»In constant focused motion«: This phrase applies not only to CHIRON Group motor spindles, which are developed, designed and assembled in Zadar where they have many years of expertise and work in close cooperation with Tuttlingen, Germany. But also to the company, HSTec, which was founded in 1997 and is now CHIRON Croatia.
CHIRON Croatia has been part of the group of companies since August 2022 and continues to grow. So, what is on the agenda? What goals is the team around Managing Director Mladen Šarlija pursuing for the future, for the joint success of the CHIRON Group? speedfactor investigated.
Mr. Šarlija, what has changed since the company was founded in 1997 and how has it developed?
Well, we started really small with five employees. Today, we are a medium-sized company and a strong player in global competition in the areas of customized development of motor spindles, robot automation and spindle repair for the CHIRON Group and beyond. During the last 27 years, we have steadily expanded our expertise and have remained as innovative and agile as when we started. What has changed? Well, with our integration into the CHIRON Group, we now have over 1,900 colleagues around the world; structures and processes are more complex and extend beyond our location – we all had to get used to that and familiarize ourselves with it. But in the meantime, we are live the motto »We are one« and are well connected both organizationally and personally!
What are the goals of CHIRON Croatia for the coming years?
We are currently focusing on the development of innovative products – the keywords here are smart factory and Industry 4.0 – both for CHIRON Group customers and for our other markets. We are aiming for 20 percent growth in that area over the next three years. When it comes to the CHIRON Group, the goal is more ambitious: We want to increase our products and services here by 100 percent and are confident that we will be able to leverage our strengths as a »Spindle Center of Excellence« even more effectively once the expansion of the site is complete in 2025. In my view, we are ideal to complete the CHIRON Group portfolio with the key component of motor spindles, with our workpiece clamping devices, spindle services and also with our automation expertise. Together we can fulfill our promise PERFORMANCE MEETS PRECISION even more convincingly.
How does CHIRON Croatia celebrate? Are there regular team events?
Yes, every year on June 6, we celebrate the founding of the company together. We usually go on an excursion to the surrounding area, organize exciting outdoor activities and end the day with a nice meal.
Overview of CHIRON Croatia
Start
Founded in 1997 as HSTec, CHIRON Croatia has been a CHIRON Group company since August 1, 2022. The company headquarters and production site is in the port city of Zadar on the Adriatic coast.
Expertise
Development, design and manufacture of innovative spindle drive technology
Customer-specific fixtures for workpiece clamping
Repair, refurbishment and optimization of motor spindles in existing CHIRON Group machines – worldwide and manufacturer-independent
Development, design and manufacture of robot cells for machine loading and automation of production processes
Individual systems for process automation, assembly and quality control
Management
The Managing Director of CHIRON Croatia d.o.o. is Mladen Šarlija. The graduate mechanical engineer with an additional Executive MBA qualification has over 30 years of experience in the machine tool industry. He is one of the founders of HSTec, was Technical Director until 2017 and CEO until 2022.
Employees
Total: 122
Sales: 4
Spindle service: 14
Administration: 8
Production: 85
Research and Development: 11
Size of the subsidiary
Total: 4,000 m², expansion to over 6,000 m² planned
Customers
Most customers come from the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, with others from tool manufacturing and precision technology.
Things to see and do in and around Zadar
Zadar is a three-thousand-year-old port city in northern Dalmatia, rich in historical and cultural sights. First mentioned in the 4th century BC, the city has been known by several names under changing rulers. From the Illyrian Jader to Idassa (Greek source), Jadera (Roman source), Diadora and, under Venetian and Italian rule, to Zara. Then, finally, in Habsburg times, to Zadar.
Today, the city offers a perfect combination of sightseeing and culture, beach and leisure, southern serenity and Croatian hospitality. A stroll through the old town is like a journey through the different eras of its exciting history: Remains of Roman buildings, old city walls and gates from the Middle Ages are just as worth a visit as the modern sights on the northern tip of the peninsula.
With around 71,000 inhabitants, Zadar is also the dynamic, modern center of the region. Tourism plays an enormous role in the economy, and the industrial sector is dominated by companies from the shipbuilding, iron and steel and chemical industries.
The perfect day in Zadar? In the morning an excursion to the nearby islands of Ugljan or Dugi otok, in the afternoon sunbathing on Queen's Beach in Nin, in the evening a stroll through the historic old town on the peninsula, with good food and local wine. »Živjeli«, cheers to the perfect day!
More about the city and region here: https://www.zadar.hr/en/destinations/zadar
Food and drink
The Zadar region has more to offer in culinary terms than the classic »lamb on a spit«, with many dishes tracing their origins to the time of Venetian rule (1409 to 1797):
