As Adriano Milovan/Novac writes on the 24th of April, 2020, although many Croatian companies didn't see their operations interrupted even during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, the heads of Croatian companies are eagerly awaiting the decision of the authorities on any normalisation of work and doing business. As some of their top executives say, many Croatian companies have experienced a large increase in costs during the quarantine period, in the harsh conditions in which business is minimised.

''We'd like a relaxation of the measures so that the economy can ''breathe'' again. The current situation isn't sustainable: there are many trucks, while the amount of goods being transported is small, which greatly increases the costs,'' complained Petar Simic, owner and director of Primaco, one of the most important Croatian freight forwarding companies.

''We've been in business until now, but in significantly more difficult circumstances, which has led to the loss of certain jobs and the accumulation of stock. However, during that period, we worked on the development of 15 new products, and we're planning to expand to new markets as well,'' said Zdravko Jelcic from the Pozega-based Spin Valis, one of the leading Croatian companies in the wood processing industry.

Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all Croatian companies had to invest significant amounts of money to properly protect their employees: they bought protective masks, gloves and disinfectants and other products. In the case of transporters, they also provided for self-isolation for drivers in their cabins. For the workers at the counters located in the customs offices, plexiglass compartments were provided. These measures have cost Primaco about 250,000 kuna in the past month and a half alone,'' stated Simic.

Despite this, company executives say that employee protection measures will continue to apply after lockdown is over. This, they point out, is in everyone's interest because no one wants a coronavirus epidemic within their company.

''We'll continue to keep up with the hygiene measures of everyone in the company. It would also mean a lot to us if the customs clearance of goods could be returned to the customs offices in the interior of the country, since customs clearance is now done at the border, which creates huge crowds,'' said Simic.

''Worker protection measures will remain as they are after lockdown. We'll continue to use protective masks, gloves and disinfectants and keep the required distance between workers. So far, we've not had any cases of coronavirus in the company,'' says Jelcic.

Croatian companies are therefore adjusting to the new coronavirus reality, which means continuing to apply safeguards even after quarantine measures are lifted. However, they warn that Croatia and Europe are sinking into recession due to the coronavirus pandemic and that the period ahead will not be easy for anyone at all. Therefore, the state is expected to at least facilitate business conditions for them, while companies, for their part, will do what they can to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for all you need to know about coronavirus in relation to Croatia. Follow our business page for more on Croatian companies, products and services.

As Novac/Boris Vlasic writes on the 23rd of April, 2020, the Zagreb-New York mobile app developer agency Five has received prestigious recognition, and is now ranked among the top three agencies on the respectable Clutch business platform by a competition of 480 agencies. This is yet another testament to the talent of Croatian developers.

Clutch is a platform that evaluates the quality of mobile applications based solely on reviews left by clients, and not the agencies themselves. This isn't some simple appraisal that comes with almost every application, but rather a serious review, which people from Clutch then check, further interview those same agency clients, and analyse a series of responses to avoid any subjectivism from the appraisal.

Five has been in New York for a decade now, ever since Viktor Marohnic went there, along with Luka Abrus and Sven Marusic, one of the co-owners of a company which boasts about 150 employees, and applied to Clutch three years ago, thinking that the references they would gain would be good recommendation for their further business development.

"We were never interested in the awards, we didn't spend our time doing that," says Viktor, who, like most people at Five, has been working out of the office, more precisely from home, for the past few weeks.

''What interested us at Clutch is that they were the only ones who offered a realistic assessment of our quality. It's especially different that they don't do the rating, but instead the clients for whom the work was done do it. Our rating comes directly from the clients themselves and this can't be adjusted. Clutch makes sure that every review is authentic. That prize is impossible to fake,'' says Viktor, adding that virtually every agency that has a profile on Clutch actively competes for the best possible position among other agencies.

Marriott International, a multinational hotel company with more than 200,000 employees, asked the Five team for an application to raise employee satisfaction, boast an employment chatbot, and other things.

''Five provided a level of engagement that is invaluable. Their team understood how people use technology, especially those targeted at the global level,'' wrote the director of the wellbeing sector at Marriott about the Five agency in a review on Clutch.

