Hrvatski zavod za norme/Croatian Standards Institute

What Hrvatski zavod za norme/Croatian Standards Institute does

Hrvatski zavod za norme (HZN), the Croatian Standards Institute, is the Republic of Croatia's official national standards body, established in 2005 as an independent non-profit public institution (javna ustanova) under the Zakon o normizaciji (NN 80/2013) and the Uredba o osnivanju HZN-a. The organization holds the exclusive legal mandate to develop, publish, and distribute Croatian standards (HRN), maintain Croatia's membership in the principal international and European standards organizations (ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC, ETSI), and serve as Croatia's national WTO/TBT enquiry point for technical barriers to trade. It operates a portfolio of 34,930+ published Croatian normative documents, 170 technical committees, and 1,664+ participating experts, with only 13 direct employees headquartered at Ulica grada Vukovara 78 in Zagreb.

HZN's product stack centers on four core digital platforms: HRN4You, a subscription-based digital repository for Croatian and harmonized European standards; HZNacrti, an online draft-standards commenting system co-funded by the European Commission (95% of project value EUR 130,531.94) under the CIP eComment initiative; HZNorm, an internal workflow database for technical committee members; and NAUTOS, the standards-data catalog search used within the Normoteka information-documentation center. Supporting these are the HZN e-glasilo monthly newsletter, the WTO/TBT Information Centre, and the SME Contact Point (Kontaktna točka za MSP), which delivers free consultations and tailored standardization support to small businesses. Underpinning these systems is a conventional web-application architecture for standards repository access, public-consultation workflows, and committee collaboration, with no disclosed AI/ML components.

The business model combines direct Croatian government funding (primary) with commercial revenue from individual standards sales (HRN, ISO, IEC, DIN, BSI, ASTM) at unit pricing, annual subscriptions to HRN4You, and authorized distribution agreements for international standards. GTM is overwhelmingly domestic and direct-to-customer (phone, email, fax, in-person Normoteka visits, and self-serve web ordering), supported by educational outreach to students and SMEs. The customer base spans three primary segments — Croatian industry and businesses (horizontal), SMEs (via the dedicated Contact Point), and government bodies/public administration — with no disclosed enterprise anchors or named logo accounts.

Name

Hrvatski zavod za norme/Croatian Standards Institute

Legal name

Hrvatski zavod za norme

Website

https://hzn.hr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hrvatski zavod za norme (Croatian Standards Institute) is Croatia's official national standards body, a government-funded non-profit that publishes Croatian standards, represents Croatia in ISO/IEC/CEN/CENELEC/ETSI, and serves Croatian industry, SMEs, and government bodies through digital repositories, the WTO/TBT enquiry point, and expert consultation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

National Standardization Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPADAAAJ

International Standards, Norms & Technical Regulatory Bodies

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Multilateral & Intergovernmental Organizations

SECONDARYMPAJACAB

Standards Development & Publishing (SDOs, Technical Standards)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Publishing (Books, News, Magazines)/Professional & Legal Publishing (Standards, Compliance, Reference)

SECONDARYBPADANAA

International Standards Development & Standardization Bodies

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Standards, Policy & Regulatory Cooperation

SECONDARYBPADANAB

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Standards, Policy & Regulatory Cooperation

Keywords

• National standardization body
• Croatian standards development
• Standards publishing and sales
• Technical committee coordination
• WTO TBT enquiry point

Headquarters

HQ city

Zagreb

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Standards and Publications Sales: HZN sells Croatian normative documents, international standards (ISO, IEC), and documents from national and sectoral standardization organizations (DIN, DIN VDE, BSI, ASTM) on the territory of the Republic of Croatia, in accordance with published price lists. Revenue is generated through direct sales transactions for individual document purchases.
2. HRN4You Subscription: Annual subscription access to the Croatian Standards Repository providing electronic access to published Croatian standards and harmonized European standards.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HZN develops, adopts, publishes, and distributes Croatian national standards (HRN) and harmonized European/international standards, while operating the supporting digital infrastructure (HRN4You repository, HZNacrti commenting system, Normoteka library, WTO/TBT enquiry point, and SME Contact Point). It coordinates 170 technical committees and acts as the national member body for ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC, and ETSI, serving Croatian industry, government, and SMEs with standards-related information, sales, and consultation services.

Product overview

HZN operates as a single unified platform offering national standardization services with interconnected products and publications. The core offerings include HZNacrti (draft standards commenting system), HRN4You (standards subscription repository), Normoteka (standards library and information centre), HZNorm (internal technical committee database), and the WTO/TBT Information Centre. Supporting these are the HZN e-glasilo newsletter and the SME Contact Point. Together, these products enable standards development, consultation, distribution, and information services for Croatian and international standards (ISO, IEC, CEN, CENELEC, ETSI).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HZNacrti: System for commenting on draft standards - a service for Croatian experts not involved in technical committees, particularly small and medium enterprises, to review draft standards and provide comments during public consultations.
• HRN4You
• HZNorm

