ZAGREB, May 14, 2019 - The Culmena company in Zagreb on Tuesday unveiled the "100 Smart Factories" project aimed at helping companies align with the requirements of Industry 4.0.

The project is designed for small, medium and large manufacturing companies and uses the innovative Culis method in helping the industrial and services sectors to quickly undergo digital transformation, said Professor Nedeljko Štefanić of the Zagreb Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture.

Culis was developed over five years based on Štefanić's experience as a member of the European Commission's task force for digitising the industrial, agricultural and healthcare sectors, and on the practical application of the best concepts such as lean manufacturing, green manufacturing and Industry 4.0.

Štefanić said that this method puts people at the centre as the greatest assets of every company because they create and improve processes. He said that the Culis method would help companies innovate their products and make them digital within a very short period of time.

He said that the method was not limited only to manufacturing companies but had also proved very successful in the public sector. He said that the method could ensure between 15 and 50 percent higher growth, adding that initial results were visible already after the first six months.

Mario Antonić, state secretary at the Ministry of Economy, said that innovation and research were an integral part of Industry 4.0, and that Croatia needed to be more competitive and productive if it were to catch up with more developed countries.

He announced that two documents would be presented soon - a programme for a digital economy and a programme for the development of artificial intelligence in Croatia.

More news about Croatian economy can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, May 7, 2019 - The value of innovative ideas and projects ready for investment in Croatia is greater than 5.5 billion kuna, Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Darko Horvat said on Monday at a meeting of the National Innovation Council (NIV).

The amount of 2.23 billion kuna will be secured from structural funds through tenders and part of the funds will be secured from the state budget, he said.

He added that intensive talks are underway with institutions in neighbouring countries as well as in Israel, America and China that have the financial capacity but do not have quality projects so that they can finance good innovative ideas and develop them in Croatia and in that way invest in Croatia and create jobs.

Horvat said it was important that the real entrepreneurial sector made up about 70% of theme innovation councils.

He added that the objective is that Croatia increases investments in research and development from the current 0.87% to 1.4% of GDP by 2020.

Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak underscored that it was necessary to take a step toward innovative industries. "Without taking a big step toward innovation, research, synergy of science and the economy, we don't have a chance," she said.

The science community and people who work with innovations are exceptionally motivated and there is a lot of interest by scientists in the diaspora to participate in developing a different and modern Croatia, president of the innovation council for health and quality of life Dragan Primorac said.

The NIV was established in July 2018 as an umbrella body for the national innovation system to coordinate the implementation of the smart specialisation strategy for the period 2016 to 2020, with the aim of efficiently using the potential for research, development and innovation to improve Croatia's competitiveness.

Until today the NIV was chaired by the Ministry of Economy. As of today, it is in the remit of the Ministry of Science and Education.

More news about investment in Croatia can be found in the Business section.

ZAGREB, February 23, 2019 - Croatian innovators and entrepreneurs have won 15 awards at the Malaysia Technology Expo 2019 in Kuala Lumpur - the Best of the Best Award, four golds, three silvers and seven special awards.

The 18th International Expo on Inventions and Innovations featured 435 innovations from Malaysia and ten Southeast Asian and European countries, the Zagreb Inventors Association said in press release on Saturday, adding that numerous contacts were made to promote innovative Croatian products on the Malaysian market.

Croatia's exhibitors, all from Zagreb, won 15 awards for ten innovations and new products. For the first time, the expo had a partner country, Croatia, owing to its tenth participation in the event and the 25th anniversary of Malaysian-Croatian diplomatic relations.

With the support of the Croatian Embassy to Malaysia and in cooperation with the Croatian Inventors Network (SHI) and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the organisers of the expo organised a business conference which was attended by Malaysia's top political officials and business community.

A business consultant network for cooperation between Croatia and ASEAN countries was formed on that occasion, while SHI and the Transformational Innovative Maverick company signed an agreement on cooperation in the commercialisation of Croatian inventions and new products.

Speaking at the conference, Croatian Ambassador Krešo Glavač invited the Malaysian business community to cooperate in the market application of Croatian inventors' new achievements.

The Croatian delegation presented the 44th International Invention Show which Zagreb will host in November. Croatia's biggest innovation expo is expected to attract many inventors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Iran, Taiwan, Ukraine and China, the press release said.

More news on Croatian investors can be found in the Made in Croatia section.

