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Revoz - Renault production plant in Novo mesto

Testimonial

»Thanks to staff flexibility, their high level of skills and unsparing effort to make things work, we manage to achieve very good results. I am convinced that the staff is our greatest asset in ensuring the future of Revoz Novo mesto within the framework of the worldwide group Renault-Nissan.«

Michel Bouton, Ex-President of the Management Board

Revoz

Renault

12/13/12

Key figures 2011

Number of companies: 222

Number of employees: 14,966

Revenues (in €): 3.5 billion

Exports (in €): 3 billion

Key export markets: Austria, Croatia, Hungary, France, Germany,  Italy,  Mexico, Romania, Spain, Turkey, UK, USA

Source: AJPES, 2012

 

Key products:

  • Seats and seat components 
  • Components and materials for interior furnishing 
  • Car body parts 
  • Components for braking systems 
  • Mechanical and electric/electronic components for engines 
  • Exterior equipment and body lighting equipment
  • Exhaust systems
  • Engine and gearbox components
  • Steering system components 
  • Drive components 
  • Other systems and components 
  • Manufacturing spot welding equipment 
  • Tooling for automotive industry 
  • Research, testing and other development activities

Quality Workforce

Carmakers remain in confident mood despite an uneasy economic backdrop and continue to display technologically advanced and boldly designed vehicles at the leading motor shows around the world. Cars equipped to download data about the traffic, the weather and the driver’s preferences should make the time spent behind the wheel less stressful and boost consumer confidence shaken by the public debt crisis and austerity measures taken by the governments in the euro zone and beyond.  As a consequence, carmakers seek innovative solutions to make their operations profitable and comply with the latest requirements of green engineering including the reduction of CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and waste while increasing safety. It takes high engineering skills to design and manufacture components and roll out vehicles Slovenian companies collaborate with universities to accelerate performance in research and innovation. 
 

Estimated gross annual labour costs in automotive industry for 2012

(Total cost per employee in €)

Source: The Association of Employers of Slovenia & JAPTI calculations, 2011

The latest industry trend favours large system suppliers capable of developing and manufacturing entire vehicle assemblies, sub-assemblies of entire vehicles. With 15,000-strong direct automotive employment in over 220 companies and the total employment depending on the automotive sector estimated to be five times higher (Eurostat, ACEA) Slovenia has highly qualified people for the competitive and sustainable auto industry. Nearly 14,000 students in secondary schools for electrical and mechanical engineering (car-body maker, car service and sheet metal working – over 4,000), some 6,000 students enrolled in undergraduate courses in mechanical, electrical and electronics engineering and more than 2,000 registered researchers are a guarantee that many Slovenian Tier 2 and 3 suppliers are poised to be promoted to the Tier 1 status.

 

As automakers continue to place emphasis on operating with lean organisations and increasing their productivity, dedicated and creative workforce found in Slovenia is capable of working to high professional and technical standards, Knowledge of foreign languages and high interpersonal skills are an asset in an industry where only the best get to sell to original equipment manufacturers. 
 

Productivity / value added per employee, 2011

Company

Value-added per employee

(in €)

Iskra Avtoelektrika

88,194

Filc

85,126

TAB

60,431

Revoz

59,327

Hella Saturnus Slovenija

56,823

GKN Driveline Controls

45,727

Hidria AET

44,353

Sogefi Filtration

42,711

LTH ulitki

36,843

TPV Johnson Controls

34,277

Source: Bisnode, 2012

 

 

Quality Link to Regional Markets

Off-shoring engineering tasks allows car manufacturers to reduce development-related costs and Slovenian automotive suppliers and engineering firms have a reputation of suitable partners. They handle calculation and simulation work, electrical and electronic development tasks, and detail design engineering tasks such as sample and prototype construction. As safety and environmental requirements are becoming stricter, automobiles are becoming more electronically controlled. Many leading players in the automotive industry set up operating partnerships with Slovenian firms in the electronic control unit (ECU) development area: software coding, hardware design, the design and testing of entire assemblies and other electrical integration tasks such as CAD modelling are offshore to Slovenia.

 

Slovenia’s automotive industry generates one tenth of the country’s GDP and accounts for 15% of its exports of goods. Slovenian companies have achieved compliance with all EU green and safety requirements and supply the international industry leaders. German carmakers Audi, BMW, Daimler, VW, as well as MAN, and Ford in Germany account for some 40% of car component exports, followed by France, Italy, Austria, the UK, and the USA. Reliability of the vehicles that roll off the assembly lines of Renault, PSA, Brosse; Lombardini, Landini, Fiat and Magna Steyr gives credit also to suppliers from Slovenia.

