Hi-tech tire manufacturer first off the grid

KEEPING TRACK of the latest technology has enabled Tigar to target the U.S. market.

Tire manufacturer Tigar is one of Serbia’s leading success stories. Despite the desperately difficult circumstances that have existed in the region for the last decade, the company has managed to stay abreast of technological changes and establish itself in some of the most sophisticated markets in the world.
Founded in 1935 as a small rubber shoe and boot factory, Tigar began the production of car tires in 1959, went on to produce its first radial tire in 1972, and then established a strategic partnership with BF Goodrich of the United States in 1978.

The partnership with Goodrich proved to be very productive, says managing director Dragan Nikolic. “It was a very open relationship. We received very good training in their centers and this enabled us to appreciate the quality standards necessary to produce a tire for the world market.”
Although the business is dominated by tire production, Tigar also has a footwear and a chemical products division, all of which are run from its headquarters in Pirot, located in southeastern Serbia.
Despite the aftershocks of the NATO air strikes, Tigar still managed to export $34 million-worth of products last year, the majority to Britain (28.4%), France (26.3%) and Germany (10.7%). Output is around 10,000 tires a day, but Mr. Nikolic says that, with orders on the rise, a doubling of output is in the cards. Sales and exports are already expected to increase by 40% in 2001.

The company has an investment policy designed to keep pace with the state-of-the-art technology that characterizes the sector, and also to maintain the high levels of education and training enjoyed by its workforce.
But Tigar’s biggest challenge is the American market. Operations there were frozen in the 1990s after the beginning of the regional conflict, and restrictions still remain. But Mr. Nikolic is optimistic about the prospects for the future and believes the company’s survival during the lean years of the last decade has made it even more able to face the challenges that lie ahead.
“We have educated our people for business, we have offered them hard work, but also benefits, and we have been rewarded with their loyalty. People really value our company.”