Mate Rimac receives a distinguished visitor.
Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković visited the Rimac Automobili plant in Sveta Nedelja, where he spoke to journalists together with Mate Rimac, reports Index.hr on March 21, 2016.
“I am honored to see this cutting-edge technology. I did not know what to expect, but Mr. Rimac surprised me. While traveling the world, I had the opportunity to see every possible kind of technology. This is a miracle, a cutting edge technology. I have seen both innovation and business spirit here. I would like to congratulate Mr. Rimac as someone who has a vision, who invests the effort and the love for electronics and cars, and manages to accomplish a lot. In his case, we see that one plus one can be three. He will have the support of the government. This is the future”, said the Prime Minister and added that he hoped that the next time he comes to visit he would be able to test drive one of the cars.
“I am pleased that the Prime Minister came to see with his own eyes what can be done in Croatia. There are a lot of examples, and we are one of them. We started from a garage, and now the company employs 150 people”, said Rimac. “It is not our aim to seek help from the government”, he added, explaining that through their business they wanted to help big companies from the automotive industry come to Croatia.
“The automotive industry is one of the best generators of new jobs. We have many great young people that should be employed in the right way. We are here to help as much as possible and to take advantage of this potential. Croatia could become a centre of competence. This is our chance. We cannot compete with old industries, but this is an opportunity that we now have, and I hope that we can take advantage of it together”, said Rimac.
“There is an industrial company which is looking for location for new plants, and I want them to come to Croatia. I hope that we will be able to create conditions and bring this company to Croatia to be a generator of good jobs and the development of the industry”, said Rimac. There is a lot of competition, there are countries which offer good conditions and have been doing it for decades, Rimac said, adding that it would not be easy to bring such companies to Croatia. “Let us not kid ourselves. Nothing will happen overnight, but we need to communicate and see in which direction we can go”, said Rimac.
Asked where he will continue to expand his Rimac Automobili company, he said that they were thinking about several options. “We would love to become a spark that will attract other companies”, said Rimac and added that his company will definitely stay in Croatia, and that it will try to stay in the vicinity of Zagreb.
