Industry

In Maribor, the industrialisation began during the second industrial revolution and it superseded the centuries-old leather handicraft and rafting traditions. In the first half of the 19th century, Maribor was predominantly an agrarian centre and a centre for artisans and merchants. 

But when the first light bulb was ignited in Maribor a new era began, the era of electrification. The first harbinger of industrialisation was the Military dressing room factory, followed by litharge, cream of tartar, potash and coffee substitutes factories.

The abolition of feudalism and guilds led to the opening of shops, handcraft workshops and factories. 

But it was the opening of the Austrian Southern Railway between Vienna and Trieste in 1846 that radically changed the city. With the construction of the Carinthian railway line in 1863, Maribor became the intersection of two very important railway lines, which greatly influenced the economic development of the city. Maribor acquired two railway stations - the Main railway station and the Studenci Station, which also accelerated the spatial expansion of the industry. 

Due to increased railway transport there was a growing need for the establishment of a railway maintenance plant. The Southern Railway company decided to build workshops for the renewal of the rolling stock in Maribor and thus, in 1860 workshops for maintaining and fitting the entire rolling stock of the company operating on the route from Semmering, Trieste, Pula, Rijeka and Belgrade were established. This was also the first company built outside of the city centre. Until the beginning of the World War I the Southern Railway employed 1200 workers in its plants. They were predominantly employing skilled workforce which later constituted the professional basis for the development of metal-working industry. Besides the machinery, the workshops also included a paint room, woodworking shops, wheelwright's workshops, carpentries, smitheries and locksmitheries.

Gradually, other industries started to develop in Maribor, e.g. the flour milling industry, metalworking, chemical and timber industry. One of the most visible and widespread industries in Maribor was the textile industry and in the 20th century Maribor was the centre of the largest textile industry in Yugoslavia. More than a 1000 families earned their livelihood by working in the textile industry. For almost a century the everyday town throb in Melje, Pobrežje and Tabor was determined by the arrivals and departures of textile workers. The textile factories daily produced enough kilometres of fabric to cover the distance from Maribor to Vrhnika (147 km). In 1939, 15 out of 21 of textile factories in Slovenia were located in Maribor. Even though spinning mills developed in the city they couldn’t provide for the textile industry’s needs, therefore the raw cotton had to be imported from USA and Great Britain, while cotton yarn was imported from Italy, Czechoslovakiaand Austria. 

Due to accelerated development of the industry the city started to grow rapidly, which had an important impact on the image of the city. Bridges were built and they completely transformed the medieval image of the city. The industrial development stimulated the economic, demographic and spatial development. With the rapid growth of the city the need for construction materials grew as well and so several clay factories were developed. 

The development was temporarily halted by the collapse of the Vienna Stock Exchange in 1873, but certain businesses continued to expand despite that. One of them was the Scherbaum mill company and also Franz’s mill and pasta factory, while Gotz brewery was one of the most modern breweries in the Lower Styria. 

Before the start of the World War I the economic development stopped again and all the factories ceased operating, except for one Southern Railway workshop. Post-war conditions were marked by instability in the financial field and as a result many businesses went bankrupt. 

Due to the formation of new borders the Maribor’s agricultural surroundings lost the Austrian market for exporting their produce. The trade was restricted to the local area which was partially also caused by high transport expenses. But despite that, the foreign capital inflow from Austria and the Czech Republic wasn’t interrupted, since Maribor was located near the customs border and it was more economical to manufacture marchandise locally than to pay for customs. 

Gradually leather, milling and brewing industries started to wane due to strong domestic and foreign competition. Textile and metalworking industry branches became the strongest. The industry started to boom because of the construction of the Fala hydroelectric power plant, which provided sufficient electric power, a cheap and hardworking labour force with a rich artisanal tradition as well as due to successful economic policy of Yugoslavia which was able to provide foreign capital which was successfully secured. 

The pioneers of the textile industry were Schonsky and Lobl who founded a weaving factory and a finishing plant in 1921 on the Oreško nabrežje embankment. It was later renamed into Mariborska tekstilna tovarna (Maribor textile factory) or MTT. Textile factories were mostly founded with the help of Czech capital as well as domestic, German and Jewish capital. 

