November the 1st, 2022 - Many Croatian companies have finally managed to get their revenues back up to reasonable levels in the post-pandemic period, only to have inflationary pressures and spiralling costs cause yet another issue. Koncar, however, has recorded a firm increase when compared to 2021.

As Mladen Miletic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, in the third quarter of 2022, Koncar, the largest Croatian exporter and regional leader in the country's power industry, achieved an impressive increase in revenue from the sale of its products and services by 635.9 million kuna, which represents a 26.4% increase in comparison to the results recorded back during same period in what was for this company, a record-breaking 2021.

As much as 61.1% of Koncar's overall income was generated on foreign markets, and at the same time, the growth of newly contracted business and orders was also recorded, which inspires optimism for the future. Along with excellent results in the commercial part of the business, good financial results were also achieved, whereby the consolidated net profit of Koncar's companies amounted to 277.3 million kuna which is equal to 123.9 million kuna or an 80.7 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

With the inclusion of Dalekovod, sales revenues increased by 524.3 million kuna and amounted to 3.562 billion kuna in total. Here on the domestic market, Koncar's companies achieved revenues in the amount of 1.184 billion kuna, which is 268.1 million kuna or 29.3% more than back during the same period last year.

When it comes to exports successfully realised by Koncar, the most significant results were achieved on the demanding German market (332.7 million kuna), which is 40 million kuna more than last year. Sweden (238.8 million) and Austria (95.7 million) follow. Exports to the European Union (EU/single) market as a whole also increased and now amount to 1.343 billion kuna, representing 72.1% of this company's total exports.

For more on Croatian companies, ideas and entrepreneurs, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

November the 1st, 2022 - The Croatian company Valamar has enjoyed some excellent results and impressive revenue growth, but could all that end up being threatened by inflationary pressures? It seems rising costs are already making a dint.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to Valamar's business report for the first nine months of 2022, this huge Croatian tourism company achieved results that confirm the recovery of business operations after two years dominated by the public health crisis, and they also indicate the significant impact of the new crisis on business costs.

2.32 billion kuna in operating income was successfully achieved by Valamar, which was an increase of 14% when compared to the pre-pandemic 2019, primarily as a result of an increase in average prices of 19.5%. Operating profit (EBITDA) during the first 9 months of this year reached 943 million kuna, representing growth of 7.7%. The highest growth was achieved by premium hotels and campsites, which confirmed the justification of Valamar's previous investments in tourism with high added value. Northern destinations have also been recording higher demand and faster recovery than southern Croatia has, although hotels down south in Dubrovnik also reached the level of traffic they enjoyed back in 2019 during the main summer season.

Operating costs for the first nine months of 2022 grew by 19% compared to 2019 due to the significant increase in energy costs and the growth of other operating costs under the influence of spiralling and ongoing inflation. Electricity costs increased by a massive 89 million kuna, while other costs increased by a total of 126 million kuna when compared to back in 2019. The biggest impact on the increase in costs has been a staggering three-fold increase in the price of electricity to 230 euros per MWh, due to which, the work of many larger accommodation facilities during the off-season has been shortened.

"With revenue growth of 14% compared to 2019, Valamar Riviera has achieved full recovery from the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Through the increase in service prices, primarily the price of accommodation in the premium segment, we managed to amortise the enormous increase in energy costs and the increase we've seen with other operating costs.

Ahead of us is a year full of a lot of uncertainty and challenges owing to the energy crisis, inflation, the cost of financing and geopolitical disturbances, but there's also good news such as Croatia's impending entry into both the Eurozone and into Schengen. The country's tourism sector should turn to the preparation of the next tourist season as soon as possible in order to ensure competitive business conditions and sustainable growth of tourism in time,'' said Zeljko Kukurin, President of the Management Board of Valamar Riviera.

Despite the crisis, investments in the amount of 530 million kuna were realised this year within several facilities managed by Valamar. The investment in Valamar Amicor Green Resort in the amount of 220 million kuna has significantly raised the quality of the offer on the Central Dalmatian island of Hvar, and refers to the construction of the first summer resort that follows the highest standards of green construction and sustainability. On the mainland in Makarska, the Dalmacija hotel was completely renovated and became Valamar's second lifestyle hotel under the PLACES brand. The Corinthia Hotel in Baska was renovated according to the standards of the Sunny Plus brand, and back in July, the acquisition of the third hotel in Obertauern was finalised, which will open for the 2022/2023 winter season, welcoming guests as Valamar Collection Kesselspitze Hotel 5*.

