July the 12th, 2021 - The Croatian Koncar company, which is very well known on a global scale for its expertise and high quality work, has succeeded on the Asian market as Japanese jobs are contracted.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the Croatian Koncar - Generators and Engines (GIM), owned by its parent company Koncar - Elektroindustrija, made a very significant step forward onto the challenging Asian market back in mid-May.

Following two entire years of continuous bidding and a tough negotiation process, the Croatian Koncar company earned a large contract over in Japan for the first time in its history. In this regard, the company, one of the components of the Koncar Group, pointed out that the delivery of the signed contract includes "the design, production and supervision during the installation of three generators for two different small hydropower plants."

The first phase of the project will be completed with the successful commissioning of a 5.2 MVA synchronous generator (240 min-1) at Shin Sakagami SHPP, they explained, while the second stage will be completed when the 5.2 MVA (240 min-1) synchronous generator is put into operation, followed by an asynchronous generator with a nominal power of 0.546 MW (366 min-1) at SHE Utsubo.

This is a contract that is a continuation of the Croatian Koncar company's highly successful cooperation with an Austrian turbine manufacturer, and over the next three years the two companies should justify the trust placed in them by Japanese consultants with their work. However, given the fact that this is the first time that Japanese investors have chosen a turbine manufacturer based in Europe, Koncar GIM will not only work hard to introduce itself, but is also expected to be a pioneer in opening the market to other European manufacturers.

This market is widely known for being very demanding, and the company got involved in a challenging project precisely due to typically demanding Japanese consultants and sky high expectations. The Austrian partner and the customer have recognised the competencies and capabilities of the Croatian Koncar, which are harder and harder to find, and decided they were by far the best choice for this kind of solution.

It also turns out that Japan is one of the markets in this segment that puts quality, technical solution and good communication in the first place, above all else. After the first contract on the Japanese market, Koncar could expect many other similar projects in the future, as well as more in various other areas of business. It's worth noting that the share of exports in total revenues from the sales of Koncar Group products and services with references to 130 world markets in the first quarter of this year reached 67 percent, and the most significant exports were realized in Germany, Sweden, the UAE and Austria.

Two thirds of the the Croatian Koncar company's total exports go to the EU market, which again speaks of the quality of their products and the solutions that they successfully offer in this also very demanding market. Koncar GIM has 375 hydropower plants built and revitalised across the world - individual products are adapted to customer requirements and form a niche market for the company's business, and 700 generators are produced and revitalised. Their business results are based on their own product development and production, cooperation with other companies operating under the wider Koncar umbrella, as well as numerous scientific institutions.

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March the 25th, 2021 - The new CroAsia Institute is set to strengthen and intensify relations between the Republic of Croatia and the vast continent of Asia across numerous fields.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, a brand new interdisciplinary project launched with the aim of strengthening cooperation with Asia is the newly opened CroAsia institute, located right here in the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

As the first such institution of scientific-educational and business character here in Croatia, the systematic and long-term connection of Croatia and Southeast Europe with China and Asia was set as a primary programme task, and one of significance. The CroAsia Institute was started up by the Zagreb School of Economics and Management (ZSEM), which is already very well known for its cooperation with prestigious academic institutions over in Asia.

The new CroAsia Institute, along with the dean of ZSEM, Mato Njavro, will be led by Zvonimir Stopic and Ivica Bakota, who haven't only received their doctorates in the fields of economics, finance, international relations, history and politics related to Asia, China, Croatia and the immediate region, but they already have a lot of valuable practical experience under their belts. Behind them lies more than a decade of impressive and uninterrupted experience of active work in various Asian countries, both through business collaborations and research projects, as well as as lecturers.

"The CroAsia Institute will strive to provide Croatia with a fresh, new, reasonable and as objective as possible view of Asia and China," said Mato Njavro when discussing the move.

The partners of the ZSEM Institute are the China-CEE Institute, the Beijing Capital Normal University and the Beijing University of Foreign Languages, as well as a group of experts with international diplomatic and business experience who will participate in the work of the CroAsia Institute.

In addition to former NATO Assistant Secretary General and ex president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, other involved individuals include Sinisa Krajnovic, Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Services in the NE Asia Market Area for Ericsson, Chor Pharn Lee, Chief Strategy Advisor, Centre for Strategic Futures at the Office of the Prime Minister of Singapore, digital marketing expert Dejan Kutnjak and head of supervision and control for Asia at UBS, Mirko Jurisic.

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