In 1938, Maribor had the biggest number of industrial plants in Slovenia. 6293 workers were employed in 27 factories. 

During World War II metal industry developed as a new branch and the Southern Railway was the largest metal company, but it had peripheral position and therefore the owners weren’t interested in renovating it. However, it still employed from 2100 to 2500 workers. The entire metal industry employed around 3700 workers. Due to demand factories that went out of business as a consequence of the World War I started to develop again, e.g. the factory of artificial abrasives Swaty started operating again as well as Zlatorog factory which developed from the old Bros’ soap factory in Melje. 

Maribor acquired a mineral oil refinery, a factory for spirits and non-alcoholic beverage, a chocolate, candy, baking powder, coffee substitutes and meat products factories. However, all of those were small-scale factories. 

Due to a lack of space the industry started to expand outside of the urban area and the majority of industrial plants were located in Tezno and Melje industrial zones, along the Tržaška cesta street and in the vicinity of the Studenci railway station. Smaller plants were located throughout the old part of the city and in the western periphery. 

During the World War II the industry was included into the German war production. The Germans started to build the TAM aircraft parts factory and the Mariborski otok hydroelectric power station. The businesses in the metal field, e.g. Metalna and Strojna started to expand. During the World War II Maribor was one of the most bombarded cities in Slovenia. The bombardment was mostly aimed at the railway bridge and industrial facilities in Melje, Studenci and Tezno. 

The first years in the post-war period were in the spirit of renewal and nationalization. In the first two years most of the industrial facilities were renovated, the era of accelerated nationalisation of factories begun and many smaller plants of the same or similar branches were joined into new and larger companies. 60 factories were nationalized and they were joined into 35 new companies, which also incorporated 11 industrial plants from the surrounding areas, 11 artisanal workshops and 5 factories that were founded during the war. 

The first years in the post-war period were in the spirit of renewal and nationalization. In the first two years most of the industrial facilities were renovated, the era of accelerated nationalisation of factories begun and many smaller plants of the same or similar branches were joined into new and larger companies. 60 factories were nationalized and they were joined into 35 new companies, which also incorporated 11 industrial plants from the surrounding areas, 11 artisanal workshops and 5 factories that were founded during the war. 

But the consequences of this integration were not too positive since the plants were scattered across the entire urban area and the production was dislocated. For instance, 18 companies were manufacturing their products at 56 different locations. This made the communication difficult and the possibility of rational organization of the production process was nearly impossible, while the transportation costs increased. 

The stagnation of the Maribor economy was also caused by distribution of accumulated funds for the development of less developed regions, although the factories themselves urgently required upkeep and modernization. 

Until 1951 thirteen of the twenty industrial branches in Slovenia were developed in Maribor, one of the new branches was electrical industry. After the war, the metal industry overtook the textile industry, but the latter still manufactured more than 50% of the gross domestic product of the city. It was followed by wood and chemical industry, and electrical industry. The capacities of the entire industry exceeded the level of utilization, the machinery was outdated and urgently needed reconstruction (more than a 50% level of wear), during the drought the level of electricity fluctuated, there was a shortage and poor quality of raw materials as well as the negative impact of the economic embargo during the Cominform period. The work productivity was lower due to a shortage of skilled labour and a big influx of unskilled workers. 

In order to prevent the strengthening of the state, the Law on self-management was adopted after 1951, but the state kept interfering with economy. But the economic results have nonetheless improved, mainly due to the self-managed socialist market system. 

In 1965, the economic reform enabled foreign capital investments, which enabled the development of new industrial branches and areas, however, this had a negative impact on Maribor’s traditional manufacturing industry that already started to lag behind. The industry in Maribor was falling behind primarily due to the following:

• scant financial investments, the investments were mostly financed from local sources,
• the majority of funds were invested into metal, textile and food industries to eliminate the bottlenecks that slowed down the entire manufacturing process,
• low level of financial assets and slow modernization,
• industry developed from small plants which were situated in unsuitable locations and whose development was depending on the professional work force that was in decline and was less skilled than work force elsewhere in Slovenia,
• the companies were scattered and non-diversified while the level of work specialization was low,
• there was a lack of corporate climate and developmental concepts,
• the surrounding area of the city was underdeveloped, and adjacent municipalities were economically disadvantaged.

