VELENJE, Slovenia, Aug.30 (Xinhua) -- Slovenian household appliance giant Gorenje, after being acquired by China's Hisense, announced on Thursday that it is planning to build a TV manufacturing plant in Velenje, central Slovenia, an investment that Gorenje CEO Franjo Bobinac says will create several hundred new jobs.
Bobinac announced the plans at Thursday's reception which was hosted by Mayor Bojan Kontic and attended by Chinese Ambassador Ye Hao and Lin Lan, Gorenje vice-president and executive vice-president of Hisense Group.
During the reception, Bobinac dismissed concerns from the local community about potential layoffs at Gorenje, announcing that not only would the bulk of production stay in Velenje, but also there were plans for expansion.
He said China's Hisense is planning to build a new plant in Velenje which will initially put out a million TV sets a year, and that the new operation would create several hundred extra jobs.
Bobinac, the long-serving CEO of Gorenje who since this month also serves as vice-president of marketing at Hisense International, disclosed that about 30 Hisense experts had joined processes at Gorenje.
Lin said that the integration process between Gorenje and Hisense had been running fast and smoothly, assuring the local officials that the Velenje company and employees were in good hands, and pledging that the new owners would make further improvements at the company which still had untapped potential.
While mayor Kontic noted that Velenje developed with Gorenje, so the local authorities would be keeping a close watch on the business players of whom they expected successful operations and social responsibility.
Hisense Luxembourg Home Appliance Holding has acquired more than 95 percent of Gorenje's stock.
A few days ago Hisense appointed a new supervisory board as well as extended the management of Gorenje to include six new members from Hisense Group.
The Chinese investor was selected last year by the Gorenje management as a strategic partner to support the company's development. The takeover has already been cleared by the European Commission.
