Borovo was established on the outskirts of Vukovar by a Czech businessman Tomaš Bata on 7th June 1931 to begin with the manufacture of footwear. Even in its early years, Bata Company initiated a combined model of internal organisation, namely, it relied on its own production of the input materials it needed.
In 1933, the company commenced the manufacture of rubber-technical goods, thus Bata became a pioneer in the rubber industry in the region.
In parallel with the rapid growth of the company, the entire Vukovar area was changing for better; modern plants and housing facilities were put up, thousands of people employed, new professions born, etc. At the point, in this dominantly agricultural and vine growing area, new modern schools, sports and social structures were put up to give the push to the social life in the community.
In 1945, in the aftermath of the World War II, the factory was nationalised and it was then that Borovo Rubber and Footwear Combine was established. Under this name and through a variety of organisational forms, Borovo used to operate until 1991.
In the period from 1947 to the late 1980s, Borovo grew into the biggest and economically most powerful enterprise in this part of Europe that specialised in the manufacture and sales of footwear and rubber products.
When it comes to the impressive history of Borovo it is just enough to say: 20 million pairs of shoes annually, thousands of truck tires and rubber-technical goods, 22-thousand workforce and more than 600 retail shops. This period was marked with the significantly high export sales of Borovo products to the European and other countries. On top of that, good and favourable infrastructure of Borovo factory gave the push to the local economy, culture, social life, sport, etc.
The manufacture, of ‘Borosana’, our famous work footwear brand, started in 1968. The team of experts, headed by Branko Strinović, a specialist doctor in orthopaedics, managed to develop Borosana which has remained the one of Borovo’s trademarks to this date.
In 1976, Borovo launched a new model of trainers named ‘Startas’, originally designated to meet the needs of table-tennis players, however, this item turned out to be the biggest brand of the company ever.
Due to the 1991-war actions, Borovo had to stop its business operations and many of its premises were raised to the ground. From 1992 to 1997, Borovo headquarters was based in Zagreb, and the manufacture in Donji Miholjac. When Borovo returned to Vukovar and regained its premises in 1998, it organised as a business group to start the manufacture of shoes and rubber-technical goods at its original location.
In 2008, the manufacture of leather footwear moved to a newly reconstructed and refurbished building called ‘Obućara nova’. That very year Borovo earned an ISO 9001 standard certificate.
