The story of Gordana Blagi\u0107 at Marquis Commerce began in 2006, when she joined the company. On 1 August 2026, she marks 20 years in the same role as Technical Director.<\/p>\n
Her responsibilities gradually expanded across engineering and business. They now include design, product development, technical solutions, proposal preparation, sales, negotiations, contracting, project delivery, and service. Her work also covers marketing, website development, SEO, and technical writing.<\/p>\n
This is the story of how her engineering role grew alongside the company, its projects, and the air quality market.<\/p>\n
Before joining Marquis Commerce, Gordana worked as Chief Investment and Maintenance Engineer at Dijamant. The company was a major Serbian edible oil producer based in Zrenjanin.<\/p>\n
At the time, Dijamant employed around 1,500 people.<\/p>\n
In 2005, Marquis Commerce delivered a turnkey project at the Dijamant production plant. The scope covered design, manufacture, supply, installation, and commissioning of a flue gas extraction and purification system.<\/p>\n
The system included an electrostatic precipitator, continuous particulate emissions monitoring, an energy recovery unit, and an ash extraction system.<\/p>\n
Gordana represented the client as Supervising Engineer. Serbia had only recently introduced professional engineering licences for this type of work. Such licences were still uncommon in manufacturing companies. Gordana had already obtained the required licence.<\/p>\n
After the project, I invited Gordana to join Marquis Commerce.<\/p>\n
She accepted.<\/p>\n
The move took Gordana from a large corporation with clearly defined roles and organisational structures to a micro company. In the smaller company, each person carried a much broader range of responsibilities.<\/p>\n
One of her closest colleagues at Dijamant, Mom\u010dilo \u0106uk, described the transition in a remark we still remember. He said: \u201cVladimir, you came here, installed the equipment, took our best engineer, and now you\u2019re leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gordana did not leave Dijamant because she lacked opportunities. She believed her professional development would progress more slowly within a large industrial organisation.<\/p>\n
Dijamant repeatedly invited her to return, even after the company changed ownership. She declined the offer from the new Croatian management.<\/p>\n
A small engineering company offered greater flexibility and independence. It also gave Gordana direct influence over technical solutions.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the work brought far greater personal responsibility.<\/p>\n
Gordana believed she had enough technical knowledge and independence to build professional security outside a corporate structure. The position she left in a large industrial company could provide stability for someone else.<\/p>\n
She did not expect the work to be easier. She chose a less predictable and more direct form of professional responsibility.<\/p>\n
From her first day at Marquis Commerce, Gordana managed technical solutions, system design, and proposal preparation.<\/p>\n
In a small engineering company, technical work soon extends into sales, procurement, contracting, project delivery, commissioning, and service.<\/p>\n
Without specialised departments, one person often covers the entire process. Gordana had to understand the client\u2019s problem, develop the solution, and verify its feasibility. She also estimated costs, prepared proposals, joined negotiations, and followed manufacturing and delivery. On site, she resolved problems and later verified system performance.<\/p>\n
This is how her role evolved. Her title remained unchanged, but her responsibilities became broader and more complex.<\/p>\n
People often associate creativity with art, design, or aesthetic expression. Yet creativity also plays an important role in engineering, work organisation, and problem-solving.<\/p>\n
For Gordana, creativity extends beyond technical writing and selecting topics for the company blog. She uses it to develop technical solutions, prepare documents, design procedures, create tracking spreadsheets, and improve workflows. It also helps her find new approaches to problems in the field.<\/p>\n
This creativity complements engineering precision. It allows her to move beyond standard approaches while keeping each solution technically sound and practical.<\/p>\n
One of Gordana\u2019s first projects at Marquis Commerce focused on air quality in the production of herbal preparations and dietary supplements sold under the Todoxin brand.<\/p>\n
The solution combined a Bioclimatic air treatment system based on dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with an HB Cotes desiccant duct dehumidifier.<\/p>\n
The project succeeded and immediately showed what work in a small engineering company required. Gordana carried direct responsibility from solution development and commissioning to performance measurement and long-term maintenance.<\/p>\n
Over the past two decades, Gordana has led or directly contributed to many engineering projects.<\/p>\n
Some stood out because of their size. Others involved technological complexity, commercial risk, or difficult implementation conditions. Gordana particularly valued projects for which no simple, predefined answer existed.<\/p>\n
They all had one thing in common. She approached each project with the same sense of responsibility. She also felt considerable apprehension whenever the time came to commission the system and measure results carrying the Marquis Commerce name.<\/p>\n
A section of London City Airport, including the customs area, had a serious static electricity problem. Employees frequently reported unpleasant electrostatic discharges.<\/p>\n
The challenge covered a large area. An existing central ventilation system served that space.<\/p>\n
During one project presentation, Gordana proposed using bipolar ionisation based on dielectric barrier discharge to neutralise the static charge.<\/p>\n
