As Novac/Jozo Vrdoljak/Privredni writes on the 3rd of August, 2020, the Rasco factory in Kalinovac has produced the 300th Muvo vehicle, a multifunctional utility carrier for the maintenance of urban areas, fully designed and manufactured in Croatia.
Muvo vehicles are currently cleaning and maintaining more than thirty major Croatian cities, including gorgeous coastal destinations. The vehicle is also present in almost all of Europe, as well as in Asia and even as far away as Australia.
The idea of adopting the production of a small universal utility vehicle was born back in 2008, and is the result of the thoughts of two owners and the then members of the board, Frane Franičević and Darko Paviša, on how to ensure the growth of Rasco's revenue in the future.
Although the Muvo vehicle development project started during the global economic crisis, Rasco's director Darko Paviša says that at that time, both he and Frane Franičević accepted the crisis as a challenge and during its hold on the world, began with the construction and production of new types of machines. They also worked on expanding the company's production programme, so that after the end of the crisis, they could take even better positions in the market.
"We weren't satisfied with the representation of our products from utility companies. We've started to produce machines in smaller dimensions, so that they can be installed on small tractors or small utility vehicles that most often maintain the centres of cities and municipalities. We quickly realised that we needed a complete package to enter this market: both a propulsion vehicle and maintenance connections. Back in 2008, small universal utility vehicles were produced by only a few manufacturers in Europe, and in relatively small batches. We recognised this opportunity and started developing the concept, which is today's Muvo vehicle,'' Paviša pointed out.
The conceptual concept of the vehicle and the project task were created by Frane Franičević, and the project lasted for four years. The first Muvo was presented back in 2012 at the IFAT trade fair in Munich, Germany, and aroused a lot of interest among customers and visitors. Serial production started in 2013, and most of the first copies were sold here in Croatia, in order to obtain quality information on the behaviour of the machine in real working conditions and to provide efficient and fast service support.
"Muvo has combined excellent work performance, multifunctionality and quality. Our customers get a compact cleaner, a winter service vehicle, a mowing vehicle, a plant and park watering machine, a lifting platform and much more in one vehicle by changing the attachments. Muvo is constantly undergoing improvements, in line with user comments and market needs. Today, almost eight years after the start of production, we stand by the side of global manufacturers,'' explained Ivica Ivanic, technical director at Rasco.
With the help of a strategic partnership with German articulated utility vehicle manufacturer Max Holder, the company’s management began exporting Muvo vehicles back in 2015. The Muvo project was spun off into a separate company, Rasco Holder, which is 50 percent owned by Rasco and 50 percent owned by Germany's Max Holder. This step forward ensured Muvo's entry into the world market and played a major role in the impressive number of 300 vehicles sold.
"We achieved the goal we wanted: we entered the segment of communal maintenance in cities and smaller, local self-government units and very quickly established that there is still room for the expansion of this the offer to this group of clients. That's why soon after the successful placement of our Muvo vehicles, we started working on a new platform for the utility market: the compact Lynx cleaner,'' concluded Rasko's Darko Paviša.
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