KIRCEK d.o.o. (Ltd.) started in 1950 when its founder, Ivan Gotić, opened a sawmill and timber shop. The first sawmill was installed with a horizontal reciprocating saw, but apart from this and hand saws, there was no other equipment. Initially the Company’s founder and an employee worked exclusively to provide for the needs of the local population, and its production programme was focused mainly on producing oak and beech roofing beams and lumber for carpenters. Production was organised in a single shift, and the sawmill was located underneath a canopy so production depended on the state of the weather.
By the 1960s a cooperative relationship began with the newly formed state-owned companies, which required greater capacity, new equipment and more employees. New premises were facilitated and equipment was procured, including circular saws for transverse and longitudinal sawing, but most of the Company’s work was still based on taxing physical work performed outside.
There were no significant or new investments during the 1970s. Although the production programme remained the same, it focused more on lumber production for the major Croatian wood product producers and less on the demands of local carpenters. The entire production was based mainly on oak processing, while other types of wood were processed only occasionally and in small quantities.
During the 80s a link was established with export companies, and the Company began exporting lumber (over 70% of which was oak). In 1987, to meet customer demands for quality and deadlines, an investment was made into a new Brenta sawmill and saw sharpening and maintenance machines.
By the end of the 80s a multi-blade circular saw and production line was fitted to increase production of wooden elements, and this resulted in less lumber and more wooden elements and radial strips including oak (80%) and ash (20%) being exported to foreign, Western European markets.
In mid-1991, the timber shop was closed to incorporate the KIRCEK Ltd Company.
Due to a lack of space at the Company’s former location and a need to expand the available business premises, a new building plot was purchased, and in 1995 works began on two production units with a total area of 576 m2 and three drying kilns with a capacity of 150 m3. The existing element production line was moved to one production unit, while the other production unit was built with new machinery for the production of length-width glued and width glued solid panels. The same sawmill remained at the old location, but as the Company decided to gradually transfer production over to higher levels of processing, the sawmill was used less and less, and was put out of operation in 1999.
From 1995 onwards elements continued to be made and sold, but the Company increasingly focused on the sales of its own solid panels.
By the end of the 90s there was an expansion of production capacity of panels to meet the growing demand for lumber and wooden elements, so in addition to own production, these products were additionally purchased on the Croatian market as well.
In 2001 an additional 200 m2 storage unit and a fourth drying kiln with a 50 m3 capacity were built. In 2002 a fifth drying kiln with a further 50 m3 capacity was built, and a year later a new 770 m2 storage unit was built. In 2006 a further 4 drying kilns with a capacity of 50 m3 was built, which brought the total drying capacity up to 450 m3.
Every year from 1995 until today a part of revenue has been reinvested in production improvements and newer, more sophisticated machines.
Today KIRCEK d.o.o. (Ltd.) has 2000 m2 of panel production space, 650 m3 of drying kiln capacity and 700 m2 of storage space.
KIRCEK d.o.o. (Ltd.) also operates a sawmill in the village of Reka, as a separate plant, where there is a 450 m2 production unit and 18000 m2 of outdoor storage space.
The production programme is still based largely on the processing of oak, i.e. the production of solid oak panels (oak makes 80% of the production programme and the remaining 20% is made up of walnut, cherry, ash, maple and acacia). We produce approximately 3000 m3 of solid panels a year, which are sold mostly on the European market (over 99% of them are sold to customers across Europe).
Most of the raw materials are purchased on the Croatian market and the remainder come from European markets.
KIRCEK d.o.o. (Ltd.) currently employs 65 people, of whom most have several years’ experience of working with KIRCEK d.o.o. (Ltd.). The Company boasts a rich and long tradition of solid wood production and (primarily) oak processing which dates back to the Company’s beginnings.