May the 11th, 2022 - The Croatian company Sobocan's innovative product has seen the company take home bronze at the A’Design Award & Competition, placing Croatian products firmly at the forefront once again.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, following a series of international awards, the mobile office made by the Croatian company Sobocan won a bronze medal at the A’Design Award & Competition, which is known as the leading international design competition. According to the expert jury, bronze was awarded to the company for their movo model THE FREE SPIRIT.

The movo is available in seven different models, all of which are characterised by modern, innovative and functional design because they take up minimal space, and are very simple and easy to fold for work and mobility. Each of the models is entirely mobile, foldable, equipped with an electrical box and storage and has the possibility of being locked. The award-winning THE FREE SPIRIT model has delighted the profession with its elegance and simplicity.

THE FREE SPIRIT arose from Sobocan's idea that the work element is easily moved from one room to another. It therefore features oversized wheels and a handle that makes it very easy to move. When the worktop itself is closed, all the working material becomes invisible and the product becomes a closed element. In addition to the worktop, in the closed part of the product, there are two drawers, compartments for A3 and A4 paper sizes and a laptop, space for binders and a built-in box with power and USB inputs. The aesthetics of this compact product are very simple and as such can be adapted to an array of interiors, and veneered plywood and plastic-coated steel pipes follow modern trends in industrial design.

“Movo is one of the few Croatian brands that can boast of the prestigious A’Design Award and it is a great recognition for Croatian design. We at Sobocan are especially proud because movo is the first product of our own, which we conceptually developed and produced under the roof of our company. We're glad that movo models are recognised on the market as the right solution for the needs of functionality and flexibility of the workplace, as well as a top design solution,'' said Anamaria Burazin Eskinja, product designer and head of the Sobocan design studio.

The aforementioned competition which saw Sobocan's product take home bronze is otherwise the leading international design competition held each year, and awards are given in a variety of creative areas to highlight the best design solutions. The best works are selected in several categories according to the criteria of innovation, technical characteristics and the ability to solve complex design problems. The competition promotes the highest standards in design, advocating for a better understanding and importance of design in all aspects of life.

In addition to winning bronze at the A’Design Award & Competition, which is now the fourth world award in a row, movo has won the following prestigious international awards for design and innovation; German Innovation Award 2021, Iconic Awards - Innovative Interior 2021 and BIGSEE Wood design award 2021.

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April the 25th, 2022 - The Medjimurje company Sobocan has invested a massive 4.5 million kuna into its very own solar energy power plant as more and more companies begin turning towards greener paths for their energy sources.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, the very well known Medjimurje company Sobocan, a manufacturer of furniture and equipment from Mursko Sredisce, officially launched its very own solar power plant on Friday night. The investment in the plant stands at a huge 4.5 million kuna, of which 2.2 million kuna was co-financed with European Union (EU) money, and the rest financed with the company's own capital.

As many as 2,400 photovoltaic panels have been installed on the roof of their production hall, which will produce 900 kilowatt hours of power, thanks to which the Medjimurje company Sobocan will be able to cover almost 70 percent of its electricity needs from its own production in the future. Sobocan will save at least 1.5 million kuna a year on electricity bills (if we're measuring them at the current electricity prices).

"By putting the solar power plant into operation, we're completing the cycle of green transition of our business, which we started back in 2016 with the construction of a wood waste incineration plant. I can proudly say that the Medjimurje company Sobocan is one of the leaders and best examples in the implementation of solutions based on renewable energy sources,'' said the owner and founder of the company, Franjo Sobocan.

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Coric said that the Medjimurje company Sobocan clearly recognised the direction in which it should develop its business in accordance with the green transition.

"Sobocan, as a competitive company that exports almost 70 percent of its production and provides its employees with above-average Croatian industry income, can be an example to the entire industrial complex across the rest of Croatia," said the minister of this praiseworthy and environmentally friendly investment.

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ZAGREB, 23 April 2022 - Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić formally opened a solar power plant in Mursko Središće on Friday, saying that the Sobočan company has put this northern town on the European map of positive production trends. 

