TERA d. o. o., Tolmin

In the 1980s, Marijan and Nada Leban were considering starting a part-time craft business. “Marijan is the son of a carpenter, and I am a farmer's daughter. All my ancestors were farmers who owned their land and as such were some sort of sole proprietors. I have certainly experienced what it is like to fight for one's survival,” explains Nada. While Marijan worked in Metalflex, in 1981 Nada got a teaching job at the Tolmin grammar school. “We were young and despite low wages, we were determined to start our own business,” explains Nada. When they moved to their new house in 1987, they finally started their family business. “We offered tampo printing services and postage stamp printing,” adds Nada. When Slovenia gained its independence, they decided to register the company as TERA Tolmin.

“We started our business in a family garage, just like Bill Gates. Whilst we can’t compare with Microsoft, considering that we started from scratch, our success is quite amazing,” proudly points out Marijan, company procurator, who is primarily responsible for attracting new customers, especially from abroad. The Lebans founded the company in 1992, when Nada registered it and arranged for all the necessary documentation during the school summer holidays and the work started in late autumn. “I like to tease my husband by reminding him that he started working in the garage where the only furniture was a writing desk we bought from the local primary school, a radio telephone and three bags that stood in a corner,” explains Nada. The warehouse, which at that time appeared enormous, seems rather small today. Marijan continues, “Over the years our business progressed gradually, until in 2007 we set a record by achieving €13.2 million in turnover.”

Following the establishment of the family business, Nada continued to work as a teacher. After the birth of their children in 1977 and 1983, they began to focus more intensely on the future and how to make sure their two sons had secure jobs when they grew up. They ran out of garage space only 12 months after the start of their business, so they rented a warehouse only to run out of space again three years later. In 1997, they purchased premises in the village of Volče, where they gradually built two warehouses. “My father taught me that first earnings should be reinvested,” explains Marijan.

When they moved to the new location in 2000, they drew up three business plans: optimistic, realistic and pessimistic versions. Marijan remembers with pride, “In the end it was a mixture of good luck, courage and knowledge that helped us to surpass the optimistic version of the plan by a factor of three.”

TERA Tolmin has 14 employees, all inhabitants of nearby towns and villages, including Tolmin, Kanal, Šempeter, Bovec and Idrija. The staff works in sales, finances, warehousing and chemistry laboratory. Nada works as a part-time teacher in the Tolmin grammar school and spends only some of her time working in the company. Although she prefers to monitor the family business from the viewpoint of an external observer, the couple make all business decisions together. “Family understands your strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else and is well aware of your needs,” explains Nada.

Their eldest son Vladimir also worked in the company for a while, but has since embarked on his own entrepreneurial path. “We just couldn't work together as, apparently, we are too much alike,” says Marijan. While Vladimir remained in the same industry, he is involved in recycling materials and machines, the sale of which was abandoned by TERA Tolmin after the 2008 financial crisis. In spite of having his own business, Vladimir is always ready to offer a helping hand when needed.

Their second son Martin, Director of the company, helped his parents in the family business from an early age and worked during summer holidays throughout his student years. He says he wears many hats every day, 24 hours a day. “Even security services call me when a deer wanders out of the nearby woods and sets off the alarm. Mine is not so much a job but a way of life,” explains Martin. “I do whatever is necessary to ensure the business progresses as it should. It is my duty to know every single thing about the business to ensure that everything is as it should be.”

The company's competitive advantage stems from its excellent organization. TERA Tolmin has implemented and maintains the ISO 9001 quality and ISO 14001 environmental management systems as means of achieving the required quality, objectives and efficient environmental management. As Marijan explains, “We were one of the first in our industry to implement the quality management system. A well-organized company works well and efficiently, which is noticed by both suppliers and customers.”

Automation is one of the challenges they plan to address in the future. “As there is a shortage of labor force, we intend to gradually limit the amount of heavy, physically demanding work as part of the future business development and our care for employees,” says Martin. In terms of environmental management, they aim to improve their waste management through increased recycling efforts. “We are currently collecting technological plastic waste from our customers for resale,” explains Martin. They are also considering chemical regeneration of plastic to produce oil and petroleum products. “While we are aware that we are not the cheapest on the market, our materials and support ultimately provide the winning solution for the end customer,” emphasizes Marijan.

Marijan Leban retired in 2013 and left the company’s reins in the capable hands of his younger son, Martin. Currently, both sons own 20% of the company, which Marijan believes is insufficient and for this reason he intends to divide the ownership in two halves to allow both he and his wife Nada to exit the company. According to the plans, the ownership transfer to the new generation is expected to be completed within four years. “I often tell people that whilst I have two sons, I look upon the family business as my ‘third child’. At times I spend more time dealing with the family business than in the company of my two sons, which makes the decision of how and when to transfer power to the new generation even more difficult,” explains Marijan.

Throughout his working years, Marijan nurtured and kept alive his love for basketball, which he used to play in his younger years. “In 1967, when I was in primary school, I was a member of the Tolmin basketball team that won the Slovenian Young Champions Cup in Maribor. In addition, I was president of the Tolmin basketball club for 12 years,” says Marijan, describing his interest in sports. Today, TERA Tolmin is the main sponsor of the Tolmin basketball club, also known as KK TERA Tolmin. “They play in the third Slovenian league,” explains Marijan, who is more than happy to encourage children to take up sports.

The company is also sponsor of Peska, association for the study and preservation of the legacy of the First World War, which takes care of the Hungarian chapel located above the Pretovč mountain. “We are supporters of sports and culture and among others, we sponsor footballers, singers and musicians,” explains Marijan, who believes that one should “Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor”. “One should give the state what belongs to the state to fund infrastructure, healthcare, education and other social activities,” concludes Marijan.

Summary

TERA Tolmin in five words: family, community, knowledge, quality, courage.