When a boy`s dream comes successful business

"I've always loved machines. As a child I wanted one day to have a job that would involve tools and machines. As I was growing up, I moved to a different direction, started  studies and graduated in economics. But, I never gave up my idea of working on ​​machines", Milan Krasić starts his entrepreneurial story.

His parents had their own small business for more than 20 years. "I was helping my mom and dad in the store for years while I was studying. This combination of practice and theory at work has definitely directed me towards starting my own business." This is how the enterprise "Blokara Krasić" started production of concrete products for construction. The main buyers are warehouses, investors and companies that build various facilities, but also individuals who build houses. "We produce four types of blocks, three types of poles and curbs. We mainly operate within the municipality of Velika Plana and its surroundings. In the last year, there has been an increasing number of companies that show interest in cooperating with us. Although the competition is strong, in a short time we found our position at the market due to the quality and lower price of the product ", says Milan and adds: " This job is specific, because we work under the open sky, on a concrete runway, so our work depends a lot on weather conditions. We produce blocks using machines that have a mold in which we put the material, which is then dried, packed and transported by truck to customers. "

The machine that Milan worked on for years was outdated, and almost everything was done manually, but there were no funds to purchase a new one. The EU PRO Call for entrepreneurs and micro and small businesses was a chance for Milan to get new equipment he wanted. "Since I didn't have the money to buy a new machine, I was looking on the Internet for ways to get the funds. When I saw the public call for European Union grants, I decided to apply. Honestly, I was skeptical, but I told myself - I'm going to do my best since I have nothing to lose ", Milan says and adds "My project proposal was approved and with donation I bought a machine for concrete accessories that is mobile and can produce more than an old machine, and more importantly, the blocks produced in this way are of much higher quality. I just need to change molds on this machine and it produces blocks of different types and sizes. "Unlike the old machine we had, with this one we automated production because it moves automatically and everything is done by using a joystick." 

As Milan says this is just the beginning of the development of his enterprise, because he has many plans for the future. "The encouragement and support I received from the EU through the EU PRO programme, helped me further develop my business. First of all, I am planning to produce a larger amount of concrete blocks, expand the concrete runway where the blocks are made and establish cooperation with more companies and thus expand my business to the whole of Serbia. For now, I have two workers, but my plan is to employ more", concludes Milan. Part of the project that the EU supported includes the corporate socially responsible activities of entrepreneurs so Milan decided to help his youngest fellow citizens. "We donated benches for the school park and poles for making a fence in the Primary School" Karađorđe "in Velika Plana. "Pupils are safer now, they have a nice and tidy environment for playing, and maybe some new entrepreneurial ideas will be born among them."

The European Union, in cooperation with the Ministry of European Integration, supported over 200 micro and small enterprises and entrepreneurs with more than 4.3 million Euros through the EU PRO programme. The funds were used for the purchase of new equipment that help the enterprises to improve production and competitiveness and create new jobs.

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.