In the first years the production increased due to better utilization of capacities, the elimination of bottlenecks and opening of new capacities. The production was growing until 1956 due to higher employment rate with a noticable productivity growth. However, between 1960 and 1967 another stagnation in production occurred do to the unstable market. This did not halt the electrical industry, industry of processing of non-metallic minerals, as well as chemical and timber industries which were in fact developing and growing. 

Alter 1967, the investment activities were revived and industrial production started to show signs of recovery. Businesses started to actively take part in international trade. Many companies started to expend with above-average speed employing modern and professional staff, such as: TAM, Zlatorog, Primat, Marles, Mariborska livarna, Konstruktor, Stavbar and Hidro montaža. The structure of skilled employees started to improve due to the establishment of higher education institutions. Development and research facilities were formed which were collaborating with economic organizations in solving problems of production, business and development. 

Between 1951 and 1971, the companies started to build production and storage facilities at existing locations, but the lack of space forced them to spread to adjacent land. By expanding to adjacent land the share of industrial areas started to grow as well. 

After 1971, the period of cooperative labour begun which, however, worsened the economic results. This was followed by organizational changes and organizations were divided into Basic Organizations of Associated Labour (TOZD). This was mostly carried out by the companies that were before the merger uniform in terms of organization and technology. The above-mentioned had negative consequences. Operations of TOZD were very intensive in Maribor, especially in larger Organizations of Associated Labour (OZD). I.e. only 12 of 56 OZDs did not take part in the process and were mainly focused on a single location. Composite Organisations of Associated Labour (SOZD) appeared as a higher form connecting companies with similar production orientation, such as Kema, Tima, Elkom, and MTT. Because of this Maribor started to fall back even more and in 1981 it only ranked 10th on the scale of economic performance. The growth of industrial production which was on the verge of stagnation started to grow slowly yet the number of employees continued to increase. The stocks started to pile up, the accumulation was replaced by a race for higher personal incomes and the companies adapted to higher flat rate expenses by slowing down the production. The management conditions started to determine the dynamics and structure of production.

Thus, inflation appeared, presenting one of the major problems. Problems arose with the placement of finished products, the investments lagged behind the rest of Slovenia by 10–20%. Due to the lack of skilled labour the industry in Maribor didn’t manage to adjust to the demands of the market and therefore the export started to decline. Due to foreign exchange policy the products from Maribor couldn’t compete on foreign markets. 

In 1988 most workers were employed in automotive industry, which is followed by the production of yarns and textiles, metal processing, production of electrical machines and equipment, as well as the production of finished textile products. 

In the beginning of the 1970s the industry in Maribor faced major urbanistic problems which required large investments which in turn depleted the city economy and by 1989 the conditions became critical. 

A new economic milestone was the transition to market economy. In 1990, TOZDs were cancelled. Some companies manage to become independent companies, such as Tippo and social enterprise Družbeno podjetje Kruh – pecivo. However, after this year the economic crisis became severe and many companies went bankrupt, such as Lilet, Marles, Elektrokovina. Metalna, TAM and MTT were also struck by the crisis. The consequence of bankruptcies were sudden lay-offs. The crisis exacerbated by the economic embargo on Serbia, the Gulf War and the Slovenian Independence War. All this dealt the final blow to the Maribor industry, after which it never managed to recover. 

LEATHER CRAFT

Leather industry was the oldest industry in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and its origins can be traced back to the Middle Ages. In Maribor, leather workshops were located along the Drava river because the leather industry required large quantities of water. Today, the street where the workshops were located is called Usnjarska ulica (Leather Street) and it used to be the dirtiest street in Maribor. By the end of 19th century, the leather workshops were gradually moved to other locations in town and the leather craft started to develop into an industry. Some of the most renowned tanners were named Staudinger, Badl, Halbärth and Nasko. Due to domestic and international competition the development of leather industry stopped developing after 1918. 

MERINKA – TABOR TEXTILE FACTORY

Merinka factory inherited the tradition of the former Maribor Spinning and Weaving Mills (Predilnica in tkalnica Maribor). The company was founded in 1922 by Edvard Doctor and Ernest Zucker. It was a trading company. After the death of Mr. Doctor, his wife Olga took over his stake in the company. During the World War II, the company was forced into stopping the production while the occupier took away some of the machinery. 

