Leo Greguric from Zagreb is no ordinary teenager from the Croatian capital. He has his own business in parallel with his education, and he's doing excellently.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Sergej Novosel Vuckovic writes on the 16th of August, 2020, by the time kids hit about fourteen years old, most are at an often complicated crossroads in life. They're the stage of transition, not quite a child and not quite an adult, and they develop their own preferences and play sports, study computers, music, learn new technologies, "hunt" for girls or boys and most of all - they want to build an identity.

Who would have thought of doing something else, and to do it so seriously? Leo Greguric is a remarkable young man who had such ambition and now hehas a company in which he is a “director” with three years of experience, all before even coming of age! Leo Greguric runs 3DGlobe from Zagreb, which deals with 3D pressing.

"While I was still in primary school, I had a great desire to start my own small business and to run it in parallel with my high school education. Before I started the company, I bought a small 3D printer from a then-new American startup via Kickstarter. After a few months of use, I ran out of filament (plastic) and wanted to buy more. The closest representative for that was in Poland, so the idea for representation in Croatia came to me. It was a trigger and the whole idea of ​​what I wanted to do suddenly formed in my head,'' the innovative Leo Greguric explained.

Noting that, of course, he shares other interests with his peers, moreover, skiing in winter and windsurfing in summer, but he added a little more to that list. In the beginning, only a few of his closest friends knew about the company, and over time more and more of them came to find out about it: "Some of them showed more interest, so I told them in more detail." His professors, however, still weren't aware of the business venture.

''I never told them about the company. I remember in 1st grade I gave a presentation on 3D printing in a computer science class, and the teacher praised me and then I said that in my free time I do 3D printing, and she gave me some really nice words of support. I didn’t say own a company, it was still early days back then and I didn’t have the courage to say something like that. Maybe I should have,'' Leo said honestly.

Since he couldn't register the company himself as a minor, his father helped him, enabling his son's business to be formally run through his company GWT, which deals with development and investments in new buildings in Zagreb. But despite the fact that his father got the ball rolling legally, Leo remains the boss at 3DGlobe.

''I'm the founder and CEO. In principle, I do everything myself, and my dad helps me out if something isn't clear to me about the paperwork, and he also supervises the issuance of invoices; I will turn 18 in November and I don't have a plan to form my own company yet,'' said the young man, who fell in love with this sort of technology while reading Bug magazine.

''I came across 3D printing while spending some time googling about novelties on the tech scene. I immediately became very interested in it,'' he noted, while when asked what trends prevail in technology today, he modestly replied:

"I'm not a big expert on that. I focus on 3D print technologies, and the trend is the rapid development of technologies and reducing the price of 3D printers with a parallel increase in print quality. As for technologies that aren't to do with 3D printing, I think that augmented reality, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and software in general, especially solutions for companies, are a lucrative business in Croatia,'' said Leo Greguric.

Regarding the activities of the company 3DGlobe, Leo says that the printing equipment in three dimensions includes 3D printers, materials for 3D printing, as well as some spare parts and various accessories. He currently sells two different types of 3D printers, as well as suitable materials. In addition to sales, the company also offers 3D printing services for others.

''We started out with the 3D printing service later. We do everything, and our clients are diverse. Individuals will order some items in small quantities that they need or want, but can't buy. For example, figurines, but also some buckles modelled on the original that broke and can't be easily bought. Legal entities that have so far ordered from us, for example, include architectural offices and dental offices. For the architects, we printed a larger quantity of house models, and helped the dentists in making tooth models. If I had to single out something unusual, then it's the order of a custom propeller for a drone,'' Leo Greguric recalled.

Leo has every right to be more than satisfied with his business. “From the beginning, my dream has been to secure sales every month. That goal has been achieved so I'm now focusing on growing those sales. Revenues have been present every month for the last year and a half, and there's a profit. These are nice numbers that provide me with some solid "pocket money". Formally speaking, I'm the only one who works in the company, but my cousin Ian helps me,'' said the young technology entrepreneur who wants to enroll in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER).

"If that doesn't go according to plan, then I'll consider options like FSB (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture), and maybe something else," Leo Greguric said.

