InvestSlovenia

GORENJSKA REGION

Facts and figures:

Source: SORS, 2008

1. Location and transport

Situated in the north-western part of the country, Gorenjska is the most Alpine of all Slovenian regions. It borders on Austria and Italy and is criss-crossed by well-developed transport infrastructure. There is not only the railway service (Pan-European Transport Corridor No. 10) but also the motorway leading north through the Karavanke Tunnel to Austria and to Ljubljana lying to the south. The distance from Kranj to the Ljubljana Airport is only 5 km.

2. Population

The total population of the Gorenjska Region is 198,500.

Education structure of population aged 15 - 64 in the Gorenjska Region

Source: Statistical Yearbook, 2007

3. Towns

The regional centre is Kranj (53,000). It is the cradle of the industrialisation in Slovenia and the local base of foreign investors such Siemens and Iskratel (Joint Venture) and the American manufacturer of car tyres Goodyear. The inhabitants of the Gorenjska Region can pursue university level studies in Kranj and Ljubljana. There is a well-developed network of technical schools covering a range of professions: mechanical engineering, information science, medicine and tourism. Kranj is also the hometown of the Faculty for Organisational Science where almost 6,000 students study every year.

Other principal towns include Škofja Loka (22,200), Jesenice (22,000), Radovljica (18,300), Tržič (15,300) and Bled.

4. Economy

After the pace of its economic developed slowed down in early 1990s, Gorenjska has resumed its vigorous growth earning the reputation of one of the one of Slovenia’s regions that has seen its economic results improve most over the last few years. 35% of all companies in the region operates in the trade segment, 20% in the manufacturing industry, and 20% in the business services. Sound performance is balanced by the growing service sector with tourism as its most vigorous segment (Bled, Kranjska Gora) followed by trade.

Gorenjska is proud of its long industrial tradition and its strong track-record in exports when local companies had to look for new markets. The share of footwear and leather industry is still the biggest and although massive restructuring took place a few years ago, there is still much to be done. Over the past few years, large investments were made to modernise production processes. Sectors such as transport and warehousing have also received fresh capital injections to help them modernise and thus become more competitive. Still there are some parts of the region, like Jesenice, lagging behind as they move slowly toward exploiting fully their development potential.

Main development potential rests on its human capital (good education structure), existing economic structure, infrastructure and a high standard of living.

5. Companies

The most important companies operating in the region include:
Sava Tires, Iskratel, Merkur, Sava, Elan, SZ Acroni, Živila, Iskraemeco, Planika, Peko, Goodyear EPE, Domel, Termo, Alpina, Aquasava, TCG Unitech

Contact:

Regional Development Agency
BSC Business Support Centre Kranj
Cesta Staneta Žagarja 37, SI-4000 Kranj
tel: +386 (0)4 28 17 430
fax: +386 (0)4 28 17 449
e-mail:

Jesenice Business Park