The largest cable production company in the region – ELKA from Croatian capital Zagreb – has invested HRK 15 million in a new production line, and today the machine was put into operation by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. The new machine produces conductors, the heart of every cable through which electricity flows, and compared to previous machines, it increases quality and efficiency at a lower cost.
Elka has been producing cables for 93 years and is a supplier to the largest power companies in Europe. The largest buyers of cables are large power companies in Germany and Austria (E.ON, EnBW, Wiener Netze, EVN AG), followed by Croatian HEP, Slovenian power companies, power companies in BiH, and large customers are Croatian companies Dalekovod and Končar. Thus, ELKA regularly ranks among the largest exporters in the country, and a confirmation from the CBS has just arrived: according to data for 2019, ELKA has entered the 10 largest Croatian exporters. The company currently generates 85 percent of its exports, while ELKA generates the remaining 15 percent of its revenues on the domestic market.
The company plans revenue of 450 million kuna this year, which will generated from 220 employees. Through decades of experience and work, ELKA cables have networked energy systems, roads, railways, airports, telecom networks, tunnels and mines in a number of countries, and the annual production expressed in kilometers will reach 21,000 kilometers.
“If the length of the equator is 40,000 kilometers, ELKA will cover the circumference of the Earth in less than two years of production. We have decided to invest in the future and modernization: therefore we are expanding our existing capacities with a new guide-making machine. In today’s business environment in international markets, you can only survive with constant investment in technology and efficiency. With the new production line, ELKA achieves six tons of cables per employee in one month, which is respectable efficiency, while a total of 1,500 tons of cables are produced per month, or almost 18,000 tons of cables per year, “said Gordan Miller, CEO of ELKA.
He added that the new machine line is 61 meters long, the daily production capacity of the guide is 35 kilometers, which doubles the previous production, and brings significant savings, primarily on energy.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković expressed satisfaction with what he saw during the tour of the factory and supported the modernization of production.
“We saw that ELKA is achieving good results, they have a revenue of 450 million kuna, 220 employees and they are again among the 10 largest exporters in Croatia. Exporters are the engine of the development of the Croatian economy, but also the backbone to which everything else is connected, “said Prime Minister Plenković.
