As Darko Bicak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of April, 2020, at its facility in Zagreb, Kemoplastika is now busy “assembling” a highly sought-after item. Due to its microbicidal action, the product has a very strong disinfectant effect and successfully reduces the number of microorganisms from surfaces. The product was manufactured at their Zagreb facility and is doing well as the coronavirus crisis takes chunks out of the economy.
Disinfectants have become one of the most sought-after items on the market, both in Croatia and in Europe and indeed across the world.
Although not a particularly demanding technological process is involved when it comes to its production, as it is mainly alcohol-based, due to their relatively low added value, many chemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical companies have all but abandoned production.
However, as a result of the coronavirus crisis across the world, more and more companies have been able to re-establish or re-produce this item in just a few days. One of them is Zagreb’s Kemoplastika.
As explained by Kristijan Strmecki, CEO of Kemoplastika, the Zagreb-based company was established under its existing name back in 1991, but was formed on the basis of a business called VIST, well known in the 1980s. The company’s founders are Viktor and Kristijan Strmecki.
”Back at the beginning of the business, it was solely related to manufacturing, with the aim of later expansion into retail, import and wholesale. So, we’ve grown from a small manufactory to a modern facility with professional employees,” Strmecki recalls. He added that the idea of producing their own disinfectants came naturally amid the coronavirus pandemic, when the scale and parameters of the ongoing health crisis and the assumptions of its duration were revealed.
”It wasn’t really difficult for us to ”assemble” the product, because what our company became famous for is just that – our own products. We had no problems with the technology and the raw materials, because in our company, we create an environment that motivates our workers to be creative and efficient. We respond quickly to the market and adapt to the wishes and needs of our customers. Listening to the needs of the market, we’re constantly updating our offer with new products. We stand out for our speed of delivery and our flexibility,” says Kristijan Strmecki.
Earlier on, almost all chemical and petrochemical industries, whether they were Croatian companies with 2-3 employees or multinational corporations such as INA, had started producing disinfectants for the market. INA Maziva announced that in just a few days, they had completed the technological process required and produced a deeply desired product, putting it onto the market – INA Dezinol – and the product was approved by the Ministry of Health.
Given the current situation with the coronavirus epidemic, the company will donate some of its products to the Civil Protection Headquarters of the Republic of Croatia. As explained by Zoran Skrobonja, CEO of INA Maziva, Dezinol was primarily developed for the company’s internal needs, for the disinfection of surfaces at retail locations and so on.
Pharmaceutical giant Pliva has also been a significant manufacturer of professional medical disinfectants in the past, with director Michael Furjan pointing out that they have increased their capacity in this segment three times, but that this still hasn’t been enough, as market demand has increased by twenty times since the coronavirus pandemic began gaining traction.
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