Self Adhesive Tape Essential to Craft and Business Alike

Entrepreneurship is a source of many challenges and obstacles, especially when it comes to starting one’s own business. We talked to Snežana Savić from Paraćin, who started a masking tape manufacturing business, about how hard it was to make it and how important it was to have the right tools of the trade. A single unit of machinery to streamline the complicated and costly production process was needed to make her story a success and help her business grow, as was the chance she recognized and used to expand the product palette of her small enterprise and continue down the path to success.

Small masking tape manufacturer Kameleon-Tape d.o.o. is located in the municipality of Paraćin, in Serbia's Pomoravski District. The company started producing masking tape of various sizes in 2015. The products were placed on the local market through hardware and construction-related wholesalers and retailers. The company saw sizable success in its first years and therefore owner Snežana Savić wanted to further improve the operation with a wider product palette and venturing into exports. Regrettably, all manufacture was done on outdated equipment and the masking tape production process was rather costly and complicated. The Paraćin enterprise understood they needed additional investments into a new machine that would solve their problems, improve production and enhance the growth of this small business. Due to the inability to access funding to procure new equipment, Kameleon-Tape decided to start keeping track of public calls in an attempt to secure the funding necessary to continue production and accomplish new business goals. They heard about the EU PRO public call in mid 2018 and as soon as they heard about this competition, they believed it was their golden ticket to not only survive but develop the company as well.

“At the time we applied for the European Union funds we had already been on the market for three years, but surviving in it was challenging. The demand was rising and our machine was not adapted to the width of the raw material. This slowed down the production process additionally; our equipment did not meet the required standards and we were working around the clock to be able to maintain a continuous production rate. In spite of all our efforts to move up, we realized that we can not go on without proper tools and that our production problems will continue if we do not work on improving production. Then we found out about the EU PRO public call that was proposed to us by an agency that oversees our business and provides accounting and consulting services. To be honest,we never had an opportunity to take part in such calls until that time and we did not know what we could expect.”

The ultimate purpose of the donation for Kameleon-Tape was to procure a new equipment that would yield numerous benefits, starting with improvements in the production process which would enhance the quality of their products, up to expanding their product palette, increasing the volume of production by 20%, cutting prices and hiring additional staff.

“We had three employees, our production to date was taking place on outdated machinery which was unproductive and which can use rolls for the production of masking tape up to a maximum of 1.5 m2 . Our plans were to procure a machine that could support tape up to 1.8 m2 and 2 m2, which is the new standard. Our goal was to facilitate the production process and reduce costs, since rolls compliant with the new standard can be ordered in smaller quantities - different from the original rolls, which were exclusively made to order.”

Kameleon-Tape started ramping up their production rate with much success over the previous year. The procurement of new equipment made them compliant with the new standard and the company improved its business significantly and expanded their palette - procurement of rolls became more cost-effective and the production rate accelerated. The new machine enabled them to hire two more workers and they improved the quality of their products, so they expect to increase their market share locally and start exporting.

Kameleon-Tape donated funds to the Paraćin elementary school as part of the corporate social responsibility activities that were a mandatory part of project implementation. “It was our wish to improve education conditions for our little ones through joint efforts and so - apart from providing teaching materials - classrooms of the ‘Momčilo Popović Ozren’ school were painted and retiled, so that the pupils can learn in a completely new and refurbished environment. We also plan to support the youth in creating social events in the coming years. We intend to donate funds to youth cultural organisations from the territory of the Municipality of Paraćin.” as they from the enterprise pointed out.

In addition to this Paraćin enterprise, the European Union supported over 200 entrepreneurs across the regions of Šumadija and Western Serbia and Southern and Eastern Serbia received the European Union to procure equipment, improve production and create new jobs. In this manner the EU provided nearly 4.3 million Euros support to small businesses in Serbia in cooperation with the Ministry of European Integration.

Through the activities of the EU PRO programme, the European Union contributes to the more balanced socio-economic development of Serbia with a total of 25 million Euros. The programme aims to contribute to increasing the competitiveness of micro and small enterprises, improving the business environment and strengthening social cohesion in 99 local self-government units, in two regions: the Region of Šumadija and Western Serbia and the Region of Southern and Eastern Serbia. The activities in the field are implemented by UNOPS.