Ljubljana, 11 March (STA) – The business daily Finance ponders opportunities for Slovenian suppliers to the shrinking automotive industry in Monday’s editorial, suggesting the state should withdraw from Cimos and Unior.
The car industry is fighting for survival and victims are counted by jobs, Finance writes, citing the Renault-owned Novo mesto plant Revoz as an example.
Revoz cannot do anything about the poor sales of Clio, Twingo and Wind models. A new opportunity will be the launch of the new Twingo and Smart models at the end of the year, but even then Revoz will not have much influence over its fate because excellent work might not be enough.
The situation of suppliers is different as they can disperse risk by supplying parts for several models. If companies such as Kolektor, Iskra Mehanizmi, Hella Saturnus and Hidria stay innovative, efficient and price competitive, they can also grow well in the contracted market, Finance writes.
But Slovenian suppliers expect politicians to show the same attitude as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has often taken German executives to visit even bigger Chinese executives. Politicians will do most for the country if they are ambassadors of the economy, if they open doors to new markets for companies.
Finance also calls for flexible legislation to enable flexibility of companies, while suggesting the state “grasp the nettle” and decide what to do about Cimos, MLM and Unior, which have the right products, but need investment and restructuring, runs the commentary under “It’s Necessary to Grasp the Nettle”.