Valamar is otherwise the largest employer in Croatian tourism by far, employing 7,700 employees this year alone. In order to improve working conditions and retain local employees, 15 million euros were invested this year in salary increases and numerous reward programmes. By entering the TOP 10 most desirable Croatian employers, Valamar has confirmed its long-standing position as the best employer in the country's tourism sector. Back in June this year, Valamar presented its brand new sustainability strategy and ESG goals which it intends to implement until the year 2025, within which, over the next three years to be precise, it plans to become a carbon-neutral company in the first and second scope and to invest 50 million euros in the further development of its destinations and sustainability projects.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

October the 29th, 2022 - The Podravka Group has managed to hold onto its growth despite the negative economic circumstances and inflationary pressures we're currently experiencing. It even secured sales growth of 10 percent.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, during the first nine months of 2022, Croatia's well known Podravka Group successfully coped with the various market challenges generated by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the consequences of which are reflected in the strong and continuous increase in the prices of all raw materials, packaging and energy.

Over the first nine months of this year, the Podravka Group achieved impressive revenue growth of 329.1 million kuna, which is equal to a 9.7 percent increase when compared to the same period last year. The Nutrition segment grew by 11.1 percent, or 292 million kuna, while the Pharmaceuticals segment recorded an increase in revenue of five percent, or 37.1 million kuna. The investment cycle is in full swing, so capital investments at the Podravka Group level in the first nine months of this year amounted to 294.5 million kuna, which is almost three times more than in the same period last year when that figure amounted to 103.7 million kuna.

Operating profit before depreciation (EBITDA) during this same period was 5.7 percent higher, and net profit was 3.8 percent higher when compared to the first three quarters of 2021. However, comparing the third quarter of 2022 with the same period in 2021, a visible a drop in net profit in the Food segment can be seen, which is a direct consequence of business conditions that have further worsened due to rising prices of raw materials, packaging and energy. The current high costs of raw materials, packaging and energy in the Food segment amounted to 269 million kuna, meaning that they were 25.3 percent higher than they were during the same nine months of last year.

"The business conditions over the first nine months of 2022 have been far more challenging than we expected them to be back at the beginning of the year, which is why we're strongly focused on optimising all types of costs and maintaining our sales volume. In this period we've just come through, through the active management of stocks, sales prices and increasing production efficiency, we partially amortised the rise in the prices of raw materials, packaging and energy, and thus managed to maintain growth.

I'm particularly pleased that, even in such challenging circumstances, we increased the salaries of our employees back at the end of March. However, it's important to emphasise the fact that the results the Podravka Group achieved in the first nine months of 2022 don't reflect what awaits us at the annual level. The most severe impact of cost growth awaits us in the fourth quarter, which will certainly affect the overall result for this year,'' commented the President of the Management Board of Podravka, Martina Dalic, adding that despite this, the company is continuing to implement all its strategic plans, which include significant investments and improvement of conditions of work.

In accordance with the company's development strategy, the implementation of the Podravka Group's investment cycle is in full swing, as evidenced by the investments completed over the last three months. A new line at the Koktel Pastry Factory, worth 30 million kuna, was put into operation, and work was completed on the company's solar power plant, which is currently the largest integrated (on the roofs of existing facilities/buildings) solar power plant in all of the Republic of Croatia.

In addition to all of the above, the Podravka Group's production facilities were all fitted with air conditioning units and a complete energy and IT renovation of the business headquarters worth 104.5 million kuna was completed, which significantly improved the working conditions of a large number of employees. The digitisation of production processes at Tvornica Juha i Vegeta was also completed, the installation of a new line in Varazdin, worth 40 million kuna, is now in its final phase, and construction work on the expansion of Tvornica Juha i Vegeta began at the beginning of October. This investment, worth a massive 104.8 million kuna in total, is the first investment in the construction of new Prehrana production facilities in Koprivnica after fifteen years, which will also create new jobs.

During the month of September, the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Podravka Group began, and the management of the company made a decision to pay the employees a special award in the amount of 750 kuna to mark the occasion, instead of being boastful with large ceremonies.

For more, make sure to keep on top of our dedicated business section.

