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The American Dream |
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When Boris Miksic arrived in the United States in 1974,
he had 35 dollars in his pocket. Today, the chemical
business he started from scratch in his garage
has evolved into a 100-million dollar multinational
enterprise. This is the story of a young man from Croatia
who made the American dream his reality.
Boris Miksic grew up in humble circumstances
in Zagreb, Croatia, in the country that was
then known as Yugoslavia. Having excelled at
school, he went on to obtain a Masters degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Zagreb. In 1972, just as he was about to graduate, Miksic's
life changed forever.
An active member of the student movement against
the Communist regime that ruled Yugoslavia at the time,
Miksic had been identified as an agitator and blacklisted
by the government. In practice, this meant he would never
be able to work in Yugoslavia. He made a decision then and
there to emigrate to the United States.
"I picked up my degree and fled the country, skiing across
the border into Austria, before purchasing a one-way ticket
to New York for me and my first wife, who was pregnant at
the time," he recalls.
He arrived in New York in February 1974, with $35 in
his pocket.
"I did what all immigrants do, tried to find work. After
three months of cleaning floors at McDonald's, I landed a
job as an engineer with a company in Minnesota."
Hard work in the cold
Miksic soon grew tired of working for the small construction
company in St. Paul, Minnesota. He resigned, thinking he
would find another opportunity.
"Turns out I was wrong, I couldn't find another job," he
admits. "In the end I started mixing chemicals in my garage.
It was the winter of 1977, when temperatures reached -35
Celsius, and all I can say is that being that cold certainly
makes you work harder."
Fast-forward to 2017 and the business Miksic started
in his garage has just celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Cortec Corporation and its subsidiaries is the world's
largest privately held corrosion protection enterprise.
Today, it has an annual turnover of USD 120 million, 350
employees, nine plants, distribution in over 100 countries
on all continents, and has amassed more than 60 patents.
In addition to the basic metals and mining, Cortec serves
the automotive, oil and gas, metalworking, construction,
electronics, MRO (maintenance, repair and operation),
military, water treatment, heavy industry and packaging
segments.
"I think you can succeed anywhere if you have the right
mix of ambition and perseverance but, of course, being
in the U.S. has its advantages," says Miksic. "Firstly, it's a
pretty big pond, so, even if you're a little fish, you're doing ok.
Another plus is that people here like it if you have something
new and different to offer."
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| objavljeno: 08/02/2018 10:17:45 |
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| Američki san dečka s Trešnjevke |
Ove izbore ipak je obilježio Boris Mikšić. Dečko s Trešnjevke koji je vlastitim novcem financirao kampanju, gospodarstveniku bez podrške političkih stranaka, drugi krug pobjegao je u posljednji trenutak. Iza sebe je ostavio iskusnu političarku Đurđu Adlešić, HSP-ovu uzdanicu Slavena Leticu, Tuđmanova maga Ivića Pašalića. Građani su nagradili to što je kampanju financirao vlastitim novcem. Njegov uspjeh jasna je i jaka poruka hrvatskih građana političarima - da im sve manje vjeruju. Klasična politička pljuska.
Večernji list, 04. siječnja 2005.
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| Hrvatski san dečka s Trešnjevke |
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| Boris Miksic knjiga pjesama |
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| Poslušajte novu pjesmu Vladimira Miklera, "Hrvatski san" posvećenu Borisu |
| "Hrvatski san" |
| Spot snimili Splićani u čast Borisu prilikom njegova posjeta Splitu 19. -21. rujna 2004. godine |
| "Za Borisa!" |
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