1. What are the results of the Czech company CE Industries in just five years of existence in the Balkans?

Investing in the Balkans required a certain amount of courage because there are different cultures of behavior, business management and consumer tastes in this area. Within the company’s international business operations, due to new capital investments, creation of visions and missions for companies and new management, CE Industries got involved in three types of business:

- B2B in logistics with the purchase of shares in the Port of Rijeka;

- with the restructuring of a complicated business in Croatia in Đuro Đaković, which has been showing negative business performance for many years;

- as well as a different form of B2C business in Beohemija, which had its difficult moments in the period from 2015 to 2017.

It is very encouraging that the companies in which CE Industries has invested have achieved serious growth in a short period of time in a very complex economic and political moment, and have become an important element of the entire CE Industries Group.

2. You started doing business in Serbia in 2021 through joint acquisitions. How significant is the value of the investment and how much sales growth have you accomplished so far?

As can be seen in publicly available documents, the company has increased its turnover by more than 60% in the last two years. The results were achieved due to an export-oriented policy, redefinition of the product portfolio and the introduction of new products.

We are especially proud of our Duel brand, which is still highly appreciated by the consumers due to its recognizability in the yellow category, and we continue to support it through various ATL and BTL campaigns. In the upcoming period, we will continue to direct our investments in two brands, Spin and Pompa.

Our investments follow our business culture, defined in the Strategy House, where the main goal of each pillar is sales or sales support.

The value of marketing investments and distribution has reached the level of multinational companies and is treated at the 15–20% level of the company's turnover.

3. What is the future development strategy of Beohemija for the Serbian market and for the export markets?

We will continue to respect the hierarchy of brands in every market.

- Duel – everything for washing,

- Selection – budget-friendly variant of Duel,

- Spin – everything for the dishes,

- Pomp – everything for the house.

This way, we will continue to expand our portfolio and follow global trends.

4. How many countries is the Beohemija company present in?

We have organized distribution in 12 countries, but we also actively work on opening new markets. I would like to emphasize the importance of the trade fairs, at which Beohemija is yet again present after a long period. This way, we make records of inquiries from Canada, Libya, Algeria, and other countries of Western and Eastern Europe.

5. Beohemija is a company dedicated to quality in order to achieve maximum customer satisfaction. You are committed to the continuous development and improvement of product quality. What are the plans in terms of orientation towards eco-friendly products in the future?

I believe that all companies should promote a socially responsible approach, in which dealing with environmental issues takes an increasingly important place. Beohemija strives to keep up with the trends and standards prescribed at the level of European Union. We actively participate in the reduction of polluting raw materials such as plastic, the reduction of CO2 emissions, as well as in the reduction of any other potential form of environmental pollution.

As a part our development plan, we have green eco-friendly products that we want to market in the upcoming period.

Nevena Ponjavić, Head of Supply Chain

I have been at the top of the Supply Chain Department for eight years, and I can proudly say that our department is one of the key elements of the entire company’s operation. It enables the movement of products from the manufacturer to the end customer, which is the basis of our success in the market.

Our department encompasses a wide range of activities that include procurement planning, supplier selection and management, storage, distribution, as well as monitoring and optimization of all these processes. We ensure that every step in the supply chain is efficient, reliable and cost-effective.

The work of our department is closely related to all the other departments in the company. Cooperation with the Production Department is crucial to ensure that we have all the necessary raw materials at the right time. We work closely with the Sales Department to monitor market trends and customer needs, and to adapt our processes to these requirements.

Over the past year, our department has made a significant effort to modernize and improve its processes. By introducing advanced software solutions, we have enabled faster and more accurate inventory and distribution management. We invest in the training of our staff because we believe that the knowledge and the skills of our employees are the most important resource we have.

One of our biggest projects is the optimization of the supply chain by increasing efficiency and reducing costs. We are actively working on expanding our supplier network to ensure the procurement of quality raw materials for our products. This allows us to maintain high quality standards and at the same time to reduce costs, which is a direct benefit for our customers.

