Two Companies in Dubnica Marking 80 Years of Engineering
Dubnica nad Vahom, May 18 (TASR) – Dubnica-based engineering companies ZVS Holding and ZTS Special are returning pride and honour to the defence industry, which used to form an irreplaceable part of the country’s industry in the past, stated Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) in Dubnica nad Vahom (Trencin region) on Thursday during a celebration marking the setting up of the two companies.
“You can always hear what these companies went through, especially after the bad 1990s when we, on behalf of I don’t know whom or what, were closing down factories producing weapons and special equipment. Nowadays, I can see that they’re step by step establishing themselves not only at home, but also in other NATO-member states, and also beyond the Alliance,” said Fico.
“If representatives of a company come to me and say that they’re interested in establishing themselves in any country, it’s my job to pick up the phone, go to that country and lobby [for them],” added the premier, adding that if Slovakia doesn’t produce weapons, other countries will.
According ZVS Holding board chairman Marian Goga, the 80-year-old history of the company is connected mainly with Czech company Skoda Plzen, which decided to build a reserve plant in Dubnica nad Vahom in the period between the two world wars. “During WWII, but especially after 1989 the factory went through difficult times. The arms industry here was being converted, and this was really devastating for business. Over the past two years, however, we’ve invested massively in new technologies. At the moment the company is competitive, and we’ve carried out successful projects…,” said Goga, adding that the company is planning to invest more than €6 million in a plant based in Snina (Presov region) this year, while some new projects are also scheduled for the Dubnica-based factories.
MSM Group, which is ZVS Holding’s mother company, employs more than 1,300 workers in Slovakia at the moment. The number of employees has doubled over the past two years.