The project cost HRK 4 million (€533,000), of which 70 per cent was provided by the European Union. Thanks to the solar power plant, as much as 70 per cent of the needs of the Sobočan company for its production processes will be met using renewable energy.

Over the last 20 years, Sobočan has evolved from a small family firm into one of the leading European manufacturers of furniture and equipment for world renowned brands, its founder, Franjo Sobočan, said.

He said that the company had begun its green transition in 2016 by building a wood-waste burning plant, and that now it is one of the leaders in applying solutions based on renewable energy sources.

Ćorić said that with its competitiveness and the fact that it exports about 70 per cent of its production, Sobočan can be an example to the entire industrial sector in Croatia. He said that the company has shown how to cope with competition on the global market and become a success story.

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March the 9th, 2021 - The Croatian Sobocan company has received yet another international award for its innovative product, Movo, which has proven popular throughout the pandemic in which working from home has become the norm for very many.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, Movo, the innovative mobile office designed and made by the Croatian Sobocan company, has been awarded another prestigious international award, the BigSEE Wood Award 2021. They received the award for the best design in the category of wooden furniture, and they were also nominated for the Grand Prix.

With that, this product made by the Croatian Sobocan company has won as many as three prestigious international awards in less than one year. The idea for this product was initially "born" in the spring of 2020, and it was developed by the company´s design team, more precisely Anamaria Burazin as a product designer, as well as architects Mirna Jovic and Jakov Fatovic. It took only four months for the company to move from the original idea to the realisation and the finished product, and in December this first big international award arrived.

Modern office solutions that save space are increasingly in demand today as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, which forces the level of visibility of the Croatian Sobocan company´s product to be even higher.

The company has started with promotional activities on targeted markets and believe that interest and demand for Movo will only continue to grow in the near future. "We have the greatest interest in the German market, which was expected considering that we defined it as our primary target market and we first started with promotions there," they explained from the company.

It is worth noting that this family business is run by Franjo Sobocan and his sons Nikola and Dejan, and behind them, they say, are more than 8000 realised projects, 200 are of an architectural-design nature, six are production halls, there are 1.5 million square metres of equipped business premises and realised projects in more than 20 countries worldwide.

In short, this is a Croatian company that in its twenty years of business has grown into a serious "player" on the competitive European market when it comes to designing and manufacturing equipment for sales and business premises, and has about 200 employees.

˝We generate more than 50 percent of our annual revenues in export markets as an authorised partner of world-renowned brands. At the same time, the most important export markets are those of the German-speaking area; Austria, Germany and Switzerland and other countries of the Western European market. This year, we have expanded our list of business partners with a large number of clients, including Harvey Norman, Crocs Europa, Drogerie Markt, Sana Labor Slovenia, Wespa Spaces, Lukoil and many others. We have also continued our long-term cooperation with Valamar, Maistra, Mol Group, Intersport and TAF,¨ they stated from the Croatian Sobocan company.

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January the 8th, 2021 - With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continuing to dominate the way in which things are done across the globe, one Croatian company has fully embrased the new work from home trend, aiming to make the idea as appealing and indeed as comfortable as possible with its Movo mobile office.

As Jozo Vrdoljak/Novac writes, Sobocan, a Croatian company from Medjimurje boasts the attractive Movo mobile office for working from home that provides professional working conditions, and is also an an appealing design element.

''The Movo mobile office takes up minimal space and provides the user with maximum comfort when performing their various work tasks. After finishing their work, it's very easy to close down, lock up if necessary and push it away. Each of the models is mobile, collapsible, fully equipped with an electrical box and storage and has the possibility of locking,'' said Dejan Sobocan, CEO of Sobocan, who encouraged the creation of these products.

The design team

The idea was developed by the design team of Anamarija Burazin as product designer as well as Croatian architects Mirna Jovic and Jakov Fatovic.

