Goran Petranović (RST-Pellet): We want to be the employer of choice

RST-Pellet is a leader in the Croatian pellet market, and according to Goran Petranović, the procurator and financial director of the company, it intends to maintain that status by investing in even greater product quality. Long-term business plans also include green transition and the shift to an energy and resource-efficient economy.

When was the RST-Pellet factory opened and how much was invested in its construction and equipping?

– Our story began in early 2018 when Austrian owner and entrepreneur Richard Stückler purchased 100 percent of the business shares in the Company, which had previously been owned by an Italian family, with the intention of building the largest and most modern facility in Croatia for the production of high-quality ENPlus A1 wood pellets, with a capacity of 70,000 tons per year. Construction began in June 2018, and at the specified location, besides one building of 3,500 square meters, which was in very good condition, and an electricity connection, there was no other infrastructure that could be utilized, so practically the entire investment was realized from scratch. Trial operation began in the spring of 2019, and construction and other works lasted until autumn. The total investment value is nearly €20 million, making it one of the largest private investments in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in 2018.

Within which group does the factory operate?

– Since July 2022, the Company has become part of the RZ Group when the previous owner Richard Stückler sold 50 percent of the business shares to the Austrian company Riegler&Zechmaister GmbH. The RZ Group is one of the largest and most important producers of wood pellets in this part of Europe, with factories in Austria, Italy, and Slovenia, and an annual capacity exceeding 800,000 tons of pellets. With the entry of RST-Pellet into the RZ group, conditions for further development and growth have been established, as well as the stabilization of the sales market and the procurement market, especially for wood raw materials.

How did you achieve a leading position in pellet production in Croatia in such a short time?

– Thanks to investments in modern technology for pellet production, conditions have been created for us to become the largest producer at the national level in the first ‘full’ year of operation in wood pellet production (2020). The production process is characterized by 100 percent utilization of raw materials, with no residues or waste, high energy efficiency, no use of fossil fuels, and low emission values, below the prescribed level. We have confirmed our leading position in the wood pellet production sector from 2020 to the present, and this would not have been possible to achieve and maintain without quality and educated workers. We view the workforce as a long-term investment, so in line with this, the salaries of our employees are significantly above the average monthly earnings for the wood industry in Croatia, as well as generally at the national level. We employ 45 workers, all of whom are from the Delnice and Gorski Kotar area, thereby multiplying the contribution to the local community and the region in which we operate.

What share of revenue do you generate from exports and where do you export pellets?

– We export between 85 and 90 percent of our products. Our main market is Italy, followed by Slovenia, Austria, France, and third countries in smaller shares. Annually, we export about 2,500 truckloads of goods, which means more than 1,100 tons of products per week. Additionally, the share of wood pellet sales is increasing in the domestic market year by year.

What challenges do you face and what are your long-term plans?

– One of the challenges we face is ensuring sufficient quantities of wood raw materials. We are forced to import almost 60 percent of wood raw materials annually (mostly from Slovenia, Italy, and Austria), which affects the increase in production costs. Other challenges include fluctuations in the sales market caused by climate change. We plan further investments in optimizing production processes to reduce production costs, as well as investments in improvements and the quality of the final product. Long-term plans are related to the green transition and the shift to an energy and resource-efficient economy. We want to be the most valued producer of wood pellets and the employer of choice in our markets.

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Content created in collaboration with RST-Pellet