February the 21st, 2023 - The Virovitica IT company Factory is introducing totally free IT education once again, and anyone who wants to bump up their level of knowledge about certain aspects of IT can apply.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, the Virovitica IT company Factory is launching the fourth programme of free education for IT so far. This time, participants will learn about backend development, and the entire programme is being conducted online, a statement from the company says.

As stated above, the programme is aimed at quite literally anyone who wants to upgrade their knowledge of backend development can apply to the Factory Academy to learn more. As the Virovitica IT company Factory has stated, all would-be participants need is motivation, a computer and a stable Internet connection. It's worth noting that this company is actually the only IT company in all of the Republic of Croatia that has the status of a strategic Pimcore partner.

The educational programme lasts for four weeks, and will be attended by four selected candidates who will have the support of a mentor the whole time. The number of participants, who can apply until March the 5th, 2023, is limited so that the mentors can provide them with the highest quality support, they explained.

"Over the years, we've come to realise that there are a lot of people who have reached a certain level of knowledge in the field of development and have as such found themselves facing a wall of sorts because they still don't have enough knowledge to get a job in the field. Through our academy, they will receive not only support, but proper direction,'' Marko Cuckovic from Factory pointed out.

Cuckovic also added that the company is very much open to hiring the best candidates as employees, and it's worth noting that the Virovitica IT company Factory has held three such academies in the past, and the average rating they received is a very impressive 4.9 out of 5.

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

August the 26th, 2022 - The Virovitica IT company Factory has been going from success to success of late, now wanting to be listed among the top five global companies in one particular segment.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Josipa Ban writes, the Virovitica IT company Factory, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, has recently announced some rather ambitious plans. They want to be the leader, that is, in the top five companies that develop solutions based on Pimcore technology in the world. Ivica Horvat, one of the owners and director of Factory, discussed the topic.

Their plans, he says, are very realistic because in just four years, since they focused their business on Pimcore technology, they managed to position themselves among the leading 20. This is the result of top quality work and the fact that they successfully implemented the technology that enables the digital transformation of the company. They've done the same for 150 clients.

Most of the Virovitica IT company Factory's clients are foreign companies, primarily from the DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) region, the USA and Great Britain, meaning that a massive 80 percent of their income is generated on foreign markets. Their good business is continually confirmed by the constant growth of income, which rose to an impressive 8.8 million kuna last year.

This year, however, they expect to earn about 10 million kuna, which means a continuation of the trend of revenue growth. When they started their business back in 2012, under the name Plava tvornica (Blue factory), their business focus was completely different. They developed, as Horvat recalls, websites and mobile applications (apps).

"When we started the business, we took every single job we could get our hands on and we adapted to each client. After some time, we realised that it's so difficult to develop the company because we were just going in too many directions. We decided on a detour, but it was far from simple. We had to overcome a certain fear and uncertainty that comes with undergoing changes," explains Horvat, adding that the business environment ten years ago, when they were one of the first IT companies in all of Virovitica, was a lot different than it is today.

"The ecosystem wasn't developed then. We started in an environment where you had to learn on your own and you pay for everything out of your own pocket, and even the small IT community itself at the time was much more closed off,'' he said, adding that starting an IT company in Croatia is much, much easier today.

"Today, the exchange of information is completely open. I'm proud to be part of a community that is ready to share all of their knowledge and experience", said the Virovitica IT company Factory, which is now a company that currently has three offices - in Virovitica, Osijek and across the pond in San Francisco.

Factory matured alongside the IT sector in Croatia, and it turned from a company that "made everything" into a company that makes specialised solutions for its clients, including engaging in consulting services. The specialised solution is the implementation of Pimcore technology, which, as Horvat explained, enables the centralisation and management of all types of data.