 

Since Cimos discontinued the assembly of Citroen cars in Koper, Revoz owned by the French Renault remains Slovenia’s only car manufacturer and the number one Slovenian exporter with the 3.6% share of the global market. The cars produced by Revoz Novo mesto are renowned for their uncompromising quality, which ranks them high among Renault vehicles also in terms of productivity.

 

Foreign investors wishing to locate in Slovenia to sell their products and services both locally and across the Western Balkans will not have to waste time and money on the nuances of localisation. Local staff can give an insider's perspective of the way the businesspeople in the region think and companies make decisions based on the decades of co-shaping the geopolitical architecture of the region. Slovenia’s economic performance continues to build on the positive momentum of its leadership in business and technology best seen in robust export figures. 
 

Productivity in Industry, 2011
Related GDP (PPP) per person employed in industry (in €)

Source: IMD - World Competitiveness Yearbook, 2012

Quality Infrastructure

The EU initiatives launched to strengthen competitiveness and employment in the automotive sector while enhancing progress toward safety and environmental goals such as CARS 21, expect manufacturers to do it at a price affordable to the consumer. Simple as it may sound, it means that manufacturers have to develop vehicles with competitive economics and prove that their brand is the best in terms of total cost of ownership, drivability, and reliability.

 

Slovenia’s well-developed general and soft infrastructure could play a crucial role in making the right number of quality cars by introducing breakthrough technologies, keeping inventories low and production linked to demand. Its engineering and manufacturing industries and their partners from R & D institutions have a long tradition in delivering to discerning foreign buyers. As brand reputations depend on innovation and quality, compliance with recognised automotive standards and delivering parts used across multiple platforms and vehicles, most manufacturers apply the method of early involvement and close, long-term partnerships with individual suppliers, as well as single-sourcing. The Automotive Cluster of Slovenia (ACS) is the hub for Slovenian automotive suppliers in metal processing, mechanical, electrical and electronics, chemical, rubber, textile and transport equipment industries as well as partners from RTD institutions and support services.


Innovation centres, institutes for materials and technologies, knowledge academies – these are modern building blocks for the Slovenian companies that start with the evaluation of the technical feasibility of new ideas and technologies and follow through to mass development and production. Commitment of Hidria, a global leader in the supply and development of a variety of subsystems and components, to the development of innovative technological and product solutions for the automotive and HVAC industries is best illustrated by the construction of its third R & D facility co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund. Its solutions for car steering, hybrid engines and cold start systems are used by the best-known manufacturers in their high-end models as the visitors to the Frankfurt Motor Show could see.

 

Leading domestic and foreign-owned companies

  • Adria Mobil (Coachwork for motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers)
  • Agis zavore (Breaks and break parts)
  • Akrapovic Group (Exhaust systems)
  • Arsed / Faurecia Investments (Motor vehicle body components)
  • Carthago / Carthago Reisemobilbau (Motor homes)
  • Filc (Thermal insulation of car batteries, acoustic insulation materials for motor area and vehicle interiors…)
  • GKN Driveline Slovenija / G.K.N. Industries (Ball, needle and roller bearings)
  • Grammer Automotive Slovenija / Grammer (Seats, seat frames and parts) 
  • Hella Saturnus Slovenija / Hella KGAA Hueck & Co. (Motor vehicle electrical and electronic equipment)
  • Hidria AET (Motor vehicle electrical and electronic equipment)
  • KLS Ljubno (Starter Ring Gears for Flywheels)
  • Letrika Bovec / Iskra AE Komponente (Spare parts for automotive industry)
  • LTH castings (Transmission and engine components, systems and
  • Novem Car Interior Design / Novem Car Interior Design (Decorative components and functional elements for vehicle interiors)
  • Odelo Slovenija / Odelo (Parts & accessories for vehicles & engines)
  • Resistec UPR / M.Krah Elektrotechnische Fabrik (Resistors and rheostats)
  • Revoz / Renault (Passanger cars)
  • SG Automotive (Electronic equipment and components for vehicles)
  • Sogefi filtration / Sogefi (Motor vehicle body components and engine components)
  • Starkom / Daimler (Assemblies for vehicle axles and structural components)
  • Sumida Slovenija/ Vogtronics (Special parts for automotive industry)
  • TAB (Batteries & accumulators)
  • TBP (Parts and accessories for motor vehicles and their engines)
  • TPV (Components for automotive industry)
  • TPV Johnson Controls / Johnson Controls International (Complete seat systems)
  • TPV Prikolice / Böckmann Fahrzeugwerke (Light trailers)
  • Ydria Motors / EBM Papst Landshut (Electric motors, generators & transformers)