As Novac/Adriano Milovan writes on the 26th of August, 2019, leading Croatian exporters are anxiously following the signs of a slowdown in the European, especially the German and Italian economies, and are preparing for the possibility of a new recession in order to attempt to weather its effects on their business.

This was confirmed by leading people in several large Croatian companies, which, in their work, are closely linked to two "critical" European markets - Germany and Italy. Both countries are on the verge of a new recession. As these are the countries that are also Croatia's leading foreign trade partners, with the largest number of tourists coming from those countries. It is therefore clear that their fall into a new recession ''abyss'' could also drag Croatia down with them.

Everyone remembers the last recession, which also made itself very well known here in Croatia. To quickly recall, Croatia had the longest recession in Europe, which lasted for six years and left behind a real economic graveyard. It is enough to recall the fact that, during the crisis years, the country lost about 200,000 jobs, according to research.

''The past recession has hit us hard. Almost overnight, we had to lay off 150 employees,'' recalls Zdravko Jelčić, CEO of the Spin Vallis, one of Croatia's largest exporters in the wood processing industry.

It is therefore not surprising that Croatian companies are very concerned about the current developments in Germany and Italy. Special crisis teams have not been formed yet, but a strategy for responding to a possible new recession in Europe has already been developed.

Jelčić tates that there is already a slight decline in demand for certain products. This is mostly in regard to semi-final products at the moment. It is worth mentioning here that Spin Vallis accounts for about 85 percent of its revenues in exports, its main markets being those if Germany, Italy and Austria.

''We don't have a special team of people to deal with a possible new recession, but we've become more cautious about investing and hiring. So far, we're not turning to other markets, but if a crisis erupts, and we still hope it doesn't, then we will have to think about it,'' explained a worried Jelčić.

Končar, another well known Croatian company, is yet to set up any special measure to deal with the possible upcoming recession, either but that does not mean that they aren't closely monitoring developments in all markets in which they operate.

On the contrary, says Darinko Bago, CEO of Končar, there are people in every sector who constantly analyse the risks in their areas of work. The recipe for resisting the affects of a potential European recession in Končar is seen in dispersing business to various markets, to limit the spillover of negative effects from only one market.

''Business needs to be dispersed across multiple markets. If you do business on multiple markets, and if none of them have a stake in the company business greater than 10 to 15 percent, then you won't lose much,'' says Bago. He adds that this Croatian company is expanding its business beyond Europe to Asian and African markets, and so far has not seen a decline in demand for their products.

Ivan Miloloža, Munja's (Lightning) leading man, says he sees possible salvation in the event of a new recession in turning to new markets. Moreover, he adds, Munja is already focused on the markets of the Middle East and North Africa, with traditional markets in the region and over in Ukraine.

''We can adapt to the eventual recession because we have focused on new, non-European markets, in which we will strengthen our presence,'' notes Miloloža.

Economic analyst Damir Novotny sees the recipe for surviving a potential new recession precisely in the dispersion of business across multiple markets, especially non-European ones.

''The recession will come sooner or later, it does so about every ten years. It's high time for Croatian companies to disperse their business towards third (third country) markets,'' estimates Novotny.

Novotny sees good opportunities in India, Central Asia, Arab countries and sub-Saharan Africa. These are fast-growing markets. However, competing products and accumulated funds are also needed to compete with them, and few Croatian companies have them.

Novotny warns that Croatian labour legislation is still not flexible enough and that in Croatia, unlike Germany, it is difficult to negotiate in recessionary conditions with unions.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 23rd of August, 2019, the Samobor-based company Nord produkt is set to open up its tenth retail store in the country on Monday (August the 26th) - the Nord Store at the Ambienta department store in Novi Zagreb. It will be the largest Nord store to date.

This domestic company is the largest Croatian manufacturer of faucets, one of the leading manufacturers of kitchen and bathroom furniture, and they combined their almost thirty years of experience into a far more complex product - mobile homes and villas, sold under the name Nord, which are totally unique Croatian products.

