Croatian Smart Benches off to Australia
- by croatiaweek
- in Business
Croatian smart benches off to Australia (photo: Steora)
After popping up all over Croatia and in other locations around the world, Australia are about to get introduced to the Croatian Steora solar smart bench…
Great success for young 20-year-old Croatian innovator Ivan Mrvoš who has signed a deal with Australian firm Mtk Renewable Energy Investment, and will over the next five years deliver 2,700 smart benches down under, reports daily Jutarnji list.
Smart benches popping up along the Croatian coast (photo: Steora)
Apart from its Wi-Fi and charging capabilities, Ivan’s Steora solar smart benches also provide lighting at night, local information, gather data, have air sensors and can display advertising. As well as Croatia, the benches have also been placed recently in Montenegro, Sarajevo, Hong Kong and outside the European Parliament building in Strasbourg.
The benches are multi-purpose (photo: Steora)
“We are not ruling out opening a production plant in Australia in the future, but for now I am not thinking about leaving Croatia,” Ivan said.
Ivan’s smart bench in Primošten (photo credit: Steora)
The deal between Steora and MTK Renewable Energy Investment, which is worth 5.33 million euros, was made with the help of the Croatian Consulate in Australia Dubravko Beloš who helped make the connection.
“We had one Skype meeting where we presented our product. They passed on the information to their partners and a few days ago they visited us in Solin. They were impressed with our benches and plan to put them in a few cities across Australia,” Ivan said, adding that he thinks the benches will be successful in Australia as they have a lot of sun.
Ivan on his bench in Strasbourg (photo credit: Ivan Mrvoš)
The new model Steora smart benches, which the Australians will be receiving, cost 1,800 euros and have a special monitor for advertising on them. There could be further deals announced shortly as Steora say that they have sent benches to Qatar, USA and Switzerland to be tested out.
