Our choice of Serbia has proven correct, as it has become one of Europe’s most attractive business environments, offering strong government support and understanding, as well as a wealth of highly skilled, English-proficient engineers
Speaking in this interview, Toyo Tire Corporation’s Representative Director, President and CEO Takashi Shimizu explains how Serbia’s strong government support, skilled workforce and favourable business environment led this company to decide to base its European operations in our country.
Mr Shimizu, what were your main reasons for choosing Serbia as an investment destination? How have your initial expectations evolved after your on-site experience in Inđija?
— We are a Japanese tyre manufacturer that strives to elevate our business to a higher level by delivering products of superior performance and quality, guaranteed by our technology with greater speed and efficiency on a global scale.
By establishing a state-of-the-art facility in Serbia, we now have a highly capable new production and supply hub, providing unprecedented momentum to our global operations.We have successfully secured a workforce of diligent, highly productive talent, enabling the factory to maintain high operational standards.
Serbia has made remarkable progress in recent years, through economic reforms, fiscal soundness, the development of an automotive industry cluster through a series of foreign investments, and the strengthening of bilateral relations with Japan – all of which have contributed to a solid foundation for economic growth.Our choice of Serbia has proven correct, as it has emerged as one of Europe’s most attractive business environments.
Our employees have developed a strong sense of pride in producing “Made in Serbia” tyres and are working diligently day and night. We have received exceptional national level support for our initiatives, including the construction of the factory and joint research with the University of Novi Sad.Moving forward, we aim to further strengthen our business foundation in Europe and globally, with Serbia as our base.
Does your decision to expand operations in Serbia represent an isolated, pioneering initiative, or does it reflect broader trends and considerations within the Japanese automotive sector or among Japanese investors more generally?
— Since our decision to build a factory in Serbia, we have received tremendous support at the national level. We are now implementing a strategy to consolidate all our European business operations in Serbia, further strengthening our business foundations. Our European sales headquarters has now relocated to Serbia, which has allowed us to reinforce our European sales operations while also advancing plans to build a new R&D centre. These decisions reflect our company’s unique, differentiated strategy.
President Vučić was actively involved in discussions from the early stages of our project and we were deeply impressed by his sincere commitment
We pride ourselves on our agility and always strive for swift decision-making. For companies that appreciate Serbia’s proactive and supportive business climate, as well as constructive understanding, I believe the country represents a compelling option for business expansion.
From today’s perspective, how would you outline a timeline for prospective investors to establish operations in Serbia?
— It took us several years to get our factory up and running. While this is a standard lead time for us when setting up an overseas factory, considering that this was during the Covid-19 pandemic, we believe that we were able to move as swiftly as possible, thanks to the support of all involved.
This was our first tyre factory in Europe, which brought unique challenges, including the adoption of cutting-edge production technologies and IT systems, and we are pleased to have launched operations successfully.
When I first visited Belgrade in 2017, I had the honour of meeting President Vučić at the presidential office a day before his inauguration.After two years of careful consideration, we had a second meeting in 2019, during which we made the decision to build the factory.President Vučić was actively involved in discussions from the early stages of our project and we were deeply impressed by his sincere commitment. I would like to take this opportunity to again express my gratitude for the Serbian government’s welcoming stance and unwavering support throughout the process.
What types of support can Japanese investors rely on from both the Japanese and Serbian sides? Additionally, which post-investment inputs or factors were most critical to the smooth integration of the Serbian factory into your global operations?
— The Serbian government showed keen understanding and high expectations for the construction and operation of our factory in Serbia, providing extensive support.
From the site selection stage, President Vučić attended discussions on the day before his inauguration, showing interest and supportive cooperation as if the project were his own. The government’s collective efforts to attract foreign investment played a major role in facilitating our project.
We consolidated our European sales in Serbia in December 2024 and are now exploring an on-site R&D centre to unify operations and strengthen our business foundations in Europe
The Serbian government also provided incentives and subsidies for factory construction and equipment installation, demonstrating their confidence in our future growth. This financial assistance was crucial in ensuring the smooth and swift execution of our project.
We continue to receive various forms of support across our business activities, including recruitment assistance and research and development collaboration with universities.
Support in workforce development and technology innovation has become the backbone of our strategy to strengthen our Serbian operations within our global framework. Such a favourable environment has allowed us to seamlessly integrate our Serbian factory into our global network, contributing to our current success. We look forward to further developing our communication and collaboration with the Serbian government and related institutions.
You were recently honoured by the Serbian authorities. What aspects of your engagement made it stand out, and what kind of message does this symbolic recognition send to the Japanese investor community and foreign investors in Serbia more broadly?
— Being awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in February 2024 was a tremendous honour, and I accepted it on behalf of our entire company with great pride.
While we are deeply honoured to have been recognised for our “significant contributions and achievements in Serbia’s economic development,” we are profoundly grateful to President Vučić and the Serbian government for their unwavering support of our initiatives, including the construction of our factory and joint research with the University of Novi Sad.
Serbia offers strong government support and understanding, and an abundance of highly skilled, English-proficient engineering talent. Considering the high returns on investment, Serbia is an extremely attractive destination for investors. The fact that several other Japanese companies have established operations in Serbia is perhaps a testament to this potential.
It was in December of last year that we decided to consolidate our European sales operations into a new sales company in Serbia, and we are exploring the possibility of establishing an on-site R&D centre at our Serbian factory, thus unifying our production, sales and technical operations. We will continue implementing various initiatives to further strengthen our business foundations in Europe, with Serbia as our hub.