So far, Nord has produced 2,000 mobile homes spread across a range of high-end camps across the Republic of Croatia and abroad. This has seen the Samobor company take a very respectable place among the international manufacturers of these increasingly popular holiday homes, and they are by far the largest in Croatia. The brand new Novi Zagreb store aims to showcase all the possibilities Samobor's Nord has in its modern manufacturing facilities.

''Nord already has a distinctive design style that we develop along with reputable Croatian designers. Across 530 square metres, we'll show you how we can produce high quality, eye-catching Croatian furniture for kitchens and bathrooms, and we're especially proud of our taps that we produce under three brands - Schmidler, Armal and Nord. These taps have a warranty of up to ten years, making us unique on the market. We also offer toilets, showers, bathtubs, haberdashery and tiles from renowned manufacturers,'' said Anita Kuharić of Nord.

Krešimir Hazler, managing director of Samobor's Nord produkt, announced that the next step in the development of the company is to improve each division by at least one class.

"We're completing the process of regrouping within the company and the goal is to be more efficient and faster on the market. We're the largest manufacturers of faucets and have further consolidated this by purchasing the renowned Armal brand; in the production of mobile homes and villas in Croatia we are unrivaled, and now we want to achieve this in the production of kitchens,'' stated Hazler.

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There is a lot to be said about this little country when it comes to breeding talent. From the sporting world to the development, technology, medical and innovation world, Croatia is known for providing the world with incredible minds. Two ex FER students and their remarkable business accomplisment have continued to do nothing else but prove that.

As Novac writes on the 21st of August, 2019, a software company called Repsly, co-founded by two former FER students, Marko Kovač and Marko Linke, has just been listed on Inc. 5000, the prestigious American list of the fastest growing companies.

The respected American business magazine, Inc., creates a new list each year which ranks the world's companies by comparing their revenue growth from 2015 to 2018. Repsly, the company started by two ex FER students which is often called the "Facebook for merchants," enjoyed revenue growth of 388 percent in three years, and was ranked in 1086th place, in the company of major global companies that were also ranked there, including the likes of Microsoft, Dell, Domino's Pizza, Timberland and LinkedIn.

''I think listing it in such a good position is a great recognition of the quality of work we do at Repsly and is an additional motivation for the whole team,'' said Marko Kovač, ex FER student and co-founder of Repsly, an application used by 1,100 companies in as many as eighty countries around the world, including famous retailers such as Adidas, Keune and Mid-Wisconsin Beverage (the Pepsi manufacturer).

It is used by merchants who can then track the sales of their products directly through the app itself. Repsly generates between five million and ten million US dollars in revenue each year, and employs more than fifty people in its Zagreb and Boston (USA) offices.

Kovač and Linke, who know each other from their student days at Zagreb's well known FER, left the management of the company in the hands of American citizen Matthew Brogie several years ago, with whom Novac recently had an interview. Considering the fact that they are "an American company with a subsidiary in Zagreb", Magazine Inc. listed them in this year's ranking.

''The entire Repsly team has worked hard to achieve this level of growth. We're excited to reach the next level! We have grown to more than fifty people and 1000 customers and we're ready to grow even faster as we become better at solving the problems of larger companies. We'll use our position of one of the fastest growing software companies to reach more customers and solve their problems in a more innovative way,'' concluded Repsly's American CEO, Matthew Brogie.

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Three Croatian engineers have launched a company called HSTec, which currently employs ninety workers and has an impressive turnover of 70 million kuna.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 21st of August, 2019, on the "ruins" of Zadar's former SAS, a formerly globally renowned speciality machine tool factory, a brand new Croatian company under the name of HSTec was created, which has taken over some of their former glory and is now recognised worldwide for its sophisticated engines and robotics.

Namely, 22 years ago in one former SAS facility in Zadar, three Croatian engineers - Željko Goja, Mladen Šarlija and Frane Marasović, started the HSTec (High Speed ​​Technique) company, and perfected the production of high-speed motors for machine tools that handle parts in the automotive industry.