Industrial facilities often use bipolar ionisation to control static electricity. Applying it through a large airport ventilation system created a different engineering challenge.<\/p>\n
The system supplied air through nozzles installed about four metres above the floor. The airflow cross-section narrowed inside the nozzles, which increased air velocity. As a result, positive and negative ions could recombine before reaching the occupied zone.<\/p>\n
Together with Professor Nenad Sakan, we simulated ion distribution throughout the space. We then assessed whether enough ions could reach the occupied zone.<\/p>\n
We implemented the system and eliminated the static electricity problem. The project showed how an established technology could solve a problem for which no standard catalogue solution existed.<\/p>\n
SEE ALSO: Marquis Intelligence Solution for London City Airport (UK)<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Knjaz Milo\u0161: A Centralized Air Sterilization System<\/strong><\/h3>\n
For Knjaz Milo\u0161, Marquis Commerce designed, manufactured, and installed a centralized multi-stage air sterilization system serving the air space above the company’s 100-ton water storage tanks – one of the most critical points in the production process from the perspective of the HACCP system.<\/p>\n
The central stainless-steel unit, together with its automation system, was designed with both duty and standby configurations to ensure uninterrupted operation of this process-critical installation.<\/p>\n
Today, the system continues to be maintained by the Marquis Commerce technical team and has demonstrated significant advantages over the previously installed solution.<\/p>\n
The Largest Project We Cannot Discuss in Detail<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The largest project in the company’s history in financial terms involved equipping three manufacturing plants on another continent. Because the project is covered by a confidentiality agreement, we cannot disclose the client, locations, or technical details. The project required highly complex technical and commercial negotiations, manufacturing, international logistics, and strict adherence to project deadlines. All contractual obligations were completed exactly as agreed.<\/p>\n
The Development of the PHOENIX Exhaust Air Purification System<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Shortly after Gordana joined Marquis Commerce, the development of the PHOENIX exhaust air extraction and purification system accelerated significantly. Gordana was primarily responsible for its technical concept and engineering development.<\/p>\n
PHOENIX is not a standard product with the same configuration for every installation. Each solution is individually engineered according to the source of contamination, airflow rate, temperature, grease content, particulate load, smoke and odor characteristics, available installation space, and site-specific requirements.<\/p>\n
Its development involved integrating multiple air purification stages, sizing treatment chambers, balancing pressure losses, designing the control philosophy, and ensuring convenient maintenance access. Over time, PHOENIX systems became particularly well known for the treatment of exhaust air from commercial kitchens.<\/p>\n
SEE ALSO: FAQ \u2013 Extraction and purification of exhaust air from kitchen hoods<\/a>
\nSEE ALSO: Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Ventilation: From Fire Risk to Safe Operation<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe Most Challenging Period at Marquis Commerce<\/strong><\/h2>\n
One of the most difficult periods since Gordana joined Marquis Commerce was undoubtedly the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Almost overnight, the market became flooded with air purification devices manufactured, marketed, and purchased by people with little understanding of indoor air quality, air purification technologies, or the conditions required for their proper application.<\/p>\n
At the same time, restaurants and hotels either operated at reduced capacity or remained closed altogether. Equipment maintenance was postponed, while meetings, site visits, and the planning of new projects became severely restricted. Under such circumstances, it was necessary not only to preserve the company’s business operations but also to remain committed to sound engineering principles and responsibility for the actual performance of the systems delivered.<\/p>\n
From Engineering to Marketing and Technical Content<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Gordana’s versatility was not the result of a carefully planned career path. It evolved out of necessity.<\/p>\n
When work began on developing the company’s new website, it became clear that external specialists could contribute to graphic design and marketing, but they could not independently explain the company’s complex engineering solutions. For this reason, Gordana became actively involved in defining both the website’s structure and technical content while simultaneously studying professional services marketing through Hinge Marketing University.<\/p>\n
This work led to the creation of the Marquis Intelligence Blog, numerous case studies, and the company’s growing collection of FAQ articles. Over time, the website evolved into a comprehensive knowledge base dedicated to air quality, ventilation, and Marquis Intelligence engineering solutions.<\/p>\n
From Technical Director to Co-Owner of the Company<\/strong><\/h2>\n
On 1 November 2019, Gordana Blagi\u0107 became the owner of a 40% equity stake in Marquis Commerce.<\/p>\n
This change in ownership did not mark the beginning of her responsibility for the company. She had already been carrying that responsibility for many years through technical leadership, product development, client relations, and participation in key business decisions. Becoming a co-owner simply formalized the role she had long fulfilled in practice.<\/p>\n