A Karlovac pasta maker paired a new line with 160 kW of solar and reports over 15% off its power use in the trial
Karlovacki Zitoproizvod completed a project worth over EUR 1 million: a fresh pasta line with four times the old capacity, plus a 160 kW solar plant. Co-financed from Croatia's Recovery plan. The company says the short trial saved over 15% of total electricity consumption.
A food factory adding a bigger production line usually adds a bigger power bill too. This one added a solar plant in the same project.
Lider reported on 22 July 2026 that Karlovacki Zitoproizvod completed an investment worth over one million euros: a new line for fresh unfilled pasta and a 160 kW photovoltaic plant. The project ran under a programme for moving companies to an energy- and resource-efficient economy, co-financed by Croatia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The new line gives four times the previous capacity for fresh unfilled pasta, the company says. During a short initial trial of the solar plant, it reports savings of over 15% of total electricity consumption and 80 tonnes less CO2. CEO Vanja Hanic said the firm had earlier turned down some business, especially exports, for lack of capacity.
Analogy: it is a cafe that buys a bigger coffee machine and, the same week, puts a water tank on the roof. More output, and part of what feeds it now comes from the building.
Good: growth and solar in one co-financed package, at a size a mid-sized food plant can picture. 160 kW, not a power station.
Bad: the 15% comes from a short trial, and the report does not say which months. No battery, no split between line and panels inside the EUR 1 million, and no grant share.
Ugly: the new line raises the factory's demand at the same time. A 15% cut of a bigger total and a 15% cut of the old total are different numbers. We will not guess which one this is.
Source: Lider, 22 Jul 2026 - Karlovacki Zitoproizvod completes investment of one million euros.