October the 15th, 2022 - The Croatian restaurant chain Koykan, known for its so-called ''fast-casual'' style, is set to spread to the German and Austrian markets following a new investment round.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, on Wednesday this week, the Croatian restaurant chain Koykan presented its expansion plans for the wider European Union (EU) market to investors, which includes the opening of as many as fifty franchise restaurants in Germany and Austria by the tear 2025. The Croatian chain Koykan is otherwise quite the unique restaurant concept that offers a wide range range of street food dishes and international cuisine in one place, from Asian and Mexican to Mediterranean and American, all based on high-quality and fresh local ingredients.

In order for the company's ambitious plan to expand its business to the European Union market to come true, the founders of Koykan plan to attract an investment worth one million euros with the help of the digital investment platform Funderbeam, and would-be investors have confirmed their interest in investing in this rapidly growing Croatian street food franchise.

"Funderbeam is a global digital platform that enables startups and developing businesses to raise capital under more favourable conditions than venture capital and other forms of investment at that stage of business development. At the same time, Funderbeam also enables individuals to become part of the business success of innovative and growing businesses as small investors with an investment of as little as 250 euros. This is a significant change in the world of investments, since until now such investments were reserved only for large institutional investors,'' explained Ognjan Despot, the director of Funderbeam for Central and Eastern Europe. He also pointed out that Croatian companies have already raised more than six million euros through various Funderbeam investments, while total investments through Funderbeam amount to more than 50 million euros.

"We didn't just decide to take this step overnight. Over the past decade, we've learned a lot, often from our own mistakes, we've worked persistently, we've developed, and only now are we truly ready for expansion into the European Union markets. With the help of Funderbeam, our goal is to raise one million euros in Series A and with that spring our step, to open up fifty franchise restaurants throughout Germany and Austria over the next three years," explained Boro Milivojevic, one of the co-founders of the Croatian restaurant chain Koykan.

Every company on Funderbeam must have a leading investor who contributes to the campaign's credibility with their investment, and the leading investor in Koykan, Mato Marcinkovic & Partners, emphasised that here in the Republic of Croatia, it is necessary to activate the investment climate in promising companies that plan to expand to a much larger market in Europe.

Davor Bruketa, a partner in the famous Croatian branding agency Bruketa&Zinic&Grey, joined Koykan as one of the investors. "After hearing about Koykan's story a few months ago, I decided to invest and financially support the project. The expansion of the first Croatian fast-casual restaurant chain is also interesting to my agency, so we decided together that Bruketa&Zinic&Grey will help with the design, digital advertising and brand activation for their franchise expansion," says Davor Bruketa.

The Croatian restaurant chain Koykan wants to include all of its fans in this project, therefore both Koykan employees and major suppliers have become investors, and the desire is for customers who like the famous Koykan classics such as their burgers, gyros, wraps and other offers to join in as well. The fundraising campaign on Funderbeam is set to continue for another month, and the currently expressed interest in investing has already exceeded the initial expectations of the founders.

For more on Croatian companies and investments, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

October the 5th, 2022 - The Croatian brand Miret has earned prestigious recognition on the global stage which will further shine the spotlight on this ecologically-aware producer.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, the well-known Croatian brand Miret which designs and creates ecological trainers has received the OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certificate for their complete product. Miret's shoes have as such become the only tennis shoes in the entire world that have a certificate confirming that they don't contain any harmful chemicals, meaning that nothing in the product poses a risk to human health.

It's important to note that other brands do carry this mark, but only for certain parts of trainers, where as the Croatian brand Miret's certification is for the entire shoe. The standard 100 marks represent the "eyes of the consumer", explained Domagoj Boljar, the co-founder and director of Miret.

"Given that footwear production often takes place far from the eyes of the consumers themselves, with this certificate, they get an accurate insight into what is happening in places that are invisible to them," Boljar pointed out.

Proof of quality

In order to be awarded with this certificate, they had to undergo rigorous testing of every single component and material incorporated into their product, and the whole process, which the certifier went through for the first time, lasted about a year, they explained from the company, which was founded a mere four years ago by the brothers Domagoj and Hrvoje Boljar.

Domagoj Boljar emphasised that it is a process that is much more complex than the certification of other items of clothing, because footwear is made from a dozen different materials and components, unlike clothing which typically only actually has two or three materials in it. Obtaining this certificate is extremely important for the Croatian brand Miret because this is just one in a series of confirmations of the foundations of their praiseworthy project.

