FAP (company)
| Fabrika Automobila Priboj
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|---|---|
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| legal form | |
| founding | 1953 |
| Seat |
Priboj , Serbia
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| Number of employees | 1100 (as of January 2014) |
| Branch | vehicle construction |
| Website | www.fap.co.rs |
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Fabrika Automobila Priboj (short: FAP ) is a Serbian manufacturer of commercial vehicles . The company was the largest manufacturer of trucks and buses in Yugoslavia .
history
The history of the company also represents a piece of the economic and social history of Yugoslavia:
After the end of the Second World War , all socialist states made greater efforts to build up heavy industry . In Yugoslavia, too , new automobile factories were created , not least on the initiative of Head of State Tito . This included companies such as TAM , Litostroj and Preduzeće Tito .
The automobile factory Fabrika Automobila Priboj was founded in 1953 on the " green field " in the eponymous municipality of Priboj . In accordance with the policy of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia at the time , the factory was run under workers' self-management, according to which - at least formally - the company was owned by the employees and workers. All employees were involved in business decisions through workers' councils.
Unlike the states of the Council for Mutual Economic Aid (Comecon), Yugoslavia enlisted the help of western states to build up the automotive industry . FAP acquired a license from the Swiss company Saurer and initially manufactured two-axle trucks with a total weight of five and seven tons . In addition, three bus models were produced, with FAP supplying the chassis and Ikarbus the superstructures.
In 1961 the Industrija Transportnih Vozila (German: Commercial Vehicle Industry ) association was founded, in which nine companies in the country, including FAP and Ikarbus (then still Ikarus ), merged. The engine manufacturer Fabrika Motora Sarajevo (short: FAMOS) was one of them; therefore, until 1991, many FAP commercial vehicles were also marketed as FAP FAMOS .
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This cooperation resulted in the production of own truck models such as the FAP 10B and 15B introduced in 1965 . The in-house developments also included chassis , especially for military bodies and buses. The Ohrid coaches presented in 1964 (44 seats) and, above all, the Dubrava, were extremely advanced models for the time . The latter had 28 seats that could be converted into reclining seats for night trips. In the rear of the vehicle there was an on- board toilet and a refrigerator. All places had individual lamps that were attached to bookends in such a way that the neighbors were not disturbed by the light. In addition, there was a small mirror and a connection for a razor at each place. The top speed was 86 km / h .
Besides FAMOS engines also were Leyland - diesel engines installed.
During this time the Priboj municipality developed from an agricultural region to an industrial town. The jobs created in the automobile factory doubled the population of the place between 1961 and 1971.
At the end of the 1960s, the FAP short-hood trucks appeared increasingly out of date. In order to catch up with the state of the art , the company acquired a license from Daimler-Benz in 1971 , which enabled it to make a leap in technology. Licensed production of the Mercedes-Benz NG truck and the Mercedes-Benz O 303 coach began in 1973 . The successor models SK and O 404 were later manufactured under license. The demand allowed an annual production of around 5000 vehicles. This made FAP the largest manufacturer of trucks and buses in Yugoslavia and an employer for around 6,000 people.
In the mid-1970s, Yugoslavia fell into a deep economic crisis . The triggers were mismanagement and corruption, but above all structural problems in the economic system. For example, because of workers' self-management, it was not possible to close unprofitable factories and transfer their remaining production to healthy factories. In addition, reform plans such as those of the chairman of the state presidency Sergej Kraigher were not implemented.
The Yugoslav wars that began in 1991 and the sanctions imposed on Serbia by the United Nations Security Council on May 30, 1992 , which in fact meant a ban on the export of Serbian products, led to a dramatic decrease in production at FAP and the international isolation of the company. With the collapse of the state of Yugoslavia, the division of labor with other companies was also ended.
FAP from 2000
During the Kosovo war in 1999, the plant was not affected by NATO bombings . Nevertheless, during the ten-year conflict in Yugoslavia , FAP was not only completely cut off from foreign markets, but also excluded from any technological development. Even today, the company still offers all trucks with the robust but technically outdated driver's cab of the Mercedes-Benz NG .
After the end of the wars, the domestic market quickly opened up for foreign products. The attractiveness of commercial vehicles from Western European - especially German - manufacturers led to the further decline of the Serbian industry. In addition, FAP lost its traditional sales markets both in the Balkans and in Africa, whose commercial vehicle market is now dominated by Chinese manufacturers. Despite efforts by the Serbian government, FAP has not recovered economically to date. State financial aid and several anti-crisis packages have resulted in neither investment nor any improvement in the situation. In 2012 only 53 vehicles were built, exclusively for public institutions. Diesel engines and exhaust systems were bought from Mercedes-Benz (recognizable by the star on the silencer), however, a maximum of aggregates according to the Euro 5 standard are available, which is why FAP was not able to sell a single vehicle in the EU from 2012.
A solution to continue the factory was sought in the takeover by a foreign investor: takeover talks were held with the commercial vehicle manufacturers Dongfeng Motor Corporation (China), MAZ (Belarus) and LiAZ (Russia); These failed, however, mainly because of the question of assuming the debt that had arisen.
In January 2012 the state privatization agency put a majority share package in the company out to tender internationally; even these efforts were unsuccessful.
In October 2013 there was a strike that lasted several days at the automobile plant. The workers occupied the important railway line between the capital Belgrade and the port city of Bar in Montenegro . The workers also spent the nights on the tracks, preventing several trains from continuing their journey, including a car transport with a new Fiat 500L from the Fiat plant in Kragujevac . Specific reasons for the action were outstanding wage payments, non-renewed health certificates, which are necessary for access to public health care, and the lack of work. In general, as with other work stoppages in Serbia, social justice was demanded.
The strike ended three days after Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić announced a minimum wage and promised locally not to close the plant.
In February 2014, considerations became known, after which the Finnish commercial vehicle manufacturer Sisu was considering taking over the car factory. After that, special vehicles for the Russian market should be manufactured there. Russia is a traditional sales market for Sisu vehicles; Russia has also created trade facilities for the import of products made in Serbia. In May 2015, Sisu and the Serbian Ministry of Economy signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase the company. The negotiations could not be concluded by the end of 2015.
The sale to Sisu did not materialize. The company was nationalized in November 2016.
Web links
- FAP website (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Serbia hopes for the EU and Mercedes. Die Presse , January 24, 2014; Retrieved May 25, 2014.
- ↑ Motorna vozila u Srbiji Motorna vozila (Motor Vehicles), accessed May 29, 2014.
- ↑ United Nations Security Council Resolution 757. Imposition of economic sanctions by the United Nations Security Council
- ↑ Serbia: Local truck builder to assemble Dongfeng trucks. ( Memento of the original from May 31, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Automotive World, December 1, 2009; accessed on May 24, 2014.
- ↑ New opportunity for the factory in Priboj. Business portal eKapija , May 8, 2013; accessed on June 1, 2014.
- ↑ Serbian truck manufacturer before sale. (PDF; 80 kB) Gesellschaft des Bundes Germany Trade and Invest , January 27, 2012; Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ↑ FAP workers spend night on the tracks. ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Blic Online, October 30, 2013, accessed June 19, 2014.
- ^ Criminal failures will be investigated. Message from broadcaster B92 , May 30, 2014; accessed on June 1, 2014.
- ↑ Expected entry of the Finnish Sisu at FAP. rtv of July 3, 2015, accessed on September 27, 2015.
- ↑ FAP from today in state ownership - more than eight billion dinars converted into state capital. ekapija.com; accessed on October 5, 2018