Leo was asked whether or not he thinks that the STEM field is sufficiently represented in the Croatian education system, to which he responded:

"The other day I saw a post on social media in the form of statistics that say that Croatia is among the leading countries in Europe in terms of introducing STEM in education and the results of young people in competitions. Accordingly, I'd say that STEM is sufficiently represented. We can always do more and better, but we're on the right track,'' said the young man, whose role model in running the company and the overall organisation is his father.

''I can see first hand and learn every day what it looks like to run a successful private company that he started all on his own. Regarding the development of technology in Croatia, Mate Rimac is the obvious answer. He's an inspiration to me because he has proven that in Croatia it's possible to develop and work around high-tech products, but it's equally inspiring that he creates great jobs in Croatia and is a respected employer,'' concluded Leo Greguric.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

As Sergej Novosel Vuckovic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 14th of August, 2020, the Zagreb company Viking deals with heating systems, primarily radiators, in the field of which it has gained numerous references, and its activities include plastic coating, locksmithing and digital printing, as well as 2 and 3D modelling. However, in addition to construction and production, director Robert Vlasic is making sure not to neglect the development and research aspect, most present through the Gy3o project.

This Zagreb company's partners are the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture (FSB) in Zagreb and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER). A few years ago, Gy3o received 2.1 million kuna from the EU Regional Development Fund (the company invested its own 1.1 million), a prototype was made, and this year, a further 2,405,805 kuna in non-refundable funds arrived.

Vlasic, satisfied with the funds provided, stated that this is only on paper because it is necessary to invest, ie co-finance the implementation to the full value of the project of 5,822,379.08 kuna, so that it can be successfully implemented. That is why, he noted, he is grateful for the media support that helps him to reach investors.

In the meantime, this Zagreb company's director isn't giving up and is bravely approaching the development of new projects continuing in the direction of electromobility. He also designed an electric tricycle. Unlike the Gy3o which would function as a personal vehicle for private use, Viking’s new R&D project is for urban, commercial purposes.

''There was a need for a cargo bike, ie, a tricycle that could overcome ascents around the city and in hilly areas. The electric motor tricycle is an ideal compromise when it comes to ecology,'' Vlasic explained when discussing how he initially came up with the idea. They have a prototype, test engines and batteries and the suspension with shock absorbers, steering and hydraulic brakes, the prototype can even be used to transport waste. He confirmed that they are working on the first major series of vehicles for Zagreb Holding, for the needs of Cistoca Zagreb. The purchase order is 30 vehicles.

“It’s perfect for transporting smaller loads around the city through crowds in a short amount of time. It can serve as a means of promotion or as a delivery vehicle. For example, as a rickshaw for tourism, a postal delivery vehicle, a vehicle for ice cream, popcorn and the like. Its speed is powered by a strong electric motor and the freedom of constant movement within 6 hours,'' added Vlasic. The special features of the Zagreb company's e-tricycle are that it is narrow, less than a metre in width, that it doesn't require any permits, and is not subject to a ban on entering the city centre as a delivery vehicle, nor is it banned in tourist centres during certain periods.

“Delivery with this vehicle can be done through all zones and at all times, because tricycles with an electric motor don't belong to the category of delivery vehicles that have bans placed on them. In addition, these vehicles can be adapted to the transport of europallets and cargo weighing up to 500 kilograms,'' explained Vlasic.

In light of the growing need for ecological and sustainable, "green" transport, as well as the need for safe hygienic standards, Vlasic pointed out that the e-tricycle-cleaner is "anticovid" and doesn't pollute the environment.

"There's room for the commercialisation of tricycles and cargo bicycles, especially with the new EU initiatives for ecological transport,'' concluded Robert Vlasic, the director of the Zagreb company Viking.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes on the 13th of August, 2020, after more than ten years in which the business was supposed to ''get serious'' and youthful enthusiasm was supposed to mature into a stable business in which this Croatian product was the main star, Mladen Peharda thought that was it, he'd cracked it, that from now on things would be plain sailing. And then came the global coronavirus pandemic.