Our medium-term goal is to further strengthen Beohemija's position in the global market through the optimization of our processes and the introduction of new technologies. As our long-term goal, we aim to develop a sustainable and green supply chain that will support our green production strategy. We believe that the future is in sustainable sources, and that is why we are working on buying as many raw materials as possible from renewable sources.

Beohemija's Supply Chain Department is not only an operational function, but a strategic partner in the growth and development of the company. Through our efforts, we strive to ensure that every product that reaches our customers is the result of an efficient and responsible process, which supports our mission and vision.

Vladimir Prokopović, Head of R&D

The R&D Department, which I have been the head of for almost half a year, is the starting point for almost every innovation related to Beohemija's products. Our scope of work is extremely wide, and includes everything from the selection and testing of the new chemicals and raw materials that are a part of our products, product formulation, testing and the analysis of the competitors’ products, preparation of documentation, through providing the support for the production in close cooperation with all the other departments, all the way to the communication with domestic and foreign authorities responsible for the chemicals and products we produce. In addition to all this, we are primarily concerned with innovations because they are the driving factor of all development – research and development of new concepts, improvement of the existing ones and the prediction of future trends are the things that every researcher and scientist sees as a foundation, whether it is about a theory, experiments in the laboratory or application in real resource exploitation conditions.

In the last year, we have witnessed an intensive development of all aspects of the company – investments in equipment, infrastructure, training and, most importantly, people. We are actively expanding the list of suppliers in order to increase the quality and the competitiveness of our products. Given the growing volume and complexity of work, the plan is to expand the employee capacity and continue to simplify procedures and speed up business operations through specialized software solutions.

The task of the Development Department is to provide the answers to the posed questions, and to the ones that have not yet been posed, and to offer solutions to the challenges we will encounter as a company operating in an extremely dynamic and creative market. The medium-term plan is to fully confirm and further strengthen Beohemija's position to the rank of the world's largest brands, and the long-term plan is to create new categories and dictate the trend with innovative products. Also, the most important project that is the backbone of the business is to turn, as much as possible, to using raw materials from renewable sources, the so-called green raw materials, and to further reduce the impact that our products have on the environment. There will be no compromise on this philosophy and we will build all our innovations around it.

Dragana Savić, Head of HR

With our five-year business strategy, Human Resources have been recognized as one of the key pillars of future development. Attracting and developing quality staff and promoting a desirable value system, as well as building a stimulating organizational culture, are the foundation of numerous projects and initiatives that we have launched within the HR Department.

At Beohemija, we believe that the prerequisite of any business success lies in a good team cooperation, proactivity, open communication, and employee satisfaction. That is why we have paid great attention to improving the work experience of employees, their motivation, and engagement. We have taken a number of steps to improve the work environment and atmosphere and have created reward systems that are based on the achievement of set KPIs and on the recognition of special contributions of individuals.

Thus, through the "I Have an Idea" program, we motivate our employees to be proactive and propose initiatives that contribute to the improvement of processes, savings or increased productivity. This way, we help to create an environment that is open to suggestions and that encourages employees to actively contribute to the company’s improvement.

In addition to celebrating successes and nurturing team spirit, we are also happy to organize team-building activities, and we are especially proud of the recently held Sports DUEL, as well as Beohemija's Family Day.

We nurture a culture in which people feel like they belong, have a purpose, are a part of a team, and in which they can see their personal and professional growth alongside the growth and the development of the company, which is why the topics of developing teamwork, personnel, operational excellence, integrity and competence are incorporated into our HR strategy 2023–2028.

Our focus in 2024 is the strengthening of the organization by empowering employees through leadership and soft skills training, internal mentoring programs, by retaining and attracting talent through succession planning programs, connecting with the experts in relevant fields, and exchanging experiences and best business practices.

Our strength lies in the ability to adapt to the changes that the market brings, and staff development, continuous education and good organizational culture is the way we reach every goal.

Željko Dragović, Head of Operations

I was appointed to the position of Operations Manager on 18 December, 2023 with the aim of increasing the existing production volume and the quality of end products, while reducing costs, with my expertise and work experience of 30 years in production, maintenance of work equipment and investments.