''The West Coast, or the Silicon Valley, is the centre of the world when it comes to VC funds and the Hi-Tec startup industry. On the other hand, the East Coast, or NY, is the epicentre of events in the agency business,'' says one of the Croatian developers, Sven Marusic.

''What used to be agencies on Madison Avenue are now slowly moving into the digital world, and therefore the mobile app world. The competition is huge, so this recognition certainly means that we've become a relevant player globally, now recognised by an independent service such as Clutch as one of the leading ones,'' says Marusic, describing how crucial to their acceptance in the US market was in terms of their decision to become an American company .

At that point, they stopped being a Croatian company with clients in America, and instead became an American company whose main people for sales, design, product definition, consulting and other jobs are Americans.

''In Croatia, we're an IT company with a strong focus on design and clients in America. In America, we're a New York-based agency with a strong development and design team in Croatia. We believe that our key to success was precisely in that step forward and in building a team based in New York. It was also a big risk that's now slowly paying off,'' says Marusic between two zoom meetings.

That's how everyone works, the coronavirus pandemic just changed their location, but it had no effect on the business of these talented Croatian developers and the company Five. Clients expect the realisation of commissioned projects, this is one of the evaluation items at Clutch, and five received five out of a possible five stars for each criterion.

For more on Croatian developers and other talent, follow our dedicated Made in Croatia page.

As Matea Grbac/Novac writes on the 21st of April, 2020, the fact that Croatia has a ''big heart'' has once again been proven in the ongoing coronavirus crisis. In order to support the work of medical staff, firefighters, volunteers and all those who found themselves on the front lines due to the coronavirus pandemic and earthquake in Zagreb, some of the largest Croatian companies have decided to donate huge sums.

Podravka, Zagrebacka Banka, INA, HEP, Hrvatski Telekom, Fortenova Group, and A1 Croatia are just some of the Croatian companies that have decided to help the City of Zagreb and the Croatian healthcare system with generous donations. Thus, in their struggle for the betterment and quicker recovery of Croatia, the Croatian companies singled out here donated as much as 60,863,500 kuna.

United Group - donated 3 million US dollars (about 20.9 million kuna)

The United Group operates in seven countries in the region, in the spirit of solidarity in the fight against the ongoing pandemic, it has sent medical equipment and cash worth a total of 3 million dollars. Thus, the Croatian health system has been awarded equipment worth 500,000 dollars (about 3.4 million kuna), which includes 5,600 sets of COVID-19 virus tests, seven respirators, 150,000 masks, 280 thermometers and 4,000 safety glasses.

HEP - donated 5.2 million kuna

Along with the United Group, the largest amount was donated to charity by HEP employees in collaboration with the company's management. By giving up 500 kuna from their own wages, or the collecting of a total of 100,000 in the case of members of the management board, they jointly raised a massive 5.2 million kuna. The donation was donated to help fight coronavirus and repair the damage caused by the Zagreb earthquake.

Adris Group - donated 5 million kuna

The Adris Group decided to provide financial assistance to those most in need through two rounds of donations. In addition to the initial 3 million kuna donated by the Adris Foundation to procure respirators for hospitals in Rijeka and Pula, the Adris administration decided to donate an additional 2 million kuna for the restoration of cultural monuments damaged in the earthquake that hit the Croatian capital recently.

Privredna banka Zagreb - donated 4.9 million kuna

After an initial donation of 1 million kuna to the "Dr. Fran Mihaljević" Clinic for Infectious Diseases in Zagreb, the PBZ Group decided to donate an additional 3.5 million kuna to the general hospitals in Zagreb. With this act, they included as many as seven hospitals, and to each of them they allocated 500,000 kuna. In addition, they donated 400,000 kuna to the Pula General Hospital.

Fortenova Group (former Agrokor) - donated 4 million kuna

Compared to the Croatian companies listed above, the Fortenova Group decided on a slightly different approach. Financial assistance of a total of 4 million kuna was sent to all countries in the region in which they operate. In addition, they donated half a million disposable protective masks to the Civil Protection Directorate worth nearly two million kuna in total.