As was explained by Mladen Šarlija, the director and CEO of the aforementioned company, today, HSTec is at the top in terms of the world's production of high-speed motor spindles for the tool industry and robotics for various applications and industries, and is known for being a very stable and export-oriented company. This Croatian company exports as much as 85 percent of its products and services and is present on demanding markets across the European Union, as well as across the Arlantic ocean in the USA.

The major buyers of HSTec's automotive products come from the glass, foundry and food industries.

"Over the last few years, we've been implementing a number of projects, ranging from the construction of our production and business premises, to new product development projects with a total value of approximately 14 million kuna. Those projects, which are co-funded by EU funds, there has been employment growth and the raising of the company's income through sales, and through the expansion of production facilities and the improvement of working conditions, all the way to strengthening development capacities and, consequently, increasing the company's reputation,'' explained Šarlija.

The Croatian Agency for Small Business, Innovation and Investment (HAMAG-BICRO) has certainly proven to be one of the major sources of EU fund withdrawal, for which several projects have been applied by HSTec for open calls and programs, thus raising investments of 18.5 million kuna in total.

Through the Internationalisation of SME Businesses, Capacity Building and Investment in Equipment, Commercialization of Entrepreneurship Innovation and PoC7 programs, HAMAG-BICRO have awarded this Croatian company almost 6 million kuna in grants.

These investments have enabled them to grow their business, and as a result of increasing orders and establishing new partnerships, HSTec has increased employment, and by 2022, they plan to employ fourteen new employees in addition to the existing ninety. The company had revenues of 70 million kuna and a profit of 9.2 million kuna last year.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 20th of August, 2019, the ideas and projects of Croatian entrepreneurs and innovators, not to mention scientists, could have the chance to truly penetrate the region and the rest of the world owing to the support of no less than the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).

Namely, this Saudi financial institution is organising a competition in innovation in the countries of Southeastern Europe, called Transformers Roadshow, designed to identify innovators, scientists and companies who can contribute their ideas to one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and connect them to those who can transfer knowledge and support, including concrete financial support, and provide them with new business options and priceless strategic advice.

Transformers Roadshow is a platform to support innovators and entrepreneurs globally, through which they can count on as much as half a billion dollars from the Innovation and Technology Fund. IsDB is the majority owner of Sarajevo-based Bosna Bank International (BBI) through which it will organise and conduct its tender in the SEE region, to which the Republic of Croatia belongs.

"The competition seeks out and supports new ideas that can help communities to build a more prosperous and healthier future. Those who are thinking of applying can do so online by September the 10th on IsDB's Engage platform," the Transformers Roadshow tender announcement said.

Ideas related to the development of a product, service or system that can address some of the global challenges facing the United Nations, such as food security, health improvement, the quality of education, clean water, affordable and clean energy, etc, are evaluated... It's important to note that the ideas submitted must be scientifically valid and be applicable to existing technologies and have the potential to increase efficiency and commercialisation.

The  top fifteen enter the finals, their presentation is in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on September the 28th, 2019, as part of the SHF halal fair.

A panel of experts from across the world will award the top three ideas, ie, the project after the pitching, with as much as 3,000 US dollars each. In addition, Croatian authors - innovators, scientists and/or entrepreneurs - have a chance to represent their innovation in Senegal at the World Innovation Competition.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes on the 19th of August, 2019, the Croatian company Sana Delicatessen, based in the continental town of Koprivnica, has launched a brand new product this summer - Magic, which is presented as the only fresh gluten-free dairy dessert on the Croatian market. Although it is best known for hummus, the company also has other trump cards that are winning over buyers even outside of the Croatian market.

"Over the last five years of doing business, we've noticed that more and more parents are choosing desserts and sweets more carefully for their children. Gluten-free products are increasingly popular, which is often unfortunately a necessity (for those with celiac disease) and so we prepared Magic with this idea in mind. Sana Magic sticks come in several flavours, with raspberry pieces, apricot and cocoa and hazelnut, and the first reactions from the market are positive and above our expectations. We're always moving step by step, and so we started with the Croatian market first, and then we're planning to export,'' said Silvija Repić, the director of this Croatian company.

