KONČAR Group

KONČAR Group, formally KONČAR – Elektroindustrija d.d., is a Croatian industrial group headquartered in Zagreb. Its principal activities are concentrated in electrical engineering, power-generation and power-transmission equipment, railway and urban-transport systems, industrial electronics, engineering, and related metal and manufacturing services. The group operates through a network of specialist companies whose capabilities range from research, testing and systems integration to the manufacture of transformers, generators, motors, switchgear, railway vehicles and associated control equipment. The organization traces its origins to the establishment of an electrical manufacturing operation in Zagreb in the early twentieth century. The business was formally registered as Elektra on 24 January 1921 and became associated with Siemens during the same year. After the Second World War it was nationalized and renamed in honor of Rade Končar, a Croatian communist resistance figure executed during the war. The company adopted the shorter Končar name in 1991, following the political and economic changes accompanying Croatia's independence and the restructuring of state-owned enterprises. KONČAR's historical development reflects the expansion of Croatia's electrical-industrial base. Early production centered on electric motors, including a 1930 motor made with varnished wire. The group later broadened into generators, transformers, rotating machines, power equipment, railway technology and industrial electronics. A generator was produced in 1948, and the group subsequently accumulated experience in large-scale electrical machinery and transportation equipment. Its railway activities include electric and battery-powered multiple units, tram and light-rail vehicles, locomotives, traction equipment, vehicle electronics and related infrastructure. The group also manufactures or engineers equipment for power transmission and distribution, including power transformers, instrument transformers and switchgear. The group is organized around specialized businesses such as the Electrical Engineering Institute, Electronics and Informatics, Engineering, Generators and Motors, Electric Vehicles, D&ST, Metal Construction, Switchgear, Instrument Transformers, Motors and Electrical Systems, and Catering Equipment. The Electrical Engineering Institute performs development, laboratory, testing and applied-engineering work in areas including transformers, rotating machines, sensors, high-voltage equipment and railway systems. Electronics and Informatics develops traction inverters and industrial information and control systems, while the engineering business provides services for energy, construction and railway infrastructure and has also been involved in wind-turbine production. KONČAR serves both domestic infrastructure projects and export markets. The reference material describes deliveries to more than 100 countries and identifies exports as a substantial component of group activity. In 2017, the group was described as comprising 16 subsidiary companies and employing 5,271 people; the same reference reported annual sales of EUR 901 million, with 73% generated from exports. These figures are historical and should not be treated as current performance indicators. Alongside heavy electrical and transport equipment, KONČAR has maintained a broader industrial portfolio. It has produced professional catering equipment since the establishment of that business in 1946, and it formerly operated in household appliances and low-voltage switches. The home-appliance business and low-voltage-switch activities were sold to Lovato Electric in 2019. Since 1994, KONČAR has also worked with Siemens through the KONČAR Power Transformers joint venture, producing power transformers at a Zagreb facility. The group's present identity is therefore centered less on consumer goods than on specialized engineering, energy infrastructure, electrified transport and export-oriented industrial manufacturing. Beyond heavy electrical and transport equipment, KONČAR has maintained a broader industrial portfolio. It has produced professional catering equipment since the business was founded in 1946, and it formerly operated home-appliance and low-voltage-switch businesses. The home-appliance business and low-voltage-switch activities were sold to Lovato Electric in 2019. Since 1994, KONČAR has also cooperated with Siemens through the KONČAR Power Transformers joint venture, producing power transformers at a plant in Zagreb. The group's current identity is therefore oriented more toward specialist engineering, energy infrastructure, electrified transport and exports than toward consumer products.

KONČAR's institutional history begins with the creation of an electrical manufacturing enterprise in Zagreb in 1919 and its formal registration as Elektra on 24 January 1921. The young company became a Siemens subsidiary shortly afterward, linking its early development to the wider European electrical-equipment industry. Its first decades were associated with the production of electrical machinery, particularly motors. In 1930, the company produced and delivered an electric motor using varnished wire, an innovation that illustrates the gradual development of its manufacturing capabilities. Following the Second World War, the enterprise was nationalized in the new Yugoslav state. It was renamed after Rade Končar, a communist resistance fighter and postwar political symbol. During the socialist period, the company expanded beyond basic motor production into a broader industrial system covering generators, transformers, electrical equipment and transport technologies. In 1948 it produced its first generator. Over time, the organization became one of the most significant electrical-engineering manufacturers in Croatia and developed capabilities that supported national power, industrial and transport infrastructure. Railway and vehicle production became an important part of the group's development. The reference material attributes the production of electric vehicles and rolling-stock platforms to activities dating from 1970. KONČAR subsequently developed and delivered locomotives, electric multiple units, battery-powered trains, trams and light-rail vehicles, along with the traction, control and monitoring electronics required by those platforms. Its product history includes vehicle families associated with Croatian railway operations, including HŽ locomotive and multiple-unit series, as well as TMK tram and light-rail models. The political and economic transformation of the early 1990s brought another significant change. In 1991, the company adopted the shortened Končar name and began operating within Croatia's post-socialist corporate environment. The same year, KONČAR Engineering was established, adding a dedicated engineering business focused on construction, energy and railway infrastructure. This period helped shift the group toward a portfolio of more specialized companies and a combination of manufacturing, engineering, research and systems integration. The group continued to build its power-equipment business through transformer, switchgear, instrument-transformer, generator and motor operations. Since 1994, it has cooperated with Siemens through the KONČAR Power Transformers joint venture, producing power transformers in Zagreb. Other subsidiaries developed electronics for energy applications, railway traction inverters, industrial information systems, metal components, vehicle bogies, transformer tanks and generator parts. The Electrical Engineering Institute provided research, development, testing and laboratory capabilities across transformers, rotating machines, sensors, high-voltage equipment and railway systems. KONČAR also maintained activities outside heavy electrical engineering. Its catering-equipment business was founded in 1946 and later specialized in the design, manufacture, installation and servicing of professional kitchen and catering systems. The group additionally operated a household-appliance business and a low-voltage-switch business. Those consumer-oriented activities were divested in 2019 in a sale to Lovato Electric, reinforcing the group's concentration on industrial and infrastructure-related operations. By 2017, the group was described as consisting of 16 subsidiary companies with 5,271 employees. Its reported annual sales were EUR 901 million, of which 73% came from exports; these figures relate to that historical reference period rather than a current reporting year. KONČAR products and plants had been delivered to more than 100 countries across all continents. The group's long-term development has therefore combined domestic infrastructure relevance with international specialization in power equipment, industrial electronics, railway vehicles and energy engineering.

