September 19, 2021 - The National Geographic Croatia program airs tonight from 9 pm, kicking off with Gordon Ramsay's Unchartered! 

Thanks to National Geographic, the whole world will be able to discover the beauties of Croatia on TV tonight, reports 24 Sata.

After Gordan Ramsay's Unchartered in Istria at 9 pm, an entire episode of Europe from Above's third season will showcase Croatia through the unique locations chosen by the production team. The episode was filmed throughout last year and covered all seasons, thus fully evoking the beauty of each destination. 

National Geographic was fascinated by the unusual 5.5-kilometer-long zigzag walls, which extend beyond the town of Ston to the nearby hills. The walls are believed to have been built to prevent the theft of salt from the saltworks there, as salt was a precious commodity in the Middle Ages.

But the walls are not only protected by the saltworks. Aerial footage reveals that the wall stretches across the peninsula and has 41 defensive towers and six fortresses. The rulers of Ston did not build a wall to protect the salt pans; they intended to protect the entire peninsula from its disobedient neighbors. The saltworks are still in operation today, after 4,000 years, and the locals harvest hundreds of tons of salt every year. All this makes it the oldest active saltworks in Europe, and after the Great Wall of China, it is the second-largest wall in the world.

The episode about Croatia will introduce viewers worldwide to the Osijek bank of the Drava, Lonjsko polje, the Neretva valley, and footage of the Pelješac bridge, the demolition of the Zagreb Cathedral tower and repairs, to rock climbing at Paklenica National Park.

The National Geographic Croatia program will air three shows in total tonight. The Croatia episode of Gordon Ramsay's "Unchartered" will air at 9 pm, followed by "Europe from Above" about Croatia at 10 pm. At 11 pm, "Dreamcars - Inside the Factory" will feature Rimac Automobili. 

The new season shows some of the best cultural and geographical sights in Europe through ‘hyper-lapse aerial photography. Impressive aerial shots offer a unique insight into how tradition, engineering, and natural landmarks have helped shape the continent. 

This season, six episodes will be broadcast dedicated to Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, Ireland, and Iceland. This promotion is huge for Croatia as National Geographic reaches about 433 million households in 171 countries through all its platforms.

For more, follow our lifestyle section.

September the 11th, 2021 - Cryptocurrency is in the news more and more frequently of late, either for good or bad reasons. This popular way of investing and it being outside the realm of much government control has proven popular, and as it leaks into the mainstream, people are able to do more and more with it. Mate Rimac, who is perhaps the most forward-thinking entrepreneur in Croatia, has now allowed his Greyp Bikes to be purchased with it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, thanks to the cooperation of Mate Rimac's Greyp Bikes and PayCek, the leading Croatian cryptocurrency payment processor, all Greyp products can now be purchased directly through nine leading cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, BCH, XLM, XRP, DAI, EOS, USDT, USDC.

Greyp Bikes has always been a leader in technology in the cycling world, bringing Croatia forward in that respect too, so this was a logical next step in the further development of this Sveta Nedelja-based company.

Although Greyp Bikes could have been purchased with cryptocurrencies before, the process has now been simplified and fully integrated into the online billing process at greyp.com. The move should come as no surprise to anyone who monitors what Livno-born entrepreneur Mate Rimac does when it comes to both his cars and his bikes, and it seems that advancing forward further and further is something he is deeply interested in.

PayCek, which was otherwise developed by Electrocoin, is a cryptocurrency payment platform that has attracted a new generation of consumers as it enables the easy, secure and fast acceptance of all major cryptocurrencies, and this created a perfect partnership between these two technologically advanced Croatian technology companies.

As Greyp Bikes' slogan suggests - NO GOING BACKWARDS, and this move will certainly make any transactions much more simple and secure.

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

September the 2nd, 2021 - It's no secret that Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac has caused a storm in the demanding automotive world, attracting not only attention but investments from giants such as Porsche. He has now stated that Croatia, the little country without any car production to speak of, is becoming one of the focal points of hypercar production.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Livno-born entrepreneur Mate Rimac, the head of the Bugatti-Rimac company, announced the arrival of many of the most exclusive cars and their owners in Croatia this Friday via a video he released yesterday. This group of individuals and their cars refers to the Supercar Owner’s Circle (SOC), the world’s most exclusive car collector’s club.

