Milestones
Our path
From a small family business company to numerous business awards in global markets. Take a look at our steps on the road to success.
First company
Our story begins on 1st June 1985, when a small business, named after its owner – Iztok Stanonik, s.p., was established. Its main activity was plastic products injection moulding.
First order – plastic furniture handle
Our first buyer was Jelka furniture company. They ordered a semi-circular plastic handle for drawers and closets to be sold on the Russian market. We convinced them with our low prices and the aesthetic appearance of the handles, which were nearly indistinguishable from the wooden ones.
New era, new name
We renamed our company to Polycom, which is a compound of two expressions: POLY for polymer and COM for company. We also changed our location to Predmost in Poljane, which housed the company until 1997.
Goodbye, Yugoslavia!
The closing of the new national borders caused the loss of many a buyer from the former Republic of Yugoslavia. However, we made a great breakthrough on the Slovenian market with the production of cases for various types of batteries for the Iskra batteries (orig. Iskra baterije) company.
First steps into the automotive industry
We produced bowden cable end pieces on the hand brake for the new VW, for the TBP company (orig. Tovarna bovdenov in plastike). We developed a strong partnership with them, in which we produced more than 10 million plastic components for the automotive industry.
First foreign buyer
In the department of small domestic appliances, we first produced components for the Phillips hand mixer followed by the production of specific small parts for other small household appliances and shavers.
Major expansions
A successful business model and an increasing number of buyers called for an expansion. We took over a building from a former company LTH in Poljane, which offered 3,000 m2 of space. We rearranged and reorganised it to fit our needs and finally carried out the relocation.
Quality standard ISO 9002
We were among the first companies in Slovenia to obtain the ISO 9002 certificate. The idea to obtain it came from Igor Stanonik, while the realization was successfully carried out by the heads of departments.
Automation of production
We lightened the production workload by obtaining our first production robot Sepro, the implementation of which also increased the precision and lowered our expenses, which in turn increased our competitiveness.
Environment standard
We obtained the ISO 14001 standard, which addresses the responsible treatment of the environment. This greatly aided our efforts to establish an environmentally responsible business. We updated our waste and wastewater treatments, lowered our emissions and noise pollution and modified our production to fit the environmental laws.
Constant improvements
We implemented the ISO TS 16949 certificate, which suited our customers from the automotive industry. Seeking constant quality improvements, we also upgraded the ISO 9002 standard to ISO 9001.
Clean production
Our care for a clean environment and our environmental policies led us to upgrade our business model with the Clean production methodology 2002-2003. To achieve this, we partnered with the Institute for Chemistry in Ljubljana, the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning and the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology.
Establishing a toolshop
Our new toolshop department enabled the production of our own tools, which fitted our production needs.
Health and safety first!
We gained the BS OHSAS 18001 certificate, which ensures the health and safety of our employees.
Environmental award
The business weekly, Gospodarski vestnik, in cooperation with the Slovenian Environmental Public Fund and the Slovenian Environmental Agency, awarded us the Environmentally friendly company of 2004 award in the category of smaller companies.
Automatized production of larger quantities
We established a partnership with a German company Stabilus for the production of plastic parts for automotive industry, among others. To realize their extensive orders, we developed an automated production line for the production of larger quantities of ball sockets in cooperation with the Lama Dekani company. This automatization enables us to produce more than 50 million products.
Establishing a department of development
Our development team was established with the goal to further develop our products and to carry out researches in the fields of materials, technologies, processes, informatics and non-technological activities. In the beginning, the department included only three researchers.
Developer and supplier for VW
By developing the product naležna folija we became a developer and supplier for VW. During this collaboration, we also developed a plastic volanski zglob, which replaced the metal one. With the help of our buyer, we patented this innovation as well as the end-product at the German patent institute.
Project SiEVA
With seven other leading Slovene companies in the area od development and production of components and systems for the automotive industry, we signed a consortium agreement within the SiEVA project. The goal of the project is to produce synergetic and ecologically safe cars and includes, besides Polycom, also Cimos, Hidria, Iskra electrics (orig. Iskra elektrika), Iskra mechanisms Lipica (orig. Iskra mehanizmi Lipica), Kolektor group MLM and TPV.
Additional location in Črnomelj
The new location in Črnomelj began its operations with the production of plastic components for the coffee machine Nespresso Pulse for Flextronics. By expanding our company, we also expanded the range of production by 15%, which meant an additional 2,3 million euro a year.
Stabilus award
The Stabilus concern, the largest producer of shock absorbers in the world, awarded us a best supplier award in 2013. We received the best score among numerous suppliers from all over the world.
Award for exemplary business and entrepreneurial achievements
Our CEO Iztok Stanonik received an award for exemplary achievements from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. With this award, he became one of the most prominent Slovenian entrepreneurs, who significantly contribute to the condition of the economic and social environment to which they belong.
A new design
On our way to becoming a modern and up-to-date company, we renovated our corporate graphic image. We updated our logo, materials, websites, workwear and all the other elements of visual communication. With the new image came a freshness that thrives in the world markets.
Toolshop in Črnomelj
A new toolshop in Črnomelj enabled an independent catering to the production needs on that location and lightened the workload on the main location.
Moving to larger, modern spaces
A new location in Dobje, with its 10,000 m2, much better serves the company’s current needs. The 12-million-euro investment brought a series of improvements to all departments. We have one of the most modern factories in Slovenia – a smart company, which enables the implementation of 4.0 industry.
Business awards reaffirm our success
We made it to the final of the Factory of the year award (Tovarna leta, Finance) and received the Delo business star of 2018 award (Delo). We achieved this by leading a successful business, striving for digitalization, investing in employee education and presenting a promising potential for further business success.
Reorganisation for optimal business
After the relocation, we also wished to adapt our organisation to the current business trends and to rapid changes, brought about by digitalization and automatization. The operative leadership was entrusted to a new CEO, Iztok Novak, while the Stanonik brothers remain in the company as members of the board and thus continue to be involved in the company’s strategic decision-making.
