Northern Macedonia one step ahead of Albania; Magna opens factory in Struga with a thousand employees

The 17,000 square metre plant in Struga Industrial Technological Development Zone (ZTIZ) in the southwestern part of the country currently has 300 employees, aimed at increasing the number of employees to over 1,000 by 2024, the government said in a press release.

The new operation in Struga is Magna's first producer object in northern Macedonia and will support several European automotive producers, the Canadian company said.

The plant will produce external mirrors systems, including reactivators and wire connections, for several European automotive producers.

The company's financial investment details in northern Macedonia were not disclosed. In July 2021, when the North Macedonia government announced the planned opening of the factory, it said investment would be $33.4m.

Magna International is one of the largest car parts suppliers in the world. It has 161,000 employees and shopping centres in 28 countries, according to the latest data on the company's website.

Regional race, Albania runs after construction, neighbours after industry

A few years ago, Albania and Northern Macedonia were in “competition” about which would attract more foreign investment. Northern Macedonia launched an aggressive campaign through fiscal incentives and the creation of free zones, advertising and sea access through the port of Durres.

Many automotive support industry companies, which showed interest in the region, then elected northern Macedonia, even because of lower bureaucratic procedures and fiscal incentives.

At the end of 2015, the American company “Johnson Control”, which produces car catalysts, announced the opening of a second factory after its success in Stip. “Johnson Control” showed interest in Albania and so far concrete investment has been available only in northern Macedonia.

In 2021, this company ( J ONSON METI DOOEL Skopje was the largest enterprise in northern Macedonia, with 2 billion euros in revenue and over 2,000 employed. Its annual circulation is nearly 4 times higher than that of Albania's largest company, which is the State Energy Distribution Operator and nearly 7 times larger than “Kurum International”, which is the main production enterprise in our country.

In 2012, the company showed interest in expanding and in Albania, but Northern Macedonia managed to attract and build the second factory.

The industry is the least developed sector in Albania, compared to other countries in the region. Its grossly added weight was 14% at the end of 2021, leaving behind Montenegro by 12%. The record in the region keeps Serbia at 23%, while for northern Macedonia, the burden is 19%.

This model is reflected and in the rankings of larger enterprises where trade dominates Albania, while in the other two states there are big enterprises in the field of production. For example, in northern Macedonia, the largest company circulates 2 billion euros annually in the field of automotive catalysts.

In contrast, in Albania, in the automotive support industry under way in recent years, the largest company has revenues of less than 40m euros. /m NITOR. AL