His company, Agena Marin, which manufactures tourist vessels along with the provision of business solutions for markets around the world, is a drop in the ocean of companies whose plans have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic this year, with the majority cancelling nearly closed deals and orders. But for Peharda and this Croatian product, this is just a dip that will pass, the only option is to continue doing business, preparing and developing new projects and markets. A visionary and innovator who started his business fifteen years ago, literally in a garage, designing the world's first semi-submarine for tourist trips, has 15 employees in his workshop in Poličnik near Biograd today,

''So far there have been no layoffs or. It just doesn't stop,'' he said.

"No one has managed to escape this crisis, because it has affected the whole world, all of our markets are stuck in tourism, and that needs to be overcome. For a year now, we've been half-dead, we've sold six boats so far, a lot of them have been cancelled, because we make products and do work which is related to the tourist season. We used the help of the state, which was very useful, and in the rest of the year, everything will depend on how the market will recover,'' explained this Croatian entrepreneur.

He addd that they invest a lot of money and time into research and development, which they're now doing intensively.

"We're developing a model for a small solar ship… In the meantime, we're negotiating some new projects and have several potential new customers, so not everything has completely stopped," said Mladen Peharda, whose business switched to exports after the breakthrough of the semi-submarine concept in Croatia. His company generated 10.2 million kuna in revenue last year, 3.5 times more than the year before, with a profit of just over half a million kuna.

Peharda designed and produced the world's first semi-submarine for tourist excursions.

"After we reached our goal in 2016 to sell 30 semi-submarines on the Croatian Adriatic and exhibited at the largest nautical fair in Düsseldorf, we turned to exports. Our message is that we don't sell the product, but the whole business solution. Practically free of charge in the price of the vessel, we give customers all the ‘know-how’, because it's very important to us how our product will be placed and accepted in the market and among its users. It’s not a franchise, but it has a lot of the elements of a franchise. At first, it was not easy to break into markets where they don't know you, but in these four years, we've sold about 50 vessels in the Maldives, the Caribbean, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Seychelles, Spain, and one ship is in Ohrid in Macedonia,'' revealed Peharda.

After the international success of this Croatian product, a semi-submarine which is sold in two sizes, three years ago, the Agena Marina team developed a prototype taxi catamaran, created for local use at a decent speed on relatively short distances such as the Adriatic. The first yellow eco friendly catamaran, Taxi Cat, sailed in 2018 on Korcula, and Italy is the first and currently the only foreign market for this Croatian product. Currently, nine more Taxi Cat boats are being built for the Croatian market, one model is being drawn up for 12-metre diving trips, and there is also a larger "brother" Taxi Cat designed for 80 people.

For more on Croatian innovation, follow Made in Croatia.

As Filip Pavic/Novac writes on the 6th of July, 2020, apart from the fact that Croats turned to Croatian products from the markets during the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they also turned to domestic financial applications. Thus, in the last ten days, Aircash, the first Croatian digital wallet, has unexpectedly taken to the throne of the most popular applications for paying and sending money in Croatia on both platforms, Apple's App Store and Google Play.

This was confirmed by Hrvoje Ćosić, the co-founder and director of Aircash, stating that at the beginning of June they broke the magic number of 100,000 users in the Republic of Croatia, and during the lockdown they achieved three times more traffic through the application than usual. Thus, he says, they have caught up with the hitherto untouchable banking applications and the global competitor - Revolut.

''Over recent months, we used to get about five hundred new users every day. For example, in April alone, through the Aircash application, users realised almost 50 million kuna in various payments,'' says Ćosić, adding that before the coronavirus pandemic, they had slightly less than 60,000 users and far more modest traffic.

The fact that Croats have had to digitise quickly financially in recent months is also evidenced by the fact that other applications that have typically remained at the top of the popularity charts in Croatia, such as KeksPay and Revolut, have also recorded user growth. Thus, Erste Bank's wildly popular application currently has more than 130,000 users (in December 2019 they had 76 thousand), and Revolut confirmed that they are now circulating around the number of 100,000 users in Croatia (whereas back at the end of 2019 they had 70 thousand users).

As for the Croatian "mobile wallet" Aircash, which has been available on the domestic market for three years, Ćosić doesn't attribute the lightning success and the doubling of the number of users during lockdown solely to the available options of receiving and sending money or paying bills, as they're offered by an array of other banking applications too.

