Wienerberger Invests 8 Million Euros in Karlovac Economy

Lauren Simmonds

wienerberger karlovac economy

January the 21st, 2025 – This Wienerberger investment will strengthen the local Karlovac economy and strengthen that company’s own position.

As Josipa Ban/Poslovni Dnevnik writes, this large Austrian manufacturer of building materials that has already four factories in Croatia. Wienerberger recently announced an investment totalling eight million euros in its Karlovac facility, significantly boosting the Karlovac economy.

It will invest in the construction of a new, modern production line for smart bricks (Porotherm IZO Profi), announced Tomislav Franko, commercial director of Wienerberger Adriatic. This will make Karlovac the third location within the group, along with Austria and Hungary, where this innovative product will be produced.

Work on the new line should begin in the second half of this year, and the plan is for the project to hopefully be completed by the end of 2025. They don’t want to reveal what the annual capacity of the new line from Wienerberger will be, but they say that the modernisation of the facility, where they have been producing Porotherm bricks for almost 29 years, will bring several advantages.

wienerberger plans to strengthen the karlovac economy

“It’s going to strengthen the Karlovac economy, increase production capacities and strengthen Wienerberger’s position in innovation within the wider construction sector,” emphasised Franko, adding that the smart bricks that will be produced in Karlovac will meetgrowing market demands and set new standards in sustainable construction. Owing to its more advanced technical characteristics, construction becomes up to three times faster compared to traditional construction methods.

It also integrates stone wool, which eliminates the need for additional insulation. These are precisely the characteristics that the market is increasingly demanding. “More and more investors, architects and construction experts recognise the key role of sustainability, while the implementation of the nZEB standard (nearly zero emission building) in new buildings confirms significant progress,” he stated.

The growth of awareness of sustainability in construction is keeping pace with the positive trends that the industry has recorded over the last few years. The greatest impact on the growth of construction work has been the reconstruction after the Zagreb and Petrinja earthquakes and the construction of new residential buildings, which are still lacking on the market.

108 million euros in revenue in croatia

These trends also contribute to Wienerberger’s business results across Croatia. Franko stated that the company, which operates more than 200 factories in 28 countries around the world, has recorded an increase in demand in Croatia, while it has been stable across Southeastern Europe. The exact amount of this growth hasn’t been disclosed, but the company’s revenue growth of five to ten percent last year provides a rough picture.

According to FINA, all four Wienerberg factories across Croatia generated almost 108 million euros in revenue in 2023. That growth includes the increase in prices of construction materials, which were 4.8 percent higher in December 2024 than they were one year earlier. Wienerberger has also followed those growth trends.

“Last year, there was a very slight increase in prices due to the increase in the costs of raw materials, energy and wage growth. Although certain price adjustments may be inevitable this year, we’re trying to keep them minimal,” assured the commercial director of Wienerberger Adriatic, announcing that in addition to boosting the Karlovac economy, other projects in factories in Croatia are in the works.

 

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