Arcelor Distribucija prepares multimillion investments in Serbia - 4 distribution centers in the pipeline

In the big world struggle for supremacy on the steel and steel products market, great forces of the exceptional "players" on the market, companies Arcelor (www.arcelor.com) and Mittal (www.mittal.com), have been united recently. That process is very complicated and the very consolidation of the new system will last until June 2007, for purpose of which the Board of Managers formed the team for the group synergy.

Thus, the new company, which will operate under the name of Arcelor-Mittal, instead of Arcelor, will be 40% owned by famous Indian company Mittal with the firm agreement that nothing can stop the development and production of high-quality products of steel, which is the main characteristic of Arcelor for decades.

In Serbia, as a part of this system, there is company Arcelor Distribucija (www.arcelordistribucija.co.yu), which used to have the mission to connect manufacturers and end-users/buyers without limiting itself only to big purchases. That model proved to be very successful, so that a year and half of its activities resulted in number of 300 buyers in the country. The company has not marketed only the Arcelor products, but the rule of the system that everything Arcelor Distribucija offers to the market must satisfy the highest criteria of the Arcelor system has been strictly obeyed.

Company Arcelor Distribucija Belgrade was founded by the decision of the headquarters in Luxembourg that it should be expanded to this very interesting market. In order to show how big are the reserves of the market of Serbia, it should be pointed out that the average use of steel in Europe amounts to 400 kg per capita, whereas the use in Serbia amounts only to 100 kg per capita. Therefore, the mission of Arcelor Distribucija is also to work on the education of the users, as well as to react on the smaller, but more sophisticated offers, which will dispel all confusions about the use of steel in the large number of commercial branches.

The expansion of the network will follow through the development of four distribution centers within the following 4 years. The first center of 4,000 square meters is already partially in the operation and it is settled in Novi Sad. There is note that it will rich the standards formed by Arcelor in June 2007.

Prior to mid-2007, the investment of the distribution center in the south of Serbia will be defines, whereas 2008-2009 is the period for opening of locations of Central Serbia and Belgrade. Belgrade will be especially prepared investment and the construction of center is expected to be carried out on the basis of the greenfield investments.

Such network will enable even better access to the users, satisfying of smaller quantity demands and reaching of goal - that the buyer, everywhere in Serbia, gets the goods under the same conditions.