In January 2016 the leader of the ruling VMRO-DPMNE, Nikola Gruevski, announced that the German company Kessler was opening a factory in Macedonia.
Kessler is a German company operating in the area of electrical and mechanical engineering; it is a manufacturer of tools and engines for mechanical modeling, grinding and electric motors. This investment, as announced, would be the first of its kind in Macedonia.
The project also envisages the establishment of a Research Center, employing highly qualified mechanical and electrical engineers.
The government adviser, Alek Nikovski explained that Kessler would primarily hire about ten engineers, who have been already sent to attend a 6 month training in Germany, and that for the time being the company would be using the premises of a building in Skopje, and later build a factory in Bunardzik where, according to the election program of VMRO-DPMNE, it would open 60 to 70 new jobs.
There was no official announcement on the value of this investment.
In April 2016, the German investor had already opened the company Kessler Macedonia in Skopje, but given that this company is new and has no annual financial statement yet, there is no official information on the number of workers hired in this short period.
There is also no information available on the value of the company’s investment in the country and whether it has received any state aid so far.
According to the company's website, Kessler is a company with 90 years of experience in their respective field.