''Since the branches of the Croatian Lottery (Hrvatska lutrija) and Supersport were closed, Aircash was the only logical choice for payment and withdrawal. In addition to payments, customers were also able to withdraw their winnings, completely free of charge, at ATMs and other retail locations, which proved to be simpler and faster. Even now, we've noticed that people use the app for that segment equally, even though everything is now open again,'' Ćosić noted.

When they introduced online gaming options within Aircash last year, and then a few months ago the option to purchase PlayStation vouchers, they didn’t even know how important entertainment would be for the isolation period. According to Ćosić, they were even surprised by the high demand for PlayStation vouchers, but it is somewhat understandable considering that all specialty stores were closed for two months.

Transfers from abroad

However, he noted, they aren't building their business only on that segment. For the services they offer within the app, such as entertainment, games, ENC, parking, PlayStation and telecom vouchers, they don't charge any fees. The payment of money to the Aircash wallet is also free, and the user will pay a fee for sending money (of a mere 1 percent) and for paying a bill, just 3.5 kuna per account.

''It's interesting that our turnover in March and April grew in the segment of sending money, especially from abroad. Users from abroad could send money with one click, and the recipient could receive it immediately and withdraw it from an ATM. It is, in fact, an innovation on the Croatian market,'' Aircash's director explained.

What is innovative, he adds, is that to withdraw money from an ATM through Aircash, the user doesn't have to have a bank card or even be a bank customer. They only have to have a mobile phone with them. By selecting the "ATM" option and the desired amount in the app, Aircash will generate a six-digit code which is then entered into the ATM and after verification, the ATM pays the money out.

The money can be withdrawn at all PBZ ATMs in Croatia, free of charge, and at INA fuel stations and at Tisak kiosks. The director added that they're also thinking about introducing a payment directly to the user's bank account, but there is still a disadvantage that such a transaction cannot be immediate. They also plan to introduce the possibility of withdrawing money at fuel stations and kiosks across all EU countries around Croatia.

By the end of the year, they plan to enable payment by Aircash in both physical and online stores, as well as via Google and Apple Pay.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June the 23rd, 2020 - In as much as the world is fed up with coronavirus, in a case like this one here, we cannot but feel grateful: we met this man quite a few years back and it took a global pandemic for us to find out his real name!

Zagreb is a well reputed stage of arts, all sorts, music included. To the connoisseurs, it is an attractive destination also for its clubs with jazz, blues, jam sessions - in case you're the type who is into that kind of thing.

Back then, the legendary BP Club in the heart of Zagreb was an inevitable destination to go to ''after hours''. Led by the world acclaimed jazz xylophonist Bosko Petrovic, it saw many, many big names jamming out on its small stage in an old Zagreb cellar. Underground, but world famous, to say the least.

Among the uncountable musicians that took the stage, the BP had its permanent band. Among its members was that guy we knew as Tony Lee King, a Croat of a most interesting biography and a blues guitarist and singer
par excellence. And then, quite recently and owing to coronavirus, we met by chance again. We found out that Tony Lee King and Antonio Culina are one and the same person.

When the coronavirus began ruling over the world this March, with lockdowns and isolation and social distancing, it was not easy to find a disinfectant in the few places which had remained operational but were running short of supplies. A good friend offered help and provided a big bottle of a disinfectant called Genox.

Unlearned and ignorant, and equally curious, we carefully read its composition, origin and all the things declared on the bottle, as one would. When thanking our friend for the supply, it turned out that behind what probably is the best sanitiser around, there are unusual links to music, jamming, jazz and blues, the BP club and the good times gone by! Actually, to Tony Lee King a.k.a. Antonio Culina (or viceversa).

In brief, after quite a picturesque childhood and adolescence mainly spent in France, after uncountable street and club gigs all over Europe and in the USA, Antonio (Tony) settled back in Zagreb, continued his music career, made his own band and a brand, and he met Marijana (Cisko), an engineer of molecular biology. They started dating and moved in together.

The small pharmaceutical manufacturer Marijana worked for went bankrupt, and she wanted a business of her own.

Through many hardships, mainly related to money, and not without some luck there, however, they joined hands and started a small production of sanitisers.