From the very first eight products in the range, they have reached almost 150 products today. According to Repić, Sana is still the most well known for its Sana Hummus spreads, and this subcategory is expanding and becoming interesting to other companies from Croatia and from abroad. She noted that other products, such as Sana's premium spices for HoReCa customers, apple chips with chocolate, tahini, ketchup are soon to be developed properly. Sana's team currently boasts eleven permanent employees.

"New products, a higher number of customers (especially in the HoReCa channel), more delivery points and exports are intensifying the business and requiring job creation. We're also planning to further increase our staff and the pace of that will be determined by our further business success. This year, we've hired one person and we plan another one by the end of the year,'' Repić explained, pointing out that they are intensively seeking new export opportunities to other markets in the region and beyond.

"Sana Hummus is a leader on the Croatian market, and with growth in Slovenia and new products, we have achieved business growth rates of around 30 percent.

Slovenia is still our largest export market with chocolate chips and Hummus spreads and new spreads like Guacamole, MelanSana and Thai Salsa. Since the beginning of the year, we started exporting to Switzerland with a new product under the Bonmahl brand - a mixture of cereals and spices which is a kind of 'superfood'. The sales volume of Bonmahl in Switzerland far exceeds that in Croatia, but when it comes to the development of the Croatian market, we're just getting started,'' Repić noted.

This Croatian company works with almost all major retail and hotel chains, and have found their way to specialised stores.

"Entering new products into the HoReCa sales channel is different, the chefs are usually curious and interested in new products, but HoReCa requires a lot of time, investment and personal access to every customer," Repić explained.

She also pointed out that a small business like Sana must take extreme care of its profitability.

"Continuous investment in new products, markets and employees has resulted in increased sales and increased brand awareness, and each investment has a positive impact on the business," Repić concluded proudly.

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As Morski writes on the 18th of August, 2019, care for not only health but the environment have become a priority in shaping the consumer habits of many modern customers, which is why more and more Croatian companies are branding their products with eco-labels.

''We're pleased that Croatian companies have recognised the importance of standardised eco-labels, one of which is the most widely recognised EU Ecolabel. They add an additional dimension to the competitiveness and quality of Croatian producers, and show that a successful environmental business can be reconciled, that is, environmental care and profit can go hand in hand,'' said Marija Šćulac Domac of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), adding how the aforementioned chamber actively participated in the promotion of eco-labels and sought to educate Croatian companies on the benefits of the EU Ecolabel through targeted activities.

In order for a product/service to carry the EU Ecolabel, they must meet a very strict set of benchmarks prescribed by the European Commission (EC), based on the professional and scientific parametres of the product/service pressure on the environment over its life cycle (from raw material collection and processing, through to production, packaging, transport, providing a service, use, right up until it becomes waste).

The number of Croatian products and services bearing this designation is encouragingly constantly increasing, and the Croatian company to which the EU Ecolabel certification has been awarded for as many as ten different products is Osijek's Saponia.

Their seven consumer products and three industrial products had to meet the stringent environmental standards prescribed by the EC's specific criteria for each group of detergents, depending on their purpose. This includes the process of selecting special environmentally friendly raw materials, production, packaging, use, and until the final disposal of the packaging.

''These are the first Croatian cleaning products to have widespread certification and as such be accepted in countries outside of the European Union. We're continuing with the certification process. At the moment, three more consumer products from the program are in the process of certification, thus completing the complete range of environmentally friendly products,'' said Saponia's board member Dajana Mrčela, adding that care for the environment and the implementation of the principle of sustainable development is imperative for Saponia, and the certification is only a confirmation of many years strategies to be implemented in the future.

"With this approach to our products, our goal is to go beyond the boundaries of our company and convey this awareness of environmental concerns to our customers," Mrčela said.

In other news, Valamar Riviera has recently become the first Croatian tourism company to receive the EU Ecolabel logo for tourist accommodation for up to six of its campsites across the country.

