improving Product quality to expand into international markets

ZOKO HART DOOEL produces different sizes of paper bags and plasticized greasy paper for the food industry, including bread and bakery bags, fast food paper and packing bags for butchers. Before founding the company the owner saw how bread, pastry and fast food products were wrapped in other countries during his travels, and he decided to offer similar wrapping material in North Macedonia. This is how the business was founded in 2005, in the village of Tarinci, Karabinci and by now the company employs 15 people.

The company supplies supermarkets, bakeries and butchers with good quality wrapping paper and paper bags. Currently the sales of ZOKO HART focus on North Macedonia with a small percentage being exported to Bulgaria. However, the founder wants to expand the business internationally. The company investment consists of purchasing a new making machine for the production of paper bags, with a Flexo printing unit and a new screw compressor. This investment will improve the Occupational Health and Safety in the company due to a higher level of automation, secure work control mechanisms and monitoring for safe handling. Furthermore, the rotating parts of the new equipment are covered to protect workers from injuries. The new machine will also increase the quality of the printed products and open up opportunities for expanding into European and international markets. A modest reduction in energy consumption and waste as well as the reduction in raw materials consumption achieved by the investment will also help improving the company’s steps towards greener production processes.

The company received free technical assistance to optimize its investment project and a 15% cash-back grant, funded by the European Union, after the successful project verification. 

With the investment, the company now meets a wide variety of standards including: With the investment, the company now meets a wide variety of standards including:

• • Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 October 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food
  • Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 of 22 December 2006 on good manufacturing practice for materials and articles intended to come into contact with food
  • Directive 1994/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste
  • Directive 2014/68/EU relating to the making available on the market of pressure equipment
  • Directive 2014/35/EU on the Harmonization of the Laws of Member States relating to Electrical Equipment Designed for Use within Certain Voltage