Kenda shared news of a 4.5-million-euro investment for its steel wheel factory in Beli Manastir The Kenda team tell us that this investment in automated technology and renewable energy is now complete making the factory “perfectly poised to deliver even more responsibly produced products in higher volumes.” This augmentation will make itself known throughout the course of this year and into 2026 and deliver the added benefit of “highly improved” working conditions within the plant Tyrepress and Tyres & Accessories subscribers can log in below to read the full article If you are not yet a Tyrepress or Tyres & Accessories subscriber Subscribe now If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com The Budapest Times The Croatian section of the corridor covers 88.6 kilometres the international transport corridor runs from Budapest via Osijek and Sarajevo to the Adriatic coast to Ploce The last five kilometres between Beli Manastir and the Hungarian border will be put into operation by June Eight structures were built on this section: a 318-metre viaduct over the Karasica River and the railway line to Magyarbóly The Hungarian section of the M6 motorway to the Croatian border was already completed last year Once all the construction work has been completed the journey time from Budapest to Osijek will be less than two hours – meaning that the Hungarian capital will be closer to the eastern Slavonian city than its own capital Zagreb While Hungary and Croatia have completely fulfilled their obligations work in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still in full swing Of the 325 kilometres of motorway in the Bosnian section of the corridor The difficult terrain in Bosnia poses particular challenges for motorway construction With a length of 10.5 km (including connecting sections totalling 12 km) the tunnel through the Prenj Mountains in the south of the country will be the ninth longest road tunnel in Europe and one of the most demanding technical projects in the country Croatia began building the 5C corridor 20 years ago The first section between Dakovo and Sredanci was opened to traffic in 2007 followed two years later by the Dakovo-Osijek motorway section The section between Sredanci and the Bosnian border was opened in 2015 The Svilaj Bridge was not completed until 2021 The 24.5 km long section between Osijek and Beli Manastir with the longest bridge in Croatia You must be logged in to post a comment PRIVACY POLICY TERMS OF USE 2007 - 2025 BZT MEDIA Kft. Design: GoOG Webdevelopment: diVid Forgot your password? You will receive mail with link to set new password Back to login This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Katarina Anđelković 2023 – As soon as the first quarter of this year was over the numbers of tourist arrivals and overnight stays in Slavonia started pointing towards a record tourist season is full of life and serves as an excellent example Several hundred more arrivals than last year and more than a thousand more overnight stays are proof that Baranja is a very important stone in the mosaic of continental tourism, emphasizes Glas Slavonije. “We are happy with these results and we hope that we can achieve even more We have noticed that guests are staying longer than usual but we note that 500 or so more foreign guests arrived in our area than last year accounting for approximately 1,200 overnight stays more than in 2022” and next weekend it will be difficult to decide where to start Beli Manastir is hosting the 28th edition of Baranjski Bećarac It all kicks off on Friday (June 2) near the church of Saints Peter and Paul the Danube Championship in cooking beans (Šokački gra’) is taking place the exhibition “Baranja – the cradle of bagpipes in Croatia” is opening in the church a concert of folk church Marian songs will begin at 6 p.m The first day ends with the sounds of tamburica fun with TS Rubato a product fair (3 p.m.) and the Tisto (pasta) Festival (4 p.m.) tarana… there are many forms and names of the eastern Croatian pasta tradition which you can experience The organizes emphasize that there will be sweet and savoury versions on offer traditional wedding carriages will be presented as well you can enjoy an ethno-concert by Zrinka Posavec (quintet) a heritage show and some tamburica music with TS Garavi Gastronomy will certainly be in focus on Saturday in Beli Manastir as well As part of DZMH’s Day of Hungarian Tradition the Baranja Beans competition starts at 2 p.m TS Kubikus (Novi Bezdan) and Aranycsardas (Korođ) are playing The registration fee for the Beans competition is 20 euros the announcement of the winner is scheduled for 7:30 p.m and website in this browser for the next time I comment Croatian Armed Forces back in Beli Manastir by the end of 2026 | Photo: MOD/ J Every move going forward will be directed at giving the CAF members the greatest possible living standards Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Ivan Anušić responded to a question posed by a member of Parliament concerning the improvement of the substantive rights of Croatian soldiers Minister Anušić made it clear that improving the financial status of CAF members is the primary objective of his mandate “The