Croatia

The purpose of the project is to develop a new product by increasing private investment in research, development, innovation and strengthening the capacity of Pana WINDOWS d.o.o. for research, development and innovation through continuous collaboration with research institutions.

The project will procure equipment and services for conducting industrial research subject to effective collaboration and extensive knowledge dissemination and to hire professional staff.

Project contributes to the priority areas of the Smart Specialization Strategy of the Republic of Croatia for the period 2016-2020 in areas Food, Bioeconomy and Energy and Sustainable Environment. It is planned to be realized in cooperation with Euroinspekt-drvokontrola d.o.o. and implementation will help to achieve excellence in industrial research, development and innovation, commercialization of new products, revenue and export growth, which will have a positive impact on national economy.

PANA Ltd. was founded in 2002 as a subsidiary company from Međimurjeplet and continued a long tradition of one of the oldest wood processing plants, established in 1911 in Turopolje region. The company developed own production of parquet as a base activity. Adhering the roots of the wood industry, power and industrial sustainability PANA production is reflected in the industrial complex on 14 650 m², which applies modern technology and innovation. It employs 140 workers. In processing and production, the most commonly used wood is oak.

The excellence of the work and the competitiveness of the company PANA Ltd. have been recognized in the domestic and the international market. The dominant part of production, 90 percent, is related to foreign equity, while the responsibility for nature and the environment is confirmed by the prestigious FSC certification (the Forest Stewardship Council; The FSC), which guarantees the respect of high ecological, social and economic standards of forest management.

Wood waste, generated during the production process through a modern and ecologically set up boiler room, is used as a fuel for heating of the working space and 1500 m³ drying capacities. To maximize advantages of these precious raw materials, in 2015 we installed and put into operation a plant for the production of wood briquettes and a modern cogeneration plant for electricity production with a capacity of 1MW, by which we fully complete the biological cycle.

The Forest Biomass Laboratory of the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology has been designed as the central location for research and quality control of forest biomass for energy in the Republic of Croatia. In accordance with the constitutive objective, construction and equipping of the laboratory as well as education of the laboratory staff, was carried out like in modern European laboratories. 

Laboratory analysis necessary for the establishment of the monitoring system of solid biofuels in the production and transport chain from the raw material (forest biomass) through the producer to the final consumer, are carried out in accordance with the European, i.e. International standards for solid biofuels (HRN EN; HRN EN ISO). Forest Biomass Laboratory of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology in Zagreb will offer the opportunity to croatian producers of solid biofuels to test their own product in their own country in accordance with the applicable European standards, to improve technological processes and place the product on the market with all necessary declarations either in the Republic of Croatia or on common European and world market.
 

IDWOOD aims to promote and foster innovation and competitiveness of SMEs in the wood sector in the SEE area by sharing and transferring technical and organizational know-how to enable local support organizations to address structural deficits of SMEs and enhance innovation potentials.

Inclusion of both, stakeholders and policy makers, is of great importance and beneficial for both. Stakeholders are given the opportunity to strengthen their organizational and technical capacities, to develop new functions, to participate to working groups and to be actively involved in networking activities. Policy makers receive guidelines and advice on support policies to foster sector’s development.

Results of the project are improved capacities of support organisations; transnational cooperation between support organisations, knowledge poles and productive sector; increased information flow towards SMEs; innovation, design and knowledge transferred to SMEs; sustainability of the transnational network/support system and SMEs cooperation after project end; increased knowledge of market opportunities.

Wooden raw material is during production process in Spačva Ltd. fully utilized. In every processing step, one final product it is created, and potential of ash use as fertilizer is being researched.

Different parts of wood are used:

- bark as fuel for boiler-room,

- energy produced is used for biomass dryers, lumber and veneer dry kilns, steaming of logs and heating of press machine and industrial space,

- saw dust and leftovers are used for pellets production and low-quality veneer parts

- flitch residues, after veneer slicing, are dyed in dying kilns and processed in saw-mill,

- more quality parts are used for floors and doors production, while low quality parts and residues after precise cutting of the veneer are used for pellet and briquette production,

- veneer sheets are used for production of final products,

- elements from finishing saw-mill are used for floor and door production and its residues for briquette and pellet production.

In that way of production organization, efficiency in using of forest resources in the form of logs, is significantly increased.

As a result, company expended its product line, increased productivity, competitiveness and market share.

Still, there are opportunities for enhancement in new technologies and new possibilities for ash exploitation. Cogeneration project is in preparation for bringing additional cascade in cascading use of wood and to bring additional added value in this value chain. Also, there are possibilities for re-using and recycling of final products as veneer, floors and doors after their end of lifetime.