Tony needed his gigs to survive and to support the family and in reality turned into a blues guitarist with a band in the evening and a businessman in the daytime.

''I don't know what I needed more in those days, sleep or money’, says Tony candidly.

Marjana, however, proved to be an expert in her field and decided on making a sanitiser not based on alcohol, contrary to the general public belief that only alcohol can kill all of those invisible little enemies. She named it Genox, as it is based on oxygen, actually on a thirteen-step process based on activated ionised water, a process she developed herself over several years. It took many presentations, telephone calls and all other sorts of communication in order to gain some satisfactory market interest for it.

The prejudice about its lack of alcohol was a major obstacle and cast a shadow of doubt over its exceptional composition and effects. If you want to know, Genox is a clean ecological product, not inflammable, not poisonous, not harmful to kids and pets. It kills all kinds of micro-organisms, germs, viruses and bacteria, to fungus, algae, spores and mildew. It even works to make sure your skin doesn't feel dry or dehydrated following its use.

When, at the outbreak of the pandemic, the supply of industrial alcohol fell short, Genox got its ''five minutes of glory''. The demand sky-rocketed over night, more hands and a larger production equipment were needed. Genox got orders from the National Civil Protection Headquarters, from many hospitals and medical facilities, from fire brigades to institutions.

Marijana and Tony, based in Velika Gorica near Zagreb, are planning to boost both their facilities and the output by founding a factory of considerable proportions in Pleternica in Slavonia, an Eastern region of Croatia that desperately needs new initiatives, employment and new jobs.

Tony will of course continue his night life as Tony Lee King offering a good time and relaxation with his exceptional music and talent, while Genox is breaking the Croatian borders as yet another pride of Croatian know-how and
entrepreneurship.

For more on Croatian innovation during the coronavirus era, follow Made in Croatia.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 18th of June, 2020, Mate Rimac recently opened a new factory in Zagorje, more precisely in Veliko Trgovišće, which is intended exclusively for the serial production of his electric vehicles. The new factory should enable Rimac Automobili to start delivering finished C_Two vehicles to customers as early as next year.

Noting that during this year, Rimac Automobili plans to publish the final design and name of the vehicle, given that the C_Two is still being treated as a prototype, and not the final, homologated vehicle, or a finished product. Initially, the first deliveries to customers were supposed to be made by the end of this year, but this was slowed down by the coronavirus crisis and the quarantine.

The brand new Zagorje plant covers 5036 square metres in total and represents a 60 percent increase in the Rimac Automobili's overall production capacities. Namely, in Sveta Nedjelja, where its headquarters are located, the company has a production plant, a centre for R&D development and other departments on an area covering ​​8345 square metres.

The plant in Veliko Trgovišće, as has since been learned, is a continuation of the expansion of the company's business and won't replace the existing plant in Sveta Nedjelja near Zagreb. Rimac Automobili isn't giving up on the project it announced last year near the Kerestinec castle, on an area covering ​​250,000 square metres. Mate Rimac then pointed out that he wanted to have the company's future headquarters, R&D centre, factory, test site and campus with various facilities located there in Kerestinec.

State Property Minister Goran Maric and Sveta Nedelja Mayor Dario Zurovec have already prepared the ground for the campus by signing a 6.5m-kuna state land donation agreement. Mate Rimac says they're sticking to the plans.

''We're accelerating the production of prototypes, so this new investment is necessary for us to be able to deliver vehicles to our customers next year. We're still working on the campus project, our long-term location, but given the size and timeline of that project, it's imperative that we have the appropriate facilities in place by then,'' Mate Rimac explained.

In the new plant, Rimac Automobili will produce thirteen C_Two prototypes by the end of this year, which will be used for testing and homologation. Most of these vehicles will be destroyed in crash tests and other tests.

So far, the company has produced a total of four. Rimac Automobili plans to make a global homologation for the C_Two model so that it can be sold worldwide in the final version in the same way as the vehicles of all other brands have been. All of this includes the production of ten vehicles in pre-series production, which is also something they intend to realise by the end of 2020.

The company explained that full homologation, without any shortcuts, is a process that takes three to four years from the first concept to full prototypes and finally to actual vehicles out on the road. Rimac Automobili is sticking to those deadlines, and the first C_Two was presented at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2018.

