More than 600 companies in Slovakia have German shareholders (source: Courtesy of Schaeffler Group)
The Bratislava-based Volkswagen Slovakia is one of the German carmaker’s 120 plants around the globe. But the German presence in Slovakia’s industry and business goes far beyond the automotive industry.
More than 600 companies in Slovakia have German shareholders, with notable names in the food-making, ICT, freight forwarding, or energy sector, among others, show data of the Slovak-German Chamber of Commerce. Volkswagen Slovakia stands out with its size, being the biggest employer in the country. Arriving to the Slovak capital in early 1990s, the carmaker is one of the oldest German investments in Slovakia. It is the only plant in the world producing five car brands under one roof, namely Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, Škoda and Seat. It was this automotive investment that helped draw more German investments to Slovakia.
The current plan of Volkswagen Slovakia is to achieve the efficiency goal to make all of its plants 30 percent more efficient by 2025 sooner than the rest of the concern.
“Achieving this goal has become more difficult with the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, in both production and non-production sectors,” Lucia Kovarovič Makayová, the carmaker’s spokesperson, told The Slovak Spectator.
The Bratislava-based plant is on a good track, still. Last year it received the ‘Transformer of the Year’ award for the biggest progress in increasing efficiency within the Volkswagen group, she added.
Volkswagen Slovakia in Bratislava (source: TASR)