Hrvatski Telekom (Croatian Telecom) - donated 4 million kuna

They donated a total of 4 million kuna to the ''Dr. Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases, which redistributed the proceeds according to its own needs, all with the aim of helping to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

OTP banka - donated 2.9 million kuna

In two rounds, OTP banka donated a total of 2.9 million kuna to fight COVID-19, but also to repair parts of Zagreb after the earthquake. In the first round, the bank donated 1.4 million kuna to hospitals across the country, giving general hospitals in Zadar, Sibenik, Split, Dubrovnik, Osijek, Sisak and Pula 200,000 kuna each. Then, immediately after the earthquake, OTP banka sent additional funds in the amount of 1.5 million kuna to Zagreb hospitals to repair earthquake damage.

JANAF - donated 2 million kuna

Through a number of individual donations to hospitals across the country, as well as by paying into the accounts of the Together for Zagreb and Croatia against Coronavirus actions, JANAF donated a total of 2 million kuna. Workers have also shown solidarity during these difficult times, by donating their Eastet bonuses, in the amount of more than 250,000 kuna.

INA - donated 1.5 million kuna

INA, which donated 1.5 million kuna to health institutions, associations and institutions throughout Croatia, showed its solidarity in these difficult conditions. The company donated 250,000 kuna to the ''Dr Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases and a further 250,000 kuna to the Health Centre of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, while to the General Hospital Dr Ivo Pedišić in Sisak and to the Croatian Red Cross, INA donated 100,000 kuna each.

The Special Hospital for Chronic Pediatric Diseases in Gornja Bistra and the Croatian Institute for Emergency Medicine were donated 50,000 kuna each. In addition, the Rebro Pediatric Oncology Foundation was donated 200,000 kuna for equipment for pediatric hematology and oncology, and 100,000 kuna was donated to the Pediatric Department at the Pula General Hospital. Additionally, INA donated 50,000 kuna to the Kamensko Association, which sews cotton masks, while the Rudjer Boskovic Technical School in Vinkovci was donated 10,000 kuna to make visors on 3D printers. To help repair the damage caused by the Zagreb earthquake, INA also donated 250,000 kuna to the Together for Zagreb campaign, and another 100,000 kuna was donated to the Zagreb Children's Diseases Clinic.

Nexe Group - donated 1.5 million kuna

A regional manufacturer of building materials, the Nexe Group has donated 1.5 million kuna for the purchase of medical equipment to several hospitals across the region. For the most part, these are respirators and ultrasound devices. In regard to Croatia, they directed their funds to the General County Hospital in Nasice, KBC Osijek and the Croatian Red Cross, while, like INA, they also sent funds for the design of protective visors to the Rudjer Boskovic Technical School in Vinkovci.

A1 Croatia - donated 1.5 million kuna

One of the leading telecom companies in Croatia, A1 Croatia, donated equipment worth 1.5 million kuna to the Dubrava Clinical Hospital. This is the equipment needed to quickly install and connect the patients with the most serious symptos to oxygen therapy.

IKEA - donated 1.5 million kuna

The famed Swedish furniture manufacturer operating in Croatia also has donated 1.5 million kuna to the Croatian health care system. In addition, in partnership with the Croatian Red Cross and various government institutions, IKEA donated mattresses, textiles, food and other essential products to both patients and medical professionals.

Zagrebacka banka - donated 1.3 million kuna

Zagrebacka banka donated 1.3 million kuna to Croatian hospitals to help cover medical expenses, purchase medical equipment and repair earthquake damage.

Erste Bank - donated 1.3 million kuna

The ''Dr. Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases was sent 1 million kuna by Erste Bank to assist with the procurement of the necessary medical equipment. Erste Card Club also joined in with the donation to the health care system, which paid 300,000 kuna into the account of the Zagreb Children's Disease Clinic to help repair the material damage caused by the earthquake.

Kaufland and Lidl - donated one million kuna

Unlike the Croatian companies listed so far, the Kaufland and Lidl retail chains decided to join forces and donated a total of 1 million kuna to Croatian hospitals. The financial aid of 250,000 kuna went to KB Dubrava and the ''Dr Fran Mihaljevic'' Clinic for Infectious Diseases, while 100,000 kuna was paid to KBC Split, KBC Osijek, KBC Rijeka, OB Varazdin and OB Pula.

