Brcko, Tuesday, 24.10.2006 – Mr. Ilija Studen was awarded the recognition "Honoured Citizen" at the formal session of  Gradacac Municipality which took place on Sunday 22nd October 2006 at the congress hall of "Gradacac fair"  in Gradacac.

By this act, Gradacac Municipality wanted to show gratitude to Mr. Ilija Studen for investing into development of economy of this town through Studen & Co.Arex Company, where he has been the main shareholder since 2002.

He invested in a number of companies which are important components of BH industry. Among these SCO Group investments is Bimal Brcko, which is run by CEO Ilija Studen since 2004.

In 2006 Mr. Studen initiated one of the greatest investments in BH food industry - sugar industry and Agrana Group as the strategic investor. Agrana Group is a multinational company with production at all continents and this investment represents first one of such kind into BH food industry. Considering its capacity, the sugar refinery will be the leading one in the area of South-East Europe and it will assist economic development of BiH on it's road towards EU.
 
Due to absence of Mr. Studen, this award was handed over  to Mr. Sasa Studen, Sales Director of  Studen & Co Holding in Vienna and the future Managing Director of Studen-Agrana Sugar Refinery Brcko.
"It is a great pleasure to take this award in the name of Mr. Studen, since such accomplishments can be awarded only thanks to common efforts of all employers of Studen & Co Holding,  and therefore they  deserve this award as well. It can be seen by our business results and accomplishments that we operate in several countries, but it is obvious that our development plans are directed towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. Investing into BiH industry represents one of the primary goals of the company Studen & Co Holding. This award is an encouragement for us to continue with implementing our plans regarding BH industry.", stated Mr. Sasa Studen.

Mr.Sasa Studen, second from left, with other awarded citizen

Mr.Sasa Studen, third from right, with members of Studen & CO Arex