''Valamar systematically applies high environmental standards as a key resource in tourism. The prestigious EU Ecolabel, on the one hand, confirms that our products and services meet the most demanding environmental standards, and on the other hand, it motivates our guests and partners to choose among the products and services on the market and opt for those that are greener and more responsible in terms of the environment,'' said Željko Kukurin, the CEO of Valamar Riviera.

The EU Ecolabel has been in use since 1992 and there are currently about 73,000 products and services on the European market bearing this designation.

Here in the Republic of Croatia, the first such label was awarded back in 2016 to Ecology 108 for the EcoBianco detergent, and two years later, eight Delt paper (papir) products were awarded this certificate. So far, a total of nineteen Croatian products and six services have met the strict EU Ecolabel criteria, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce confirmed.

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As many as 8,589 companies with 60,182 employees have their seats in Zagreb County. Last year, they enjoyed revenues of 54 billion kuna, and profits of 1.9 billion kuna.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes on the 13th of August, 2019, the Lidl retail chain, the PIK Vrbovec meat industry and the retailer of medical equipment, Medical Intertrade, were the largest revenue generating companies in Zagreb County last year.

Namely, according to the data taken from the Financial Agency (Fina) in 2018, according to the number of processed annual financial statements, 8,589 companies employing 60,182 workers had their seats in Zagreb County, which is a 6.3 percent increase when compared with the previous year.

Zagreb County's companies generated total revenues of 54 billion kuna last year, marking a 10.6 percent increase when compared to 2017, and net profits of slightly less than 1.9 billion kuna, marking an impressive 61.3 percent increase.

Gross investment in new fixed assets increased by 13.1 percent when compared to the previous year. Imports increased by 8.6 percent, and exports increased by 9.3 percent, with a trade deficit of 5.4 billion kuna. The average monthly net earning was 5,646 kuna, which marked a welcome increase of 4.2 percent.

In comparison with other counties across the country, Zagreb County ranks an impressive second in total ''entrepreneurial'' income and third in net income, according to the labour productivity indicator measured by the ratio of net income to the number of employees, and by the labour productivity indicator measured by the ratio of total income to the number of employees.

According to the number of employees it is in fourth place, and according to the number of companies, it takes fifth place. Velika Gorica, Samobor, Sveta Nedelja and Stupnik are among the top twenty Croatian cities and municipalities at the national level in terms of total income and net profit of companies.

Lidl Croatia (Lidl Hrvatska), with its headquarters in Velika Gorica close to the City of Zagreb, generated 5.2 billion kuna in the largest revenue, numbers which saw it take first place in terms of the generation of both profit and revenue among the companies with their headquarters in Zagreb County. Lidl is the leader in terms of profits, boasting 281 million kuna and 2,060 employees.

PIK Vrbovec, with 1,757 employees and a profit of 86 million kuna, came in second place by the number of employees and third place in terms of profit. Medical Intertrade enjoyed 1.7 billion kuna in revenue, while it remained outside of the top ten in terms of profits and number of employees.

Major players among the companies in Zagreb County include Fliba, Santa Domenica, Zubak Group, Ikea, DIV Group, Hospira, Fero-Term, HKZP, KMG, KIK, Production MK and Oso, MZLZ Land Services.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more. If it's just Zagreb and Zagreb County you're interested in, give Total Zagreb a follow or check out Zagreb in a Page for all you need to know about the capital and the surrounding areas.

The Croatian company 8Sigma, which is based in Zagreb, has developed an IT solution that connects conveyor belts to ERP and thus monitors production in real time.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of August, 2019, 8Sigma, a Croatian software company from Zagreb which employs only ten people, won against seven international corporations with 10 to 150,000 employees.

The Croatian company won in a tender/competition which involved one of the strongest aluminum factories in the world and represents a joint venture of America's Alcoa, one of the largest global aluminum manufacturers that currently exists, and the Saudi manufacturer Ma'aden, whose Saudi Arabian plant is worth a massive 10 billion US dollars. This win has thus opened up a whole world of new opportunities for this successful Croatian company to expand its business to India, China and even as far away as Australia.