Products and services

• HZNacrti – Sustav komentiranja nacrta norma (Draft Standards Commenting System) Online system that enables users to read draft Croatian standards and submit comments during public consultation periods. Comments are forwarded to the relevant HZN technical committees and then onward at the European level during voting. Targeted at Croatian professionals and SMEs that are not members of technical committees.
• HRN4You – Repozitorij hrvatskih norma (Croatian Standards Repository) Subscription-based digital repository providing electronic access to Croatian standards (HRN, HRN EN, HRN ISO, HRN IEC) and harmonized European standards. Serves Croatian businesses, professionals, and institutions requiring ongoing access to current standards content.
• Normoteka (Information and Documentation Centre) Information and documentation centre located at HZN headquarters in Zagreb that houses collections of Croatian (HZN), international (ISO, IEC), and European (CEN, CENELEC, ETSI) standards. Provides free in-person viewing of standards, search tools (NAUTOS), expert assistance, and free information by phone or email.
• HZNorm (Internal Database for Technical Committee Members) Internal database and workflow system restricted to members of HZN technical committees (HZN/TO), supporting the standards development process and committee documentation.
• WTO/TBT Informativna središnjica (WTO/TBT Enquiry Point) Information centre and national notification body for technical barriers to trade at the World Trade Organization. Provides data and documentation on Croatian technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures, and Croatia's membership in international and regional standardization bodies.
• Kontaktna točka za MSP (SME Contact Point) Contact point organized within HZN's Normoteka that provides direct and tailored support to small and medium enterprises on standards and standardization at the national level, including free consultations, workshops, and tailored publications.
• Katalog hrvatskih norma (Catalogue of Croatian Standards) Searchable online catalogue of Croatian standards (HRN) accessible through the HRN4You repository, with search functionality by standard number, title, ICS classification, technical committee, and phase.
• Pretplata na Repozitorij hrvatskih norma – HRN4You (HRN4You Annual Subscription) Annual subscription service granting electronic access to the full HRN4You digital repository of Croatian standards and harmonized European standards.
• Prodaja norma (Standards Sales) Direct sales of individual Croatian and international standards documents (including HRN, ISO, IEC, DIN, DIN VDE, BSI, ASTM) to customers in Croatia, with prices governed by the official HZN price list (Cjenik norma i usluga HZN-a). Orders accepted via telephone, fax, email, and online order forms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 34,930++ Croatian normative documents published
• +1 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ISO (International Organization for Standardization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHZN is the national member body of ISO, the international organization for standardization. Through this membership, HZN ensures permanent availability of ISO standards in Croatia and enables Croatian experts to participate in ISO technical committee work and international standards development.
• IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHZN is the national member of IEC, the international electrotechnical standards organization. This membership provides Croatian access to IEC electrotechnical standards and participation in IEC work.
• CEN (European Committee for Standardization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHZN is the Croatian national member of CEN, the European standards organization. Through membership, HZN adopts European standards as Croatian standards and participates in European standardization activities.
• CENELEC (European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHZN is the national member of CENELEC. Through this membership, HZN ensures adoption of European electrotechnical standards in Croatia and enables Croatian participation in CENELEC activities.
• ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHZN is a member of ETSI, enabling Croatian participation in European telecommunications standardization and access to ETSI standards.
• European Commission / EFTAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerHZN received EU co-funding (95% of project value of 130,531.94 EUR) through the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) for the development of the HZNacrti online commenting system. The project was part of the SA/CEN/ENTR/000/2012-07 'eComment' initiative coordinated by CEN-CENELEC Management Centre.
• National Standardization Bodies of Czech Republic, Finland, Latvia, Norway, and SpainminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive national standardization bodies (UNMZ Czech Republic, SFS Finland, LVS Latvia, SN Norway, AENOR Spain) participated alongside HZN in the EU-funded eComment project for the HZNacrti online commenting system.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UNE (Asociación Española de Normalización): Spain's national standards body and direct CEN/CENELEC peer to HZN. Provides UNE standards subscriptions, an online reading platform, and SME advisory services through a similar non-profit institutional model.
• Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN): Germany's national standards body and a fellow ISO/IEC/CEN/CENELEC member. Operates an analogous product suite (subscription repository DIN Media, commenting tools, SME services) serving a much larger industrial base.
• UNI (Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione): Italy's national standards body - a private non-profit association with statutory recognition, analogous structural setup to HZN. Provides standards publishing, subscription databases, and technical committee coordination.
• British Standards Institution (BSI): UK national standards body and HZN's direct counterpart in a much larger market. Both operate as the official national member of ISO/IEC/CEN/CENELEC, publish national standards, and run subscription repositories and SME support programs.
• AFNOR (France): France's national standards body with the same statutory role within the French standardization ecosystem. Operates an online standards store, subscription access (AFNOR Collection), and SME support services comparable to HZN's model.

Others

• ISO (International Organization for Standardization): Parent-level international standards organization in which HZN holds membership. ISO sets the global standards framework that HZN translates into the Croatian (HRN ISO) national catalog, the foundational upstream entity.
• CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: European-level coordinating body for CEN and CENELEC. HZN participates as a national member and was co-funded by EU through this channel for HZNacrti; the relationship is upstream partnership rather than direct competition.

Direct peers

• UNMZ (Czech Office for Standards, Metrology and Testing): Czech Republic's national standards body, also a participant alongside HZN in the EU-funded eComment (HZNacrti) project. Same mandate, similar EU institutional positioning, and comparable scale.
• SIST (Slovenian Institute for Standardization): Slovenia's national standards body - the closest geographic and structural peer to HZN, being a small EU-member-state standards institute with similar scale, CEN/CENELEC membership, and SME-targeted services.

Regional players

• ISS (Institute for Standardization of Serbia): Serbia's national standards body, peer regional institution to HZN in the Western Balkans. Operates an analogous role in publishing national standards and representing the country in ISO/IEC/CEN activities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hrvatski-zavod-za-norme-croatian-standards-institute

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Hrvatski zavod za norme/Croatian Standards Institute