"The only way to accomplish all of this is through rigorous crash tests that require different prototypes, each with a specific purpose, so, for example - some prototypes from the plant in Veliko Trgovišće will go directly to crash testing, and others will be used for other types of tests,'' noted Rimac.

In order to be able to produce the required number of vehicles by the end of the year, and thus to test future serial production, the company opened this new plant in Zagorje. Its initial production capacity is four vehicles per month. In addition, they have shortened the production process to five weeks and it is now twice as fast. The new plant consists of five main zones.

''We’ve worked hard to bring the C_Two to the level it's at now and I want our customers around the world to feel the enjoyment of 1914 horsepower in a fully electric hyper vehicle,'' said Rimac, adding that he is proud that they achieved all this in the die conditions created by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

"We didn't reduce the number of employees or their salaries," said Rimac. He noted that investors are still following their moves. Last September, Porsche increased its stake from 10 to 15.5 percent. The first investors in Rimac Automobili appeared six years ago. Then Colombian Frank Kanayet Yepes, Chinese Sinocop Resources and the owner of Forbes invested 10 million US dollars in the first investment round.

It was the first investment in a technology startup based here in Croatia. A year later, Rimac Automobili won its first major development deal. Three years ago, the Chinese Camel Group invested a massive 30 million euros in Rimac Automobili. A couple of years ago, Mate Rimac presented the amazing C_Two, agreed with Camel to build a factory in China worth one billion kuna, won a 600 million kuna R&D deal and received an investment of 18.7 million euros from Porsche in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the company.

After that, Hyundai and KIa invested huge amounts. The company's financial indicators for 2019 are not yet known. According to Poslovna Hrvatska (Business Croatia) in 2018, Rimac Automobili had revenues of 72.7 million kuna, a loss of 19.9 million kuna and investments in fixed assets of as much as 174.6 million kuna.

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As Novac writes on the 17th of June, 2020, Mate Rimac and his company Rimac Automobili have unveiled the next stage in the development of the amazing C_Two car - a brand new production line.

At the recently opened Rimac production plant in Veliko Trgovišće, the line will accelerate the production of C_Two prototypes required for final validation and the testing necessary for homologation worldwide. Assembling each C_Two car will take approximately five weeks, halving the production time when compared to the principle of static production, which is a method used by some other supersport car manufacturers.

When operating at full capacity, the new process will enable the construction of four final production vehicles per month. However, at Mate Rimac's company, the production process starts much earlier, before the assembly of finished components on the line. This is because a large number of components and systems are produced at the factory in Sveta Nedelja and in Veliko Trgovišće, after which it is delivered to the vehicle assembly line.

The new production line is divided into five main zones, and it begins with the attachment of all of the brackets and attachment points to the carbon construction of the vehicle. The two technicians at each subsequent station then proceed to assemble the car piece by piece. Subassemblies such as the dashboard, front radiator and other parts are manufactured and prepared off-line and are delivered completed and ready for installation on the vehicle assembly line.

So far, Mate Rimac and his company have produced four C_Two prototypes, and thirteen more are needed before the testing and homologation process is completed, followed by ten more pre-series cars, most of which will be produced this year. The complete homologation process (without any shortcuts) from the first concepts, through to complete prototypes to cars on the road is a three-year process. With the introduction of the new production line, Rimac Automobili will deliver the first cars to customers in 2021, unlike the original plan before the COVID-19 crisis which foresaw deliveries taking place this year. The final design and name of the car will be revealed this year.

"We've worked hard to bring the C_Two to the stage it's at now and we want to enable our customers around the world to experience the performance of a fully electric 1914 horsepower car as soon as possible. We have chosen the path of ''full global homologation'' without shortcuts, for which we have to perform a rigorous development and testing process, including many crash tests that require many different prototypes, each with its own purpose. While some of the cars will go straight from the production line to the crash testing plant, others will be used for different validation tests. Only a few prototypes, which aren't going to be used for crash testing, will survive the testing cycle. Given that we're now in the phase of raising the pace of production, this new line is absolutely necessary to speed up the process, which will allow us to start delivering the cars next year,'' said Mate Rimac, the founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili.