Podravka - donated 900,000 kuna

In order to help those who currently need the most help, the group's management and vice-presidents waived part of their income and donated it for humanitarian purposes. The campaign raised 900,000 kuna and directed those funds to hospitals to procure much-needed respirators and other essential medical equipment.

RBA - donated 525,000 kuna

Raiffeisen Bank donated 525,000 kuna to the PALČIĆI Parents Club for the purchase of medical devices necessary for the development and life of premature infants.

Franck - donated 300,000 kuna

To help institutions that cater to those most in need, Franck provided coffee, tea and self-service appliances worth 300,000 kuna. The company, in collaboration with the Croatian Red Cross, referred its products to healthcare professionals, emergency services, and volunteers across the country.

Dukat - donated 225,000 kuna

Dukat donated 30,000 litres of milk worth 225,000 kuna to citizens most at risk of a coronavirus epidemic and to those who have suffered material damage caused by the Zagreb earthquake, and the products will be distributed to citizens over three consecutive months.

Addiko Bank - donated 200,000 kuna

Addiko Bank has sent 200,000 kuna to KBC Osijek and KB Dubrava for the purchase of essential medical devices and protective equipment through the campaign 'Croatia against Coronavirus'.

Plinacro - donated 113,500 kuna

Plinacro paid a total of 113,500 kuna to the Together for Zagreb and Croatia against Coronavirus campaigns.

Pevex (formerly Pevec) - donated 100,000 kuna

Pevex donated construction materials worth 100,000 kuna for the purpose of the urgent preventive repair of roofs on earthquake damaged buildings in Zagreb.

For more on Croatian companies, follow Made in Croatia. For all you need to know about coronavirus in relation to Croatia, follow our dedicated section.

As Glas Istre/Gordana Calic Sverko writes on the 18th of April, 2020, the Istrian company PAB Akrapovic is entirely export-oriented, and they expect their latest helmet to further progress their already impressive business results. At a premiere at the end of last year at the Düsseldorf trade show in Germany, this Istrian company based in Buzet thrilled potential customers. Orders started before the helmets could even be certified, and production begins in early May this year.

Some call the award this Istrian company has received the ''Oscar for design''. It's one of the most renowned awards for product, industrial and communication design in the entire world, it is awarded in various categories by a jury of international experts, and it just arrived in the hands of PAB Akrapovic, an innovative Istrian company from Buzet. Namely, the company's latest PAB FIRE 05 fire helmet, has been awarded the 2020 Red Dot Award for product design..

''We applied for the first time and were immediately recognised. And in such a way! The Red Dot Award, one of the most renowned awards for industrial design in the world, has definitely been received with absolute pleasure by the owner and CEO of the Istrian company, Miha Akrapovic, who praised the young team and the company's development manager, Marko Basic.

Everyone is in charge of their segment, from testing, designing, constructing… and together this company has created a product that will be sold worldwide. This level of acknowledgment is just a confirmation that they are very much on the right track.

The award-winning Croatian protective visor helmet, the fifth in a series of professional firefighting helmets, is entirely their work. They developed the new product themselves as an upgrade to all previous series' featuring functionality and aesthetics. It takes at least two years to develop such a product before its launch on the market. The helmet should be tested for impact, radiation, and temperature. Everything is done in Buzet except the main test during which the whole helmet is set on fire, which is carried out at an institute in Milan, Italy.

''When I came to this company fifteen years ago, a certificate for one helmet and visor cost seven thousand euros, and now it costs almost ninety thousand euros for certification,'' Miha Akrapovic noted.

The Buzet-based company specialising in the development and production of professional firefighting helmets, as well as those used during technical interventions, forest firefighting and altitude rescue, is unique in the national context as it is the only manufacturer of firefighter helmets in the whole of the Republic of Croatia. It is also recognisable on the global market, and for many Buzet locals, today, the Istrian company is synonymous with its founder Ivan Akrapovic, who founded it as a young engineer in 1953 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and then moved to Buzet in 1978.

Ivan, and his grandson Miha, who succeeded him in taking over the family business, is said to have established a way of working that could be called "old school." He primarily focused on product quality, so he would surely be proud of the company's remarkable latest developments.

