Consolidated income of”Kolubara” with re joined “Metal” will be increased up to five times–stresses Mrs. Zorana Mihajlović, the Serbian Minister, supporting the return of “Metal”under the roof of its founder.
Board of the Directors of EPS,at the meeting held on 10 June in Belgrade, has decided for “Kolubara Metal” to come back to the composition of the Mining Basin “Kolubara”, which was confirmed by the Serbian government at its session on25June, and by which an end was put to a months – long efforts of the management,unions and employees to correct one in justice and wrong business decision.
This has saved “Kolubara Metal” of bankruptcy, saved jobs for2,770 employees of the company and created the conditions for MB “Kolubara” to perform all the activities in the field of designing, manufacturing, main tenance and revitalization of basic mining equipment with even more confidence and expertise.
A day later, after the decision of the Board of the Directors of EPS, on June 11,in the Premises of MB “Kolubara” a press conference was held with the attendance of Prof. Zorana Mihajlović, the Serbian Minister of Energy, Development and the Environment, Mr. Milorad Grčić, the director of MB “Kolubara”, Mr. Milan Djordjević, President of the Union of EPS and Mr. Miodrag Ranković, President of the Union of MB “Kolubara”.
Explaining the motivesof the return of “Metal” under the roof of MB “Kolubara”, the Minister Mrs. Zorana Mihajlović stated that all analyzes have shown that the MB “Kolubara” had losses for years just because “Kolubara Metal” was separated from the core business and added:
-Mining Basin “Kolubara” has referrers to “Kolubara Metal” for some services in the past, which is regarding equipment and staff the most professional and the best Company that can handle all the related tasks, and the first next company that could do the works is in Bulgaria. Why would we do this in another country when we can do it in our own?
Consolidated income or profit of “Kolubara” together with “Kolubara Metal” will be increased to five times. Therefore, this is not just are union of company which is placed as aside line, but a question of better efficiency and more economical “Kolubara”. Since the “Kolubara” is a heart of”Electric Power Industry of Serbia” an to which we have to act with due care.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Milorad Grčić, the director of “Kolubara”, said:
-“Kolubara Metal” was intentionally or unintentionally, in any case unreasonably and mistakenly separated from MB “Kolubara” in 2005. It is important to add that “Kolubara Metal” is the best equipped company in the Balkans for performing all tasks related to systems on surface mining of coal, in the terms of both staff and the technical requirements. After a month and a half of hard work and commitment of the Ministry of Energy, EPS, MB “Kolubara”, “and the union, we managed to convince the Board of the Directors of EPS yesterday to make a decision on returning “Metal” to MB “Kolubara “. Therefore 2,770 employees of this Metal” compound no longer has to fear for their existence as “Metal” has been due to bad politics, in poor financial situation in to which I had access, i. e. due to satisfactions the past decade, it came to a situation that would be in bankruptcy during the next month already,and soon be liquidated.
Miodrag Ranković believes that the time will show that there turn of “Metal” with in “Kolubara” is justified, because in this company the workers from Belgrade, Valjevo to Arandjelovac are employed.”Metal” was close to bankruptcy and employees were in danger to lose their jobs. So, this is called a “historical moment” for “Kolubara”. Although the Union stated that the extraction of “Metal” is not good and that both “Metal” and “Kolubara” would collapse, nobody understood it. According to Mr. Milan Djordjević, eight years since “Metal” was set aside things have returned to their place. It is good, that the political decision on the allocation was canceled because “Kolubara Metal” is capable of working for the needs of the whole” Power Industry of Serbia” and abroad.
“Metal“ becomes a new branch of “Kolubara“
Explaining the continuation of legal procedures of reuniting “Metal” with MB “Kolubara”, Mr. Miroslav Kitanović, assistant director for legal affairs of “Metal”, said:
-By merging with MB “Kolubara”, “Metal” will be a new branch of the mining basin. After the 30dayssince the Reunion Agreement was signed, the Assembly of “Metal” and the Board of EPS, in the function of the Assembly of “Kolubara”, will adopt a draft, and approval of the reunion should be given by the Government of Serbia. We expect this procedure to become pelted in the second half of July this year.
Source; MBK
