The defense industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Croatian economy.
The Croatian defense industry is one of the sectors which is always growing, sometimes by up to 20 percent on an annual basis. One of the reasons is the innovative spirit of the manufacturers. One of them is Čateks from the town of Čakovec, which is the first company in Europe to produce a whole new kind of special purpose fabric, reports HRT on June 3, 2017.
Almost like in a Sci-Fi movie, soldiers become invisible. It is not the wild dream of some military strategist, but the reality enabled by the products made by the textile company in northern Croatia. The new fabric is designed to protect, among other things, from some of the latest detection devices.
“We have created a pattern that, at the distance of just five meters, becomes lost in the environment. A person standing in front of you almost becomes part of nature,” explains Ivan Karol, a project manager at Čateks.
The unique pattern is a result of their efforts which will enable them to become more prominent in the military accessories sector. “We have opted for an entirely new concept of thinking in the development of camouflage patterns, and that is the triangular-polygonal method of concealment. In essence, it is the most similar structure to real nature. We have combined that with certain colours similar to vegetation”, adds Karol.
In addition to the pattern, the NYCO EXTREME fabric is also better than existing materials, which are currently used to make military uniforms, by several other features. It is 30% to 50% better regarding durability, wear and tear, and for the length of time it can be used – as long as four years.
They have been developing the fabric for two years, in cooperation with an American partner, and it should become the new standard for the next decade. Commercial production is expected to begin in 2018.
Everybody wants the fabric right away, but of course, that will not be possible. Čateks exports up to 80% of its production, selling to almost all members states of the European Union, as well as to some more distant countries, such as Kuwait.