It was a complex task, and the achievement of it depended on the necessity to form a leading Operations team first, which has both the professional and leadership potential to implement this. In Beohemija, which has gone through various phases of development and stagnation since its establishment until today, I found employees whose qualities fully met these conditions, and what they had in common was that, regardless of the difficult times this company went through, they believed in its potentials and were ready to give full contribution to its development.

When you, as a manager, have such a good base – a good team, it is possible to map the process in a short period of time, define critical points, set priorities, prescribe measures and, as a result, achieve significant production results, which are of course measured in the amount of end products produced.

In just 5 months, we managed to increase our production capacity of powder laundry detergents by 40% and the production of liquid laundry detergents and softeners by 12%. Through additional investments, the plan is to increase the hourly capacity of the production of liquid laundry detergents and softeners by an additional 18%.

It is important to note that all these increases in capacity and production volume have not in any way affected the reduction of the defined quality of the end product. The Operations Department is in daily communication with the Quality Control and Development departments. At the morning work meetings, observed irregularities are eliminated at the very stage of the production process, which ensures that the end customer receives a quality product in accordance with the defined product declaration.

A part of future investments will be focused on the use of renewable energy sources, net zero CO ₂ emissions in the atmosphere, as well as waste reduction in all aspects of our business.

Employees in the Operations Department are the most important resource, regardless of the job position in which they perform their tasks and the service they belong to.

Ksenija Majkić, Attorney-at-Law

Advocacy, as a professional orientation, offers a wide field of action in various legal fields and through practice. Most attorneys like myself are known in the field which provides us with the opportunity for personal and professional prosperity. After 19 years of working in advocacy, first as a trainee attorney, then as an independent attorney and as a notary public for some time, I have found my interest in the field of corporate and commercial law, civil law, property law relations, intellectual property law, as well as labor law. My cooperation with Beohemija began by being hired by the company that bought Beohemija, the Czech company CE Industries, during the acquisition process, and has continued with success and to mutual satisfaction for three years. These three challenging years of cooperation, which include my personal involvement in all segments of Beohemija's business that require legal support, have placed extremely high business demands on me, and at the same time made me a witness to a progressive and well-organized work of Beohemija's management.

Working with Beohemija’s team in all its departments is a very important and valuable experience for me personally. It gave me an insight into the way production and operations work, the importance of capital investments, introduced me to the work of the departments of Development, Procurement, Finance, Sales, as well as to the role of marketing. This, in turn, included my special engagement in the field of intellectual property rights protection, in relation to the brands and copyrighted works that are created by this company. Expansion to foreign markets has brought new challenges in terms of working on each individual project, deciding on possible business co-operations through contracts of different kinds, and studying relevant foreign regulations for doing business in various foreign markets.

The inventive leadership team at the top of Beohemija, along with the engagement in improving the work of the factory, is equally engaged in strengthening the team spirit of Beohemija's employees, with great respect for the role of every external associate, which is best evidenced by my interview invitation in your prestigious magazine. Due to the aforementioned reasons, I can conclude that it is a privilege to be a part of the great team of Beohemija, a very prosperous company, for which I see foresee a bright future in every sense in further operations and business.

Miljan Gospić, Head of Controlling

A little over a year ago, I became a part of the new management team of Beohemija. Many years of experience gained in the Production and then in the Banking Department qualified me for the position of Controlling Manager. A lot of trust has been placed on me, but also responsibility in the form of reorganization and improvement of the work of the department. As ambitious plans were set before the company, it was necessary to raise the organizational structure, as well as the work of the departments themselves, to a much higher level.

In the past year, we have introduced significant improvements in the reporting system itself, where more detailed reports that provide a deeper insight into key business segments and the defining of KPIs have been created, which has allowed for better monitoring and management of the company's performance. Through the internal training “Finance for Non-Finance”, colleagues from other departments had the opportunity to get acquainted in more detail with financial statements and the importance of planning and budgeting, all with the aim of better understanding the impact of everyday decisions on the financial aspect of business.

All of the above has contributed to the fact that managers devote more time analyzing the work of their departments, comparing costs and results with budget levels and last year's achievements, which has led to optimization and efficiency in everyday work.

