The value of the entire three-year project is €53 million, and it was financed with the help of the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR).
The new 2,450-square-metre facility contains a new laboratory, a pilot plant that simulates the production process and can test new products, as well as a quality control department.
As part of the project, the logistics and distribution system was improved, and a logistics distribution centre with a robotic storage system was built in the Kukuljanovo industrial zone.
The chairman of the JGL board, Ivo Usmiani, said that the company had developed from a small plant to the current level, with more than 1,200 employees, 86% of exports and operations on more than 60 world markets.
The JGL is the largest domestic pharmaceutical company in Croatia. We tried to maintain a high level of business even in the period of crisis, and we are aware that we can do more than what we have achieved, Usmiani said.
He underscored that the INTEGRA project was the culmination of efforts to unify research, development and sales capacities and to improve logistics.
JGL CEO Mislav Vučić said that the goal of the JGL was to expand its business to new areas and develop processes in accordance with a development strategy that focused its business on products in the fields of ophthalmology, dermatology, and flu and colds, which were in high demand today.
It is important that production entirely relies on European raw materials and is based in Croatia. It was confirmed during the recent crises that it is worth encouraging production in Europe, he said.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who attended the event, said that incentive measures, primarily by the Ministry of Economy, had helped the JGL to be one of the companies with the largest share of exports, and that exporters were key to the strength of the Croatian economy.
He said that the JGL was also characterised by adaptability, in the circumstances of world crises and sanctions regimes.
The JGL makes a contribution to Croatia that we want, and we work together to position Croatia. Large investments in research and development, an innovative and creative approach and efficiency are visible here, said the prime minister.
Congratulations on the completion of the project were also expressed by Primorje-Gorski Kotar County Prefect Zlatko Komadina, Rijeka Mayor Marko Filipović and Bakar Mayor Tomislav Klarić, in whose areas the JGL operates.