Igor Vlahović
Episode · #184
VRIJEME JE ZA GOSPODARSTVO Igor Vlahović
Guest Igor VlahovićHosted by Darko BukovićMay 3, 2026
Igor Vlahović
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation
When a company decides to build its first greenfield factory outside its home country, the choice of location often signals a strategic shift. For Prezglas, a Polish glass manufacturer that grew from a 15-person workshop into a 4,000-employee concern, that decision in 2013 led them to Croatia. It wasn't about the local market; it was about positioning for high-value exports to Western Europe, a move that would see the Croatian factory export 93% of its output. Igor Vlahović, the CEO of Prezglas Croatia, discusses how this deliberate strategy shaped everything from factory design to talent development, offering a rare look at how a focused, export-driven approach can achieve rapid scale in a specialized industry.
Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Arkadiusz Muz, founder of Prezglas, chose to buy the most modern Western technology and sell high-value products back to the West in the 90s, unlike competitors who bought used equipment for the local Polish market. This counter-intuitive decision, prioritizing quality and export from the start, is what scaled a 15-person workshop into a 4,000-employee international concern.
02
Prezglas chose Croatia in 2013 as a new EU member, specifically to access Western European markets like France, Switzerland, and Italy, which were too distant and costly to serve competitively from Poland. A new factory's location isn't just about local demand; it's a strategic move to extend the reach for high-value exports into otherwise inaccessible markets.
03
The 19,000 square meter factory hall in Varaždin was built with a layout for much larger capacity, initially equipped with only two-fifths of the machinery. Prezglas then gradually added more equipment each year, alongside training staff. A greenfield investment doesn't mean building everything at once; it means designing for the future while deploying capital incrementally.
04
In a country like Croatia where there were no existing glass production professionals, Prezglas relied on its Polish parent company to send staff to Varaždin for the first two years to train local workers. When entering a new market with a specialized industry, the primary talent strategy is often internal knowledge transfer, not external hiring.
05
A greenfield factory allows for all production flows "from raw material input to finished product output" to be designed for maximum efficiency, minimizing losses. Starting from scratch isn't just about building new; it's about engineering a process with peak efficiency baked in from day one, giving an immediate edge over existing operations.
06
Prezglas Croatia exports 93% of its production, with its volume far exceeding the needs of the Croatian market. Building a factory with significant overcapacity for the local market forces an export orientation from the start, making it a competitive player in the broader region.