Exhaust Maker Akrapovič Ups Revenues by 24%
The globally-renowned company which employs around 800 continues to see strong growth in annual revenues, which it expects will increase to EUR 80m this year. The management plans to see revenues surpass EUR 100m by 2017, chairman Igor Akrapovič has told the STA.
Earnings stood at EUR 6m last year, an increase of EUR 2.6m from 2013. The company plans for profit to remain largely unchanged this year due to the costs associated with moving its production to the a new plant in Črnomelj, according to Akrapovič.
The move will come a year after the company acquired the former production facilities of defunct compressor maker Secop in the southern Slovenian town. The move will involve the production wing, while the group is also launching a logistics centre at the facility.
Akrapovič estimates the costs of the move at around EUR 18m, which combined with a two-week outage in production due to the logistical undertaking will mean that the group's profit will largely remain flat on last year.
As many as 200 new jobs were created by the company last year due to the launch of the Črnomelj plant and a further 60 are planned to be opened this year.
Meanwhile, around 300 staff are to remain at the Ivančna Gorica headquarters, where back office and management tasks will remain alongside its foundry division.
Akrapovič said the company plans to launch a test facility and a new administrative building in Ivančna Gorica in the coming years.
As part of efforts to expand its global reach, the company is mulling the launch of dealerships in South America and Asia, where its growth is being hindered by high import tariffs.