The EUR 5 million project was launched to expand the production capacity to include green energy products and condensation batteries. The production has already begun.
Thirty-two people have been hired for work in the newly-built 4,000 square metre production plant and about 20 more are expected to be hired in the course of the year.
Ducati Komponenti has 152 workers, including the newly-hired ones, and manufactures parts for all types of engines, Ducati Komponenti CEO Drazen Crnkovic said.
Ducati Group owner Guidalberto Guidi said this was the final part of the first phase of investment in Croatia. "We started more than 15 years ago. Now we produce on 10,000 square metres here and in several months we will have 200 employees," he said, adding that the Ludbreg plant was one of the group's most important plants in its global operations.
Italian Ambassador Adriano Chiodi Cianfarani said that Italian companies recognised investment possibilities in Croatia. "There are a lot of Italian investments in industrial production in this area. Italian companies choose Croatia for several reasons and two of them are geographical proximity and market potential," he said.
Pleased with the new investment, Mayor Dubravko Bilic said that Ludbreg was among better examples of employment and economic growth. He said that the number of people in work in this town had increased by 25% over the last four years to over 3,500. He said that about 400 million kuna (53 million euros) had been invested in the last three years and that Ludbreg was becoming one of the most important economic centres in Varazdin County and northern Croatia.