UNIFOREST, d.o.o.

Safety, ergonomy, and aesthetic

“Even though I come from a farming family, I have a degree in mechanical engineering. I even flirted with the idea of architecture when I was young,” says Drago about the beginnings of his story. He worked at the family farm, but his career began at a retail company that sold on the Yugoslav market and had partners from abroad. Encouraged by a German businessman, he decided to organize manufacturing in Slovenia and his first order came from this partner. This is how Drago founded Uniforest.

In 1995 Uniforest started by producing forestry winches and further on, their product range has expanded every year. They were aware that a machine must also look functional and attractive, which is why they started collaborating with Slovenian industrial designer Ernest Bevc. “We had a distinctive methods approach to development and manufacturing that differed from established methods. Our first priority has always been safety, closely followed by production of user friendly, functional and ergonomic machines, as well as making them look attractive,” says Drago.

When he looks back to the beginnings of his entrepreneurial path, he has to admit that he and his family, co-workers and often friends and partners from abroad have created wonderful solutions. Support of family members was an important factor contributing to success. Drago’s father was very engaged at the beginning, together with Drago’s wife, who is still actively involved in all larger business challenges and decisions. “I see more and more clearly that things are on the right track. I was always a realist, but after years of experience I feel like people don’t know how to celebrate success. As we constantly move forward, we don’t pay enough attention to everything we already achieved.”

He recalls his first taste of success: “When we looked at our European competitors after the first couple of years, we realized that we could easily be a match for them and we were also noticed. We always took into consideration any feedback by the distributors, who are also often family companies with their own stories and interesting lives.”

Both clients and employees demand sustainability

“I am proud of the work we have done, and our employees deserve most of the credit for it,” says Drago. Every Uniforest product meets high safety standards and is carefully planned and designed by an interdisciplinary team of highly educated, experienced, and dedicated engineers. Their products have received several awards and recognitions, including the German Design Award twice, and they have left the International Fair of Agriculture and Food with the AGRA Award every year since 2009.

The company has designed a new sustainable business strategy and set goals and indicators for the upcoming period, which will be marked predominantly by rapid technological development and global climate change. As part of this approach they successfully completed the Academy of Sustainable Business Strategy transformation with the Slovenian SPIRIT agency in 2020. Within the scope of one of their programs, the SPIRIT agency co-funds implementation of sustainability into strategic and operative processes. The main goal of Uniforest is to ensure user safety during work, but at the same time they want to protect the environment and society, and thus also the economy.

They say that 975 of the components of their machines can already be recycled and they only use biodegradeable oils. “Hydraulic oils are standard in the industry, but we use biodegradeable oils which do not damage the environment in the event of spills. We are also testing low-temperature painting to reduce the negative effect on the environment even further,” explains Drago, who believes that customers increasingly expect such solutions.

They plan all their innovative solutions in such a way that does not harm water resources in the areas where their machines are used. They also control the use of energy, materials and waste by trying to use as many circular economy materials and raw materials as possible. Within the company, their efforts include the use of sustainable packaging and tools, updating the production process to reduce Carbon Dioxide waste, and using only biodegradeable and environmentally friendly cleaning products.

Why do they take this sustainable strategy so seriously? “Well, you know that the younger generations expect that,” says Drago. “Experience, in combination with youthful enthusiasm and a long-term vision can bring good business results, if only we listen to each other carefully and hear each other well.”

Young people are an important part of success

There are a lot of young people in Uniforest, including the founder’s daughter, Anja Pintar and they are happy that they attract excellent young talent. Drago also regularly meets with the teams. “We have very interesting meetings. The young are capable of very direct critique, they say: ‘We have to improve this, this is a problem, this does not work,’” says the founder.

Uniforest is his second child, as confirmed also by his daughter. “Working for Uniforest is very interesting, so I don’t mind if the company comes up in conversation even on Sunday. Wherever we went on holiday, we always visited an existing or potential partner. I remember we drove across the whole of Germany visiting clients and had holidays at the same time,” says Anja about the life of a family business. “This actually gave me a lot. I felt that I was part of the family company. When I was little, our house was near the production and I soon knew every employee and they knew me,” she adds.

As a student and after completing her studies, Anja worked in different positions in the company and now she works in supply. “Supply is a very interesting area today, as getting materials is becoming more and more of a challenge,” says Anja. She also leads the process of digitization with a team of co-workers and participates in sustainable development, which means that she is also involved in production and resource use planning. Uniforest was one of the first companies to win the Digital Transformation Tender offered by SPIRIT Slovenija.

The thing she admires the most about her father is his relationship with the employees: “He realizes that each person is his or her own unit and he is always ready to talk. Even though we are growing and are no longer a small company, each employee can still come to him and talk to him about anything. He pays a lot of attention to the opinions of the younger generation. He knows that the young are our future, which is very important for team spirit.”

Increased influence in Asia

Uniforest does not publish “classic” job ads, deciding rather on a different approach and they often collaborate with vocational schools. “In addition to practical learning for high-school and college students, we have many young people who come to us for internships, as part of their programs. Most of our new employees begin right after they complete their schooling,” explains Drago. They also work with faculties. “We have a registered research group, because we know how crucial development is.”

“We encourage employees to make useful suggestions, whether they are related to technological solutions, construction or business process change, or something completely new. It is not just about product development, we try to keep ahead of the competition in every aspect,” says Anja of the company’s innovative spirit.

In addition to Slovenia, their most important markets today are Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and the USA. They are also interested in more exotic markets, such as Bhutan, South Korea, Japan, Ecuador and Chile. Together with SPIRIT they attended this year’s Expo in Dubai, with the aim of increasing their influence in Asian markets and scoping out African markets. In 2020, they had around €20 million turnover and €1.1 million profit. Anja points out that their goal for the future is first and foremost to stay a healthy company in all aspects, with respect to employee wellbeing, relationships with customers and business performance, and also when it comes to their impact on society and the environment.