The three-day event will begin this Friday at 15:00 at the Croatian National Theatre in the very heart of the City of Zagreb, where the supercars and their owners will gather. After that, the cars will head off to the Aviation Technical Centre in nearby Velika Gorica, where they will compete in acceleration. After that, the procession will head to the coast, more specifically towards Kvarner and Opatija.

''Admission is free for all,'' said Mate, and invited all visitors and interested parties to attend the upcoming event which is sure to shine even more of a light on the Republic of Croatia as a country which creates hypercars.

''Greetings from Sveta Nedelja, the headquarters of Bugatti-Rimac, where we develop and produce some of the fastest cars of today, with Croatia becoming one of the focal points of the hypercar industry. We're proud not only of what we do here, but we also want buyers of such cars to come to our country and combine its beauty with the products we create. We're proud to be partners with the Supercar Owner’s Circle this year, where dozens of the most exclusive cars in the world will come to Croatia,'' Mate said in the video.

For more, make sure to follow our business section.

ZAGREB,  23 Aug, 2021 -  An automotive contest called "Rimac Formula Student Alpe Adria 2021" will take place in the northern Croatian town of Novi Marof on 26-29 August, bringing together  37 teams from 14 European countries.

This will be an opportunity for 850 undergraduates in those 37 teams to promote bolid cars they have made at their universities, the organisers have said at a recent news conference in Varaždin.

"The project intends to showcase the most innovative solutions in the auto industry, prepared by students from all over the world. Rimac Formula Student Alpe Adria is a variant of this project," said Tibor Kezelj, the head of the Varaždin-based FSAA association that organises the Croatian variant of the Formula Student, a student engineering competition held annually

Student teams from around the world design, build, test, and race a small-scale formula style racing car. The cars are judged on a number of criteria.

In Novi Marof, the jury includes judges from Formula 1 and other top-notch judges from the automobile industry.

Kezelj said that the contest also promotes the STEM sector in Croatia.

The sponsors of the event are the Rimac Automobili company and local authorities in the town of Novi Marof and Varaždin County. 

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August the 14th, 2021 - The world of Croatian construction has been somewhat shocked by the final choice of Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac about who will construct his much talked about Rimac campus.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Suzana Varosanec writes, the construction of the first phase of the Rimac Campus project in Kerestinec by investor Mate Rimac, the total construction price of which stands at an alleged 200 million euros, was entrusted to Facies from Strmec, a construction company owned by Josip Mandic.

As the sole founder of Facies, Mandic is also the company's director, while Josip's brother Marinko Mandic is the deputy director. Facies, a medium-sized enterprise, has as such been given the golden opportunity to see the company rise among the "big boys" with Rimac's decision.

The value of the first phase of the execution of the works on the Rimac campus' production and research facilities, which cover about 90,000 m2 and is due to be completed by the end of next year, is estimated at about 300 million kuna.

Although less known to the general public, Facies is far from a brand new company. For the last 20 years, the company has been active in the construction industry (construction is not the only business of the Mandic family) and it employs about 80 workers. However, as those familiar with the situation point out, this is a relative fact, both because of the susceptibility to changes based on market needs, and because of the network of subcontractors with whom Facies have been cooperating for many years.

In their concrete work, it is estimated that the construction part of the works presupposes the engagement of about 100 workers, which would indicate that Facies isn't in short supply, while the deadline for completion of the Rimac campus is considered to be realistic, it implies high intensity in the performance of the works.

The Rimac campus tender, for which there was a huge interest, has turned into an "unprecedented" event for the Croatian construction industry. About 10 companies reportedly applied, including several of the largest builders such as Kamgrad, Strabag and Radnik.

Information about the decision to entrust Facies with the Rimac campus construction resonated with those in the industry, causing quite the surprise. The builders don't want to comment on it officially, and they have only stated that it is the investor Mate Rimac's decision.

How Facies actually beat the biggest market players, which cannot be measured solely by the number of workers and the construction machinery that some of them have, is currently unknown. The question is whether the price offered was decisive, while according to some, the crucial thing lay with who could perform the entire job within the specified period of time and give solid, valid guarantees for the proper execution of the work.

In terms of key business indicators, pandemic-dominated 2020 wasn't good for Mandic's company. It resulted in a serious deficit in the part of total revenues, which, with a drop of a massive 72 percent, amounted to approximately 52 million kuna. Net profit fell from around 2 million kuna by around 86 percent.

