T
he proximity of Spačva’s forest resource, one of the largest integrated oak woods in Europe, covering approximately 51,000 acres, defines the business strategy of the company that has more than 50 years of experience in the wood industry. In the first three decades of its existence the company was working on the saw mill materials, prefabricated wooden houses, windows, wood packaging etc. Production of some lines stopped in the 1980s and a factory producing veneers was opened instead. Mr Puljiz said, “Today we have five factories: a saw mill, parquet production, a veneer factory, a final product factory and a bio fuels factory, with capacity to process annually about 75,000m3 of oak and ash logs. Currently we employ 700 people, but our ambition is to have again 1000 employees as we had before the economic crisis.”
Internationally recognised Many regions of the former Yugoslavia boast large forest areas and so competition in the wood industry is strong. Spačva invests in knowledge and technology for wood processing in order to stay ahead of the competition. Its current position in south-east Europe has improved after the recent Croatian accession to EU. Mr Puljiz explained, “Membership of the EU helps us in getting new customers because the old technical difficulties in trading are
eliminated. For example, Spačva’s forest base spreads to Serbia which uses the same raw material in its wood industry as we do. However, many customers are coming to us due to significantly simplified market regulations within the EU as well as because of the good quality of our products. More benefits will be seen in years to come.” The most important market for Spačva is still Germany, although a large quantity of products is exported to France, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Apart from
Competitive advantages All the company’s final products are made of solid wood. The oak used in the production has received international recognition and is formally known as Slavonian oak. “One of our most profitable products is country flooring, a substitute for multilayer floor but made of solid wood, as are our doors. Country flooring is traditionally two metres long, but we are working on flooring of three to six meters. Currently there is a trend in interior design for a natural look and that is exactly where our products fit in,” explained Mr Puljiz. High-quality materials are what the company’s products, especially parquet and flooring, are internationally recognised for. Other advantages include: genuine veneer made of oak and ash timber, firewood (briquette and pellets) produced from dry wood and sawdust that enables the exploitation of by-products and offers a better and cheaper alternative to heating with gas or oil. Industry Europe 137
