Omco Croatia, based in Hrvatsko Zagorje has received the exclusive right to make the moulds used to produce bottles for Jim Beam, according to a recent report.
Jim Beam is one of the most famous bourbons in the United States and has been produced since 1795. Jim Beam has recently re-branded its bottles and will introduce a completely new design to the market, which uses the moulds produced by Omco. They have replaced all the packaging for the US market, and the first shipment of moulds from Hum Na Sutli has already departed for Kentucky.
Omco is also involved in production of bottles for Coca Cola, and recently took part in the rebranding process for Heineken, with whom it has an exclusive contract to produce moulds for beer bottles. Heineken has already released them to the market, but the new bottles have still not appeared in Croatia. They are waiting for local bottlers to replace old bottles with paper labels with the new ones which have all the information embedded in the glass.
Omco is the world’s leading manufacturer of glass moulds, and the factory in Hum Na Sutli is one of the leading exporters in Croatia. Eighteen years ago, the company was taken over by a Belgian company owned by three families. “We currently employ 550 people. This year, our turnover is 53 million euros, and we plan to grow and hire new employees. We invest a lot, and we are preparing for a new plant to expand our capacity. Omco exports about 98 percent of its products”, said Darko Ranogajec, director of Omco.
The company has introduced some new benefits for its workers. For example, the company pays supplementary health insurance. The average age of employees is 32, while the net salary is above 6,000 kuna. They receive annual allowances, and work three shifts, including nights, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, which are paid extra.