June 18, 2022 - With international customers, shareholder representatives, long-time companions, representatives of the Austrian and Croatian governments, and the entire workforce, the new FACC plant for producing lightweight components for aircraft cabin interiors was ceremoniously inaugurated on Friday in Jakovlje. FACC has announced plans to expand the workforce of the plant from 170 to 600 employees by 2025.

After a construction period of 10 months, the new FACC Plant 6 went into operation in December 2021. At this new facility, the company is manufacturing lightweight components for the cabin interiors of business jets and passenger aircraft. This important strategic milestone was celebrated together with 400 invited guests and the entire Croatian workforce. One of the many highlights was a helicopter show by Austrian aviation icon Felix Baumgartner, who landed directly in front of the building and officially opened the new plant together with CEO Robert Machtlinger, Pang Zheng, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. 

During the ceremony, FACC representatives, the Croatian Prime Minister, the Austrian Ambassador to Croatia, and the Chinese Ambassador underlined the strategic importance of the new location for FACC AG. 

Further expansion stage in planning

The excellent infrastructure, the proximity to Zagreb, highly trained experts, universities in the surrounding area with highly qualified specialists in many fields as well as the outstanding logistical connections to FACC's corporate headquarters and its European customers were among the main reasons for the decision in favor of manufacturing cabin components for business jets and commercial aircraft in Jakovlje.  "After the successful start with more than 170 employees, we plan to expand the workforce of the plant to around 600 employees within the next four years," CEO Robert Machtlinger announced at the opening event.

State-of-the-art greenfield plant

The new FACC plant was planned in close cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute. The goal was to construct a plant according to cutting-edge aspects of industrial manufacturing. Scaling was also an important factor during planning. A modular expansion of additional plant extensions, which in turn integrates into the existing structure, was a fundamental prerequisite for the design of both the interior and the exterior. 

During the official opening of the plant, the next expansion phase of the site was announced. Expansion stages 2 and 3, which will see a threefold increase in the size of the plant, will be started with immediate effect.

Fact box on the new plant in Croatia:

• Total investment volume (construction phase 1 plus land): approximately EUR 15 million
• Construction of a state-of-the-art and efficient production facility for the manufacture of cabin components for business jets and passenger aircraft
• Largest greenfield investment outside Austria in the history of FACC
• Planned workforce expansion from 170 to 600 employees
  
  

About FACC

FACC is a worldwide leading aerospace company in design, development, and production of aerospace technologies and advanced aircraft lightweight systems. Being the technology partner of all major manufacturers, FACC works together with its customers on developing solutions for the mobility of the future. Every second, there is an aircraft taking off with FACC technology on board. In the fiscal year 2021, FACC achieved 497.6 million Euro in revenues. Approximately 3,000 people from 41 nations are employed at 13 international locations worldwide. FACC is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange and part of the Fortune-500 Group AVIC, providing access to the largest growth markets within the industry. For more information please visit facc.com.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

February the 16th, 2022 - Parts for the cabins of commercial aircraft are already being sought and delivered from the Jakovlje production plant located in Zagreb County, putting the business zone of this municipality firmly on the aviation map.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, back at the end of pandemic-dominated 2020, preparatory work began on a new construction site in one of the business zones of the Jakovlje Municipality in Zagreb County. Despite the global health crisis that was often cited as the reason for many investors to abandon projects, this January saw the beginning of production in the FACC Solutions Croatia plant, which is already delivering the final parts of the cabins of aircraft such as Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and several others. This was confirmed by a member of the Management Board of FACC Solutions Croatia, Matija Feric.

“Back in January, we conducted test production and started serial production and deliveries. The increase in production will take place gradually and in 3 to 6 months we expect to achieve the planned volume of production for this year,'' says Feric of the Jakovlje production plant's capabilities.

At the moment, the company has 130 employees, by the end of the year they intend to significantly increase that number, and in the context of further growth in production, there will be about 400 production workers in the first of three phases.

Despite the classic pain felt by employers which is typical of the Croatian labour market, which is reflected in the lack of would-be workers with the necessary qualifications and skills, that was not the case here at all.

