The town is host to international companies and a line of businesses, most of them oriented towards export
Ludbreg, a small Podravina region town with around 9,000 residents, has made the finals for the European Commission Award granted for promoting entrepreneurship in the EU. It is joined in the finals by Zagreb, while the winner will be announced in Bratislava at the end of the year, Poslovni Dnevnik reported on July 8, 2016.
The Ludbreg administration created a three-minute video describing their town: a picturesque spot near the highway and railroad, business friendly. It is host to companies such as ACG Lukaps, one of the largest world producers of capsules for the pharmaceutical industry, packaging producer Bomark, Ducati components producer and a line of small businesses. Most of the companies are oriented toward export, making a 66.3 million Euro income last year.
Proving that size does not matter in terms of entrepreneurship is the fact that this town has 10 million Euro in approved EU projects. Two large investments were made this year: 35 million Euro by Lukaps and 7 million by Ducati in expanding capacity. The city hopes for a larger influx of businesses; in June they began building the North business zone, with 112,000 square metres waiting for investors.
“Ludbeg is a small town with a 3% unemployment rate, with continuing investments proving that hard work will be recognised by business,” said Mayor Dubravko Bilić.
The EC award is given in six categories, with Ludbreg running for the one regarding the improvement of business environment, recognising innovative policies promoting start-ups and growth and simplifying directives.
