Ormož, 28 April (STA) - Safilo, the Ormož-based eye wear manufacturer owned by the Italian Safilo Group, returned to sales growth last year following a dip in 2017. The company generated sales of EUR 32m, up EUR 2m from the year before and EUR 7m above plans. Profit rose by a tenth to EUR 1.25m.
The company manufactured just over 2 million pairs of glasses, over a quarter more than planned, shows its annual report.
The company lists an increase in orders of thermoplastic and metal products, and the extensive sale of glasses from other manufacturers as the main reasons for their increase in sales.
The majority of the glasses sold by the company are still within the Safilo Group.
This year, their goal is to focus on designing and manufacturing new products made with thermoplastic materials and optyl. These will be made entirely in Ormož.
In recent years, the Ormož group has also been reducing costs by laying off staff. Additional redundancies are planned for this year, with the company planning to reduce its workforce to around 570 employees.
In 2011, Safilo, then named Carrera Optyl, still employed over 1,000 workers.