UWT International (Malta) said that once Malta joins the EU, its transport costs to Europe will be much lower and it will therefore increase its operations.
General Manager Emidio Friggieri said this during a tour of the factory organised for the company’s sales representatives in 13 different countries.
Mr Friggieri explained that UWT International (Malta) was the daughter company of UWT in Germany. He said that the Malta branch dealt with international orders and after only three years of operations, was already profitable.
“We have delivered in these past few years and we are committed to keep on delivering. This company is doing well and it will continue to grow,” said Mr Friggieri. He explained that the company manufactured level indicators for the building and agricultural industries. “Basically, our level detectors indicate when a flour silo or a cement container is full,” he explained.
“We sell about 25,000 units per year and we can easily expand our output to double that amount,” said Mr Friggieri. “In fact, we are looking to employ about 25 more people on the shop-floor level,” he said.
Mr Friggieri said the company was very much looking forward to Malta becoming part of the EU. “It will cut our transport costs drastically. Before we had to transport items to Germany where VAT would be paid on them and then they would be declared as free-trade merchandise,” he said.
Once Malta joined the EU, he said, the company would be able to make direct deliveries to any EU-25 country. “In fact, we will be sending a shipment to Italy on which we will not have to pay VAT and that has resulted in a saving of E600 which is very significant,” he said.
Mr Friggieri said that the company had been set-up for an initial investment of Lm150,000.
UWT partner and managing director Uwe Niekrawietz said he was very happy to see sales representatives from over 13 countries at the Malta plant. “I am also very proud that so many guests have come, including Prime Minister Gonzi. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder would never come to see our plant, which is small by German standards,” he joked. He said he was very pleased that the Malta plant was already profitable and that it had a reputation for providing excellent quality products.
Prime Minister Gonzi said he was very impressed by the operation. “And I am also happy that this company has given Malta the opportunity to showcase its talents in front of sales people from 13 different countries,” he said. He also joked with Mr Niekrawietz, saying: “And when I go to Brussels on 1 May, I will be sitting next to Mr Schroeder and I will tell him to visit the UWT plants because they are impressive.”
Reverting to serious business, Dr Gonzi continued: “The factory and team of employees are great. It is a plant that is geared to be competitive. That is the secret today – well, maybe it always has been but now more than ever.”
He said that UWT Malta’s 16 employees were competing, very well, against companies all around the world. “And this is a company that is not only successful and competitive, but also very innovative. We want our country to be competitive and when I look at your company and workforce, it inspires me. It convinces me, more than ever, that Malta can be successful,” he said. Dr Gonzi said Malta only had human resources, nothing else. “It is a particular challenge, but we have good workers. After all, management is nothing without a good workforce. Just like a prime minister cannot be a good prime minister if he does not have a good workforce,” he rounded off, with a genuine smile.
FOI president Anton Tabone, Malta Enterprise chairman Joe Zammit Tabona and German ambassador Georg Merten were also present.