“Orao” Advances Its “Laboratory” Unit With Support From the RS Ministry of Economy
The company “Orao” a.d. Bijeljina, whose core activity is the overhaul of turbojet aircraft engines, decided in late February 2025 to apply for the public call issued by the Ministry of Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Srpska. Through this program, the company aimed to secure 40% co-financing for the procurement of equipment for the “Laboratory” Work Unit.
Biljana Petrić, Head of the “Laboratory” Work Unit at “Orao”, stated that the company’s management had already planned to acquire new equipment through its investment plan in order to expand its measurement capabilities and introduce additional calibration methods. The public call announced in February proved to be an excellent opportunity to make this objective easier to achieve.
“The majority of the equipment procured is intended for the Metrology Laboratory sector, which is accredited in accordance with the BAS EN ISO/IEC 17025 standard for 81 measurement quantities in the fields of length, angle, electromagnetic quantities, time, frequency, mass, flow, force, torque, relative humidity, and temperature. We hold accreditation for 81 methods, and it was extremely important for us to renew part of the equipment in these areas and to purchase new instruments that will further improve our measurement capabilities,” said Petrić.
She added that the public call defined the minimum investment amount.
“Out of the total invested amount, ORAO a.d. received a reimbursement of 40%, which is the standard rate granted to developed municipalities and cities within the Republic of Srpska. A higher co-financing rate of 50% applies only to underdeveloped municipalities,” Petrić emphasized.
She highlighted that the newly acquired equipment includes a set of resistance decades, a set of temperature calibrators, a set of force and torque transducers, as well as a set of thread gauge pins.
“The resistance decades, covering a wide range of electrical resistance from 1 mΩ up to 111 MΩ, are essential for precise measurement and calibration of electrical resistance meters. Such meters are used in the power industry, telecommunications, automotive sector, medicine, health protection, veterinary applications, and in research and development centers.
The temperature calibrator set includes instruments for both contact and non-contact measurements, within a range from -50 to +150 degrees Celsius,” explained Petrić.
According to her, the non-contact temperature calibrators are intended for the calibration of infrared thermometers and thermal imaging cameras, while the contact calibration equipment is designed for precise calibration of contact temperature sensors and thermometers.
“These temperature calibrators are mobile, which enables the Laboratory to provide fast and efficient on-site calibration services directly at the customer’s location. This greatly improves the availability of calibration services. It is particularly beneficial for the pharmaceutical, food, energy, and process industries, where temporarily shutting down equipment for off-site calibration could result in workflow interruptions and financial losses. Moreover, the use of mobile calibrators reduces transportation costs, waiting times, and the risk of damaging sensitive equipment,” Petrić added.
She also noted that acquiring this new calibration equipment enables customers in the Republic of Srpska to have their infrared thermometers calibrated locally rather than abroad, which has been the common practice.
“Currently, there is no laboratory in the Republic of Srpska capable of calibrating infrared thermometers. These services are typically performed in Serbia or other neighboring countries. By procuring non-contact temperature calibration equipment, we have created the prerequisites for accrediting infrared thermometer calibration, thereby allowing customers from RS and BiH to obtain this service within our company,” stated Petrić.
The procurement of new equipment for Orao’s Laboratory is significant because it enables even more precise and reliable measurements, thereby raising service quality to a higher level.
“The acquisition of force and torque calibrators, as well as thread gauge pins, allows us to expand the measurement ranges of already accredited methods used, for example, in the calibration of torque measurement devices and linear force sensors during the testing of tools, engines, and mechanical systems, or in the testing of material mechanical properties in industrial and scientific applications. Thread gauge pins are indispensable for thread calibration, as they determine the pitch diameter—an essential parameter for quality control in the mechanical, automotive, and aviation industries,” Petrić emphasized.
“Orao” was founded in Pančevo in 1944 as a workshop for aircraft engine repairs and was relocated to Rajlovac in 1949. Over the following decades, the company progressed through all technological stages of piston and turbojet engine overhaul. After the Defense–Homeland War, “Orao” was relocated to Bijeljina, where it operates today as a joint-stock company with several hundred employees, including doctors of science, engineers, and other highly qualified specialists.
Within its departments, “Orao” operates in accordance with the highest standards and accreditations awarded by globally recognized companies in the aviation industry, such as the UK’s Rolls-Royce and Canada’s Pratt & Whitney.
This text was sourced from the Regional Chamber of Commerce Bijeljina.