soldier is unquestionably at the heart of what I do We have increased the retirement age for soldiers and sailors from 45 to 50 since I became the Minister of Defence and Deputy Prime Minister This allows sailors and soldiers to serve until they turn 50 at which point they will be eligible for a pension upon leaving the armed forces We raised the salaries of those with the lowest job complexity coefficients in the MOD and Armed Forces systems by an additional ten percent We are talking about 1,240 people – civil servants and state employees and other operations and activities abroad have increased by 25 to 30 percent The new government regulation on the coefficients of active military personnel will be put into effect in addition to the changes made to the Act on Wages of Public and Civil Servants This is a 40 percent increase in the salaries of soldiers which will require an additional 100 million euros per year,” he said Anušić also stated that providing the best possible living conditions for CAF members including increased pay and other benefits will be the primary goal of all of his future efforts “I want young people to think highly of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces as potential employers because they are going to provide them with an excellent standard of living Serving in the military is a calling that entails carrying out some of the most responsible duties,” added the minister In response to a question concerning the planned return of Croatian soldiers to Beli Manastir Minister Anušić underlined that this was a significant project whose execution has already started and whose completion is scheduled by the end of 2026 “We are predicting that around 650–850 CAF members there are security reasons and the border’s close vicinity which provide several challenges when discussing emigrants and security threats that are clearly defined in the context of the current geopolitical environment it is important to note that Baranja is among the areas that have seen significant population declines over the previous 20 years the presence of Croatian soldiers residing and working there will greatly contribute to the demographic growth of Beli Manastir and all of eastern Croatia,” concluded Minister Anušić U reduOve internetske stranice koriste kolačiće (tzv cookies) za pružanje boljeg korisničkog iskustva i funkcionalnosti Postavke kolačića možete podesiti u svojem internetskom pregledniku Više o kolačićima i načinu kako ih koristimo te načinu kako ih onemogućiti pročitajte ovdje Klikom na gumb ‘U redu’ pristajete na korištenje kolačića The sleepy town of around 8,000 inhabitants is about as distant as you can get from Croatia’s bustling beach resorts and still stay within the country’s borders But Beli Manastir’s lack of package holiday cred doesn’t matter a jot to STARCO – instead of bringing the world to Beli Manastir STARCO exports the steel wheels it produces in Beli Manastir to markets around Europe and further afield The site is the company’s global wheel production centre for the agricultural light transportation and lawncare segments and it increasingly partners with OEMs to provide specialist solutions Wheels made in Beli Manastir – or simply Beli as the locals call it – have helped STARCO gain a strong position within a niche market In order to accommodate growing demand for these products the company recently announced a further investment in the plant In addition to investments being made in its workforce and processes STARCO has set 7.2 million euros aside to raise capacity in Beli by 75 per cent over the coming four years “Our growth plans include all types of products made in Beli,” shares Richard Todd Chief executive officer of STARCO since 2015 Todd is closely involved in plans to transform the Beli Manastir site into an even stronger supplier for OEMs and even drew upon his prior professional background in lean manufacturing when overseeing the aforementioned reconfiguration He comments that increasing output in Beli Manastir will enable STARCO to “grow significantly at a group level.” Current capacity at the Beli plant is more than a million wheels per annum Most of these are pressed and spun wheels – 600,000 pressed and 400,000 spun wheels – for ride-on mowers small wheel loaders and agricultural implements such as hay tedders are produced there each year – and almost all are sold to OEMs such as Avant many dual wheels and made-to-measure (MtM) wheels are made in Beli each year While a 75 per cent increase in capacity over 2018 levels covers all types of products made in Beli MtM and dual wheel production will initially benefit the most “This is our biggest growth area in the short term and we prioritised this to get it finished first It is the first move in the puzzle that frees everything else up,” says Todd Signs of this first move in the puzzle were already to be seen when we visited Beli Manastir in late April On the site of what had been a car park just six months earlier stood a new production hall Equipment had already been transferred there and was in operation original production building by the equipment’s relocation was occupied by new recently-installed CNC machines as well as new pressed and