Incel ( sr-Cyrl, Инцел) was a company based in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, originally manufacturing

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...

viscose Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose ...

and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

products. Established in 1954, it was a major industrial conglomerate in the field during the Socialist Era, employing up to 6,500 workers. Following a period of decline in the 1980s and the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

in the 1990s, the factory shut down, and was subsequently split into several smaller enterprises. Parts of the original Incel industrial zone, largely decrepit, now serve as a business zone rented to small companies. The 150-meters-tall chimney of its former coal-powered plant is one of the tallest structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

History

Cellulose-producing industry in Banja Luka was established in 1954, and first production plants were built between 1955 and 1957. The factory was expanding, and between 1970 and 1981 multiple new production lines were built, as part of the industrial conglomerate (SOUR) "Incel". At its peak, it employed 6,500 workers. The conglomerate included units "Celuloza", "Viskoza", "Elektroliza", "Energetika", "Industrijske plantaže" and several smaller ones, achieving total exports of over 100 million dollars. Incel had joint ventures with Šipad, Krivaja and other major Bosnian companies. During its early chronology it ordered a polyester filament plant, and subsequently ordered a polyester fibre plant from Uhde. The

marked the demise of the factory, and one plant after another ceased production due to loss of market and working capital. After the war, there have been several attempts to restart the business, but the basic production has never been renewed. Through the process of restructuring and privatization, Incel was split into 10 companies, and never recovered. The tissue paper brand Celex remains the only successful section of the former complex, as it was sold to a Slovakia-based group, and is still available on the markets of former Yugoslavia. The industrial zone was turned into a "business zone" and was opened to leasing, with about 60 small companies using the space, mostly as warehouses, employing around 1,500 workers. The area is largely decrepit and described as the "Banja Luka's

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

" by some. In 2019 the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

inquired on management for the contaminated sites of the facility. After soil remediation expert Boudewijn Fokke from the dutch company TAUW conducted a field study with soil samples, the research suggested issues were manageable and not to raise alarm over.

References

External links

Business Zone Banja Luka
{{coord, 44, 46, 28, N, 17, 13, 35, E, type:landmark, display=title Companies based in Banja Luka Pulp and paper companies of Bosnia and Herzegovina Coal-fired power stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina Chimneys in Bosnia and Herzegovina Economy of Banja Luka