Vladimir Lukić, the co-founder and CEO of 8Sigma revealed that this is their second major deal, which they have concluded directly with the customer. So far, they have mostly worked through partners such as ABB, Andritz and Montelektra, but this is their most important reference. "Three years ago, we contracted a good direct deal with Impol TLM, and now this one in Saudi Arabia. Now, this latest deal has opened up an opportunity for us to get new jobs in China, India, and hopefully for the first time in Australia,'' confirmed Lukić.

He added that the Saudi plant is one of the largest integrated aluminum complexes in the whole world, spanning production from the mine right up to the final product. There is no such large industrial facility in Croatia and the country's immediate region. The plant produces 1.8 million tonnes of aluminum annually, and by comparison, it has been announced in Croatia that aluminum production will increase to 200 thousand tonnes by 2025. 8Sigma has developed an IT solution called 8Sigma MES that connects machines to ERP software, which is the central business information system.

"In this way, factory management can improve operational management, monitor inputs, production flow, and ultimately have an insight into the quality of each individual product, as it has full traceability control, all in real time," explained Lukić. He stated that the founders of 8Sigma previously worked in ABB for similar jobs as a team. They have more than 80 major projects behind them, from Japan, South Korea and China all the way to Africa, the Americas, and have worked extensively closer to home in Europe lately.

"China is still the world's number one steel producer, but for the last five years we've worked mostly in Europe, perhaps because of the higher labour costs here, because it encourages companies to invest more in modernising production," said the director of this Croatian software company. He pointed out that they quit ABB four years ago and developed their own software. Initially, as he explained, the idea was to allow the metal industry to monitor the situation on the conveyor belt, but in real time.

For example, factories like the huge one in Saudi Arabia have a conveyor belt which is more than a kilometre in length, and the automotive industry, which is its main customer, is looking for the possibility to trace each product at a similar level to that required by the food industry today.

"We have expanded to other industries, such as the brewery industry, and the next thing we expect is that customers will start looking for MES in the cloud, which we've already developed," concluded Lukić.

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As Novac writes on the 10th of August, 2019, one of the oldest Croatian companies, Čakovec's Čateks, has contracted a deal worth up to three million euros with the Slovenian Ministry of Defence. This is a Croatian textile company that produces specialised high quality fabrics for both the medical and military industries.

''What this is, is a special NYCO Cordura fabric (nylon/cotton), which is specific owing to its exceptional strength and wear resistance,'' Davor Sabolić, director of Čateks, explained to novo.hr. The material it is made from also reduces the damage incurred by flames.

This type of fabric, he said, is increasingly recognisable across Europe, with Croatian Čateks being its largest European manufacturer of all. This is mostly explained by the fact that in addition to equipping the Slovenian army, this Croatian company also equips the armies of Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Montenegro and Kuwait, and develops projects for the army, special units and the police in the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, Estonia, Italy and for the Nordic countries.

However, this company's longest-running and strongest business cooperation is with the Ministry of Defense, and it started way back in 1991.

''If there were no such cooperation and these jobs, as well as the jobs of equipping the Croatian police, we wouldn't be able to carry out any of these jobs for the international units, since for each international tender we had to have done at least one in the same sense as before,'' said Sabolić, adding that nobody can claim to be the best if they didn't "do the job" at home, too.

Considering that this Croatian company is doing such successful business, it is logical that it is also preparing for a big investment cycle. In the next five years, Čateks will invest between 30 million kuna and 50 million kuna in the modernisation of its textile plant, and their aim is, as they themselves say, to better position themselves in the ''Defend'' program.

''That is a program in which we can offer a complete solution, from the production of combat uniforms, ie, pants, shirts and jackets, to the production of waterproof and windproof jackets, overcoats, raincoats, to various accessories made from special materials,'' explained the director.

In addition to Defend, Čateks is still developing its medical program in the segment of mattress covers with special properties.

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