Krušik (company)

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Krušik
Native name
Крушик
Krušik
TypeGovernment owned
IndustryDefense
PredecessorVistad (1939–48)
Founded23 January 1948 (1948-01-23) (Current form)
22 February 1939 (1939-02-22) (Founded)
FounderNikola Stanković
Headquarters
Vladike Nikolaja 59, Valjevo
,
Serbia
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Vladan Lukić (General director)
ProductsAnti-tank missile
Mortars
Munitions
Rocket artillery
ServicesProduction, consultancy, research
RevenueIncrease €94.81 million (2018)[1]
Decrease €3.90 million (2018)[1]
Total assetsIncrease €120.54 million (2018)[1]
Total equityIncrease €32.88 million (2018)[1]
OwnerGovernment of Serbia (100%)
Number of employees
3,025 (2018)[1]
Websitewww.krusik.rs

Krušik Holding Corporation (Serbian: Холдинг корпорација Крушик, romanized: Holding korporacija Krušik) is a Serbian state-owned company for the production of defense and civil related equipment, with the headquarters in Valjevo, Serbia.

The company was founded in 1939 in what was then Kingdom of Yugoslavia, for the needs of then Yugoslavia defense industry and army. Today the company represents the Government and military–industrial complex of Serbia in the sphere of production of defense and civil equipment. The company works together with the Serbian Armed Forces, Military Technical Institute, Yugoimport SDPR and many other private companies in Serbia and around the world to produce new weapons and systems. The company also provides weapons design, joint participation in sales and manufacturing technology transfer.

History

In 1939 a company named "Vistad" in Valjevo was founded by engineer Nikola Stanković. It produced small caliber (12 kg) aircraft bomb, hand offensive grenades, infantry rifle ammunition. During WWII, farm equipment was produced.[2] After WWII factory was nationalized and renamed to Military-Technical Institute of Valjevo. In 1948 the company was registered under the name of “Krušik”.

In 1999, the company's facilities were heavily destroyed during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.[3] As of 2009, Krušik held a large contract to arm the Iraqi army.[4]

After two decades of working in limited capacity, in 2010s the company has begun operating positively, having annual revenues of nearly 100 million euros and cooperating with more than 70 countries worldwide.[3] As of 2019, it has around 3,200 employees and is one of the main companies of defense industry of Serbia.[3] In February 2019, the company celebrated its 80-year anniversary.[5]

Controversies

In September 2019, it became public that weapons manufactured by Krušik sold to US Federal contractor Alliant Techsystems ended up in the hands of ISIS fighters in Yemen.[6] This revelation led to the arrest of whistleblower Aleksandar Obradović, an IT worker at Krušik, on suspicion of revealing company secrets. The news of Obradović's arrest had not been made public until one month later, when he was placed under house arrest.[7] On 21 November 2019, the Council of Europe alerted that the whistleblower Aleksandar Obradović is under house arrest.[8]

On November 21, 2019, it was reported that pro-Russian separatists had found an unexploded Serbian mortar bomb in eastern Ukraine. The shells had been traded by Serbian, Cypriot, and Polish companies, and were not authorized by Serbia for export to Ukraine.[9] On 13 March 2022, the Ukrainian defense ministry posted a YouTube video which shows Ukrainian soldiers firing 60mm mortar shells (M73) produced by Krušik in 2018.[10]

On March 3, 2023, Serbia denied allegations of providing Ukraine with arms, following media reports by the Russian online newspaper Mash that they delivered 3,500 Grad G-2000 rockets manufactured by Krušik via Turkey and then Slovakia.

On August 4, 2023, an informational videos by friendlyjordies that detailed the bombing of Papuan villages by the Indonesian government mentioned that the bombs that were being dropped were made by Krušik. More specifically, these were 81mm M72 high-explosive mortar rounds with an improvised fuse with a larger surface area.

Subsidiaries
  • RJ-6 "Fabrika akumulatora" - Battery factory founded in 1957. most notably product is battery for MiG-29 airplane and other uses.[11]
  • "Krušik-IRC - Istraživačko razvojni centar" founded in 2007 for purpose of development and research in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and communications technologies.[12]

Products
  • Bumbar, anti-tank missile system
  • 9M14 Malyutka, anti-tank missile system (license)
  • 9K32 Strela-2, surface-to-air missile system (MANPAD)
  • Unguided rockets for multiple rocket launchers (M-77 Oganj, M-63 Plamen, M-87 Orkan, LRSVM Morava)
  • Mortar shells for 60mm 81/82mm and 120mm mortars
  • Air bombs
  • Artillery shells, fuses and gun primers
  • Hand grenades
  • Anti tank mines
  • Anti hail rockets

Incidents

On 13 December 2013, three employees were hurt during testing of the engine and initial filling of the anti-bumper projectile.[13] On 6 November 2014, one employee died of injuries he got after the incident on production line.[13]

On 15 May 2015, seven employees were hurt when capsule of hand grenade exploded on the production line.[14][13]

See also

References
  1. "СТО НАЈ... привредних друштава у Републици Србији у 2018. години" (PDF). apr.gov.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  2. "Srpski narod", 22. jula 1944. ubsm.bg.ac.rs (JPG file, Serbian)
  3. Anđelković, Nataša (14 April 2019). "Kako je valjevski "Krušik" uspeo da se digne iz pepela posle bombardovanja 1999. godine". bbc.com (in Serbian). Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  4. "70 GODINA KRUŠIKA". www.ugradu.info.
  5. Lukić, Vladan (23 February 2019). "U GODINI JUBILEJA REKORDAN IZVOZ "KRUŠIKA"". kolubarske.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. Gaytandzhieva, Dilyana (1 September 2019). "Islamic State weapons in Yemen traced back to US Government: Serbia files (part 1)". Arms Watch. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  7. Veljkovic, Jelena (14 October 2019). "Storm over Serbia Whistleblower Arrest in State Arms Scam". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. "Whistleblower Aleksandar Obradović under House Arrest". Council of Europe. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. Gaytandzhieva, Dilyana (21 November 2019). "Serbian arms trafficked to Ukraine: evidence of contraband mortars used against Donbass". Arms Watch. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  10. "Journalist: Serbia's mortars seen in Ukraine can bear consequences". N1 (TV channel). 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  11. "Fabrika akumulatora". krusik-fabrikaakumulatora.rs. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  12. "Home". krusikirc.rs. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  13. "U nesrećama u namenskoj industriji za 11 godina poginulo 15 radnika". blic.rs (in Serbian). Beta. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  14. Puzović, B. (15 May 2015). "Sedam radnika povređeno u "Krušiku"". novosti.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 23 December 2017.
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