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For over half a century, the FerroČrtalič family business has been engaged in developing solutions for the treatment of a variety of surfaces. Their main mission is to advise clients and provide them with the technology they need to resolve their specific problems. However, this is anything but an easy task, given the range of their requirements and often limited resources. Nevertheless, as the family maintain, nothing is impossible. The company was nominated in 2003, 2004 and 2014 for a Slovenian Gazelle award (for the fastest-growing companies).
When we hear the word catering, most of us probably first think of food, but immediately afterwards, many Slovenians are reminded of the Jezeršek House of Culinary Arts. This is a family-run business with 30 years’ experience of catering and organizing entertainment. Annually, they are involved in approximately 1,500 events and are undoubtedly number one in their field in Slovenia. It has become appropriate to prefix their business description with elite, because as true masters of their profession. They have ambitious plans, to duplicate current success in Slovenia across southeast Europe, and break into the EU top 10.
Medex, in co-operation with 2,000 Slovenian beekeepers, creates products which are sold in over 20 European and global markets. At the ripe old age of 88, former Director Aleš Mižigoj works as a consultant in the company. As a result of prudent business moves, he managed to create the most eminent and powerful bee-keeping company in the former Yugoslavia. His daughter Aleša is current first lady of Medex. Today, the company is undergoing multi-million euro renovations, as part of which all the laboratories, warehouse and production facilities will be updated in accordance with the highest standards.
When a giant knocks at the door of your manufacturing facility
The family-run company from Rače employs 65 staff and is engaged in the manufacture of tools for aluminium die-casting, primarily for the automotive industry, injection moulding and glass shaping. For more than three decades, the company has built its business on values such as trust, diligence and most importantly, family support, which has been its cornerstone from the very beginning. They based their vision for company development on solid foundations and their plans include production of major machinery such as aluminium die-casting machines, weighing over 45 tonnes. This is something that has so far not been attempted by anyone in Slovenia.
The Plastoform Group is one of the most successful businesses in Slovenia, with six companies and two start-ups. With numerous acquisitions, Franc, the father of the family and his three sons, have created a group with an international reputation as one that controls the European market. They are also present globally, with warehouses located in China, the US and the UK. Since acquisition of the first company in 1995 until 2014, they recorded more than 18% average annual capital growth. They employ about 550 staff and this year they plan to generate 65 million euros in turnover.
Only a few decades ago, vines grew on only a single hectare of the Ščurek farmland. Today altogether, they have 22 hectares of vineyards in Slovenia and Italy. Winemaker Stojan Ščurek from Goriška Brda and all his five sons, are involved in viticulture and enology. This year alone, they have already exported five containers of bottled wine to China. The Ščurek wine is available in a number of European markets, in Michelin-starred restaurants and as far away as Japan.
From the sale of simple cabling, to an interactive television that allows the viewer to intervene in what is happening on the screen, this family-owned business has been successfully linking networks into systems and setting new smart grid benchmarks for the past 26 years. The sale of their first modem in 1990 provided a foundation for Zdenka and Filip Sr. to establish their business, which in turn, today generates new companies from its products. Their two sons Jure and Filip are successfully continuing the family tradition and have efficiently assumed management of the company, which today provides solutions to businesses worldwide - even in distant Mongolia.
Since Slovenia’s independence, there cannot be a single Primorska resident who does not recognize the Mesarija Prunk brand. Through ongoing investment and expansion, the company is firmly rooted in Slovenian soil, while also creating added value in Italy. In addition to fresh meat, their flagship products include cured meats such as Kraška pancetta, prosciutto and sirloin, as well as a number of semi-cured products, from hot dogs to Primorska sausages. Their stores and butcher’s shops are growing like mushrooms and this expansion and introduction of new ideas is not likely to stop any time soon, because the younger generation has already stepped into their predecessors’ shoes.
Mlekarna Krepko has been supplying the Slovenian market with high-quality dairy products for more than 20 years. By far the most well-known is traditional kefir, the availability of which the founders Dunja and Brane Kelečević wanted to continue after the collapse of the former state and changes to the economy. They have remained faithful to the traditional method of using kefir grains, as they believe this to be the only way to make an authentic product. Today, their selection covers the entire range of dairy products, all of them foods with high biological added value and made from high-quality non-homogenized Slovenian milk.
Dedication to work and efficiency are priorities in Varis Lendava. Since its establishment in 1977, and after becoming an independent company in 1991, the company has produced more than 80,000 prefabricated bathrooms, in addition to manufacturing designer radiators and concrete elements for skateboarding. They are one of the leading construction companies in Slovenia and their brand is recognized throughout Europe, which is their main market. In the future, they aim to become the leading company in the production of prefabricated bathrooms for all types of users in Europe.
In 2016 we were inspired by the stories of ten Slovenian family-owned enterprises FerroČrtalič, Jezeršek, Medex, Orodjarstvo Gorjak, Plastoform, Ščurek Winery, Smart Com, Mesarija Prunk, Mlekarna Krepko and Varis Lendava.
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