PAB Akrapovic employs about sixty workers who are mainly from the Buzet area. These Buzet helmets are shipped almost all over the world, and are marketed through distributors. This Istrian company is completely export-oriented. Almost 99 percent of their production is marketed abroad, from Europe all the way to Brazil and China, and most notably to Middle Eastern countries. They expect their latest helmet to further strengthen their business results.

Currently, this Istrian company has stated that it isn't feeling the effects of the coronavirus crisis at the moment, but it is difficult to assess whether or not the situation will remain as such.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia page for more on Croatian companies, production and innovation.

There is no doubt that Croatian companies are as innovative as they are determined. Despite operating in a country which likes to throw spanners in the works of each entrepreneurial step, putting off would-be investors from at home and abroad along the way, many companies manage to succeed, the amazing Gideon Brothers is one of them.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 10th of April, 2020, the Croatian company Gideon Brothers, which makes logistics autonomous robots, also wants to manufacture disinfection robots for hospitals in the ongoing coronavirus battle. Gideon Brothers' Matija Kopic, who is the co-founder and CEO of the company, posted a call to the state on Facebook to use his robots in hospitals, schools, shops, hotels and other facilities.

"When, if not now? Something that was unimaginable yesterday is happening to us today, and rapidly. What will the future look like? We don't know that today. But we at Gideon Brothers do know one thing: how to develop the most advanced mobile robots. That's why it's time to send our metal pets out onto the front lines of defense against coronavirus,'' Kopic said.

He has thus posted three robot concepts on Facebook. The first one has UV lamps for indoor disinfection. The second can carry a variety of goods, and the third robot can disinfect.

"In the coming months, Croatian hospitals, schools, shopping centres, supermarkets, hotels, warehouses, factories and other public and private environments can be helped by autonomous mobile robots to: disinfect indoor spaces, transport goods and supplies and detect fever in humans," explained the Gideon Brothers CEO.

He added that they were working on more useful concepts and said that "if we put our knowledge, experience and technology together for the benefit of the Croatian state and its inhabitants, we have a chance of survival in the uncertain future.

"As for the economy? We will continue to build someday, on some healthier grounds. Human lives? They're priceless,'' Kopic concluded.

Follow Made in Croatia for more on Croatian innovation, and follow our dedicated section for rolling information and daily updates on coronavirus in Croatia.

As Novac writes on the 9th of April, 2020, the Croatian company ''Elda'' from Nova Gradiška in Eastern Croatia has decided to start producing a currently very sought-after product - antiseptic.

''The basic prerequisites for the conversion of production were the quality of our premises and the cleanliness we have according to ISO standards. The idea of ​​the whole story or the necessity to turn to new products was born a month and a half ago when we assumed that the whole of Europe would end up in the situation we're now in,'' Dario Marenic, owner of this Croatian company, told HRT, adding that through their business partners, they're ensuring the import of ethanol for the production of antiseptics because there isn't enough of it in Croatia.

''We import it from Albania, Germany and Bulgaria, and with European Union funds, we've invested over thirty million kuna into our operation,'' explained Marenic.

Marenic said that he is convinced that the Croatian Government's economic measures have come somewhat late, by about fourteen days, because many businesses unfortunately laid off workers as they didn't know what was in store for them and many didn't have any reserves.

There are fifty people who work for this particular Croatian company and Marenic said that had he not turned over production and looked elsewhere, it would have cost the state about one million kuna. He said that he has been paying out wages to his employees properly, and he was also ready to pay rewards to his staff as it isn't easy to work under these adverse and entirely unprecedented conditions at all.

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for updates and information on coronavirus in Croatia. For more on Croatian companies, products and innovation, follow our business page.

The Croatian Employers' Association's request is set to be granted by the Croatian Government early next week, and now even Croatian companies who have been forced to lay off staff during the ongoing and unprecedented coronavirus crisis will be allowed to access support from the government.

As Novac writes on the 5th of April, 2020, the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) welcomes the announcement from the Ministry of Labour that at the CES Governing Council session on Monday, their request for all Croatian companies who were forced to lay off workers and/or close their companies to be able to access support will be granted.