The Rimac C_Two promises a top speed of 412 km/h, an acceleration time of 0-62mph (100km/h) in 1.9 seconds and an acceleration time of 0 - 161 km/h (100 mph) of 4.3 seconds. These outstanding performances have been set as the ambitious goals of Mate Rimac and his dedicated team with the first announcement of the C_Two car back in 2018, and thanks to the extensive development and testing of the car, the engineers are confident that those challenging goals will be met.

In parallel with the development of C_Two, Rimac is continuing to grow as a company, and Porsche has as such increased its ownership stake in the company to 15.5 percent, while the Hyundai Motor Group invested EUR 80 million, joining such a long list of already established customers and partners of Rimac such as Koenigsegg and Aston Martin.

Watch the video below:

For more on Mate Rimac and other Croatian entrepreneurs, follow Made in Croatia.

Many inventions have been made in Croatia, and while Zagreb was continually made to shake by earthquakes, followed by weaker but still noticeable ones, a young boy from Zagreb, Karlo, sat down to think, draw and design.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of June, 2020, when a strong earthquake hit the Croatian capital of Zagreb back at the end of March, many of the city's residents (including me) were still sound asleep. A sudden awakening and the sight of people running out of their homes onto the streets on a cold Sunday morning will be forever etched in the memory of myself and many others. Some were unable to return to their homes after that, others didn't manage to sleep peacefully for weeks, and others were given no peace when slightly stronger tremors began.

Among those who ran out into the cold was sixteen-year-old MIOC student Karlo Bockaj. And as he stood outside in front of his building, surrounded by his family and his neighbours, Karlo thought of ways in which to make his stay in his apartment during the earthquake as safe as possible.

''There was no school after the earthquake and I was left with a bit of trauma from it as well as some time to spare. I was thinking about what to do so I didn’t have to get out of bed during the next earthquake and was interested by rally cars that have a cage in them which works to protect the driver. It was there that I realised that a cage could be made around a bed and I drew the first sketch of that,'' revealed Karlo Bockaj in an interview for Zimo.

Karlo took to drawing and designing the cage as the city continued to tremble on and off for the following few weeks, leaving everyone feeling a little bit on edge. He adapted the principle of the protective cage, which is applied in certain cars, to life in an apartment. He used the 3D modeling programme Rhinoceros and came up with the design from which Xocage was born.

But the design itself means nothing. Therefore, he joined forces with Zelimir Matic from Buba interijera and made the very first prototype.

''We worked on the prototype (Buba and I) for three weeks. It consists of a scaffolding pipe with a diameter of 48 mm and a wall thickness of 3 mm. It's assembled with scaffolding couplings and one number 22 ring wrench,'' said Karlo when explaining his simple but extremely efficient construction, which is not as expensive as it may seem at first glance.

''The price of this steel structure and all of its joints, designed and made in Croatia, stands at around six thousand kuna. The Kevlar net that goes onto the roof is around 1000 kuna,'' he added. It consists of 12 parts that are easy to carry and only one person is needed to assemble the entire thing.

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As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of June, 2020, the Zagreb company Dizz Concept, which became famous on both Croatian and foreign markets with its award-winning pop-up kitchen concept, has now presented yet another new product called Office Shell.

Office Shell is an innovative workstation that provides isolation and privacy to employees who are working in open-ended offices. The unit is about two metres in diameter and occupies less than four square metres in total. The team from this particular Zagreb company has invested around 300,000 kuna in the project and worked hard on it for about a year, and they're already receiving orders.

The director of the company, Darko Špiljarić, who is also a designer, explained that this new concept enables an increase in productivity, and in the coronavirus dominated era, it represents effective protection against the spread of infectious diseases of all kinds in such offices. Employees can thus achieve a good balance between working in a private environment and still working together, and it is suitable for use in new or existing offices. In yesterday's online presentation, the Zagreb company, Dizz Concept, presented the prototype in more detail and explained the concept.

''Office Shell provides additional protection against viruses and bacteria and also helps alleviate stress in a green environment. The design is evolving and remains subject to change. It will be individually adaptable to each user, and during the production, we used natural materials in order to create a comfortable working environment that doesn't require a period of getting used to,'' explained Špiljarić.