"We're quite radical when it comes to our product and we like to take care not only of the ecological footprint but also of people's health. Now we've received an independent certificate that confirms the quality of the product and the positive impact on human health,'' emphasised Boljar, announcing that they plan to continue to prove their high ecological standards.

With that said, they should soon present the results of their research on the biological composition of tennis shoes and the CO2 footprint. Ultimately, they are convinced, all of this will have a positive impact on their business because they're now scientifically proving their story about ecological trainers. This, in turn, contributes not only to recognition, but also to the credibility of this Croatian brand, and as far as recognition is concerned, Miret seems to earn it rather quickly. This is confirmed by their revenue, which in just two years, from 2019 to 2021, grew by 179 percent to 1.1 million kuna.

However, according to Domagoj Boljar, further growth is still to come because so far they have been mostly focused on product development, the establishment of their infrastructure and growing the right team.

"Now that we've properly organised the business, we will focus on growth, certification and expansion of our offer,'' the men behind the Croatian band Miret explained.

Much like other Croatian entrepreneurs, the business path of the Boljar brothers was far from easy because they worked hard for six years on the development of their ecological trainers with partners from nine other European countries. Therefore, it wasn't easy to replace traditional materials such as leather and plastic with more sustainable and environmentally friendly materials, all while maintaining the quality, durability and modern and attractive design of the shoes.

This quality is mostly recognised by foreign markets, because 90 percent of Miret's shoes are exported to other European countries, such as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and then to the Scandinavian countries, Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.

October the 4th, 2022 - The Zagreb company Stemi, which is engaged in the development of software, wants children to learn how to develop robots and chatbots in school as skills which are more relevant for the rapidly altering times we're living in.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, a couple of years ago, the Zagreb company Stemi launched the "School of the Future/Skola buducnosti" project in Croatian schools, through which elementary and high school students can work to acquire the technological knowledge of the future, that of robotics, artificial intelligence (EI), and the Internet of Things (IoT).

So far, more than 350 teachers and two thousand students have participated in their project, equal to every tenth school in the Republic of Croatia. The initiators of the project now want this project to come to life in every fifth school, 220 of them. With this goal, together with their partners Infobip and A1 Hrvatska/Croatia, they launched a group financing campaign "Build the school of the future/Izgradi skolu buducnosti", during which they plan to raise a grand total of one million kuna.

In this way, all those who want their children to acquire the technological knowledge and skills of the future from an early age now have the opportunity to influence changes in the Croatian education system. They can change things in this country's often-criticised education system precisely through showing their support to the Zagreb company Stemi's praiseworthy campaign.

Marin Troselj, the initiator of the project and director of the Zagreb company Stemi, explained that their goal is to expand the bridge between schools and our technology industry. "We want to bring knowledge and practice from our best technology companies to every fifth school in Croatia and thus turn them into schools of the future," he pointed out.

This truly innovative and valuable project, in which around 750 thousand euros have been invested so far, has advantages for both students and teachers. Through technological challenges, students can gain some of the most sought-after knowledge on the market, and through teamwork and project work, they'll develop key soft skills for a successful career in the technology industry. The teachers, on the other hand, are also educated about new technologies, and using an innovative educational platform significantly facilitates the preparation and implementation of classes.

Slobodan Velikic, Stemi's business development director, announced that soon, both students and teachers will be able to talk with their colleagues from other countries who are also participating in their programmes. This will be possible because the School of the Future also starts across the pond over in the USA and closer to home in Europe in Great Britain this year.

"Students need to start preparing for the jobs of the future in their classrooms, where they will definitely have to work in an international environment, and through practical work, they'll improve the local community with their projects," said Velikic.

Until this year, through the School of the Future project, students learned about artificial intelligence through the development of chatbots, i.e. computer programmes that can talk to people using natural language. This year, the programme will be enriched with two new ones - robotics and the Internet of Things. Students will thus learn how to make a walking robot for Mars exploration, but also how to grow their own food and how to manage production with the help of technology.

In addition to transferring the technological knowledge of the future, the School of the Future project is also of great value because it popularises STEM fields.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

October the 2nd, 2022 - The Croatian shipbuilding yard Brodosplit keeps ending up in the news for all the wrong reasons as shipbuilding in this country continues to suffer, but some positive news comes in the form of it now being engaged in constructing a wind power testing platform for a French client.

