Uniting knowledge: great potential of the economy

Connecting knowledge between different companies is the future of the Slovenian economy. Some have already achieved breakthrough and innovative solutions.

“Young companies with great ideas, a lot of energy and special knowledge and larger, development-oriented companies with the necessary infrastructure and capital can jointly develop and successfully implement excellent innovative solutions on the market that they would not be able to do on their own.” This is what they say in the company TPV, d. o. o., which together with the development partner IKU, d. o. o., develops and markets solutions in the field of automation of internal logistics in the production and warehouses with automated guided vehicles – AGV (automated guided vehicles).

By cooperating to receiving the national recognition award
Solutions created by the two companies also bring many benefits to other companies. “The supply of jobs in production is more efficient, synchronous and more reliable. This is reflected in increased productivity. The chances of human error are reduced. The need for human labor in logistics and thus labor costs are also reduced. The system ensures 24-hour operation, 7 days a week,” they explain in TPV. Compared to conventional forklifts, smart solutions use much less energy, which is also reflected in the cost. A conventional forklift consumes an average of 75,000 kWh per year, and automatically guided vehicles consume an average of 25,000 kWh per year. “All this results in a quick return on investment, which is usually less than a year,” they point out in TPV. The possibility of injuries to people, equipment and materials is also reduced.

“We market our solutions in Slovenia and abroad. We are currently focusing mainly on the European market. This year we presented ourselves very successfully at the LogiMAT logistics fair in Stuttgart and aroused a lot of interest and new demands with our offer. Otherwise, we are currently completing a project in France and are also preparing new projects,” they are satisfied in TPV. The result of the cooperation between TPV and IKU is also the innovative, automatically guided vehicle called the Optimatik 160, for which they received a national award for innovation this year. “This is a vehicle (tunnel design), whose key advantage is its small height. The vehicle is only 160 mm high, which is unique on the market. The height of the AGV is lower than the height of the standard wheels used to ride industrial trolleys, which means that trolleys are not necessary for customers to process, which can significantly reduce the cost of introducing the system at the customer. “

In TPV, they support the integration of knowledge between companies. »The vision of the TPV Group is ‘Connecting innovative solutions’. An example of a successful partnership is the cooperation with IKU.« The companies saw great development and market potential in the automation of internal logistics. In terms of content, they cooperate in several areas, and the key role of the partner – IKU, is in the development of software solutions and electronics. TPV is convinced that such cooperation has great potential for the growth of the Slovenian economy.

There is enough knowledge in Slovenia, there are even leading global solutions
“Cooperation between Slovenian innovative companies, which are generally very successful in the wider European and global space, is very positive for the Slovenian economy, as it provides them with a much-needed reference in their further penetration of foreign markets.” In this way, Gen-I describes the advantages of participating in the Gen-I Sonce project, which results in self-sufficient solar power plants. »We invited high-tech Slovenian companies, leaders in their field: Bisol for photovoltaic panels, Letrika Sol for microinverters, Sol navitas for substructures and Kronoterm for heat pumps to participate. The response from these companies has been very positive,« they say in Gen-I.

From the beginning, they wanted to cooperate with Slovenian companies: “The selection of components, that are the fruit of Slovenian knowledge, have multiplicative effects on the Slovenian economy, especially compared to alternative providers who import components from abroad.” The Slovenian origin of the company alone was not enough. They wanted manufacturers of top products: “Since the solar power plant is a very long-term investment, top quality of the solar power plant has been an extremely important guide for us, which will allow flawless operation for the entire life, i.e. 30 years and above. Thus, we carried out a careful inspection of suppliers of photovoltaic components on the global market and with an in-depth analysis, in which we followed mainly the technical characteristics of components, service life, warranty conditions and flexibility in delivery, we selected the most suitable. Because we found out that there is enough knowledge inside Slovenia and also globally comparable or even leading solutions, based on the above, we have prepared the configuration of a micro solar power plant, which is entirely the fruit of Slovenian knowledge and experience.”

Gen-I is also the lead partner and coordinator of the Active Client project. It brings together Slovenian technology companies that offer smart solutions in the field of energy use and management for household and small business customers. “These are the companies Cosylab, Elektrina, Kronotherm, Sitel, PlanNET, GOAP, as well as two other electricity network operators, ELES and Elektro Ljubljana. The purpose of the project is to develop and demonstrate smart home energy management solutions. Demonstration applications will provide these companies with the necessary reference to penetrate and market products on the global market.”

A 30% increase in team efficiency on the field
In cooperation with Telekom Slovenije, i-Rose has developed the Mobile Service Platform (MSP), which enables companies to have a better overview of their operations, a faster flow of information and the possibility of a faster response. It ensures better coordination of activities on the field and better utilization of available resources. Telekom offers MSP as a cloud service. The entrepreneur has access to field information from the office and vice versa, via a tablet or smartphone. “The tool is therefore useful for field processes in all industries, and is adapted to the business processes and the nature of an individual company,” they say in Telekom.

For example, Perutnina Ptuj will soon start using MSP. With a smart platform, they will achieve improvement in appearance at points of sale. They will have up-to-date and high-quality information on supplies and the condition of store shelves, as well as records of activities which they will use to negotiate with retailers. With real-time information and greater bargaining power, they will also save on marketing activities. The time savings are expected to be 8 hours per week per employee, who has so far used paper forms in the field and entered reports after the end of the working day. With the right information, they will optimize the teams performance on the field and improve its productivity. It is estimated that the level of efficiency will increase by 30%. At the same time, they believe that their investment in mobile support will pay for itself in about six months.