Sloboda (company) explained

Sloboda
Native Name:Serbian: Слобода
Serbian: Sloboda
Type:Joint-stock company
Industry:Defense
Hq Location:Ratka Mitrovića bb
Hq Location City:Čačak
Hq Location Country:Serbia
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Zoran Stefanović
Products:Ammunitions
Revenue: 62.21 million
Revenue Year:[1]
Net Income: €3.51 million
Assets: €117.57 million
Equity: €49.81 million
Owner:Government of Serbia
Social capital
Fond za razvoj
Num Employees:2,121
Footnotes: [2]

Sloboda (Serbian: Слобода|Sloboda) is a Serbian ammunition and manufacturing company founded in 1948. Its headquarters is in Čačak, Serbia. With around 2,000 employees, it is one of the largest enterprises in Čačak and Moravica District.

History

Sloboda was established in 1948 by the Yugoslav government. In Socialist Yugoslavia, it was one of the largest enterprises in the country, having around 7,000 employees. It manufactured a variety of products, for military use and for home appliances. The production was greatly reduced during the 1990s breakup of Yugoslavia, when Western countries imposed sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro. During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the company's facilities were several times bombed.

In 2016, one of its destroyed facilities was reconstructed and put into operation.[3] In November 2017, former prominent company's subsidiary "Sloboda aparati" (home appliances), finally transferred its facilities to Sloboda Čačak (military ammunition). During 2017, the Government of Serbia invested two million euros in company's modernization, for the needs of defense industry.[4] From 2010 to 2017, 30 million euros has been invested in company's facility.[5] As of 2017, the company has around 2,300 employees and new contracts worth 150 million euros. In May 2018, the Serbian Minister of Defence announced further investments over the next three years.[6]

In 2018, the company celebrated its 70-year anniversary.[7]

Products

Sloboda manufactures different types of ammunition and RPG-s.

Among them are:

Incidents

On 12 January 2010, one employee was hurt after explosion in pyrotechnics department of the factory.[9]

On 27 December 2010, there were series of explosions in pyrotechnics department, however nobody was injured. On 1 July 2013, two employees were injured in an explosion in a production line.

On 4 June 2021 (in early morning around 1:30 AM), there were series of explosions in an ammunition depot, which caused a huge fire. Several workers and nearby residents were evacuated, but no injuries have been reported.[10]

On 19 June 2021 (in the afternoon around 8 PM) there was one big explosion at gunpowder depot; three employees were hurt.[11]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: СТО НАЈ... привредних друштава у Републици Србији у 2018. години . apr.gov.rs . 28 November 2019 . Serbian .
  2. Web site: sr:Основни подаци о привредном друштву. http://pretraga2.apr.gov.rs/EnterprisePublicSearch/details/EnterpriseBusinessName/1022239?code=C27A7705A2ADDB1557956BDC74FF5D4314985D4C. apr.gov.rs. Serbian Business Registers Agency. 28 February 2018. Serbian.
  3. News: Sloboda Čačak obnovila halu srušenu u bombardovanju . 28 June 2018 . n1info.com . 24 October 2016 . Serbian.
  4. News: Vojne fabrike u dugovima, hale i oprema zastareli. 23 December 2017. danas.rs. 24 April 2017. Serbian.
  5. News: Čačak: "Sloboda" duplirala proizvodnju, ugovoreni poslovi od 150 miliona evra. 15 February 2018. blic.rs. 14 June 2017. Serbian.
  6. News: Vulin: Nisu isto pekara i "Sloboda" . 28 June 2018 . b92.net . Beta . 29 May 2018 . Serbian.
  7. News: Ilić . V. . "Sloboda" za jaču vojsku . 28 February 2019 . novosti.rs . 5 October 2018 . Serbian.
  8. Web site: Katalog Sloboda 2005 Sajam PDF Cartridge (Firearms) Gun Barrel . www.scribd.com . en.
  9. News: U nesrećama u namenskoj industriji za 11 godina poginulo 15 radnika. 23 December 2017. blic.rs. Beta. 15 July 2017. Serbian.
  10. News: Huge explosions rock Serbia munitions factory, forcing evacuation . 4 June 2021 . Euronews.
  11. Web site: Srbija. T. S. /Euronews. 2021-06-19. Ugašen požar u fabrici "Sloboda" u Čačku, do eksplozije najverovatnije došlo u magacinu baruta. 2021-06-19. Euronews.rs. sr.