At the beginning of the year, new construction contracts were signed by Facies, although their value hasn't been specified, but the company hopes that due to the construction momentum, 2021 be better year than the previous one turned out to be.

For more, follow our business section.

August 3, 2021 - Miraculous things are happening in a small town near Zagreb, as local authorities and progressive businesses combine to build a prototype of Croatia 2.0. 

Its name translates as Holy Sunday. 

And until relatively recently, it was a town which attracted very little national or international attention. 

But times have changed.

I made my first visit to Sveta Nedelja less than a year ago. I was certainly curious to see what I would find. For here was the home of the most progressive local administration in all Croatia, as well as the home of the country's global superstar, Rimac Automobili. 

Since coming to power against the odds as an independent back in 2016, the achievements of Mayor Dario Zurovic and his team have been nothing short of phenomenal. And his success was recently reflected in the ballot box. Whereas he managed only 22% of the vote in 2016, he was reelected with a whopping 68% four years later. Quite possibly a record increase in Croatia. 

The list of achievements are quite exceptional, especially in an era of emigration and economic depression in Croatia. Jobs have increased 20% since 2017, the population up more than 10% since the last census in 2011, texes for businesses have been slashed to make it the most attractive place to set up shop in Croatia. There is free bus transport for all, and a host of other successful initiatives. It is also the most transparent administration in Croatia - no wonder the combination of factors combined so that Sveta Nedelja has been named the best medium-sized town for the economy for three years in a row, as well as one of the best 5 towns for quality of life. Pretty impressive stuff. 

And the good news is that the Sveta Nedelja transparency project is exported. The mayor's party, Fokus, picked up four other mayoral positions in Zagreb County in the recent elections, including Samobor, which is already embarking on the path to full transparency, as recently reported by TCN. 

And while Mayor Zurovec and his progressive Croatia 2.0 mindset is achieving great things, the biggest name in town these days is one Mate Rimac, whose meteoric rise from a one-man band in a garage with a beat up car to global automobile superstar in a decade is rightly attracting all the column inches. 

But for all his fame and offers to develop his business abroad, Rimac remains very grounded and committed to improving Croatia and attracting jobs, innovation and knowhow from abroad. Doing business in Croatia is far from easy, taxation is high, and there are probably dozns of other reasons why it would make much more sense for Rimac to move aborad. 

But he believes in Croatia, as he posted in a recent Facebook post:

One of my goals from the very beginning was to show that it can be done even in Croatia, to create great jobs here, attract talent from all over the world and also, give the Croatian diaspora an opportunity that is worthwhile coming back for.

Every month all employees get an update about new colleagues that have joined us the previous month. For July, we have almost 50 new employees. It was fun to see this three new colleagues one after the other on the list - the first an Italian moving to Croatia and the other two - Croatians coming back from the Netherlands and Germany to join Rimac.

Many other international colleagues have joined us this month - which makes me very proud. Sveta Nedelja and its surroundings are truly becoming the home of a very diverse population.

Very important to not forget - foreigners are never taking "our jobs" but bring know-how and experience that doesn't exist here, helping us to be a better company, grow faster and even create more jobs for locals. And of course, spreading that know-how here much faster than any university ever could. So it is, without a doubt, a net-positive for the local community. Let's do the best we can to make all our foreign colleagues feel at home.

A tantalising snapshot of a tiny part of Croatia, where a progressive mindset from both the public and private sector can effect real change, improve livelihoods, mindsets and employment opportunities. 

Vive la revolution. 

For the latest news from Sveta Nedelja, follow the dedicated TCN section.  

July the 12th, 2021 - Former Mate Rimac engineer Tino Sturlic has mixed his obvious innovative nature with the desire to protect the environment, creating no less than a solar electric boat.

As Morski writes, Tino Sturlic from Zagreb is a former employee of Rimac Automobili and recently finished work on his boat, and the key modifications were the installation of solar panels and electric motors, writes rep.hr.

He bought the boat as a joint venture with his brother and sister two years ago, but he wasn't satisfied with the ''vibrations'' of the old Tomos 4 pente, so he immediately sent the boat to Zapresic, where he has a workshop. A lengthy restoration followed, followed by the design of the battery. The owner of Torp, who is also a former employee of Rimac Automobili, helped him out in his task.

