HRK 27 million in non-repayable EU funds for greater competitiveness and new jobs

The Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Crafts on Monday awarded decisions on the financing of five projects that have secured HRK 27 million in non-repayable funds from the European Union (EU) funds, which are expected to result in the creation of 62 new jobs.

These projects obtained non-repayable funds through the call “Building production capacities of SMEs and investing in equipment,” as part of the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020.

“These five projects with secured non-repayable funds amounting to HRK 27 million will stimulate total investments of HRK 95 million, and the project beneficiaries, i.e., the contracts signed through this call, have committed to creating 62 jobs,” said the technical minister of entrepreneurship and crafts, Darko Horvat, at a press conference.

Non-repayable funds were awarded to the companies OMP Metal Processing and Trade from Zabok (HRK 5.1 million), Elcon Geraetebau from Rijeka (HRK 14.8 million), Krklec-Metal from Hum na Sutli (HRK 2.9 million), TEO-Belišće from Belišće (HRK 2.28 million), and Toner from Karlovac County (HRK 1.9 million).

The leaders of these companies emphasized that this money will help them increase their competitiveness and enable new employment.

The owner of OMP Metal Processing and Trade, Vladimir Pleško, highlighted that this is their first significant incentive funding, which they will use to purchase machinery and increase production capacity, and he believes that upon completion of the project, they will enhance competitiveness, increase the number of employees, and elevate business operations to a higher level.

The director of TEO-Belišće, Branko Vukobratović, stated that this non-repayable funding is a boost for them, as they plan to hire 24 new employees and increase production capacities.

Technical Minister Horvat also stated that the moment this project, which is being conducted under the so-called old rules, is finalized, probably by the end of September, an analysis and allocation of support to entrepreneurs who applied under a faster and simpler procedure will commence.

He reiterated that three or four months ago, he insisted on reconstructing and simplifying the common national rules, which has been successful, and today the vast majority of applications are submitted under these new, simpler rules.