''It took only four months from the idea to the realisation and the finished product. During the first presentation at Zagreb Design Week alone we received a lot of positive reactions, which continued to arrive day by day. The Movo mobile office is basically a product that we designed, developed and produced with an emphasis on the European Union market. The fact that it is recognised by the profession at the European level is a confirmation that we've created a top quality product. The Movo mobile office is already present in Croatian and German households. The first was bought in Zagreb. We're currently in the negotiation phase with several large global corporations who see it as a product for their employees, as well as with several designer furniture chains. This is a great success because we're still only just beginning,'' explained Dejan Sobocan.

The most significant investments were made by the Sobocan company back in 2015, when a new plant and two canopies covering a total area of ​​3200 square metres were built, which enabled the optimisation of business processes and the optimisation of business, which resulted in a significant increase in the number of employees. Back in 2016, Sobocan opened its own Office for Design and Architecture in Zagreb, and today the company provides its clients with a complete service, starting from interior design to the production and installation of furniture and related equipment within the building. Their Zagreb office employs a professional multidisciplinary team with many years of experience on both the domestic and foreign markets.

It offers its customers individual solutions and the complete engineering process: the development of an innovative concept, prototyping, consulting, successful delivery and precise installation according to the "turnkey" system in Croatia and the world.

This company's projects have been implemented in numerous European countries, as well as Egypt, Algeria and the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, in 2019, Sobocan opened the  new ''hall 4'', which houses a new logistics centre. In the newly built hall which covers 5100 square metres, the final assembly, quality control, packaging, storage and loading of goods take place. The total value of the project stands at a massive 17.3 million kuna, of which 4.5 million kuna is from the European Regional Development Fund.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes on the 8th of October, 2020, the Movo product line is a novelty from a company called Sobocan from Mursko Sredisce, which, in its 20 years of business, has grown into a serious "player" on the European market when it comes to designing and manufacturing equipment for sales and business premises.

As they say from Movo, for them it is a big business breakthrough inspired by the ongoing pandemic situation and the fact that more and more companies are adopting new business models like the well-known work from home one. Their answer is Movo - a mobile work unit that provides the user with professional working conditions wherever they may be.

A professional challenge

''The first phase in product development was a survey we conducted among our employees and clients to find out first hand what is actually lacking the most when it comes to working from home and their work space. Research has shown that most people don't have an adequate workplace in their home and that they use their kitchen tables, counters and sofas for work…

The limiting residential spaces don't often have space for a work zone that is used only occasionally. All these years we've been improving in terms of the production and development of our products and now is finally the time to implement all this knowledge in the design of our own product. The challenge was to design and develop a completely new line and create a brand in a very short time,'' explained Dejan Sobocan, the director of the company.

Movo, he says, takes up minimal space, and provides the user with comfort when performing their various work tasks. When done with work, it is very easy to close, lock if necessary, push it away and save it. Each of the models is mobile, foldable, equipped with an electrical box and storage and has the possibility of locking.

The Movo line currently includes six different mobile office models depending on the needs and preferences of users, and each of the models has the option of personalisation by applying colours and the logo of each company.

The initial transformation of the idea of ​​the executive director Dejan Sobocan into Movo mobile offices was developed by the design team of Anamaria Burazin as a product designer, and architects Mirna Jovic and Jakov Fatovic, and it took them only four months from the idea to arriving to the finished product.

Sobocan is, by the way, a family company run by Franjo Sobocan and his sons Nikola and Dejan, and behind them, they say, are more than 8000 realised projects, out of 200 architectural-designs, six production halls, 1.5 million square metres of equipped business premises and realised projects in more than 20 countries around the world. The list of those with whom they have a long-term collaboration includes Nike, Intersport, The Athlete’s Foot, Mol Group, Crocs Europe, Phillip Morris, Valamar and Maistra.

The last significant investment, worth 300,000 euros, was the purchase of a line for varnishing wooden elements, ie investing in a machine that enabled even better work. Today, they have 200 employees, and they are especially proud of the fact that nobody was fired as a result of the pandemic and they didn't have any need to reduce their salaries, with the average net salary being 8,300 kuna.

Even during the crisis they were hiring

Moreover, they boasted that they had strengthened their team and hired several new people who will contribute their experience to the further development of the company. Successful results have enabled the growth and development of business and the expansion of supply, which isn't stopping even in these uncertain times of crisis.

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