He also installed a Battery Management System originally developed for an electric scooter that allows for the monitoring of battery status via mobile phone apps, as well as other data such as consumption and charging via solar panels.

The battery with a capacity of 110 Ah and a voltage of 48V can also be charged via a socket, but for shorter and occasional use of the boat it is enough to use tilting solar panels, which can be rotated laterally to make better use of solar energy depending on the sun's strength and position. In the strongest sunny conditions, they produce 500W of electricity per hour, while the boat at a speed of 3.2 knots per hour (5.9 km/h) consumes about 1kW. The range of the boat with a full battery at that speed is almost 16 nautical miles, and charging while driving increases this by up to 30 percent.

A necessary part of Tino Sturlic's system is the charging controller, which can be removed from the front of the ship together with the battery. It was developed by the Croatian company Infoton and then fully adapted to the aforementioned battery. In rare situations when the battery needs to be carried on the mains, it can be pulled out and taken away so that it doesn't have to bring electricity into the boat.

Unfortunately, the weakest link in the system was the old electric motor that was once used in Koncar's forklift and which still needs to be fitted with cooling to prevent overheating that occurs after an hour of sailing.

Tino Sturlic's unusual and impressive project worked for itself, but the interest and reactions of the public were positive, so it is possible that one day everything will result in a business project. The above example shows that the added value brought by innovative companies such as Rimac Automobili and the knowledge and experience gained by employees can one day see them start up their own new innovative companies. It's worth mentioning that Tino Sturlic was praised by his former employer, Mate Rimac, and he proudly pointed out that Tino, as well as some other former employees, had all started their own businesses, but not all of them have gone public yet.

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

July the 9th, 2021 - The incredible Mate Rimac Bugatti deal has blown the myths about not being able to succeed in Croatia straight out of the water. If he hadn't managed to convince you of that before, which is difficult to believe, he certainly has now. This remarkable Croatian entrepreneur's dogged determination is tireless, and Porsche has become even more deeply involved in the Rimac company.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, drowning in the proverbial Croatian sea of ​​gloomy news about the failure of the vaccination rollout amid the pandemic and a new wave of mutated coronavirus posing a potential threat, the news that young entrepreneur Mate Rimac has taken over the cult figure of the automotive world, Bugatti, resounded like a nuclear bomb.

The historical success of the Rimac company, which operated out of a mere garage back in 2009, is astonishing. Very few people believed in the company's plans to create hypercars right here in Croatia, where cars are imported but not produced, but it turned out to be an astronomical success. The business side of the story, however, went under the radar.

The merger of Rimac Automobili and Bugatti Automobiles created a joint venture, known as Bugatti Rimac (in which the newly formed Rimac Group will hold a majority stake), which will be (in)directly controlled by Porsche with 58.2 percent ownership, while Mate Rimac will remain at the forefront, but with a minority stake of 20.4 percent.

The transaction isn't accompanied by cash flow as such but is a matter of exchanging shares, which reflects the consequent rearrangement of the structure of the Rimac company. With this move, Rimac's startup actually ceases to be a startup and is being additionally integrated within the umbrella of the VW Group, of which Porsche is of course a part. Rimac Automobili is becoming the Rimac Group (divided into Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technology) in which Mate Rimac formally holds the largest single stake of 37 percent, Porsche 24 percent, Hyundai 12 percent and other shareholders 27 percent.

The Rimac Group will have a 55 percent stake in the Bugatti Rimac package, which includes the separate brands Bugatti Automobiles and Rimac Automobili. The remaining 45 percent of the shares of the joint venture are held by the German manufacturer, which has been following the Rimac company financially for the last three years.

Despite these figures, which lean significantly in the favour of the German investor, it has been agreed that Mate Rimac will remain at the helm, as the CEO of the Rimac Group he will lead the business of Bugatti Rimac and the new company Rimac Technology. It's here that the core business that broke through in the automotive industry remains - the development, production and delivery of battery systems, powertrains and other EV components. All of the above will be 100 percent owned by the Rimac company.

“What's important to note is that the Rimac Group is managed by director Mate Rimac. The owners participate in the management of the company through the Supervisory Board,'' stated an explanation regarding German shares. They added that “Rimac Group is the largest shareholder of Bugatti Rimac d.o.o. where Mate Rimac is also the director. Mate is also the director of Rimac Technology, which is 100 percent owned by the Rimac Group.''