“Croatia’s food and defence industries are already present in this market, and now is the time to step up with other sectors as well, such as IT, industry, robots and infrastructure. Today's cooperation agreement must be implemented, and our chambers will play a key role in that,” said vice-president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) for international affairs and EU Ivan Barbarić, opening an economic forum in Dubai where he announced the establishment of the HGK's office in the UAE, reports Poslovni.hr on November 12, 2018.

Arab partners have demonstrated great interest in Croatian robots which will help them learn robotics. “I am convinced that in the period ahead, STEMI robots will teach people from UAE how to program, create 3D-models and their own mobile apps. I had a series of very specific conversations, which is why I am confident about the realisation of these business opportunities,” said Slobodan Velikić from STEMI.

Colliers International Croatia has been working on attracting investors from Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the last year and a half. “Some of the largest investors and developers, such as Damac and Emaar, have visited Croatia and recognised its potential. As a result of our efforts, we are in active negotiations and we expect to close several projects in the coastal areas and Zagreb,” said Vedrana Likan.

Atiq Nassib, vice-president of the Dubai Trade and Industry Chamber, said that the forum is the beginning of more successful and deeper cooperation between Croatia and the UAE. "We have fantastic relations with the Croatian government and we are grateful for its great support in the Expo 2020 organization. I am also pleased to see that the number of tourists from Croatia has increased to 14,000. We are businesspeople by nature and we are interested in business. We want to develop the agriculture and food industry, transportation, education. You are an interesting partner and we need to work together,” said Nassib.

Croatian Ambassador based in Egypt Tomislav Bošnjak announced the opening of the Croatian consulate in Dubai and stressed that Croatia has the capacity to participate in the development of the UAE. He pointed out that the two peoples agree in many ways and share the same values.

In addition to taking part in the economic forum, the economic delegation will also visit the international exhibition and the annual conference on oil and gas and energy ADIPEC 2018, where Croatian companies are participating.

The UAE boasts the most diverse and most open economy of the Middle East, political stability, diversified economy, favourable business climate and financial strength.

For more on Croatia and UAE, click here.

Croatian inventors have won four gold, three silver and three bronze medals at the IENA 2018 international exhibition held in Nuremberg, Germany, reports Jutarnji List on November 5, 2018.

The gold medal in the team category was won by Dorian Crnoja from the “Faust Vrančić” Technical High School, under the mentorship of Mladen Marušić, for his innovation “Charging a smartphone with static electricity of the human body”.

In the category of individual inventors, the gold medal went to Ervin Matić's innovation “Apparatus for cleaning and maintaining pillars”, which also received a special recognition presented by the KIPA, the Korean Association for the Promotion of Innovators.

Gold medals were also won by Milan Zrnić for his “Mobile bidet” and Inga Kovačić Sindik for her innovation “Itherapy Hybrid - smart air cleanser and modulator”, which also won a special acknowledgment presented by the European Association of Innovators as the best innovation by a woman inventor.

The Croatian Association of Innovators presented its award to “Legalight – building cubes”, created by a start-up company from Germany, Sound & Light and Solutions. It was presented by the president of the Croatian Association of Technical Culture Ivan Vlainić.

The international invention exhibition IENA 2018 is one of the most famous and oldest such exhibitions in the world, and this year it marked its 70th anniversary. During four days, the event presented more than 850 invention from 34 countries and was visited by more than 30,000 visitors.

Croatian inventors present ten innovations

Croatia presented ten inventions at the exhibition, and the presentation was organised by the Croatian Association of Innovators, with the support of the Ministry of Science and Education, the Croatian Association of Technical Culture and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

The greatest interest was drawn by innovations made by young innovators which demonstrated a significant market potential and attracted numerous representatives of the business sector.

To read more about Croatian innovators, visit our Made in Croatia section.

Researchers and the military show interest in the mini-submarine.

ZAGREB, June 24 (Hina) - Seven Croatian inventors and entrepreneurs won nine awards at INTARG 2018, the 11th International Invention and Innovation Show held in Katowice, Poland, and the most successful Croatian exhibitor was Zvonimir Viduka of the ALTPRO d.o.o. company.

Just two days after the first announcement about the ban, the Incite company from Zagreb has developed a substitute for plastic ear sticks.

In addition to financial savings, the project could contribute to environmental protection.

Croatia is set to become a smart bench superpower if things continue to develop at this rate - a story of innovative students from Slatina on May 1, 2018