As Morski writes, this innovative data collection unit being built by Brodosplit for the French will collect information that will be used to better understand everything from wind turbulence to air and marine life at the project site. The project regards the building of a platform for collecting marine data on one of the floating "macrozones", which is being installed in the Mediterranean Sea near the coast of France.

The technology operator is Ocergy, and this pilot unit is part of their wider ''Blue Oracle'' project. A platform with both lidar and subsea equipment to assess marine resources and characterise how things are within that environment at a given time has been approved by the French Minister of Maritime Affairs, and the structure will be deployed just outside the French region of Occitania, the southernmost region of metropolitan France, excluding Corsica.

Christian Cermelli, president of Ocergy SAS, the Ocergy subsidiary that runs ''Blue Oracle'', told Recharge:

''Soon, when the second phase of the project begins, the OCG-Data buoy will collect high-resolution metocean and biodiversity data Most of the main suppliers of the Blue Oracle project have been selected, including Brodosplit for the construction of the buoy, Euroports, for the assembly of the buoy and the shore base in Port-la-Nouvelle, and Vryhof for the anchor and mooring. The unit will be equipped with a Vaisala wind deflector lidar.

Other companies involved in the project include: Tachyssema Developpement, which is supplying the energy management system, Scada and onboard instrumentation; The University of Perpignan CREM – UPVD, which oversees marine biodiversity studies, and Sense of life, which will deal with the monitoring and analysis of seabirds.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Made in Croatia section.

October the 1st, 2022 - The Croatian IT scene is continuing to blossom and has been doing over the last several years, with companies springing up all over the place and doing exceptionally well. The latest news in this regard is the fact that the Croatian IT company Agency04 has now become Notch, a new name under which it will operate.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian IT company Agency04 has been operating under the new name Notch since last week. It is one of the fastest growing full service software companies in all of Central Europe, and it has recorded a 500 percent revenue growth in recent years. It presented its new brand and plans for the future recently in the City of Zagreb.

"We've been in existence for eight years now, there are almost 200 of us in the team, and we've been working on large and challenging projects since day one, but our story is not only about technology. Notch is all about serious processes, serious communication and most important of all – serious people in our team. That's why Notch, as a derivative of the term Not Only Technology, was chosen as our name,'' said one of the founders of the company, Roko Roic, at the aforementioned Zagreb presentation.

Around 75 percent of Notch's projects are for foreign clients from various industries, including global companies with thousands of employees and turnovers measured in billions of euros. The company is particularly proud of the fact that they have a low turnover of employees who have a strong mentoring system at their disposal.

Notch has offices in Zagreb, Split and Frankfurt, and the plan is to expand to other global capitals. That is why they need a larger team of creative people who will recognise their culture, attractive working conditions and desire to solve complicated problems in a simple way, which has become a kind of DNA and motto of the company.

"We are interested in playing only the biggest games. Today, Notch is even bigger and more ready for an even more serious global performance. The synergy of working on our own products and those for our customers and clients opens many global doors for us, and that will continue to happen.'' said Roko Roic.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

September the 24th, 2022 - The Croatian company OV - Carriage maintenance (Odrzavanje vagona) is a regional leader in the field of the repair and upkeep of freight cars, diesel engine trains and locomotives. It secured longterm jobs this year which totalled an impressive 25 million kuna.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Croatian company OV - Carriage maintenance recently completed the complex process of restructuring and consolidation, in which it stabilised its operations and is now in the process of contracting new, quite large jobs. In the first seven months of 2022, it made a profit of 600,000 kuna, which is a continuation of the planned direction from 2021 when, despite the global coronavirus pandemic, the company increased its revenues and even the salaries of its employees and made a significant profit.

Today, the company operates with 100% contracted capacity and is an example of successful restructuring, which is led by the HZ Cargo Management Board and the aforementioned company's management board.

The Croatian company OV - Carriage maintenance is otherwise 100% owned by HZ Cargo and was initially established as a service department for HZ, but during restructuring processes which took place in 2019, 2020 and 2021, in addition to already providing constant services to HZ Cargo, HZ Passenger Transport and HZ Infrastructure, it turned to external customers, both foreign and domestic.

As such, new jobs were contracted with multiple companies, including Koncar. In the period which followed, and after a complex and successful restructuring process, the equipment was modernised and the overall quality of service improved, and they are currently in the process of obtaining the VPI certificate at the Slavonski Brod facility, which guarantees that the maintenance and revisions of wagons and carriages are carried out according to rather stringent European Union standards.