''I can openly say that we found people very easily and we had about 250 open applications. If we show that people can expect normal working conditions and mutual respect between management and employees, our existing workers will be ambassadors for further employment because their recommendations that conditions are good here mean more than traditional methods of employment," he said.

The project of building the Jakovlje production plant, with a total value of about 35 million euros, adjusted to market conditions and the decline in production for the needs of the aviation industry in the coronavirus crisis, will be implemented in three phases. In the first phase, the main hall - the central part of the production process - was built in the amount of slightly more than 10 million euros.

The contractor was Strabag, the first shovel was driven into the ground back in March 2021, and the project is expected to expand. From composite fibers, the Jakovlje production plant is now completing semi-finished products that are normally produced in nearby Austria and delivering them to the parent company, the Austrian FACC.

FACC includes four more production facilities and one technology centre in Upper Austria, and the company is one of the world leaders in equipping certain internal parts of aircraft.

Following the past two years which were packed with unprecedented and great challenges, the situation in the industry is showing clear signs of the beginning of market recovery, so according to these sources, a return to pre-pandemic levels is expected in a short period of time.

The projections show a return to the state of 2019 during 2024, but Feric believes that this is realistically achievable as early as 2023, which is supported by the completed order books from various airlines. The fastest growth is expected in the segment of short and medium range aircraft ("single-aisle" planes such as the A320).

“Starting the recovery of the aviation industry will affect the business of all suppliers. FACC is ready to firmly support the plans of its business partners, so that accelerated business growth and market development can be expected,'' concluded Feric.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

January the 14th, 2021 - When it comes to getting the economy moving again, things are going slowly. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic and in Croatia's case, being hit with multiple devastating earthquakes has certainly thrown a spanner in the works, but in certain areas of the country - things are starting up. The construction of an aircraft parts factory in the Jakovlje North 2 zone has begun.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the construction of an aircraft parts factory in the Jakovlje North 2 has now begun, in which 450 employees will be employed in the first phase. This information was confirmed by the mayor of Jakovlje, Sanja Borovec, adding that two more new investors in this zone are expected in the near future.

"Although there have been rumors for months that nothing will come of the construction of the aircraft parts factory, the machines on the construction site show that we were on the right track. The effort we've put in over the last three years has paid off. In early December 2020, the Austrian aeronautical company FACC (Fischer Advanced Composite Components), began the construction of a factory in the Jakovlje North 2 zone that will produce parts that will be installed in the world's most famous aircraft. According to the business plan, the company will employ 450 employees in the first phase,'' said Sanja Borovec (HDZ).

She added that this investment, worth a massive 33 million euros, means providing jobs to the residents of this area, a better livelihood, but also a spring in the step of the further economic development of the Municipality of Jakovlje. The arrival of the FACC in Jakovlje began back in mid-2019, when the greenfield investment of this Austrian aeronautical company was initially announced. In the first phase alone, the plan was to invest around 30 million euros and create 600 jobs, and in the second phase, FACC planned to open another factory for the production of interior parts for aircraft with a total of one thousand employees.

Given the coronavirus crisis that hit the aviation industry hard in 2020, it is difficult to estimate the exact volume of the total FACC investment and its dynamics, and the investors themselves haven't issued any comment on that. Upon arrival in the Jakovlje North 2 zone, it was pointed out that the pool of skilled workers was the most important for choosing the location for this large investment. For almost two years, the company negotiated the best location for its factory, which was supposed to be located within the EU, and all Eastern and Central European countries except Croatia were considered. In the end, Croatia was ahead of Slovakia and Poland.

Jakovlje was not the only location in Zagreb County, but it was chosen because of good traffic connections. A plus for Croatia was a good ten years of business experience with local companies, with which it will continue to cooperate intensively after the start of production. FACC is also satisfied with energy costs and other operating costs in Croatia, as well as investment incentives. In the first phase, the production of parts for Airbus is planned, namely parts for the interior of the aircraft from the luggage compartments and ceiling panels to the entrance part of the interior.

FACC will operate in Croatia under the name FACC Solutions Croatia. FACC otherwise has more than 3,400 employees in 38 countries and with revenues of 782 million euros. It is owned by the Chinese state-owned group AVIC Cabin Systems, which has 450,000 workers worldwide and generates huge revenues of 54 billion US dollars.

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