Serbian steelworks going strong

At the confluence of the Danube and Morava rivers lies the Serbian city of Smederevo and the 111-year-old Smederevo steelworks, the pride of Serbia's steel industry.

In April of 2016, Chinese steel manufacturer HBIS Group acquired the plant, which was on the verge of collapse. Two months later on June 19, President Xi Jinping visited the factory during his state visit to Serbia and met local workers face-to-face.

Vladan Mihailovic, chief operating officer of the steelworks, remembered that Xi said the plant would surely be revitalized and play a positive role in increasing local employment, improving people's living standards and advancing Serbia's economic development.

"The workers gave a warm applause to President Xi's words," he recalled.

With efforts from both sides, the factory gradually emerged from its crisis.

These days, the factory, known as HBIS Smederevo Steel Plant, has become a flagship project of Belt and Road cooperation between the countries.

On April 29, the Chinese president wrote a reply to a letter sent by 30 representatives of Serbian workers at the plant, once again drawing public attention to the factory.

In his reply, Xi said he was very happy that the plant had quickly turned from loss to profit following the investment by the Chinese enterprise, and that more than 5,000 workers have had their jobs secured and that thousands of families are enjoying a peaceful and happy life.

"I hope you will continue to do your own jobs wholeheartedly and dedicate yourself enthusiastically to the operation and development of the plant, so as to make new and greater contributions to the socioeconomic development of Serbia and the consolidation of the ironclad China-Serbia friendship," Xi said.

Mihailovic, the chief operating officer, said, "Currently, the production and operation status and technical indicators of the plant are in the best shape since its establishment."

A series of pertinent measures taken by the Chinese management team have given the plant a fresh look.

The Chinese side led the transformation and upgrades of the plant's original equipment, sending 20 technical and management teams and over 260 experts from China to carry out assessments and implement more than 120 technical upgrade projects.

"The changes we've made to this plant have been aimed to empower it, to make it develop in a sustainable way and to revitalize it, which is not a short-term, short-sighted approach," said Yu Yong, chairman of HBIS Group.

In the past eight years, the market for the plant's products has expanded from Central and Eastern Europe to destinations such as Western Europe, the United States and Latin America.

Since 2016, the plant has realized cumulative export earnings of 4.77 billion euros ($5.1 billion), making it Serbia's top exporter for a number of years.

Last year, the steelworks contributed 795 million euros to the city of Smederevo's annual production output, and accounting for 1.15 percent of Serbia's annual GDP.

During the acquisition by the Chinese company eight years ago, the plant had to put at ease the minds of the plant's more than 5,000 Serbian employees, who were waiting anxiously to see whether there would be layoffs.

Eight years later, Ivan Matkovic, head of operations for rolling and coil storage, recalled in excitement the pledge made at that time by the Chinese management team: "Not a single existing employee of the plant should be left behind!"

The 5,000 employees have remained at the plant, and most of its executives and department heads have been local.

Matkovic is a third-generation employee at the plant, with his grandfather and father having worked there.

He is a living witness to the prominent changes in the working environment over the past eight years.

With the renovation and introduction of intelligent equipment, the employees are able to control and monitor production via computers with the click of a mouse.

"I have two sons and a daughter, and I hope they will come here to work in the future," he said.