UNMIK ON AIR

9 September 2003

The Dajti detergent factory

(Sevim Meciham)

Hello and Welcome to this edition of UNMIK on Air with Sputnik Kilambi and Martin Redi

Bringing the shattered economy in post war Kosovo back on its feet is one of the main challenges for the new institutions. But it is as much a challenge for the people of Kosovo, for its citizens to invest and make the Kosovan economy a vibrant one. One such example is the newly opened detergent factory in Lipljan, “Dajti”, which is set to emerge as a strong competitor in this lucrative sector. Company Director Shpend Shala.

Shpend Shala: “My goal is to try and contribute to the development of postwar Kosovo. I thought the best way to begin would be to start up production facilities. And though “Dajti” also dealt with trade and production before the war, we have decided to focus only on production now. I think the detergent sector is very promising because detergents are commodities much in demand and hence interesting for investment. That’s why I set up this factory.”

The detergent market is a very challenging one – there are dozens of brands in competition, both from neighboring countries and further afield. Dajti is not afraid to take on their competitors and stake a place in the market and capture that famous consumer loyalty - Shala believes that with their quality and design they will give their rivals a run for their money. ”Dajti”, he says, is getting ready to launch five kinds of “Perla” detergent.

Shpend Shala:“ It’s our responsibility as producers to make sure that Kosovan consumers know that local companies can offer quality products at competitive prices. This means that consumers will have the last word. If we want an independent state and we said that we do want one, then we need to be self-reliant and first believe in our products and ourselves. It’s much harder to produce and sell products made in Kosovo than to sell imported ones.

Because the technology available in Kosovo is not up to scratch, Dajti is obliged to import materials from foreign countries. The technology used in the factory is brought from Italy, while the raw material required for production is imported from Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland and Turkey. In order to realize its compendium “Dajti” hired experts from different places with wider experience in production and marketing. Amit Mahajan for example, originally from India, spent years as a marketing consultant in Egypt and Cyprus, before being recruited by Shala to head Dajti’s marketing department.

Amit Mahajan: ‘It’s a brand new market, there is a lot of excitement here, people are converting not only in terms of brands and terms of products but in terms of their whole lifestyles, their approach to everything around them and I see this as an opportunity for myself, as personal development and, a rich experience, so to say in another developing market, so I came here because of that diversity.”

Hiring expatriate skill was essential in getting Dajti off the ground, adds director Shpend Shala.

Shpend Shala: “Because the capacity is really big, the scale of this project’s success depends on its position in the Kosovo market and markets elsewhere. In order to reduce the risk and time factor, I decided to take the advice of my American friends and contacted Amit who hails from New Delhi and has lots of experience with multinational companies and research in the detergent market”.

As in any other business, effective marketing is a crucial aspect. More so in the case of the detergent sector because of the huge competition. Grabbing a place in the market and winning consumer loyalty is the key to success, explains Amit Mahajan.

Amit Mahajan: “In Dajti I’m the marketing manager, so right from the inception of logo designs and communication strategy, marketing strategy, how we want to position ourselves in the market, what we need to do, the color combination, the logo, everything we do in Dajti for this brand has to communicate something, has to communicate something to the public”.

Dajti currently employs 80 people who work in four shifts on the factory premises. But the company has many more on its payroll, who deal with distribution and sales. Its present capacity is 1500 kg of detergent per hour – the factory has state of the art laboratory facilities for quality control. Shpend Shala is upbeat about his company’s prospects, as a successful business and as an employment generator.

Shpend Shala: “Success is a joint enterprise, it depends on the success of the privatization process, but above all, our success depends on the youth who will work here and the enthusiasm they bring to this job”.

“Dajti” has ambitious plans – to capture foreign markets once they have consolidated their position in Kosovo. In the meantime, the company has one aim – for Perla to become Kosovo’s top selling detergent.