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Vanja Brondula
Episode · #439

POSLOVNA ŠPICA Vanja Brundula

Guest Vanja BrondulaHosted by Saša PetarMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

Running a fifty-year-old family business means navigating markets that look nothing like they did for your grandfather or even your father. Vodolim, a construction and engineering firm, began in 1973 with a single artisan. Today, under third-generation director Vanja Brondula, it operates with eighty-five employees, facing global supply chain disruptions and unprecedented material cost volatility. This isn't a story of mere inheritance; it's about the deliberate, often painful, choice to scale a legacy by layering new knowledge onto deep-rooted experience. Brondula shares how the company has grown from local interventions to complex projects, and what it takes to protect margins and deliver quality when every variable seems to be against you. You will walk away with a clearer understanding of the operational realities of sustaining a multi-generational business in a rapidly shifting economic landscape.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Inheriting a family business means you must develop it, not just maintain it. Vanja Brondula grew Vodolim from eighteen to eighty-five employees, explicitly stating he "wouldn't dare" to take on larger projects without the academic knowledge to manage that scale.
02
The market variables have multiplied for construction firms. His grandfather went to an intervention by bicycle; today, it's a "whole logistical system" of site preparation, material procurement, and post-sales. What used to be a single task is now a multi-stage process.
03
Before taking the helm, Vanja Brondula worked every position in the company, from the warehouse to the construction site. This hands-on experience, even at a smaller scale, gave him a practical grounding that complemented his academic learning.
04
Price volatility disproportionately affects medium-sized construction companies with longer project cycles. While small businesses can quickly adjust prices, those with projects lasting over a year face significant exposure to rising material costs.
05
When local material costs jump 70% while global prices rise 30%, medium-sized construction firms are left exposed. Vanja Brondula points out the lack of protective legislation, leaving businesses like his to absorb losses rather than passing them on.
06
Local manufacturers, reliant on imported raw materials, often add an "extra margin" on top of the necessary price hike. Vanja Brondula notes that if raw material costs rise by 50%, the final product price increases even more, compounding the challenge for contractors.
07
Beyond price increases, global logistical challenges mean delays in material delivery. This directly impacts daily operations, forcing companies to wait for supplies and potentially delay project completion, adding another layer of complexity to project management.
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