The opening of the new office in Kvarner, according to the Lürssen Group, will further improve their world-famous production of luxury mega yachts. The office in Rijeka will serve as an engineering centre for yacht design and development, research, innovation and investment in the maritime industry, and it employs more than 90 qualified professionals from Croatia.

The Croatian companies making part of the Lürssen Group provide support to the Group’s shipyards in Germany in meeting continuous needs for designing mega yachts, from conceptual documentation to more detailed production design. The Lürssen Croatia team consists mainly of shipbuilding engineers, as well as mechanical and electrical engineers.

The Croatian professionals in Rijeka will play a significant role in the construction of new vessels of the future, and their priority areas are smart and green shipbuilding through digital transformation, the development of a unique, unmanned and autonomous platform, use of hydrogen and synthetic fuels as propulsion and technology development such as transformation of waste into energy and sterilization of hazardous waste.

The opening of the new business premises was attended, among others, by Nikolina Brnjac, envoy of the Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism and Sports, Peter Lürssen, co-owner of the Lürssen Group, Marko Filipović, mayor of Rijeka and Petar Mamula vice president of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

“We have found excellent professionals in Rijeka, and I hope that our team will grow over time. We have excellent cooperation with the University and the City of Rijeka, and in Rijeka we see great potentials for our activities and I am glad to be here today,” said Peter Lürssen.

The guests were also welcomed by the executive director of the Lürssen Design Center in Kvarner Teuta Duletić, who emphasised that the opening of the centre is a great thing for Rijeka and Kvarner. “Our people aren’t heading abroad to be part of a great international team, they’re staying here because our Croatian team has been an integral part of German teams from the very beginning and we think it is a great thing,” said Duletić.

In his welcome speech, mayor Marko Filipović pointed out that the opening of the Lürssen Group’s office in Rijeka is a big step. “More than 100 young and educated people have found their jobs here, cooperation with the University has been achieved and I am glad that the potentials of Rijeka have been recognised and that the long history of shipbuilding in this area has been recognised. In the next few years, our city will change its vision, according to the promises of the concessionaire, in just over 2 years we will have the most modern marina in the Mediterranean, “said the mayor and added that today a message is sent from Rijeka that this is a city where it pays to live and work and that we are now even better positioned not only on the European but also on the world map of port cities.

The Minister of Tourism and Sports Nikolina Brnjac also expressed her support, emphasising that Croatia is a country with a long maritime tradition and that nautical tourism is one of the most prominent parts of our tourist offer. “We are happy that thanks to the investments of the Lürssen Group, Rijeka is becoming a centre of excellence in the maritime industry for all Europe. The Group stands out in its business with innovation, connecting the traditional understanding of business with new technologies, investing in human resources, but also creating new jobs for Croatian experts, something that we, officials from the Government of the Republic of Croatia especially welcome, “said the Minister.

Rijeka was chosen as the location for the establishment of yet another established engineering centre due to the fact that Croatia is recognised as one of the most renowned maritime and shipbuilding countries in the world with a long tradition in shipbuilding and engineering, especially in designing and building sophisticated prototype ships. The new office further strengthens and expands Lürssen’s engineering power, and members of the Lürssen Croatian team work as part of Lürssen’s design network.

The Lürssen Group has been present in Croatia since 2020, while in Germany it has been operating for more than 140 years. The company specialises in the design and production of yachts, ships and Coast Guard vessels and provides extensive after-sales services, including repairs, maintenance and global logistics services.