Context
An industrial manufacturer from eastern Croatia with 120 employees — producing precision metalworking equipment for the EU market. Growth over recent years had been stable, but competitiveness was slipping — competitors in Germany and the Czech Republic were rolling out innovative quality and automation systems that the Croatian company could feel.
Leadership was considering a significant investment in production digitalization — IoT sensors, a predictive maintenance system, AI optimization of production parameters. Estimated investment: around €3 million. A meaningful number that would strain cash flow.
EU funding was a reasonable option, but the owners were sceptical based on earlier experience — they knew of companies that had won an EU grant only to see the project finish either incomplete or disconnected from their strategic goals. They didn't want to repeat that mistake.
What didn't work first
Leadership wanted to jump straight into writing the application — the call was open, time was short. We insisted on the reverse order: 3-year strategy first, application second. That delayed the start by 6 weeks, but it meant the application wasn't "shape the idea to fit the call" — it was "find the call that accelerates an existing plan".
Approach
We started EU Projects & Innovation and Digital Strategy & Transformation in parallel — convinced that an EU application without strategic context more often ends in failure, while a strategy without EU funding takes too long.
Strategy phase — we worked with leadership on a 3-year plan for production digitalization. We identified 3 priorities by phase, with concrete success criteria. Only after the strategy was clear did we start identifying which EU calls would accelerate exactly those concrete steps — not the other way around.
Honest odds — before writing the application we honestly assessed the odds. The technical innovation was real (not a replication of existing solutions), the team had capacity, the co-financing was realistic. All three criteria were met.
Consortium — we connected the company with a research partner (one Croatian institute + one German university lab). The consortium wasn't "on paper" — the partners genuinely contributed specific skills the company didn't have in-house.
Delivery — after the application was approved, we stayed on for project management throughout the delivery phase. Monthly reviews, EU institution reporting, tying delivery to larger strategic steps beyond the EU project itself.
Delivered
- 3-year strategic plan for production digitalization with concrete priorities and success criteria.
- EU application — complete documentation, financial plan, work packages.
- Consortium with a Croatian institute and a German university lab.
- Project management through the entire delivery phase — monthly reporting, financial tracking.
- Weekly operational reviews with priority owners inside leadership.
Result
- EU grant of €1.8 million approved on the first submission — a rarity that happened because the technical innovation and strategic groundwork were coherent.
- Estimated payback on the full investment: 18 months. Significantly better than the industry average for production digitalization.
- The 3-year strategic plan has been in execution for 14 months. Monthly leadership reviews track progress, priorities are adjusted when needed.
- It didn't end up in a drawer — which is the reality for most strategies written for EU applications.
At a glance
€1.8M
Approved EU grant
18 mo.
Estimated investment payback
3 yr.
Strategic plan in execution