After the war, the company was reconstructed and by the decision of the governmwent it incorporated the Zora knitting factory. In 1962, the Spinning and weaving mills Maribor (PTM) merged with Merinka, Maribor Woollen Industries Company, into PTM Merinka. The main activity of the company was production of all kinds of yarns, textiles and confectioning of textile fabric. 

In 1991, the company transformed into a socially-owned company Tekstilna tovarna Maribor (Textile Factory Maribor). 

TVT KIDRIČ – THE FACTORY OF VEHICLES AND HEATING TECHNOLOGY BORIS KIDRIČ MARIBOR

The factory developed from the Factory of railway vehicles Boris Kidrič Maribor which was a successor of the former Southern Railway Workshops.

The company performed maintenance and repair of railway vehicles as well as the restoration of old and the production of new products, such as steam boilers, two-axel and four-axel railway cars, dining cars and railroad tank cars, etc.

In 1960, they started the construction of a modern factory for the production of railway vehicles. Their production programme extended to include hot water boilers for central heating. In 1969, TVT Kidrič merged with the company TAM. 

THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY

In 1860, The Southern Railway Company built workshops for the renewal of rolling stock in Maribor. Together with the construction of workshops began the construction of housing for workers. The old colony was first built in 1863 and it originally included 12 houses. 5 years later 28 identical houses were added and each contained four ground floor apartments and four on the first floor. At the end of the construction 304 apartments were available, together with a children’s shelter, school and a warehouse with food supplies.

The houses had identical external appearance, were 17 meters long and 9.5 meters wide and featured a garden that was evenly divided among the residents. Houses were maintained by the Southern Railway Company and therefore any modifications were prohibited but the residents were obligated to paint the apartments every 2 years. 

In the period between World War I and World War II the school was modified into apartments and after the World War II the children's shelter stopped operating. 

THE CITY COLONY – VURNIK'S HOUSING ESTATE

The housing estate, which was located in today’s Betnavska cesta street was named after the architect Ivan Vurnik. The housing estate consists of 147 one-storey single-family houses erected along the street. After 20 year of repayments in the form of monthly rents the tenants became owners of the buildings with their own gardens. 

SWATY

Franz Swaty established the factory of artificial abrasives in 1879. Initially, the company manufactured mineral bonded abrasives using its own patented process, but later its manufacture expanded to include vitrified bonded abrasives. 

The factory was severely damaged during World War II and after the war it was nationalised. Until 1958, when the company Comet was founded in Zreče, Swaty was the only factory in Yugoslavia that produced artificial abrasives. 

Most of Swaty’s products were exported and in 1994 the company exported no less than 80% of its products. 

In 2007, Swaty and Comet merged into SwatyComet company which is one of the rare companies to survive the breakdown of Maribor industry. 

THE WORKERS HOME ON RUŠKA CESTA 1

From 1919 to 1920 the building on Ruška cesta 1 was an important centre of the workers' movement in Maribor. In the workers' hall the workers cultural society Svoboda (Freedom) was established. The building also housed the headquarters of the workers’ technical commission, which gathered workers into unions. 

Today there is a memorial plaque on the building with the inscription: After 1920, the leaders of the workers’ revolutionary movement arose from this house. 

THE HUTTER WORKERS' COLONY AND THE HUTTER APARTMENT BUILDING

In 1926, Josip Hutter founded the textile factory Josip Hutter & Drug in cooperation with the Austrian company Wenzel Hoffelner. Initially, the company manufactured cotton twill fabric, but in 1929 a weaving mill was built, in 1933 a spinning mill, in 1937 a sewing thread factory and in 1939 the silk weaving mill. 

Before the World War II, 360 workers were employed at the factory and after the war more than 1600. 

