Austrotherm GmbH (A-2754 Waldegg-Wopfing; www.austrotherm.at), a member of Schmid-Industrieholding of Waldegg-Wopfing, Austria, claims to be the leading producer of PE insulation sheet. The company recently started up a new plant for production of EPS sheet and profiles in Valjevo, Serbia-Montenegro, about 80 kilometres southeast of Belgrade. The new facility with an annual capacity of 400,000 m³ and currently 20 employees, required an investment of about EUR 3.5m. In its final stages in four to five years, the plant is expected to employ 40 people. Following investments in facilities in Hungary, Romania, Poland and Slovakia, this latest move marks another step in the company´s expansion into eastern and southeastern Europe.

Austrotherm considers Serbia-Montenegro primarily as a market for EPS and XPS insulation products and EPS profiles. Prior to the latest investment, local customers were supplied from Austria, Hungary and Romania. The new plant is expected to help the company achieve market leadership in Serbia. “First experiences showed that insulation against cold is becoming an increasingly important topic in Serbia-Montenegro. Around 80% of the buildings are not insulated despite the fact that winters can be very frosty,” says the company´s owner, Friedrich Schmid. In the long run, he says, the country´s 11 million inhabitants are expected to offer a significant potential for Austrotherm. The Valjevo facility is also earmarked for exports to Bosnia, Macedonia and the Kosovo. In 2002, Austrotherm had a turnover of EUR 82.7m and 391 employees (EUR 64.7m in 2001).