"It is used by companies that manage large amounts of data and which need to distribute it to different points. On the Pimcore platform, we work with end-to-end solutions that enable the collection, processing, storage and distribution of data about products, services or any other digital materials within the company,'' he explained, noting that the platform, in addition to enabling the digital transformation of the company, does the same and is more competitive.

It's worth noting that in addition to technical assistance in the introduction of Pimcore, Factory has also recently been offering consulting services through the Consulting Department, which currently employs two people and should have four employees by the end of the year.

"We want to be a company that, in addition to developing technological solutions, also offers consulting services to clients regarding the implementation of digital processes and tools in the company," Horvat stated.

The number of employees in this department should be doubled over the next year, which means that much like others, the Virovitica IT company Factory is also facing an increasingly challenging search for employees, in this case - IT experts. That problem, at least according to Horvat, isn't just specific to Croatia but to the whole world.

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

ZAGREB, 17 Sept 2021 - Health Minister Vili Beroš on Friday visited the site of a future Institute of Immunology factory in Brezje near Sveta Nedelja, west of Zagreb, where the production of snake antivenom would be relaunched, to be followed by the production of plasma-derived products and child and other vaccines.

Institute of Immunology director Vedran Čardžić said that the construction of the factory, a project worth about HRK 100 million, should start at the end of 2022 or early 2023.

The factory's main product would be vaccines but there are plans to launch the production of antivenom for the duration of preparations for construction work and regulation of the related legal matters.

"We will launch the production of antivenom during preparations for the construction of the new factory. That unit will be part of the new factory which will focus on vaccines against children's diseases (measles). Those vaccines used to be produced by the Institute of Immunology and the state owns the master seeds which international experts say are the best because they give the best vaccination results owing to their properties," said Čardžić.

This is expected to be followed by the launch of production of plasma-derived products and potential adoption of technologies for the production of newer virus vaccines in cooperation with partners, which is being negotiated, he said.

Minister Beroš said that this spring Croatia was faced with a shortage of antivenom, and even though the problem was quickly solved, he noted that as a tourist destination, Croatia should be able to rely on its own antivenom production.

He noted that antivenom production was expected to start before the next tourist season, adding that current employees of the Institute of Immunology would make up the core of the research staff at the new factory.

Čardžić also pointed to the need to attract new experts, noting that he would contact universities to inquire about successful students nearing graduation who would be interested in working at the Institute of Immunology.

Sveta Nedelja Mayor Dario Zurovec expressed hope the project would be a sustainable model of public-private partnership, announcing support by local authorities.

For more on politics, CLICK HERE.

September 11, 2021 - While baklava is not a traditional Croatian type of pastry, a pair of investors from the UK opened the biggest baklava factory in the EU in Croatia.

The company called New Bakery has been making baklava in Croatia for a while now, and they are one of the biggest producers of the Turkish-origin pastry in the world. Yesterday, as Igor Rahmetović reports for the Croatian Radiotelevision, a new site was opened in Donji Stupnik, which is a Zagreb suburb. It is the highest-producing site in the EU, with the most high-tech equipment in the field and numerous certificates of exellence, as well as halal and kosher certificates.

The company has been producing baklava in Croatia for the past 7 years. However, the older production site in Velika Gorica was not able to produce enough baklava to satisfy the ever-growing market of people with sweet tooth, so an additional investment has been made to increase the production. To date, the investors Constantine Azar and Mehmet Yasar Halim, both from London, invested over 5 million Euro into the baklava production in Croatia.

The New Bakery company produces over 500 tonnes of baklava per year, which translates to over 25 million individual baklava. Almost all of the baklava produced by them in Croatia will continue to be exported. Their products can be found in all the biggest supermarket chains in the world. Constantine Azar explained that the reason why they chose Croatia to base their operation is the excellent location, ports and the fact that there are enough workers (who know how to make baklava!) to work in their factory. Currently, there are 60 people working in the baklava factory in Donji Stupnik, but it was announced yesterday that they plan to employ 30 additional workers by the end of next year.