Mr. Hutter tried to solve the housing issue of his employees by building apartments and giving concessional loans to his workers for private housing construction. In 1937, a colony of Huttner’s houses was built in Pobrežje. It was built by the Society for eldercare of workers of the textile factory Josip Hutter & Drug in Maribor. The apartments featured a covered portico, an anteroom, a toilet, a bathroom, a pantry, a kitchen, two rooms and an attic. All houses had plumbing, electrical wiring and flushing toilets. At the end of 1930's, he started constructing an apartment building. He even held an architectural contest which was won by the architects Jaroslav Černigoj in Aleksander Dev. 

The Hutter Apartment Building was the first apartment building and was constructed during World War II. The building was designed as a uniform building comprised of ten buildings linked together by inner staircases and elevators constructed around an inner yard with a modern common launderette and a drying room. 141 apartments were constructed and comprised of different sizes, from studio apartments to five-bedroom apartments. 

After the war the entire Hutter’s property, including the apartment building became social property. Due to its modern design, location in the centre and spacious apartments the apartment building became known as a prestigious residential environment. 

THE RAILWAY STATION

The rail transport in Maribor started in 1846 with the opening of the Graz – Celje railway section, which was a part of the Vienna – Trieste railway line. The first locomotive arrived in Maribor in 1846, and the first passenger train in June of the same year. 

With the construction of the Carinthian railway line, Maribor became an intersection of two private lines owned by the Southern Railway which completely changed the development of Maribor. 

The first railway station was completely destroyed during the World War II bombardment. Originally, the station was a storey building made of bricks and with five doors, a large hall with the ticket booths, waiting rooms, a saloon, offices, a post office, a buffet and a hall, covering three railway tracks with platforms in between. The new railway station was designed by architect Milan Černigoj in 1954. It was built in the famous style of late Slovenian functionalist architecture. 

INTES

The steam-powered mill behind the main railway station was built between 1874 and 1876. The first owner of the mill was Alojz pl. Kriehuberm, who went bankrupt and sold the mill to Ludvik Franz who built a pasta factory next the mill. Mr. Franz also owned pasta factories in Zagreb and Novi Sad. 

In 1947, the company was nationalised and renamed into Mlin in testenine Maribor (Mill and Pasta Maribor). In the 1950’s the company incorporated several smaller mills and bakeries from Pomurje, Podravje and Koroška regions. 

In 1964, the company was renamed into Živilski kombinat Intes Maribor (Intes Maribor Food Combine) which brought about the renovation of the pasta factory, renovation of old and construction of new bakeries and erection of a factory of soup additions. Thereby Intes became the largest manufacturer of soup additions in Yugoslavia. 

VESNA – ACCUMULATOR AND BATTERY MANUFACTURING COMPANY

The Vesna factory was founded in 1936 in a form as a smaller plant for manufacturing accumulators. It was nationalised after the World War II. After many years of independent operation, it became a part of the company Avtoobnova and produced starter car batteries under the name Vesna. It was difficult to find a car in Maribor without a Vesna car battery. 

LILET

In 1946, the confiscated company of Vilko Blatnik was merged with the nationalised company Karo (owned by Karl Roglič) and the Maribor Shoe Factory. Its registered office was located at Gregorčičeva ulica street. The company was famous for its lightweight footwear and employed 130 workers in 1950’s. In 1962, it was renamed into Lilet Tovarna čevljev Maribor (Lilet Maribor Shoe Factory). Lilet was one of the first factories in Maribor to declare bankruptcy.  

ZLATOROG MARIBOR FACTORY

Zlatorog formed from a small company that was taken over by Karl Broz in 1887 and transferred the company to Melje in 1899. The Zlatorog company manufactured soap and commissioned sale of chemical and local products. Through the years it operated under different names and it was completely destroyed during World War II. 

After the war the company was nationalized and its last owner was accused of collaboration with the occupying forces. The new Zlatorog company was established in 1949 and its operations included manufacture of all kinds of soap and washing powders, rendering lard and technical fat, production of glycerine, cosmetics, lubricants and glues for technical purposes, gum processing and regeneration of mineral waste oils. 

Zlatorog was one of the first companies who was allowed by the state to source materials from the cheapest and best providers. It was also the first company that was bought by a foreign company which saved it from bankruptcy. The company was renamed into Henkel Zlatorog. in 1998, the company was renamed into Henkel Slovenija, the name by which it still goes by today. 

