The US company, Kemet Electronics, opened its factory for the production of electronic capacitors in the Technological Industrial Development Zone Skopje 1, Bunardzik, in October 2012, one year after the cornerstone was laid, together with the announcement that the investment is worth 25 million euros and that it will create 500 new jobs.
The latest data from the Central Register shows that as of the end of 2015, the factory had employed 258, which is almost 50% less than the announced figures. In 2016, the number of employees increased by three, to 261.
The data from the Register of direct investments shows that the investor comes from the US state of Delaware, which is known as one of the offshore zones that offers businesses special tax treatment.
The company registered in Macedonia, Kemet Electronics Macedonia, was founded in 2011 with 5 thousand euros, with a founding capital of 12.5 million euros. The total assets of the company, by the end of 2015 amounted to 23.9 million euros. Guido Galleni was appointed as manager of the company in Macedonia.
Kemet Electronics is one of the foreign companies that have received state aid from the Government. Although the amount of financial assistance is marked with XXX on the decision of the Commission for Protection of Competition, the annual report of the Commission reveals that, in 2011, Kemet Electronics received state assistance amounting to 2.05 million euros.
Data from the Central Register shows that the US company operates well within the country. In 2015, its revenues reached 12.7 million euros, 7.1% more than in 2014, while their profit had doubled in a year, to almost 480 thousand euros.
The idea of investing in Macedonia, as it was noted by CEO Per-Olof Loof during the ceremony for laying of the cornerstone, was a result of the Invest in Macedonia advertisement, which they had seen on CNN. He said that the factory covers an area of 11 thousand square meters, with 9 thousand square meters of production capacity.
The Prime Minister at the time, Nikola Gruevski, stated that the investment of Kemet Electronics was of crucial importance for Macedonia as they are one of the biggest global brands for manufacturing highly sophisticated products, used in almost all electronic devices.
The presence of Kemet in Macedonia is also a kind of invitation for many other companies that cooperate with this company, including: HP, Siemens, Philips, Nokia, Bosch, Ericsson, Alcatel, Motorola and many others.
I believe that many of them will follow the example of Kemet Electronics and consider Macedonia as their next destination," Gruevski told media, adding that the Government was here to provide favorable business conditions, lower taxes, reduced costs, shortened procedures and everything else that is of interest to companies and their managements.
Kemet Electronics has 23 factories in Europe, North America and Asia with over 10 thousand employees. Their manufacturing facilities are located in Mexico, China, Italy, UK, Portugal, Finland, Sweden, Indonesia, Germany, Bulgaria and Macedonia.