Maistra is the best large company, while Mate Rimac received special recognition for the promotion of the economy.
Maistra tourist company from Rovinj was named the best Croatian large company as selected by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), which awarded the annual Golden Kuna Awards at a special ceremony, reports Večernji List on November 15, 2017.
Tomislav Popović from the management of Maistra from Rovinj said that the award would help the company continue the ten years of continuous growth.
In the category of the best medium-sized company, the Golden Kuna Award was given to the Pet Minuta company, while marketing agency Bruketa&Žinić&Gray is the best small company. The best bank is Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ), while Vienna Insurance Group’s Wiener Insurance is the best insurance company in Croatia.
The Golden Kuna in the category of innovation went to Altpro, while the first ever award in the post-startup category has been won by Axilis.
For the first time, a special prize for the promotion of the economy was awarded and it went to Mate Rimac from Rimac Automobili.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Stjepan Šafran, one of the most successful Croatian entrepreneurs, who over the years expanded a small metalworking and machining workshop into a business system with three companies and over 210 employees, which successfully operate in the Croatian, European and African markets.
The ceremony was attended by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović who thanked the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for its assistance during the organisation of her numerous foreign visits, where they jointly promote the Croatian economy. She stressed that the development of the Croatian economy should be based on exports, since that would create products with higher value, and lead to economic growth and higher living standards. She also emphasised the importance of cooperation between the state institutions, academic and research community and the business community, which should turn innovations into reality.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said that, in its activities, the government would continue with measures and legislative proposals which will help the Croatian economy, quoting as an example the tax reform which has lessened the financial burden on the economy. He said the government would continue with the implementation of the national reform programme, stressing that several new laws were being worked on, and he also noted the government’s efforts to introduce the euro in Croatia. The reforms are seen as the best guarantee of demographic recovery in Croatia since they will create preconditions for entrepreneurs to open new jobs and increase employment.
HGK president Luka Burilović said that, despite government reforms and positive indicators such as the growth of GDP and exports, as well as the fall in deficits and public debt, Croatia still needed even more profound and more dynamic changes, in order to “not be at the bottom of the European Union’s development rankings.” In addition to the need for more efficient public administration system and a stable legislative framework, he emphasised that the new education system must correspond to the real needs of the labour market. “The Chamber has offered a dual vocational education model, which can substantially change the structure of future employees,” stressed Burilović, adding that it was necessary for all the components of the society to work together, including the government and the opposition.
Richard Weber, the president of Eurochambres, said that the HGK had demonstrated its strength in recent years by implementing reforms which have improved and modernised the operations of the Chamber. As he pointed out, the HGK leadership fully exploits the Eurochambres network to help Croatian entrepreneurs in internationalisation of their businesses.
Translated from Večernji List.
