What Varkom does

Varkom d.o.o. is a regulated regional water and wastewater utility headquartered in Varaždin, Croatia, providing public water supply (Javna vodoopskrba) and public sewage/drainage (Javna odvodnja) services across 26 local government units in Varaždin County. The company traces its origins to the 1958 establishment of the Varaždin regional water supply system on groundwater sources west of the city, and serves approximately 151,000 residents (~82% of the county population) through an installed network exceeding 1,500 km of water supply pipeline, 170+ km of external sewage network, 17 reservoirs (15,000 m³ total), 11 pumping stations, and 5,500+ stormwater drains. Annual drinking water delivery totals approximately 8 million m³, split roughly 70/30 between residential and industrial/commercial customers, with maximum extraction capacity of 900 l/s. The company was converted from a joint-stock company (d.d.) to a limited liability company (d.o.o.) on 26 April 2022 and absorbed IVKOM-VODE d.o.o. on 29 November 2024, increasing share capital to EUR 33,991,590 and establishing the Podružnica Ivanec branch.

The business operates a regulated utility model under the Croatian Water Services Act, with tariffs set per cubic meter of consumption plus fixed connection and development fees, approved under the Methodology Regulation for Determining Water Service Prices (OG 70/2023) and decided by the company's Assembly of 27 municipal shareholders (Grad Varaždin holds 46.58%). Revenue mechanics are consequently volume-based and price-regulated rather than market-driven. Varkom is structured around two core service lines — water supply and wastewater/drainage — supported by specialized modules including an accredited drinking-water and wastewater testing laboratory, a 24/7 SCADA (SNDU) supervisory control system, high-pressure sewer cleaning operations, and a GIS/Cadastre function. Customer segments comprise residential households, industrial and commercial enterprises, and 27 local government units that act as both shareholders and public-sector counterparties for EU co-financed agglomeration projects.

The company holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 22000 certifications and operates an HACCP-based drinking water safety system aligned with the Croatian Food Act; water quality compliance reached 99.8% in 2025 (only 4 of 1,606 samples non-compliant). Service distribution is exclusively direct-to-customer via physical infrastructure connections, with no intermediary channels, and an EU-funded project pipeline spans agglomerations in Varaždin, Varaždinske Toplice, Ludbreg, Ivanec, Novi Marof, Veliki Bukovec, and Lepoglava, including National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) funding for the Varaždin County wastewater system. Governance is exercised through a 27-member General Assembly, a 9-member Supervisory Board chaired by Leonard Sekovanić, and a Management Board led by Director Bruno Ister (dipl.ing.el.) and Deputy Director Marijan Cesarec (dipl.ing.građ.).

Name

Varkom

Legal name

VARKOM d.o.o.

Website

https://varkom.hr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Varkom d.o.o. is a regulated regional water and wastewater utility headquartered in Varaždin, Croatia, serving approximately 151,000 residents across 26 municipalities in Varaždin County through 1,500+ km of water supply and 170+ km of sewage network, owned by 27 local government units.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Sewage Treatment Facilities (22132)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Quality Monitoring, Compliance & Reporting (Sampling, Lab, Regulatory) (EUANAAAG)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Public water supply
• Wastewater treatment
• Sewage collection
• Water quality testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Varazdin

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Varkom d.o.o. is a regulated regional water utility providing public drinking water supply and wastewater (sewage) collection and treatment services to approximately 151,000 residents across 26 municipalities in Varaždin County, Croatia. The company operates its own groundwater extraction, treatment, and distribution infrastructure (1,500+ km of network, 17 reservoirs, 11 pumping stations) and a sewage network of 170+ km with an associated wastewater treatment plant, supported by SCADA remote monitoring and in-house accredited water quality laboratories. Services are billed as regulated monthly tariffs per cubic meter consumed, with separate fees for water supply and sewage/drainage.

Product overview

Varkom is a regional water utility company (d.o.o.) providing integrated water services across 26 local government units in northwestern Croatia. The company operates a platform-plus-services model centered on two core products: public water supply (Javna vodoopskrba) serving approximately 151,000 residents through over 1,500 km of water network, and public sewage/drainage (Javna odvodnja) managing over 170 km of sewage infrastructure. These core services are supported by specialized service modules including drinking water quality control laboratory, wastewater quality control laboratory, sewage system maintenance using high-pressure cleaning technology, and a 24/7 supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. The company also operates the Ivanec Branch (Podružnica Ivanec) providing water supply and sewage services to the Ivanec area following the 2025 merger with IVKOM-VODE d.o.o.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Water Supply (Javna vodoopskrba)

Quantifiable outcome

• Water quality compliance rate of 99.8% - only 4 out of 1,606 drinking water samples non-compliant in 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 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

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• IVKOM-VODE d.o.o.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 October 2025IVKOM-VODE d.o.o. (OIB: 91920869215), a former water utility serving the Ivanec area, was merged into Varkom d.o.o. effective 2025. The merger increased Varkom's share capital by 2,944,890.00 EUR and established the Podružnica Ivanec branch office. This consolidation strengthened Varkom's regional position in northwestern Croatia.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Vodovod Pula d.o.o. Water utility serving the Istria peninsula in coastal Croatia. Similar Croatian regulatory environment and integrated water/sewage mandate but operates in a different geography and serves a population with different demographic and tourism-related demand patterns than Varaždin County.
• Komunalno društvo Čistoća d.o.o. Croatian municipal utility providing sanitation and wastewater services in the Rijeka area. Comparable in scope (wastewater treatment focus) and Croatian regulatory framework, though geographically concentrated in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County rather than continental Croatia.

Broad incumbents

• Suez Water (Suez Group): International water utility operator providing municipal water and wastewater services globally. Comparable operating model for integrated drinking water supply, sewage collection/treatment, and compliance monitoring—relevant as a benchmark for Varkom's service delivery framework.
• Veolia Environnement: Global water and wastewater services operator with municipal concessions across Europe. Represents the international utility-scale benchmark for the regulated water-services business model that Varkom operates locally, including similar SCADA, lab, and compliance-driven operations.
• Hrvatske vode (Croatian Waters): State-level water management agency that regulates all water services in Croatia, including Varkom's operations. Not a direct competitor but the closest institutional peer in terms of scale, water-sector authority, and oversight of Croatian water infrastructure including the same EU project pipeline.

Direct peers

• Vodovod Osijek d.o.o. Regional water utility serving Osijek and eastern Slavonia. Comparable in scope and regulatory framework (Croatian Water Services Act), municipal ownership structure, and integrated water/sewage service offering—directly paralleling Varkom's operating model in a different geographic region.
• Komunalac Požega d.o.o. Municipal utility in Požega (Slavonia region) providing water supply, wastewater, and related public services. Operates under the same Croatian regulatory regime and municipal-shareholder ownership model as Varkom, serving a smaller but structurally similar community.
• Vodovod i odvodnja d.o.o. (VIO Zagreb): The water and wastewater utility serving Zagreb, the Croatian capital. VIO Zagreb operates a comparable regulated monopoly model for water supply and sewage across a large municipal area, making it the closest scale and operating-model peer for Varkom despite Zagreb's much larger size.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKanJfCs2XdtSARjedRYxDg
• Facebookfacebook.com/varkom.hr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/varkom-d.o.o.

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Varkom