Office Shell can be successfully combined with ordinary office furniture, and assembling or disassembling the unit takes less than twenty minutes. It is suitable, among other things, even for short-term rent. The domestic premiere of Office Shell will take place in September at Zagreb Design Week, and a month later it will be presented at the world's leading office furniture fair - Orgatec 2020, which is being held in Cologne, Germany, as part of the Five Working Worlds exhibition.

This innovative Zagreb company revealed that they have sold several hundred Pop-up PIA kitchens in dozens of countries around the world. What makes them interesting to buyers is that they are very easy to fold and open and thus ''save'' space. The vast majority of copies sold, they added, are exports, while here on the domestic market, they mostly dealt with smaller projects and occasional individual orders.

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As Novac/Jozo Vrdoljak writes on the 5th of June, 2020, Croatian fish farmers are worth their weight in gold, and Cromaris, which operates as part of the Adris Group, has received recognition for the top quality of its products - the Superior Taste Award.

The aforementioned award is the most prestigious award in this food segment in the world, and has been being awarded by the International Taste Institute in Brussels since 2005. Cromaris is the winner of the Superior Taste Award 2020 for all three of its registered products: sea bass, sea bream and meagre.

The products are evaluated by the method of blind testing based on appearance, smell, texture and taste, and the judges selected from the most prestigious European culinary associations are not aware of the brand or origin of the tested product. Cromaris sea bass received a maximum of three gold stars this year for its exceptional taste and became the only product from the fresh fish category to win the Crystal award. For its exceptional taste, both gilthead sea bream and meagre were rated as excellent, meaning that Croatia's very own Cromaris is the only winner of the award for sea bass, gilthead sea bream and meagre among Mediterranean white fish producers.

''Top product quality is our imperative. We offer our consumers only fish with impeccable freshness and a superior nutritional composition and taste, which was recognised by the expert jury this year as well. Today, Cromaris is recognised on the market as a leader in quality, which, along with consumer trust and numerous certificates, is further confirmed by such recognitions,'' said Goran Markulin, CEO of Cromaris.

Cromaris is certified according to ISO standards 9001, 14001, 22000 and IFS Food for quality, environmental management and food safety. It also holds GlobalG.A.P certifications among other things. In addition, Cromaris believes in organic production, which is a growing trend across the world and is in line with the growing health awareness.

Organic sea bass and gilthead sea bream are grown with the application of very strict ecological standards, as evidenced by their certificates for organic production: the European eco-certificate, Bio Siegel, Agriculture Biologique and Naturland. Cromaris is also the holder of the ASC certificate, the most demanding certificate in the industry, which confirms the sustainability of its production, the regulation of environmental impact, social relations in the company and the like.

Today, Cromaris is the fastest growing and most export-oriented company. Cromaris fish is present in all major European markets, and the share of exports accounts for more than 80 percent of sales. The main export market is Italy.

Adris has invested more than a billion kuna in the development of the company since its founding back in 2009, resulting in a strong growth of all business indicators. The company grew an average of 22 percent per year, and sales increased almost tenfold with numerous technological and production innovations.

In 2019, Cromaris achieved sales of 9,557 tonnes of fresh fish, marking a significant increase of eight percent. The total amount of products sold comes to 8,761 tonnes and is seven percent higher than it was last year. Volume sales in export markets increased by seven percent, most of them in the Italian and Austrian markets.

In line with the growth of quantities and prices in 2019, sales revenue increased by eight percent. Revenues from the sale of various products, primarily freshly cleaned and packaged fish, increased by 23 percent. High value-added products currently account for 44 percent of Cromaris' total sales, up five percentage points from the previous year.

Despite the global economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Cromaris notes that they are doing well. In the first quarter of this year, it achieved sales of 1,830 tonnes, which is just three percent less than in the first three months of last year. The majority of its revenues continue to be generated by exports.

Cromaris delivered fish to Italy on a daily basis throughout the coronavirus epidemic, which was very demanding and almost unthinkable for many. It is now working on preparing new projects for new recyclable and sustainable packaging, expanding its range, organic farming and reorganising the processing process to maintain high growth rates.

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