Reinventing the Wheel – investment in STARCO’s plant in Croatia

STARCO is undertaking significant investments in digital and green technologies and materials at its steel wheel factory in Croatia. It launched this project in mid-2023, 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).
Greater efficiency & new skills
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.
1 million wheels annually
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.
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