Grafičar

What Grafičar does

Grafičar d.d. is a privately held Croatian commercial printing and packaging manufacturer headquartered in Ludbreg, operating since 1953 as part of the Grafičar Grupa, which also includes Znanje d.o.o. (a publishing house and bookstore chain in Zagreb) and Grafičar tvornica vreća i tiskarnica d.o.o. (a paper bags and sacks plant in Borovljani). The group employs approximately 440–500 people across these facilities and produces commercial cardboard and paper packaging, paper and self-adhesive labels, flexible roll labels, paper bags and sacks from 0.2kg to 50kg, lottery tickets, books, and marketing materials for enterprise customers in food and beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, chemical, textile, and publishing industries. Named customers include major regional brands such as Ledo, Podravka, Jamnica, JGL, Belupo, Lidl, Franck, Atlantic, and Kras, with operations described as extending across Croatia and the wider region.

The company operates a multi-technology printing platform spanning B1 offset, up to 8-color flexo, A3+ digital, and CTP-based prepress, with finishing capabilities that include lamination, foil stamping, embossing, laser-cut dies, Braille printing, inkjet numbering, and spectrophotometric quality control. It holds ISO 9001:2015 (since 1998), ISO 14001:2015 (since 2004), HACCP, FSC Chain of Custody, and Kosher certifications, which together act as regulatory prequalification for food-contact, pharmaceutical, and sustainable packaging customers.

Grafičar's commercial model is a direct, quote-based B2B sales operation targeting enterprise buyers, with no disclosed e-commerce channel and no public pricing. The leadership is concentrated in the Beser family (Franjo Beser as Director, Siniša Beser as Sales Director, Ivan Beser in project management). Recent strategic activity is dominated by capital projects: two solar power plants (1,244.35 kWp at Ludbreg and 364.08 kWp at Borovljani) commissioned in 2024 with EU Modernization Fund co-financing, and an EU NextGenerationEU grant of EUR 326,673.75 (project value EUR 978,441.67) signed in August 2025 to fund additional solar capacity, a new flexographic printer, and energy-efficient finishing equipment through June 2026. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed, and the company is not listed.

Name

Grafičar

Legal name

Grafičar dioničko društvo za proizvodnju ambalaže, grafičkih proizvoda i rehabilitaciju invalida

Website

https://graficar.hr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1953

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Grafičar is a privately held Croatian printing and packaging manufacturer (est. 1953) producing commercial cardboard packaging, labels, paper bags and sacks, lottery tickets, and books for enterprise customers across food, pharmaceutical, beverage, and consumer industries in Croatia and the wider region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Packaging Manufacturing

NAICS

Converted Paper Product Manufacturing (3222), Folding Paperboard Box Manufacturing (322212), Paper Bag and Coated and Treated Paper Manufacturing (322220), Other Converted Paper Product Manufacturing (32229)

SIC

Converted Paper & Paperboard Prods (No Contaners/Boxes) (2670), Paperboard Containers & Boxes (2650), Commercial Printing (2750), Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro primary industry

Recycled Paper Converting & Finishing (Cut/Size, Coating, Laminating) (IMAMAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recycled Paper Bags & Sacks (IMAMAKAI), Paper-Based Protective Packaging (Kraft Paper, Honeycomb, Molded Pulp) (IMALAFAC)

Keywords

• Commercial packaging manufacturing
• Cardboard packaging production
• Paper labels printing
• Lottery ticket production
• Flexographic offset printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Ludbreg

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Commercial Packaging Manufacturing: Production and sale of commercial cardboard and paper packaging for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, chemical, textile, and other industries. Includes offset, flexo, and digital printing services with finishing options.
2. Labels and Self-Adhesive Products: Production of paper labels for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, self-adhesive labels in rolls or sheets, and flexible labels from PP, PE, and SLIV materials.
3. Books and Publishing: Printing and publishing of monographs, hardback and paperback books, magazines, catalogs through Znanje d.o.o. subsidiary.
4. Paper Bags and Sacks: Production of paper bags and sacks from 0.2kg to 50kg for flour, cement, coal, animal feed, and other industries.
5. Lottery Tickets: Production of lottery tickets including express and instant lottery, and variable data printing for promotional games.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Grafičar is a Croatian commercial printing and packaging manufacturer producing custom cardboard and paper packaging, self-adhesive and wet-glue labels, lottery and similar security tickets, books, and paper bags/sacks. The company serves industrial clients across the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, chemical, and textile sectors, with in-house prepress, multiple print technologies, and finishing operations.

Product overview

Grafičar Grupa is a leading printing and packaging manufacturer in Croatia and the region, operating as a group of companies including Grafičar d.d. Ludbreg, Znanje d.o.o. (publishing house), and Grafičar tvornica vreća i tiskarnica (bags and sacks). The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of printing and packaging products including commercial cardboard and paper packaging for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and textile industries; offset, flexo, and digital printing services; prepress and finishing services; various label types (paper, self-adhesive, flexible roll labels); lottery tickets; marketing materials; paper bags and sacks (0.2kg to 50kg); and book publishing/printing. The production process encompasses the entire value chain from packaging concept and design through prepress, printing (offset B1 format, flexo 8-color, digital A3+), to finishing (stamping, gluing, plasticizing, foil printing, embossing, Braille). The group also operates renewable energy infrastructure including two solar power plants (Ludbreg 1,244.35 kWp and Borovljani 364.08 kWp).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Cardboard and Paper Packaging

Quantifiable outcome

• Served 12,800 working orders
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Heinzel Group: Austrian/Central European paper, packaging, and pulp producer with mills and converting operations in CEE. Comparable to Grafičar as a regional European converter with paper mills, packaging, and recycled paper operations.
• AR Packaging: European packaging group specializing in folding cartons, flexible packaging, and labels (now part of Graphic Packaging). Comparable to Grafičar in converting capabilities, customer verticals, and European footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Smurfit Kappa: Global paper-based packaging leader producing corrugated, consumer, and bag-in-box packaging. Comparable to Grafičar's consumer packaging and bag-in-box offerings, with overlapping product formats and customer verticals (food, beverage).
• Graphic Packaging Holding Company: Global paperboard packaging producer (folding cartons, food service, beverage multipack). Comparable to Grafičar's laminated packaging and folding cartons for food/beverage/pharma customers.
• Mondi Group: Global paper and packaging group serving corrugated, containerboard, and consumer packaging markets. Larger-scale incumbent operating in paper converting and packaging — comparable to Grafičar at the broad category level, though at vastly different scale.
• Stora Enso: Nordic-based renewable packaging, biomaterials, and paperboard producer. Comparable to Grafičar at the broad paperboard/packaging category level, with significant overlap in consumer goods packaging customers.
• Mayr-Melnhof Packaging: Austrian folding carton and recycled containerboard group operating across Europe. Directly comparable to Grafičar's folding cartons and recycled paperboard packaging for FMCG/pharma customers in the CEE region.
• DS Smith: European-focused packaging producer offering corrugated, point-of-sale, and recycling solutions. Comparable to Grafičar's commercial cardboard packaging and marketing materials/display business for retail customers.

Direct peers

• Cetis: Slovenian security printing and packaging group offering ID documents, lottery tickets, labels, and commercial printing. Directly comparable to Grafičar in CEE-region security/document printing and converted paper products targeting similar regulated customers.

Emerging players

• Trinitypact (formerly De La Rue's International Identity Solutions / Opsec): Specialty secure printing and brand protection company producing security documents, lottery tickets, and authentication labels. Comparable to Grafičar's lottery ticket and security-printing line of business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/graficar-grupa

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grafičar