone wanted to be a manager. Today, thanks to you and Inmold, everything is different. Young people no longer run away from Požega because they can be proud of where they live and where they were born?
It is today popular to be a craftsman or a mechanical engineer, these are now highly sought-after professions, and all young people with those leanings can count on a job at Inmold. All our staff are from within a 25-kilometre radius of the company, and the average age is under 32. High school students who completed their schooling in Požega, Užice, Kosjerić, Lučani and Arilje, and who are interested in working at Inmold, get the chance to become part of our team.
It is today popular to be a craftsman or a mechanical engineer, these are now highly sought-after professions, and all young people with those leanings can count on a job at Inmold
All students from these regions who want to return and start working are offered a job at Inmold even if their vocational training does not meet our needs, because we organise so many retraining courses for them. I am very proud of the introduction of the dual education system at Inmold, not only because we ensure a sufficient influx of young people into our company, but also because we solve the problem of a lack of personnel that plagues all companies in the area and beyond.
You are surely very proud of the fact that you cooperate with many companies that are synonymous with quality both on the European and world markets, but also of your membership of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce…
We are very proud of all our partners, but also of ourselves, especially if you take into account the old folk saying “Who wants to fly with falcons must make friends with them”. We are in the company of the best companies in Europe and the world, and we are also members of the German-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, through which we are in constant contact with German industry, which serves as a model for us.
Is it true that Inmold is the only company in south-east Europe that has been admitted to the prestigious Association of German Toolmakers (VDWF)? How did that happen?
Yes, that’s right. Although we didn’t know it, the man who wrote the “toolmaker’s ABC” followed our work, judged that we were on the same level as the other members of that association and proposed us as a member.
We bought several copies of that book and got him interested, so he took the time to visit us. On his return, he suggested to his colleagues that we also become members of the Association of German Toolmakers.
Your children have tied their careers to Inmold. Is this the best indicator and guarantee that your family company will continue to operate well and successfully in the future?
My wife Milka and I have four children – daughters Dušica and Nevena and sons Slobodan and Dušan, and they are all here. They studied abroad for jobs that Inmold needs, learned languages, took internships at foreign companies and came to our family company to make it even better and bigger with their youth and enthusiasm.
Three are already married, I have two grandchildren, my daughters-in-law and sons-in-law are determined to live in Požega, and that’s why my happiness has no end. My children have been present in the company since they were young, and I hope that, knowing how complex and difficult it is to create a company, they will know how to appreciate it and that the company will live on for several generations to come.