EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.
Recent Searches
Youth and experiences from abroad brought fresh wind to the family company
Innovations and breakthrough are the guiding principles of the Solis Timber family sawmill and woodworking company, whose scope of operation extends across Europe and even to the USA, Africa and Asia. They export timber to more than 30 countries. Solis Timber, based in Straža near Novo Mesto, was founded in 1990 by Jože Zoran. Last year, he was succeeded at the head of the company by the current Director, his daughter Kaja Zoran Ledinek, who was involved in the company since childhood. During her studies, she left the family company to gain education and experiences abroad, which allowed her to bring Solis Timber to new heights. Since her return, the number of employees grew from 10 to more than 30. As a quickly growing company, Solis Timber was nominated for the regional Gazelle award in 2019. Using state-of-the-art woodworking equipment, Solis Timber aims to develop the best products for its clients; the goal is to become the first company in Slovenia with its own technology for production of wooden walls for prefabricated houses.
Starting young, dreaming big
The story of Solis Timber started in 1990. “My father started the company in his garage as an independent entrepreneur,” begins Kaja. “In 2007, we transformed the company into a limited liability company and named it Solis Straža, and last year, we changed the name into Solis Timber. In 2015, we bought land in an industrial complex and built new facilities and offices,” she continues. Her father Jože believe this change – move to the industrial complex – was the key to their growth: “This was a milestone. We were running out of place at our old location and could not increase our capacities. We are happy to be here now and to have a vision for our future.
”Kaja, current Director, was involved in the company’s story since young age. “Kaja is an only child and has been interested in the company since she was around 10 years old. At first, she helped by sweeping the sawmill, but from around 12 years of age, she already had a mandatory 1-month internship,” recalls Jože. His wife, Kaja’s mother Betka, was also an entrepreneur who led an accounting service, so it is not surprising that Kaja chose to focus on business and economics for her secondary and tertiary education, which she started in Ljubljana and finished in Rotterdam, Netherlands. But she was also drawn to wood. She completed a woodworking Bachelor’s degree in Ljubljana, then a Master’s degree in Switzerland. After her studies, she found a job in Germany. “She decided to work at one of the large German sawmill companies,” explains Jože. Kaja stayed in Germany for two years. “She would have stayed longer, but I told her that she could come home and develop our story if she wanted to. That was a difficult decision for her. But she went to her manager who listened to her and told here that there would be no hard feelings if she decided to leave. We still have a great business relationship with that company,” proudly says Jože.
When I worked in Germany, the philosophy there was ‘sky is the limit’. When I came back, I started implementing this way of thinking into our company. Some people may be afraid of what this will bring, but I want to soothe their fears with excellent results.
New knowledge and new clients
In 2017, Kaja came back to Slovenia and to the family company. “In the five years since then, we were all involved in the company; me, my wife and Kaja,” says Jože. “Since 2017, I have worked in all areas: supply, sales, talent recruitment, strategy,” says Kaja about her role in the company. Last year, she became the Director of Solis Timber. With the knowledge and experiences she gained abroad, she brought a fresh wind to the company and stared a new era of Solis Timber. “I have always felt good in Slovenia and I was happy here. But at some point, the large number of foreign students at the Ljubljana School of Economics made me wonder. I was always curious about their way of thinking and about the different trends in wood industry in other countries. This curiosity finally led me abroad,” says Kaja. She adds that she chose Rotterdam as her first location precisely because the Dutch are said to be good salesman. During her Masters in woodworking technologies in Switzerland she learned a lot about the wood itself and about its usage. “This gave me a strong theoretical support. My educational background gave me a really broad overview of both business and woodworking.”
Kaja also brought new clients to Slovenia. “Our potential new clients from abroad were very interested, even though some of them didn’t even know where Slovenia was. My strategy was to invite them to come visit us. Once here, they were all very impressed by Slovenia, but also by our company.
Then we started with small orders. In that period, we used to have two or three visits per week from Pakistan, India, China …,” says Kaja about her fresh start at the family company. “Of the clients I used to have, very few have remained. It was mostly Kaja that brough us new contracts. WWe are now making completely different products than before she came along,” says her father of the changes in the company. He adds that they are now present in other, stronger markets across the globe.
The excitement and fear of no limits
There are specific aspects of a family business operation, it has both advantages and challenges. Jože explains that Kaja works in sales, his wife Betka in accounting and controlling, while he himself is a jack of all trades. He says that Kaja and him work great together: “There are some conflicts from time to time, but they are quickly resolved. We also discuss the business and the sawmill during our free time. We could spend 24/7 discussing this topic if we spent that much time together. We talk about what we plan to do, what we want to improve, but we also joke around, so that it is not always that serious.”
When asked how it feels to work with your parents, Kaja responds: “I try to set boundaries, but it can be difficult. I try to understand them and make sure that they understand me. I explain from several angles why I would make a certain decision, because their decisions would be based on different experiences.” Kaja is led by her experience at the state-of-the-art production facilities in Germay and follows the motto ‘sky is the limit’. She acknowledges that this can make some people afraid, “but I want to soothe that fear with our results. I still have to put a lot of energy into convincing everybody that my decisions are the right ones.”
The current Director learned hard work and entrepreneurial way of thinking from her parents as a young girl.
Ready for challenges and ready to help
The main activity of Solis Timber is woodworking: sawing, drying, and planning wooden elements. Their products are used for different purposes, from construction and packaging to furniture and houses. Kaja says that they export 90% of their products; within Europe, they are transported by trucks, and container ships deliver them to other continents. They are also present on the Japanese market: “It takes a while to enter the Japanese market. We needed four years to really start exporting there, because the Japanese need more time to start trusting you and your products,” explains Kaja.
Working with wood always brings certain risks. “We always look forward and keep an eye on the situation in Europe, because the weather can effect the price and the raw materials. If there is a natural disaster in the north of Germany and a lot of timber comes from it, this effects the global market, and all other markets must respond. We are constantly monitoring the situation. In the recent years, it is almost like working at a stock exchange,” Kaja describes the state of readiness in the company. But they are not just ready for natural elements and disasters, they are also ready to help when they happen. When several earthquakes shook the Petrinja region, Solis Timeber donated a truck of planks and laths to fix the roofs of 20 houses.
Niche focus and automation
When asked about the plans for the future, Jože explains that they have already started an important investment into cross-glued house panels and adds: “We want to continue developing our products.” Kaja expands the answer: “I see us as a niche woodworking company with excellent industry and market know-how as well as a wonderfully automated production improved by CLT and similar technologies.” By selecting the best equipment, they will use automation to give added value to their products. They have already taken several important steps towards automation in 2012, when they invested five million euros into the equipment that now allows them to keep up even with the most powerful European sawmills.
Company name: Solis Timber d. o. o.
Number of employees (2021): 24
Net sales revenue (2021): €12.4 million
Interviewees:
Jože Zoran, Founder and co-owner
Betka Zoran, Co-owner, Finance
Kaja Zoran Ledinek, Director
Summary
Solis Timber in a nutshell: innovations, technological edge, readiness, responsiveness, charity.