The ability to seek financial support from the various economic measures recently presened by the government will be given to all Croatian companies who were forced to lay off workers and close down their operations before the entry into force of the measures passed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

Last week, the Croatian Employers' Association addressed three ministries requesting that the second package of government measures, in the part related to job support grants, be made available to all small and micro enterprises who laid off workers because they didn't see any prospect for that in the first package of announced measures. Small and micro-enterprises, as the HUP has repeatedly emphasised, should then have been required to write off all payments, as mere delays were not sufficient to preserve jobs.

''As soon as the second package of measures was announced, the HUP requested understanding from the Croatian Government towards all micro and small enterprises, which were forced to lay off their workers due to discontinued operations or great difficulties. We're pleased that this move means returning workers to their jobs, restarting businesses and believing that this crisis can be overcome more quickly. This crisis teaches us how important it is to preserve our own production, develop and invest in our own knowledge and our own resources,'' stated Davor Majetić, CEO of the Croatian Employers' Association.

More detailed information on the use of government grants is expected early in the coming week following the end of the aforementioned session due to take place on Monday.

Follow our dedicated section for more on coronavirus in Croatia.

As Barbara Ban/Novac writes on the 3rd of April, 2020, any help during this unprecedented pandemic is more than welcome. That is why young computer scientists from Pula - Kristijan Saric and Matija Plastic decided to focus their knowledge on creating an application that could help medical staff recognise the presence of coronavirus in the future. Meet Exactbyte.

''We're a company from Pula that is primarily engaged in artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the development of applications using these technologies. We'd like to use this knowledge and experience to help with the COVID-19 virus situation. We have developed a machine learning model that could help doctors diagnose COVID-19 patients.

The model was trained to recognise whether or not lungs on lung x-rays are healthy, have pneumonia or if there is COVID-19 present,'' explained 33-year-old Kristijan Saric, who opened Exactbyte three years ago and hired 28-year-old Matija and another student. He says that when it comes to the preparation of this application, which could one day help medicine, he started before the epidemic began in Croatia, by taking numerous photos of lung x-rays from coronavirus positive patients, and then those of healthy lungs, and the lungs of those with inflammation.

''I took x-rays I found on the internet. These are about seventy images of the lungs of coronavirus patients. I also used 500 images of healthy lungs and nearly 4500 images of the lungs of people with pneumonia. The programme we developed uses these images for testing and checks their status based on image recognition,'' explains Exactbyte's founder.

However, for the application to come to life and function properly, Kristijan says he needs a lot more pictures of lungs infected with coronavirus, which is why he is seeking cooperation with healthcare institutions. The end goal is to implement those images into a web application that would allow access to doctors and hospitals.

''They could send an x-ray and get feedback from the system on whether it is a healthy lung, a lung with pneumonia or a lung with COVID-19, and mark the portion of the image on which the system reached a conclusion so that they can verify it,'' Kristijan explained.

He had already put the idea out, he says, to the Pula General Hospital, with which he had already started collaborating on a project before the epidemic broke out, namely the classification of breast cancer. Otherwise, most of the work Exactbyte does is for an American company.

Make sure to follow Made in Croatia for more Croatian innovation.

''If someone told me two years ago, when we were working on the BBC Pandemic app, that a pandemic would suddenly become a reality, I'd say there's no way, and well... it's happened,'' says Filip Ljubić, director of the Zagreb software company - Q.

As Filip Pavic/Novac writes on the 29th of March, 2020, not knowing that the world was awaiting the current coronavirus pandemic, this Zagreb software company launched a prophetic mobile app called BBC Pandemic, a virtual simulation of the spread of flu from person to person in 2018, in collaboration with the BBC and Cambridge University. The data it collected, the very first of its kind in the world, is being used today by scientists around the world to control the current coronavirus epidemic and to plan what's needed in regard to public health.

''The idea was to do the largest experiment in human history and to collect data that scientists hadn't been able to have before. It all started when we were contacted by the BBC, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of Spanish flu, to create an application for them that a user can download to their mobile device, through which we can monitor how the infection spreads from person to person, all of the ways it does so and at what speed it doesit. We then created the application,'' recounts Ljubić, who is one of the founders of Q, a Zagreb software company that has been developing web and software solutions since its inception back in 2013, and has an impressive list of clients, including Facebook, Volkswagen, The Times, Novartis, and more.

