Bjelovar-Bilogora County

undefinedCapital: Bjelovar

Area: 2,640 km2

Population: 119.743 inhabitants

Demographic profile:
Average age – 40.1
Gender: 48% men; 52% wom

Administration: 5 towns, 18 municipalities

Economy

GDP per capita: 7,677 EUR

Unemployment rate: 26%

Average gross salary (monthly): 840 EUR

Import and export data: Exports amount to: 31,722,000 USD; Imports: 29,287,000 USD; Balance of trade 2,435,000 USD (in the period Jan – March 2010); key export products come from the processing and wood processing industry.

Key sectors:

  • Agricultural production
  • Livestock breeding
  • Food processing
  • Wood
  • Metal processing industry.

Investments in the recent years: investments in new long-term property amounted to 335,2 million HRK in 2009, which is 32.8% less than the previous year. The share of investments in the total revenues of the economy is lower than in 2008. In 2009 it amounted to 5.1% while in 2008 it was 6.4%. In the course of 2009, 385 entrepreneurs invested in new, long-term property, the largest part of which came from small entrepreneurs – 168 million HRK, representing a 44% decrease in comparison to the previous year.

Institution supporting research and development:

  • Regional Development Agency of Bjelovar-Bilogora County
  • Business Park Bjelovar for Development and Investment – the city development agency
  • Institute for Scientific and Artistic work in Bjelovar

Manufacturing sector

The most important sectors: processing industry (7,568 people employed)

Overview of the most important companies:

  • METALIND ltd. – A factory producing fire doors (established in 1996) employs around 80 people and is a leading producer of fire doors in Croatia. Manufacturing is conducted in the producers' premises, on an area covering over 4,800 m2. The factory also produces fire glass and runs a plastification plant. Branch offices are located in Zagreb and Split, and they are present on the Bosnia and Herzegovina market. A referent list of over than 3,000 clients stands as a guarantee of the quality of the product.

Foreign Direct Investments:

  • Cormo Italy – wooden doors and windows manufacturer
  • Intra Lightning – leading Slovenian producer of lighting equipment
  • W&P Austria – a large producer of construction material
  • Kronospan Switzerland – market leader in wood processing industry

Services sector

The most important sectors:

  • Health and social welfare sector (1,826 employees)
  • Whole sale and retail trade
  • Repair and maintenance of motorcycles and cars  (2,820 employees)

An example of an outstanding company in this sector: Special hospital for medical rehabilitation “Daruvarske toplice” (Daruvar Spa), Daruvar

Business infrastructure

Business zones: list of business zones

Business incubators: Bjelovar, Velika Pisanica

Traffic infrastructure

The most important state roads network comprises the routes Zagreb-Bjelovar-Daruvar-Pakrac  and Vrbovec-Čazma-Garešnica-Pakrac which run parallel to Podravina and Posavina routes, as well as Ivanić Grad-Čazma-Bjelovar-Đurđevac, Kutina-Garešnica-Grubišno Polje-Virovitica and Pakrac-Daruvar-Đulovac-Slatina which are vertical to the Podravina/Posavina routes and which connect them.

Education

Higher education is organised through the programmes of the Faculty of Economics in Rijeka and Faculty of Economics in Zagreb. The lectures are conducted in the Teaching Centre in Bjelovar. Students can choose from the following programmes:

  • Faculty of Economy Rijeka – graduate programme
  • Faculty of Economy Rijeka – post-graduate course in Management
  • High technical schools – Mechatronics

Secondary education: 14 high schools – 2 grammar schools and 12 vocational schools.

Other: Open University, IVORA – management and informatics, Algebra Centre – Bjelovar, Jeka, Gloria

For further information on the County visit the following sites:

Bjelovar-Bilogora County
Regional Development Agency of Bjelovar-Bilogora County
Bjelovar-Bilogora County - business zones