Darko Ivančić B.Sc.Eng
Geni kameni a more u žilama Collaborate Innovate Integrate
Genes of stone and the sea in his veins
Biographical overview by Darko Ivančić
I was born on one of the most beautiful Adriatic islands, the Island of Silba, soon after Word War II has ended. The return to the town of Zadar, although heavily devastated, was marked by a wonderful childhood, where I got to meet great friends that I'm, till this day, close with, although I've lived in Rijeka for over 30 years, now. Somewhere, in between those two cities I've studied at the University of Electrotechnical Studies (FER), electronics division, in Zagreb. There was no doubt in my mind about choosing the right field of study, since electronics was my choice ever since I was a young boy. In fact, this choice ended the maritime tradition present in several generations of my family.
Throughout my stay and study in Zagreb I got to satisfy my interests in several areas of study, mainly sciences, arts and sports. During that period I got to satiate my desire for different hobbies such as underwater fishing, skiing, painting and photography as well as broaden my knowledge and understanding in many areas. The latter has continued till this day and has become an integral part of my profession as well as a helping hand in business decision making. Many years have passed from my rebellious years 1968/69, where I was an active participant of the student movement, till now. Many things have changed for this region; how we, indeed at the time, wanted them to change. Those years, and the events that those years bore, enabled my first contact with Paris and the "free world", a world that I've been in contact ever since. From my very first job to nowadays I've always worked on turnkey projects geared towards the exporting business, whether we're talking about my employment in the "3. maj" shipyard in Rijeka, "Sperry" in Genoa or my private company "ELCON Marine" in Kastav.
Creativity and quality are the two principles I go by in life and it's a path from which one mustn't stray. At present, many new products and projects are hidden in draws or sketched in maps. At the same time Croatia is witnessing major investments in luxury tourism as well as public residences. My deepest wish is to, other than just in the four cruise ships we got to equip, implement our expertise and knowledge in the future of Croatia.
Darko Ivančić (on the far right) at the 'Best Entrepreneur' award ceremony in 2004.Photo by Darko Ivančić of his birth place, the island of SilbaDarko Ivančić & his team in the ELCON Marine workshop where work for the Queen Mary II was doneDarko Ivančić as a FER - University of Electrotechnical Studies - student , in Zagreb
After having spent 18 years working as a naval electronics engineer for Rijeka's renowned shipyard '3. maj', where he took part in the design and production of approximately 90 ships, Darko Ivančić, due to his expertise in naval electronics, was asked to join his colleagues in Italy, Genoa, the place where the very first cruise ships were being engineered and built. Such 'outsourcing' of this young intellect and his like, was by no means done by chance since Darko Ivančić even as a young engineer at the shipyard '3. maj' got engaged in numerous innovative projects within the shipbuilding industry, at the time. In fact, he worked on the very first project of a fully automated ship, without a man in the ship's engineering room. One of, later on, several such projects was purchased by the acclaimed French shipyard in Saint-Nazaire.
Following the said, in Genoa he broadened his knowledge and expertise in naval electronics and witnessed many memorable moments in the cruising industry. In fact, he recalls that the godmother of the first cruise ship built in the Italian shipyard was Sophia Loren, while the next cruise ship was launched and christened with a bottle of champagne by lady Margaret Thacher. Indeed this is how the boom of the construction of cruise ships in Italy truly started.
Darko Ivančić returned to his home country, Croatia in 1992, but it wasn't until 1997 that he started this job, as he says, from its very beginnings. The production and engineering literary started in his own garage, which is how ELCON Marine, a production, engineering and consulting company for naval electronics was formed. In 1995 the company started with the production and engineering and already in 1997 it specialized in electrical engineering of audio-visual and lighting systems in the maritime sector. During 1998 the company started with the production of prewired equipment racks and panels as part of turnkey projects in the cruising industry. Before long, all the equipment produced was exported to EU countries and every year since the company is recording a rapid growth.
The modern workshop was built in the year 2000. It is highly computerized and the modern technology was optimized for the production of high quality components for equipment racks. The production team of six highly qualified electrical engineers, with Darko Ivančić at its head, is interested in new challenges and passionate about what they do. Hence, they are continuously developing new systems for entertainment related projects both in the maritime and corporate sector. ELCON Marine is proud of having equipped the largest cruise ship in the world, Queen Mary II with 96 audiovisual racks for local entertainment from their own production, and having installed the same aboard the said cruise liner. In addition to the company's acknowledgments, numerous awards also testify in Darko Ivančić's name. In fact, he was awarded a golden plaque at the Innovation in Maritime and Nautical Tourism Fair for the engineering of 19' equipment racks, and as head of the company, he was proclaimed Best Exporter among Small Croatian Enterprises in 2004.
Due to their expertise in a niche field of work ELCON Marine got recognized by leading international companies in the industry that have decided, in September 2006, to merge into a newly formed company, named KEZIA Group. KEZIA Group would thus become a global group and include 110 employees working in 10 offices covering 6 countries, where every office specializes in one particular area in order to provide audiovisual and entertainment systems for maritime and land-based projects all over the world. The demand for sophisticated entertainment and automation systems in the luxury yachts and residence sectors spurred ELCON Marine of Croatia, along with two other industry leaders to merge: Ness (Network Essential Systems) of France and TGA (Thomas Gregor Associates) of USA. All companies have been involved in many large cruise ship, ferries and yachts, as well as land-based projects over the years.
Darko Ivančić is confident that KEZIA Croatia is headed towards a bright future and adds: 'KEZIA Group is a process that joins different cultures along with their specialized line of work in one unique product in order to gain more feasible and enhanced final products. We are extremely proud of our role in this global project. Business wise, we have merged into KEZIA in order to increase our business dealings and the number of interesting clients.'
Darko IVANČIĆ, B.Sc. Eng
General Manager
Cell phone: + 385 (0) 98 395 878
E-mail: darko@elcon-marine.com
ELCON Marine d.o.o. Collaborate | Innovate | Integrate KEZIA GROUP
Rubeši 9a, 51215 Kastav, Croatia
Phone: + 385 (0) 51 691 313 www.kezia.com croatia@kezia.com
Fax: + 385 (0) 51 691 151 www.elcon-marine.com elcon-marine@ri.t-com.hr
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