German-owned caravan maker Carthago has launched a new production plant at its second Slovenian location in Ormož, northeastern Slovenia. The new facility will specialise in the assembly of Malibu Van camper vans.

Worth roughly €50 million, the project has been completed with the help of a €6 million incentive from the Slovenian state. The new plant will initially employ some 180 workers, of which 100 will be relocated from the company's primary Slovenian location in Odranci and at least 80 will be new hires.

The owner of the Carthago group, Karl-Heinz Schuler, said at the 15 April launch that without Slovenia and its workers the company would not have been where it was now - "at the very top in the range of prestigious integrated motorhomes in Europe, with a market share of well over 15% in the €100,000-plus price range".

Carthago managing director Markus Kern pointed out that the new plant had been built in less than a year following the groundbreaking ceremony. "This shows the importance of the plant for Carthago now and in the future," he said.

This is the largest project in the group Carthago and it goes to show "what it can be done if business, state and local community work hand in hand", Kern added.

In 2024, the company plans to employ 300 employees in Ormož since the plan for that year is to make at least 3,000 vehicles per year, he announced.

Carthago Slovenija director Sandra Županec is confident that the Ormož plant will be as successful as the company's plant in Odranci.

Since camper van production will now move to Ormož, the company intends to increase motorhome output in Odranci, which will create new jobs there as well.

Economy Minister Matjaž Han said the Ormož plant would be an important contribution to the development of the Slovenian economy, noting the long-term effects of such investments.

President Nataša Pirc Musar said the new plant was a "celebration of Slovenian-German friendship and traditionally excellent economic relations between Slovenia and Germany."

Founded in Germany in 1979, Carthago launched the Odranci plant in 2008. The subsidiary employs some 800 people.