Members of the Management Board of the Austrian Development Bank visit AS Holding

SARAJevo, (Patria) - A formal reception for the Management Board of the Austrian Development Bank was held at the premises of AS Holding in Sarajevo, and on this occasion, a Technical Assistance Agreement was signed for the implementation and certification of ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001: 2018, as well as IFS standards for facilities that will be activated in the coming period, including the EP program and the complaint mechanism in the company AC Food, which is part of AS Holding.

The agreement was signed by Sabine Gaber and Michael Wancata, members of the executive board of OeEB, and Rusmir Hrvić, President of the Management Board of AS Holding, with Ševal Delić, Director of AC Food.

Hrvić emphasized on this occasion that he is proud of the established cooperation with the Austrian Development Bank, which has strict criteria when selecting business partners, as it approved 18 projects last year and decided on AC Food this year.

"We are proud of the partnership with AS Holding and are happy to support its expansion. With our TA funds, we can further support AS Holding in its development and further improvement and strengthening of environmental and social standards," stated Sabine Gaber, member of the executive board of OeEB.

With the support of Raiffeisen bank, the consulting firm TOP Consult d.o.o. from Croatia, and the certification body TÜV Nord Group Croatia, with the approved funds, the implementation and certification of standards in the member company AC Food will be realized by December 2019, and the entire project will be completed in December 2021.

"This is just a continuation of activities regarding the implementation of standards in the member companies of the AS Holding group, which possesses over 30 certificates, accredited and certified 11 different standards in the field of primary production up to the highest IFS requirements in various food industry sectors. AC Food is a member of the group that already holds HACCP, HALAL, and IFS standards, so the continued implementation of international standards will confirm the vision and commitment of the owner and top management in realizing the interests of all stakeholders and AC Food's readiness for the increasingly demanding domestic, regional, and EU markets," stated the project leader, Prof. Dr. Amela Semić from the Directorate for Quality Assurance and Standardization of AS Holding.

During their visit to AS Holding, the guests had the opportunity to taste new and innovative products from AC Food and to tour the production facilities of the Klas mill and confectionery company.