spun wheel production lines Preferred partner for dual wheel applications The dual wheel product made in Beli Manastir is the solution developed in Switzerland by Gebrüder Schaad (now STARCO GS) Richard Todd describes this as the “best system” of its type in the world A simple yet effective clamping mechanism allows any tractor up to 600hp to be converted to a dual wheel configuration within a short period of time Beli Manastir took over the manufacture of the STARCO dual wheel solution in 2016 and production began in the new factory building just prior to this year’s high season Todd shares that STARCO has worked hard to improve levels of service for its dual wheel products since relocating production from Switzerland to Croatia “For the 2020 season we’re targeting to hit best in class for everything The set-up of a new production line coincides with a strategic reorientation for dual wheel and MtM products “Our approach was regional and aftermarket-focused in the past,” Todd explains “But we’ve been working hard to have our product approved at OE level We’re working with a number of the biggest OEMs in the agricultural sector.” STARCO strives to be the preferred partner for dual-wheel applications with all main tractor manufacturers in Europe It shipped its first order to Valtra the day after we visited the Beli plant The Beli Manastir plant has come a long way since first opening in 2003 or indeed since the day Richard Todd first saw it six years later joined the company around the same time as Richard Todd He recalls significant room for improvement: “Prior to 2009 there was no flow production no maintenance programme and no recognised quality standards in place There was also no training plan for the workforce.” Todd adds that 2009 was the year that STARCO took its “first proper look at how we wanted to move forwards” in Beli Manastir Today the Beli plant is ISO 9001:2015 certified and production benefits from a preventative maintenance regimen as well as programmes to remove bottlenecks and reduce lead times STARCO is also introducing PPAP (production part approval process) into the factory Training programmes for the production workforce (160 of the approximately 220 people employed by STARCO in Beli) are also in place and each employee can operate an average of six workplaces within the factory – a skillset that provides flexibility within the plant “It takes about two years to fully train someone,” comments Biscan so it pays to make sure our team is motivated.” STARCO’s efforts to this end were rewarded in 2016 when it was named best medium-sized company in Croatia The recently-announced investment follows investments last year in new production lines; the addition of a line dedicated to making pressed wheels for ride-on mowers hay tedders and other applications increased capacity for these products by 50 per cent and a further line for producing 14- to 30-inch wheels for agricultural and industrial applications was also installed “This gives us more capacity and flexibility,” says Richard Todd machines making these products ran 24/7 for nine months of the year Todd stresses that STARCO’s investment in Beli Manastir isn’t just about capacity “The philosophy behind it is achieving single piece flow We want to limit work in progress as much as possible and possess a flexibility that allows small batch sizes.” More changes are to come: Plans for 2019 include automating the main volume pressed wheel line in May and the spun wheel line at the end of the year In 2020 it will be the turn of the plant’s e-coat and paint operations and STARCO’s sales projections suggest that further pressed wheel capacity will once again be required Construction of a 2,000 square metre on-site warehouse and associated infrastructure is also planned for next year “The goal is in a year’s time that visitors to Beli Manastir will walk into a totally modern factory with a bright working environment Which is very much in line with the biggest OEM customers we’re targeting,” says Todd When asked about STARCO’s plans as a group beyond the current investment period Richard Todd replies that predicting the market even five years into the future is very difficult he expects volumes in Beli Manastir will continue growing “We gain additional opportunities the more we work as a solution provider with the bigger producers Working with one part of a big group opens up other areas.” The trend within the agricultural segment is towards increasingly specialised machinery applications and these require new and different solutions for the wheel and tyre “We’ve only really scratched the surface of the agricultural segment in this regard and we haven’t even really looked at industrial,” comments the chief executive officer “Industrial is one area that is every much on the radar.” Beli Manastir will play a role in STARCO’s plans to grow in the industrial sector Various grades of polyurethane are being examined at the UK facility and Todd shares that STARCO is involved in “a number of interesting development projects” that take the material into agricultural and industrial applications “This is something beyond the traditional steel and rubber and we believe these offer interesting