Happy Birthday! 25 Years of CADENAS Croatia
Twenty-five years ago, on October 16th, 2000, a small, unknown company located in Slavonski Brod, Croatia, was founded under the name CADENAS Solutions GmbH. It was a subsidiary of the German company CADENAS, headquartered in Augsburg, Germany. In the beginning, like every other new company, improvisation played a key role, and one of those “original” solutions was to have the office in the house of the General Manager!
Just two months later, we already had six employees who faced a huge challenge: organizing everything and learning the basics to begin working on the first tasks. The lack of experience was compensated by a tremendous amount of hard work – long days from early morning until late evening, including weekends and holidays.
Another funny story: there was a German Shepherd in the house (which served as our office) who played the role of Security Officer. No one was allowed to leave the workplace until the job was done. At first, everyone thought we were joking, but when it was time to go home, the look in the dog's eyes said it all: “The job isn't done and you are leaving? I don't think so. Restroom? No!“
There was only one goal: to start working on our first digital catalog requests. In May 2001, CADENAS Croatia opened its first official office and we formed its first mechanical modeling team.
With Croatia's official entry into the European Union in 2013, we renamed our company to CADENAS Services d.o.o. In 2014, the company expanded its business horizons beyond 3D modeling, forming two new teams: Support and Marketing. Later, in 2017, the development team began its mission, followed by the establishment of the BIM modeling and electric teams in 2018.
Each year, on the first Saturday of September, we host our annual “Sommerfest,” a team-building event bringing together our employees, their families, and our dear colleagues from Germany, Japan, Italy, Serbia, and other countries. We select different locations known for their scenic beauty or unique sports opportunities.
At every “Sommerfest,” we organize a variety of sports events and tournaments such as darts, volleyball, basketball, football, tug of war, and card games. We take the competition seriously – everyone wants to show their skills!
Slavonski Brod is located in the Slavonia region, known for its top-notch food and fine wines. Our guests had the chance to taste the local specialities and enjoy the authentic flavours of Slavonian cuisine.
Every year in October, our local moto club invites other clubs, companies, and anyone interested to take part in a pig-roast competition. Inspired by the concept of Digital Twins, we named our CADENAS Croatia team – the Digital Pigs.
At the end of each year, we celebrate another successful year and show gratitude to our employees with a Christmas lunch. It usually turns into a full Christmas party!
On May 20th, 2025, CADENAS became part of the KEYENCE Group, a global leader in automation and inspection technology. The acquisition strengthens KEYENCE’s commitment to innovation and customer support while advancing the CADENAS 3Dfindit platform to new levels of excellence. We look forward to a bright future together with our respected colleagues at KEYENCE, guided by our motto: “We can handle every task!”
Happy Birthday, CADENAS Croatia! Here’s to the next successful 25 years!
