Dragutin Drk, owner of Vindija, passed away

(Patria) - Dragutin Drk, one of the most significant businessmen in Varaždin, passed away today in Varaždin at the age of 84, reports Varaždinski.net.

For many years, he led the Vindija business system, which spawned a whole series of major brands in the food processing industry.

Drk was born on September 25, 1937, in Varaždin. He finished secondary dairy school. He started working at Vindija, then called Gradska mljekara Varaždin, in 1961, as a foreman. From 1961 to 1965, he studied economics while working, and became director in 1965.

During the transformation and privatization, he eventually became the majority owner of the company, with more than 90 percent of the shares. Over the years, the company expanded and grew into a group, by acquiring Koka, opening a feed mill, launching Vindon, and acquiring a number of other factories in the region, writes Index.

He rarely appeared in public and the media, and was considered a very reserved businessman. In one of his last public appearances, he spoke about business during the corona crisis.

In the Vindija Group, he said at the time, around 3,700 workers are employed, and another 1,400 contractors are connected to the business, which means as many as 5,000 families live from the sale of Vindija's domestic products.