Plans for the upcoming period are to work on further improvement of the software and digitalization of processes for the purpose of automating reports and better integration of data between different departments; developing models for market trend prediction and inventory optimization, thereby reducing risks and improving profitability; improving internal controls to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and prevent financial irregularities; improving communication for better cooperation between the departments... In addition to all of the above, the Controlling Department is actively involved in the field of sustainable development through ESG standards, where we focus on the environmental aspects of business, including optimization of energy consumption and waste reduction, as well as investment in green technologies.

Through the improvement of the reporting system, employee education and the implementation of new technologies, we have managed to raise the business performance level and enable better decision-making at all levels of the company.

Dragana Sekerez, Head of Marketing

Adding value to the company and increasing customer awareness of the brands Duel, Spin, Pompa and Selection with inventive ideas and relevant responses in communication opportunities, is the challenge and motto that guides me as the Director of the Marketing Department at Beohemija.

Creative energy and global thinking are a prerequisite for the continuous understanding of the needs and habits of customers, which are ever-changing in the FMCG industry. The only constant for us is the quality of our products present in the markets throughout the region in the challenging categories of laundry detergents, fabric softeners, and household chemicals.

In the past year, we have intensified the improvement of crucial marketing segments. A new brand architecture was established, long-term plans for the development of the portfolio, and, after conducting qualitative and quantitative research, new brand strategies were positioned. The implementation of these, through media mix marketing campaigns, has resulted in the growth of both marketing effectiveness in the market and the love for the brand itself.

Special attention was paid to the campaign "Duel – strong, gentle and powerful – like YOU."

The aforementioned campaign is accompanied by CSR activation, which we, as a socially responsible company, carry out through NGO partners by donating funds from each Duel liquid detergent sold to single mothers in Serbia.

The support and compactness in understanding Marketing, which was pointed out to us by our headquarters in the Czech Republic, CE Industries Holding, as well as the entire Beohemija team, are of great importance for the implementation of projects in time-targeted frameworks. For me personally, they represent motivation but also an added responsibility.

To play this challenging market game, to react immediately today, because by tomorrow the opportunity could already be missed, to achieve the goal of good marketing – the financial profit of the company, and all this while connecting the brand, customers and community, is a complex algorithm, which, like popular social media platforms – you cannot fool.

Only the fittest teams that offer innovative production and communication solutions and that spark a desire among customers to become a part of the brand story will advance to the next round of the competition.

I believe that Beohemija is exactly one such team.

Ivan Janićijević, Head of Commercial

I joined Beohemija, which is a part of the Czech investment fund CE Industries, in August 2023. After less than a year as Chief Commercial Officer, I can say that my expectations have not only been fully met, but also exceeded.

The Commercial Department of Beohemija aims to participate strategically and determine future directions of the development, as well as to implement these strategies in the domestic market as well as in the Common Regional Market, EU Single Market and beyond. The primary focus is the expected Serbian market, where Beohemija is the market leader in the category of powder laundry detergents and where, with an innovative approach and a clearly defined plan for the implementation of activities in the field and for the customer, it strives to ensure that its products are available to every customer at any time for an adequate price. In other categories in which the company operates, such as fabric softeners, liquid detergents or dishwashing liquids, we strive to improve our position and become leaders in these categories as well.

About half of the company's annual turnover is realized in export markets. The markets of the former Yugoslavian countries are as much of a priority for us as the Serbian market is.

One of our main focuses is the opening and the development of the new markets. We are present in several countries of the European Union such as Austria, Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Romania. Expansion to other European countries is one of the main tasks of the Export Sub-Department within the Sales Department. However, I believe that we have great opportunities beyond the borders of Europe, so we are working intensively on the export of our products to Africa and the countries of the Middle East.

Private label development is also one of the key projects of the Commercial Department. The popularity of PL is growing year by year and trends from Western Europe are moving to Eastern Europe as well as to our market. Our goal is to take a significant market share in this segment and achieve successful cooperation in direct communication with European retailers.

In the end, I would say that the Commercial Department has great support from all other parts of the organization and that , without their engagement, the great results we achieve would not be possible. I would also like to highlight the incredible energy and approach of our long-term distributors, with whom we are building the new, visionary Beohemija.