Austrian shoe firm chooses Croatia for factory
Austrian shoe manufacturer, Paul Green, has chosen north Croatia for a new factory location that will open in 2013 in the Prelog business zone, Medjimurje County.
The footwear firm will put EUR5 million into the venture and plans to hire at least 200 people. Paul Green chose Croatia’s north specifically for its shoemaking tradition.
Manager Bojan Rezonja said: “The shoe industry was developed here. In Austria, we do not have enough professional cadre and young people are not interested in learning the trade. Our company has been thinking about a strategic position in Europe for some time now because we have never manufactured shoes in China or the Middle East. We decided on Croatia.”
Technical director Gido Strebel said that the deciding factors for the company were an excellent geographical position, a well-equipped business zone in Prelog and an accommodating mayor, Dragutin Glavina.
“We want to recruit new, young people and assist them in their schooling. This is our guarantee for the future,” said Mr Strebel.
Paul Green manufactures two million pairs of women’s shoes annually.
