Shipyard Viktor Lenac Celebrates 120th Anniversary

Under the slogan “Viktor Lenac – 120 years stronger than the sea”, last night, in the presence of the highest state officials, foreign guests, business partners, and generations of former and current employees, Shipyard Viktor Lenac marked its 120th anniversary.

The ceremony was graced by the envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Mrs. Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, Mr. Professor Heri Bezić, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation, H.E. Anvar Azimov, the Prefect of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Mr. Zlatko Komadina, the Mayor of the City of Rijeka, Mr. Vojko Obersnel, and the Mayor of the Municipality of Kostrena, Mirela Marunić.

“The history of Shipyard Viktor Lenac largely reflects the history of Kostrena, Rijeka, and Croatia. Lenac has grown and developed with this region, having transitioned from a small shipyard Lazarus, which repaired fishing and merchant ships in the port of Rijeka at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, to an important destination on the world map of leading repair shipyards.

In these 120 years of Lenac’s journey, changes in the environment and within the shipyard itself have been dramatic, but there is one unchanging guiding principle of our existence – top quality, safely and on time. And here we do not accept compromises. Our reliability and commitment to excellence remain the key reasons why our clients always return to us and why our business partners are eager to work with us. The business results confirm this, as despite challenging times, our revenues have steadily grown over the last five years, and the shipyard operates positively.

As much as 98% of our revenue today comes from abroad, which placed us 25th among the most successful Croatian exporters in 2015. In all of this, we appreciate the support we have from the City of Rijeka and the Municipality of Kostrena, as well as the Republic of Croatia, which has stood behind us in our largest projects.

I thank all our employees and retirees, as well as our subcontractors, for their contribution to making Lenac what it is today – an institution whose name is spoken with respect and a synonym for quality on a global scale,” said Aljoša Pavelin, CEO of Shipyard Viktor Lenac.

The envoy of the President of the Republic, Professor Heri Bezić, emphasized that Shipyard Viktor Lenac has an important role in the history of domestic shipbuilding: “Lenac has long been a symbol of quality, consistency, and tradition of the renowned Croatian shipbuilding. Your expertise, professional dedication, and excellence in shipbuilding are known worldwide. On behalf of the President, as well as personally, I congratulate you on your anniversary.”

The Prefect of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Mr. Zlatko Komadina, reminded that Shipyard Viktor Lenac has nurtured entire generations of families of workers in the shipyard over its 120 years of history and that this is one of its greatest values, wishing the employees and management many more decades of successful work.

“Lenac is a brand of our region based on tradition and continuous improvement of people in the ship repair sector. Lenac is more than that; Lenac is all its people, all generations, all their knowledge and experiences – that is why it is special and why we are proud of Lenac,” said the Mayor of the City of Rijeka, Mr. Vojko Obersnel, and congratulated the management and all employees on this special anniversary.