Today, the Croatian company OV - Carriage maintenance has a total of three plants - in Slavonski Brod, Cakovec and Bjelovar, and five workshops - in Moravice, Rijeka, Koprivnica, Zagreb and Solin. It currently employs 450 workers, whose salaries were raised back in 2021 and additional benefits for work in the field were provided. In 2022, large long-term deals worth more than 25 million kuna were contracted with several external customers.

Commenting on the company's positive financial indicators, director Boris Gobac pointed out that, in addition to business progress, in cooperation with social partners, they are also focused on social policy and increasing employee income.

''The situation within this company is proof that successful restructuring and consolidation of business is very much possible. Despite all the global challenges we've faced and continue to face, such as rising energy costs, inflation and the coronavirus pandemic, the company is continuing to operate successfully, and in the future we expect an increase in the capacity for freight wagon repairs for foreign operators,'' concluded Boris Gobac.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

September the 22nd, 2022 - A new Croatian Koncar tram made its way from the well-known Berlin-based InnoTrans Fair directly to Latvia after being sold to the Latvian company Liepajas Tramvajs.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the Republic of Croatia is one of only five countries in Europe to have independently developed a low-floor tram system, and it was precisely this model of public transport, the TMK 2300 LT, that was presented as the flagship of the Koncar Group recently at this year's edition of the world's largest transport technology and industry fair - InnoTrans in the German capital of Berlin.

The tram won't return from Germany to the City of Zagreb, but will instead be delivered to a customer in Latvia, Liepajas Tramvajs. To be more precise, 13 out of a total of 14 low-floor Croatian Koncar trams will be delivered by Koncar to the City of Liepaja according to the signed contracts.

As explained by Gordan Kolak, the president of the Koncar Management Board, being part of the world's largest transport industry and technology fair is an additional confirmation of their efforts to create globally recognised high quality products and thus strengthen Croatian industry in this segment.

"We're proud to be able to present our low-floor electric tram, intended for an important European customer, on the InnoTrans stage. We've already confirmed in our long-term high-quality and successful cooperation with Zagreb's ZET that we have the necessary vision, expertise and tools to implement the green and sustainable mobility initiative. Therefore, we expect the further development of the electrification of public transport and opportunities for new cooperation on the European market. We believe that these opportunities and our quality products will be recognised by new potential customers and partners at this year's InnoTrans,'' said Kolak, whose company is struggling on the European market with the competition of tram manufacturers consisting of giants such as Siemens, Alstom, Bombardier and Skoda.

In addition to Croatian Koncar trams, this well-known company has had a lot to say in the segment of city and suburban trains, as well as the modernisation of old diesel-electric locomotives. Koncar's trains are already running along the Croatian Railways system, and they also have plans for technological advances in the future.

''I'm talking about the battery train project, for which HZ Putnicki promet recently announced a tender. As Josip Ninic of Konar explained in Berlin, the battery train project started last year, and the work will continue regardless of the results of HZ's tender.

"Of course, we're being competitive in the tender for the battery train prototype, but even if we don't get the job, we'll finish the project because we have the knowledge and technology for it. I expect that we'll be able to present this new product of ours to the public at InnoTrans in 2024," Ninic said.

He explained that it is a train that will be used for non-electrified railways, and the battery is charged while the train is travelling along the electrified part of the railway or at certain points along the way with fixed chargers. It is also expected that the battery could have a capacity for about 100 kilometres, which would be enough for suburban traffic in cities that don't have electric-energy infrastructure on their railway lines.

In the same way, at least in theory, Zagreb and Split could also be connected in this way, where the railway along that route is mostly not electrified, so that the timetable would provide for shorter stops, 10-15 minutes, at transit stations where the battery would be recharged.

This year's InnoTrans has otherwise been held on 200,000 square metres, it hosted 145,000 visitors and 2,830 exhibitors from more than 60 countries. One of the most interesting premiere products was certainly the first commercial hydrogen train produced by Stadler.

Hydrogen and e-mobility are also the focus of almost all other exhibitors in Berlin. In addition to Croatian Koncar trams, several other Croatian players came to Berlin to present their technology, such as Ericsson Nikola Tesla, Djuro Djakovic, Altpro, and Gredelj, which now operates as part of the Slovakian Tatravagonka Poprad Group.

For more, make sure to check out Made in Croatia.