Car buffs who follow such news aren't too surprised by this outcome, although it is almost certain that there was resistance to such a solution. The new Rimac company remains under the control of a young businessman who, despite all the objective obstacles to doing business in Croatia, raised the company from scratch in an industry that is markedly capital intensive. Only twelve years has passed from the aforementioned garage adventures to the presentation of the stunning Nevera, the fastest electric hypercar in the entire world. 

The fact that all of the above was done at all is exceptional, but knowing it has been done by a Croat, in Croatia, is bordering on miraculous.

For more, follow our dedicated business section.

ZAGREB, 8 July 2021 - The owner of Rimac Automobili, Mate Rimac, said on Thursday that his company is developing a project for autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, and that the first ones if the project is a success, could be tested in Zagreb streets in 2024 already.

He underscored that at the start of next year he would present the robotaxi, a driverless vehicle, to the public. He added that the Nevera model is now completing homologizing and testing and that soon it will be put into serial production. The robotaxi project should be much larger than Rimac Automobili.

"This is something with big potential. A robotaxi prototype has been made, our guests saw it today, however, we have to bring it to a higher level and present it as it should be, probably at the start of next year. The idea is that in 2024 we launch that autonomous vehicle on Zagreb's streets. If we don't succeed with that project, all the money that we invested and will invest will fall through, and that's hundreds of millions. Our objective is to do that by 2024, together with all the necessary infrastructure," said Rimac.

Rimac reiterated that his company has still not succeeded, that success is yet to come, but said that it is going towards that with 1,000 employees and more than €200 million in investment attracted and many more investment to come.

"And that is an investment in development, employment, and production in Croatia that is exported to the entire world. It was a big thing for us to take over Bugatti, a company that has been in business for more than 110 years. That is a big responsibility. For the first time in history, VW has divested a brand from its portfolio," underscored Rimac, adding that VW is the biggest company in Europe with annual revenue of €250 billion.

Bugatti is a successful company but Rimac Automobili wants to make it even more successful, he said.

"It's not true that Bugatti is a hot potato. They are successful. In the past three years, they have been profitable. They sell 90 vehicles a year and have a revenue of about €300 million," he underscored and added that the VW Group agreed to the transaction because it believes that Rimac Automobili has the technology and right approach for something like that.

In that regard, he explained how Porsche had brought its Panamera prototype to Rimac Automobili and said that it had three months to show how the vehicle can be improved. "Within the same battery dimensions and same mass, we created a vehicle that has twice the range and twice the battery capacity," said Rimac.

For more made in Croatia news, follow TCN's dedicated page.

July the 8th, 2021 - The amazing Mate Rimac Bugatti deal which has dominated the Croatian media space since its announcement has earned showers of praise from across the world as this remarkable Croatian entrepreneur continues to make automotive history.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the incredible news of the Mate Rimac Bugatti deal has reached the eyes and eyes of the world's media and attracted even more recognition for this Livno-born entrepreneur who is schooling the government in how investments are attracted, following a huge cash injection from no less than Porsche.

CNN states that the Volkswagen Group and Porsche have agreed to create a new company that merges Rimac Automobili, a Croatian company based in Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb that produces electric supercars, with the famous Bugatti.

The CNN article states that Rimac has so far specialised in developing technology for electric cars, including batteries. According to CNN, companies such as Jaguar, Aston Martin and the Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg are among Rimac's well known clients. The publication also cites Rimc's collaboration with the Italian Pininfarina, a company that was once known for designing for Ferrari.

The Financial Times describes the Mate Rimac Bugatti deal as "a deal that cements Rimac's position as an established force in the automotive industry," Index reports.

The fact that Bugatti will be controlled by an electric car specialist is a big step forward for Bugatti, a company known for its loud hypercars and 16-cylinder engines. The fact that the takeover is by someone from Croatia is astonishing to most, as the country is far from known for even dipping its feet into the car world, at least until Mate Rimac put it on the map.

Advances in battery technology have led to speeds beyond the reach of even the most advanced vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, according to the Financial Times, following the example of Rimac's amazing Nevera, which should be the fastest production car ever produced.

According to the Financial Times, Rimac said that by the end of the decade, Bugatti will produce a fully electric car, but until then it will focus on hybrid models.

For more, follow our business section.