Ginex Clears Out Commercial Director as Bosnia's Defense Sector Bets on Competence

The Supervisory Board of UNIS "Ginex" d.d. Goražde voted on Thursday, 16 April to remove Demir Imamović from his position as Executive Director for Economics, Marketing, and Commercial Affairs. The decision ends a tenure that coincided with a series of operational and commercial setbacks at one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most strategically significant defense manufacturers.

How Imamović Got the Job

Imamović's appointment in late 2023 was the product of political negotiation rather than professional selection. According to reporting at the time, Imamović was proposed for the commercial directorship following a politically driven reshuffle within the Supervisory Board, one in which the initial lineup of candidates was reversed following a shift in the political oversight of the defense industry portfolio within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (FBiH) coalition arrangements. His appointment was subsequently confirmed by the Federal Government and was understood from the outset as a coalition-driven outcome rather than a merit-based selection.

Sources with knowledge of internal dynamics at Ginex suggest that Imamović's tenure was marked by decisions that insiders describe as consistently working against the company's own commercial interests, a characterization AD was unable to independently verify.

A tenure Marked by Missed Opportunities and Unanswered Questions

Several episodes came to define the Imamović period at Ginex, and few reflected well on the man responsible for the company's commercial strategy.

In October 2025, workers halted production entirely and gathered outside company headquarters demanding higher wages. The Supervisory Board approved a temporary increase in the hourly rate to 6.15 KM for six months, a stopgap that employees publicly described as falling well short of what the work demands. Workers told local media that handling explosive and initiating materials warrants no less than 7 to 8 KM per hour plus bonuses, and warned that the arrangement did little to address long-term retention at a facility critical to BiH's defense export capacity. According to sources familiar with the matter, Federation Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić played a role in facilitating the resolution of the dispute.

The second, and more damaging, crisis involved the United States. Sources in Goražde with direct knowledge of Ginex's commercial operations indicate that the company's difficulties with the American market predated President Donald Trump's tariff announcements of April 2025 by a considerable margin. According to these sources, Imamović actively obstructed the development of commercial relationships with US buyers during a period of historically strong American demand for primers and initiating devices. The same sources allege that he on occasion bypassed established intermediaries and brokers, making direct contact with end clients in a manner that undermined existing commercial arrangements and eroded trust with partners Ginex had spent years cultivating. AD was unable to independently verify these accounts in full.

The Numbers

Ginex's 2025 financials, published on 20 April, reflect a difficult year. Total revenues fell to 89.7 million KM (approximately $50 million) from a record 102 million KM (approximately $57 million) in 2024, a decline of more than 12 percent. Net profit dropped from 35.5 million KM (approximately $20 million) to 24.3 million KM (approximately $13.6 million), a contraction of roughly 11 million KM (approximately $6 million) in a single year.

The company remains profitable, a testament to the resilience of Ginex's underlying business and the steady hand of Director General Dženana Turković, a long-serving company veteran whose deep knowledge of Ginex's operations and export relationships has helped the company weather a turbulent period. Nonetheless, the revenue decline will have factored into the Supervisory Board's decision to act, particularly at a company of Ginex's standing, which exports more than 70 percent of its production to over 30 countries worldwide.

A Sector Changing Direction

Imamović will be replaced by Admin Peštek, who has been formally appointed to the commercial directorship. Peštek is a familiar face at Ginex, having previously served in the company's management before the current leadership structure was established, a background that is expected to provide continuity and restore confidence in the company's commercial operations both domestically and in key export markets.

The appointment is part of a broader pattern across FBiH's state-owned defense holdings. The Federal Government has in recent months moved to install professional management at several key manufacturers, most notably at Pretis in Vogošća, where acting director Fuad Šehić has overseen a stabilisation of the company's finances in 2025.

With BiH's ammunition and munitions sector attracting growing attention as a potential contributor to European defense supply chains, the pressure to present credible, professionally run companies to international partners and procurement officials is intensifying. The First Balkan Shield Industrial Expo and Summit, scheduled for 1–4 September 2026 at Zetra in Sarajevo, will put the sector under direct scrutiny from European and NATO buyers.

Director General Dženana Turković and Executive Director for Production Edin Ćesko remain in their positions.

Speaking recently to local media, Turković outlined the company's response to the turbulent trading environment, pointing to strategic capacity reallocation, new market development across 30 countries, and planned investments of up to 15 million EUR in 2025 alone.

"The result is 12 percent lower than 2024, which was a record year, but given the scale of the hit I am proud of that result," she said.

With Peštek now joining her management team, Ginex appears better positioned to rebuild the commercial relationships that were neglected during the previous tenure and capitalise on what Turković describes as strong and growing international demand for the company's products.

About UNIS Ginex

UNIS Ginex was founded in 1951 in Gorazde and has grown into one of the world's leading producers of primers and initiating devices. The company employs 832 people and exports to over 30 countries across every continent. By its own account, Ginex ranks among the top three producers globally in the civilian primers segment by production capacity, and holds a near-monopoly position in initiating chains for fuses and large-calibre munitions, a technological edge the company guards closely and has no intention of sharing. More than 70 percent of its production is exported, making it one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's most globally integrated defense manufacturers.