Finance’s website was the first to write about the investment. The company has now confirmed on its website that it plans to build a factory in central Slovenia – according to Finance the exact location will be known by the end of the week – for the production of rubber parts for medical devices. The investment is to be worth 34 million euros. The plant is to spread on a surface of around 30,000 square meters and will employ around 200 people.

The investment will be carried out by Sumitomo’s Swiss subsidiary Lonstroff, a company previously purchased by the Japanese. According to the plan, the Slovenian subsidiary will be registered in August this year and become operational in April 2019 under the name “Lonstroff medicinski elastomeri, d. o. o.”

Sumitomo has a back-up location
With its expansion in the European Union, according to Radio Slovenija journalist Simeona Rogelj, the Japanese-based Sumitomo will avoid an exchange rate risk. Also responsible for Sumitomo’s decision to come to Slovenia is the good experience of the Japanese Yaskawa company in Slovenia, the country’s educated workforce and its favorable geostrategic location. Similar to the situation with Austria’s Magna, Sumitomo also has a location in Hungary which is still an option for the investment.

With the construction of the new production facilities the Japanese intend to increase their presence on the European and American market for high-tech pharmaceutical products. The Sumitomo Rubber Group has more than 30.000 employees in more than 70 companies around the world. It generates almost 6 billion euros a year. More than 85% of its turnover falls on the production of car tires.
Two big Japanese investments
There are already two bigger Japanese investments in Slovenia. Japan’s Kansai Paint bought Helios from the Austrian company Ringa, while Yaskawa has a high-tech robot plant in Ribnica. Yaskawa also plans to set-up another factory for robots and a distribution centre in Kočevje.

A. Č.; translated by K. J.