The application, he explains, is quite simple and not particularly technically demanding. Everything is anonymous, and the app only asks users for their gender and their age. Users download it to their mobile devices and thus become virtually ''infected''. As they perform their daily tasks, the app monitors their movements and their social contacts. The idea for each person is to collect the correct set of information about their activity, movement, professional status, travel habits and how often they come into contact with other people - 24 hours a day. During the day, they need to answer different questions within the app, such as how many people they were in contact with that day, how long they spent together, whether their train or bus on the way to work was full or empty, and how long that trip took.

''Scientists were looking for 10,000 people to download the app and participate in the experiment because that amount of people was necessary for a credible sample. In the end, almost 100,000 people downloaded the app, much to our surprise. Ten times what we'd hoped. The app has become a huge hit and has for some time been the number one medical app on the UK's Apple Store and on Google Play,'' says Ljubić.

This allowed scientists from the prestigious Cambridge University in the UK and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to analyse the data for the first time in history and actually produce a credible "contagion map" of the so-called Heat Maps - graphical views of the spread of influenza viruses from one city to another and in towns and counties, and display the exact rate of its spread. The shocking revelations from the BBC app were later packed into the documentary Contagion, currently available on YouTube and Netflix.

Based on the movement of app users and their interactions, it can be seen that in the months since the outbreak, the number of people infected in the UK rose to more than 43 million people, nearly two-thirds of the entire population. The death toll in the first six months rises to nearly one million. One user who carries the virus, as they have shown, by going to a gym, cafe or shop, infects as many as nine people on average, and then they spread the infection exponentially even further. Mathematician Hannah Fry, who led the entire project, said it was "a unique project and a huge leap forward for science, and one day, these discoveries could save millions of lives."

''It's almost unbelievable that so soon after the launch of the application, a brand new epidemic, coronavirus, really happened and suddenly what the application simulated in theory began to happen in real life,'' says Ljubić.

''Last week, we were contacted again by the BBC and told us they were considering developing a new application that would track people with coronavirus symptoms in real time. We've only had a few conversations so far and we're still waiting for the green light,'' Ljubić revealed.

Make sure to follow our dedicated section for rolling information and updates in English on coronavirus in Croatia. Follow Made in Croatia for more on Croatian companies, innovation and more.

The Croatian company ''Galeb'' from the ''pirate town'' of Omiš has organised the 24-hour production of reusable cotton protective masks to reduce the spread of coronavirus. Production began very recently, and more than ten thousand pieces are produced daily.

As Marija Crnjak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 21st of March, 2020, the Galeb masks, like all of this particular company's products, are made from health-friendly and raw materials, which was confirmed by the Oeko-tex standard 100 certificate, to which all products are subject.

Galeb's protective masks can be used multiple times and are washable at 95 degrees celsius, and on top of that, it is working to preserve domestic production and jobs during these exceptionally trying times.

''The period we're going through is a big challenge, and the textile industry in Croatia, as a labour-intensive industry, is generally being hard hit by the relocation of production to other countries and a lack of educated staff,'' said Jasmina Matisa of of Tekstilpromet d.d. (of which Galeb is a part) noted.

She added that due to global flows and the priorities for maximum profit, textile production has been relocated to parts of the world with cheaper labour, but the epidemic affecting those areas has suspended the supply chain.

Galeb from the Dalmatian town of Omiš is a Croatian company which was initially founded back in 1951. It boasts a total of 384 employees and has been a part of the aforementioned Tekstilpromet Group for over twenty years, which itself employs 903 employees and has been operating for over seventy years.

Galeb manufactures and markets knitwear and is the largest vertically integrated manufacturer of such products in the area. Their vertical integration is reflected in the fact that the entire production process, from the production of knitting, finishing, design, and tailoring, to the very sewing and packaging takes place right there in Omiš. It is this kind of vertical integration that enables Galeb to respond quickly and make adjustments in business.

Make sure to follow our Made in Croatia page for more on Croatian companies, products and entrepreneurs. Follow our dedicated section for rolling information in English on coronavirus in Croatia.