opportunities to work with OEMs These materials have never been used before in these applications.” STARCO is undertaking significant investments in digital and green technologies and materials at its steel wheel factory in Croatia installing a new automated reciprocater paint system that can simultaneously paint a larger number of wheels thereby more efficiently using the painting line and ovens Additional equipment will soon join this unit and commence operations within the first half of 2024 The project name ‘Reinventing the Wheel – Agile Integrated Technological and Green Transition of the STARCO Beli Manastir into a Leading Regional Lean and Green Steel Forming Factory’ is a mouthful but does what it says on the tin. A total of 4.5 million euros is being invested in the Beli Manastir facility, with Norway Grants providing 1.3 million euros of this STARCO and parent company Kenda are investing the balance through own funds and development loans from HBOR (the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development) The investments will allow STARCO to improve the carbon footprint of many products made in the factory through greater energy efficiency use of renewable energy and reduced steel content in the products The new investments also cover the cost of further employee training Knowledge sharing and collaboration are also a central part of the project Along with project partners IDN from Norway and Eupolis from Croatia STARCO will launch a digital platform to encourage clustering around sustainability themes and to share best practices One such practice is the art of karakuri – a technique developed by Toyota to carry out productive processes without the need for any external energy source The Beli Manastir factory has eight wheel production lines where around 250 employees produce 1 million steel wheels per year The facility recently received an award from the local city council for exceptional contributions to the city’s economic development the last remaining section of the motorway between Budapest and Osijek will be completed completing the Croatian part of the 5C corridor linking Hungary with Croatia The project will not only speed up travel between Hungarian and Croatian cities it could also improve road transport to the Adriatic Sea this development will reduce the travel time between Budapest and Osijek to less than two hours providing faster access to the Eastern Croatian region is expected to be completed by June this year Construction of this section started in August 2023 by the Osijek Koteks company and is worth EUR 46 million with full financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Eight structures have been built on the short but important road section The most prominent of these is the 318-metre-long Karasica viaduct which crosses the Karasica River and the railway line between Pélmonostor and Magyarbóly so the opening of the new Croatian section will significantly shorten the journey time between Osijek and Budapest It will now take less than two hours to travel between the two cities meaning that Budapest will be closer in time to Osijek than Zagreb This is particularly important for the economic and tourism relations between the two countries Although the new motorway section will improve the north-south connection it does not yet represent a major advantage for Hungarian tourists on holiday in Croatia The traditional route via Zagreb is still the quickest way to reach coastal destinations The 5C corridor could be of real benefit to Hungarian travellers once the Bosnian section is completed as it could significantly reduce travel times to Croatian resorts in the south The total length of the Bosnian section of the 5C corridor is 325 km Completion of the project is expected to take until 2030 due to the significant engineering challenges of the route One of the biggest obstacles is the tunnel through the Prenj Mountains will be the ninth longest road tunnel in Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina received financial support from the EBRD last year for the construction of this section The construction of the transport corridor between Budapest and the Adriatic Sea has entered a new phase with the imminent completion of the motorway between the Hungarian border and Osijek The new road will significantly shorten the travel time between Budapest and Osijek which could be of particular importance for business travellers and economic relations between the two countries The real benefit for tourists will be the completion of the Bosnian section which could make the 5C corridor a competitive route for Hungarian travellers to the Croatian coast It is therefore worth following the progress of the construction work in the coming years a completely new alternative could be opened up for those wishing to travel to the Adriatic Y"},"category":false,"taxonomy":{"active":false,"name":"category"}},"markup":{"custom_html":true,"wpp-start":"","wpp-end":"<\/ul>","title-start":"","title-end":"<\/h2>","post-html":"{thumb} {title} {stats}<\/span>{excerpt}<\/p><\/li>"},"theme":{"name":""}} You have successfully joined our subscriber list SupportUs Newsletter © 2025 DailyNewsHungary | All rights reserved