German

ISKRA STIKALA

Savska loka 4
SI-4000 Kranj
Slovenia

Tel. + 386 64 37 20
Fax + 386 64 37 21 09

E-mail

Iskra Stikala is a European manufacturer of low-voltage switchgear located in Kranj.

Yesterday

The origin of the production program of low-voltage switchgear goes back to 1949 when Iskra Kranj, a company for electrical engineering and precision mechanics, offered its first products, rotary switches, in these fields.

The production program expanded continuously, and the firm adapted itself to confront the range of business activities and changes in the economic environment.

Today

Iskra Stikala, d.d., has been a joint-stock company since May 1996 with internal ownership amounting to 30%. Its nominal capital amounts to 489,277,000 SIT (approximately 8,150,000 DEM) Today it has around 360 employees, 20% of these on part-time contracts. The proportion of employees with higher education qualifications amounts to nearly 15%, and the proportion of secondary school graduates to more than 43%. Approximately 75% of sales have been achieved in foreign markets, and our efforts to expand into more foreign markets are succeeding. The sales value per employee continues to rise.

Sales program

• auxiliary, motor, and installation contactors
• motor protection switches
• residual current circuit breakers
• miniature circuit breakers
• microswitches
• limit switches
• cam switches
• low-voltage circuit breakers
• load switches
• engineering services in switchgear

Our products are sold under the ISKRA trademark and other trademarks as well.

Proportions of our most important products:

• contactors, approx. 38%
• motor protection switches, approx. 35%
• RCCB’s and others, approx. 27%.

Our products are manufactured according to the following approvals:

• Miniature contactors - GL, CSA, UL
• KN contactors - CSA, N
• Motor protection switches - S, ULC, D
• Residual current circuit breakers - VDE

Major markets in recent years: Germany, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Spain, France, Poland.

The company’s business can be described as the development, manufacture, and sales of products and services involving low-voltage switchgear. The majority of our products are the fruit of our own development and technological knowledge, enabling us to market them independently. The organization of our company is typical of manufacturing companies, and major efforts are devoted to sales and development activities. In 1996, we were awarded the ISO 9001 certificate of quality, demonstrating that we are among those companies that are aware of the importance of planning all elements of the business process.

Specialized teams develop technically and technologically rounded sales programs. Up-to-date software and hardware are used in development and design activities, and products are tested in our testing laboratory which is available both for internal and external requirements. The development of products is closely related to production possibilities inside and outside the company. We tend to find technological solutions within the company first, but if we can not meet our requirements, we include our suppliers in the process.

Sales in the last five years (in 1,000 DEM)

Mr. Aleksander Zupan,
Managing Director

Our technological processes are designed and monitored by experts who, together with the engineers in the development department, choose the most efficient processes and procedures to meet the necessary quantitative and qualitative standards in the production process. All essential components are manufactured on semiautomatic and automatic machines, thereby practically eliminating human error. We are well equipped with various presses for processing metals and, as a part of this division, with welding lines for manufacturing the contacts that are built into our products. Iskra Stikala also manufactures component parts made of thermoplastic material although many of these items are ordered from external suppliers. The production process is also equipped with highly productive automatic machines such as the BIHLER punching machine and the METEOR automatic coil-winding machine. New ideas are being constantly developed in the automation department in order to obtain more reliable, faster, and less expensive ways of manufacturing component and assembly parts. The stability of the production process is also assured by special testing equipment designed and built in our company. Our quality control system responds to the characteristics required of our products as well as currently valid external and internal standards and guarantees that our products correspond to the specifications stated in commercial and technical documentation.

Tomorrow-strategic goals

1. We will remain a European manufacturer and supplier of low-voltage switchgear.
2. Regarding technical and technological features, we are among the first followers and will get even closer to the leading manufacturers.
3. We plan a dynamic growth in sales.
4. Half of our profit will be invested in the growth and development of the company while a part of it will be paid out in dividends.
5. Return on equity will be greater than bank interest rates.
6. Employee earnings will remain above the Slovene average for our industry.
7. The company will continue to provide a healthy and ecologically acceptable working environment that meets the requirements of the ISO 14000 standard.
8. We will reinforce our partnerships and strategic alliances.