Towns

The biggest municipality is Slovenj Gradec which has the most inhabitants (17,000) and is also economically the strongest, employing 60% of workforce in the region. There is a Polymer Technolgy Collegue and a college for sales managers and business secretaries. The students from the region mostly study at the University of Ljubljana or the University of Maribor, some enrol in schools in the neighbouring Austria.

Other principal towns in region include Ravne na Koroškem (12,300) and Dravograd (8,700).

Economy

The share of the Koroška Region in the Slovenian economy is only 3%. Nevertheless, Koroška is among the most-open regions. Koroška’s economy is traditionally export-oriented. Koroška is traditionally a mining and iron and steel making region, and its restructuring has triggered a rise of unemployment. Manufacturing industries generate 44% of the region’s income, followed by trade and financial and business services. The region’s most important products are parts for automotive industry, machinery and equipment, as well as metal products. Around 52% of the region’s workforce has a job in manufacturing with the following industries leading the way:

• metal-processing
• textile
• wood-processing

The service sector is still poorly developed but there is lot of potential.

Companies

The most important companies operating in the region include:

• Livarna Vuzenica d.o.o. (casting of metals)
• Metal Ravne d.o.o. (manufacture of basic iron, steel and ferro-alloys)
• Sistemska tehnika d.o.o. (manufacture of machinery for metallurgy)
• Johnson Controls-NTU d.o.o. (manufacture of plastic products for automotive and wood-processing ind.)
• Grammer Automotive Slovenija d.o.o. (manufacture of plastic products for automotive ind.)
• Lesna TIP Otiški Vrh d.d. (manufacture of veneer sheets and wood-based panels)
• TAB tovarna akumulatorskih baterij d.d. (manufacture of batteries and accumulators)