• 2019

  Consumer businesses sold to Lovato Electric

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  KONČAR sold its home-appliance business and low-voltage-switch activities to Lovato Electric.

• 2017

  Group structure and international scale documented

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group was described as having 16 subsidiary companies, 5,271 employees and deliveries to more than 100 countries. The cited historical account reported EUR 901 million in annual sales and exports representing 73%.

• 1994

  Power-transformer joint venture with Siemens

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  KONČAR began working with Siemens through the KONČAR Power Transformers joint venture, manufacturing power transformers in Zagreb.

• 1991

  Company adopts the Končar name

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Following Croatia’s political and economic transition, the company name was shortened to Končar. KONČAR Engineering was also founded during this year.

• 1970

  Electric-vehicle activities develop

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The electric-vehicle business is associated with production of low-floor trams, electric multiple units and moving bases from 1970 onward.

• 1948

  First generator produced

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  KONČAR produced its first generator, marking an expansion into larger electrical machinery.

• 1946

  Catering-equipment business established

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The group’s professional catering-equipment business dates from 1946.

• 1930

  First varnished-wire electric motor

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The company produced and delivered an electric motor using varnished wire.

• 1921

  Elektra is formally registered

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The company was formally registered on 24 January 1921 under the name Elektra and became a Siemens subsidiary during the same year.

• 1919

  Electrical manufacturing activity begins in Zagreb

  [1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The enterprise that would develop into KONČAR traces its origins to an electrical manufacturing operation established in Zagreb.

Specialized, export-oriented industrial engineering and manufacturing for electricity infrastructure, electrified transport and related industrial systems

• Power transmission equipment

  Power transformers

  KONČAR develops and manufactures power transformers for electricity networks and infrastructure projects. The transformer business includes the KONČAR Power Transformers joint venture with Siemens, established in 1994 and operating from Zagreb. The group’s wider manufacturing base also produces transformer tanks, busbars and related metal components.

• Rotating electrical machinery · 1948

  Generators and motors

  The Generators and Motors activities cover large generators for power plants and electric motors for industrial and transport applications. Applications identified in the reference material include low-floor trams, electric multiple units, ships, compressor hubs and other industrial systems. KONČAR’s generator history reaches back to its first generator in 1948.

• Transmission and distribution equipment

  Switchgear and instrument transformers

  KONČAR manufactures electrical equipment used in the transmission and distribution of electricity. Its portfolio includes switchgear and medium-voltage instrument transformers, supported by engineering, testing and manufacturing capabilities across the group.

• Railway and urban transport · 1970

  Railway vehicles and electric transport

  The electric-vehicle business produces and supports railway and urban-transport platforms, including electric multiple units, battery-powered trains, locomotives, trams and light-rail vehicles. Referenced product families include HŽ series 1141 and 1142 locomotives, HŽ series 6012, 6112, 6211 and 7022 multiple units, and TMK 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2400 tram or light-rail models.

• Industrial electronics and control systems

  Traction and industrial electronics

  KONČAR Electronics and Informatics develops traction systems, including inverters for trains, coaches and trams. It also produces electronic equipment for the energy sector and information and control solutions for industrial applications. Railway displays and monitoring systems are developed within the group’s broader research and engineering activities.

• Commercial catering equipment · 1946

  Professional catering equipment

  KONČAR Catering Equipment designs, manufactures, installs and services professional catering equipment. The business dates from 1946 and represents one of the group’s long-standing industrial activities outside its core power and transport portfolio.

• Consumer appliances

  Home appliances

  KONČAR formerly produced household appliances as part of a broader consumer-oriented portfolio. The home-appliance business, together with the low-voltage-switch activities, was sold to Lovato Electric in 2019 and is therefore no longer treated as a current core KONČAR offering.

• 2019

  Divestment of home appliances and low-voltage switchesM&A

  Background

  KONČAR maintained consumer and low-voltage product activities alongside its power, transport and industrial businesses.

  Action taken

  The group sold its home-appliance business and low-voltage-switch activities to Lovato Electric.

  Aftermath

  The transaction narrowed KONČAR’s portfolio and supported a stronger concentration on electrical infrastructure, industrial engineering and transport technology.

  Source

• 2019

  KONČAR sells its home-appliance and low-voltage-switch businesses to Lovato Electric[1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  The group's home-appliance business and low-voltage-switch operations were sold to Lovato Electric as part of a portfolio change.

• 1994

  KONČAR establishes a power-transformer joint venture with Siemens[1]KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org

  M&A · Other

  KONČAR and Siemens began working together through the Končar Power Transformers joint venture, which manufactures power transformers at a Zagreb facility.

1. 1KONČAR Groupen.wikipedia.org