THE MARIBOR FOUNDRY COMPANY

The official birth of the company was in 1924 when new facilities were built at its current location. Until then, this was a small company named eng. J. & H. Bühl, Foundry of Bells and Metals and Machine Building Workshop Maribor, which employed 20 workers. 

One of the first products manufactured at the new plant was a large brass bell which was the largest cast brass bell produced in Yugoslavia at the time. It was ordered by the Maribor Frančiškanska cerkev (Franciscan church) and weighed 3375 kg. 

The company’s product assortment expanded from manufacture of bells, other castings and wine armatures to various different types of armatures and other products. 

In 1936, the new owner bought a large press and the company started producing tractable brass. This move saved the company and enabled its development. 

During World War II the company status changed and it became a branch office of the owner’s company in Austria. The managing staff was German. After the war the factory was left in ruins. 

In 1946, the renovations were almost completed and the production was slowly returning to normal. At the time, 168 workers were employed at the company. The production was based on the already acquired technology and tradition. Through the years the number of employees grew due to market demands for large quantities of quality products. 

When facing production problems the workers had to be very inventive. They made many machines by themselves which enabled the production of already established products as well as the expansion of product assortment. After the war 196 different suggestions, innovations and inventions for rationalisation were given, which placed the company to the very top of Yugoslavia metal industry. The company was also first to produce two electrical induction furnaces in Yugoslavia. 

Gradually, the company started to export its products to the demanding European and American markets. By 1960 the company has expanded greatly, the run-down buildings were renovated, new buildings were constructed and the company employed more than 1000 workers. The company also started to invest into its employees who were members in the trade union as well as various cultural and gymnastic associations. There was also a restaurant for workers and employees and the company’s own shoemaker workshop.

In 1967, the company introduced a new trademark ARMAL that developed into a bathroom product line over the period of 20 years. 6 years after ARMAL, another trademark with aluminium radiators was introduced under the name AKLIMAT. Both trademarks were among the most famous trademarks of the company. With the expansion of company the product assortment grew as well. 

After the independence of Slovenia the company faced many problems. Despite all the attempts at restructuring, modernization and product assortment extension the insolvency procedure was started in 2013. In the year 2014, MLM d.d. started with the activities of a comprehensive financial and business operation reconstruction, which should enable a long-term competitive ability of the company. After almost a hundred years the company still persists and tries to stay on the market. 

In 1946, 200 workers were employed at the company who produced 988 tonnes of products. In 1970, the company had 1517 employees who produced 10,831 tonnes of products in 1978, while the number ofemployees grew to 2045 by 1979 and they produced almost 20,000 tonnes of products. In 2009, the company employed 722 workers.

TEXTILE INSTITUTE

The textile institute was established on 3 August 1953. It’s task included the following: scientific study of technological, organisational and economic problems, which were important for the development of textile industry; standardisation and improvements, deployment of new technological procedures into the textile industry; professional counselling for textile companies; preparation of new projects and testing of materials for the textile industry. 

Later it became a multidisciplinary institution who was also active on the fields, that were not directly connected to textile, but represented developmental opportunities (e.g. technical textile, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical products, machine manufacture, etc.). 

On 27 December 2006, the government of the Republic of Slovenia decided to merge the Textile Institute Maribor with the Institute of Information Science due to illiquidity. 

MTT – THE MARIBOR TEXTILE FACTORY

It was established at the location of the former Hutter and Drug factory and was formed with merger of pre-war textile factories. In 1946, the companies Roteks, Jugosvila and Jugotekstil were joined into the company Mariborske bombažne tkalnice (Maribor Cotton Veawing Factory). In 1947 two other companies joined them, namely MA-VA and the Hutter and Drug and the joint company became MTT – the Maribor Textile Factory. 

It was the biggest textile factory in Yugoslavia and it was also the first factory in Maribor and Slovenia to export its merchandise. The company regularly exhibited its products on fairs in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Germany. Its products were exported to Italy, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Tanzania, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon. 

In 1990 the company demerged into MTT Tovarna tkanin Melje (MTT Factory of Fabric Melje), Tabor, Merinka, Tovarna sukanca in pozamenterije (the Factory of Sewing Thread and Trimmings) and Tovarna volnenih izdelkov Majšperk (the Majšperk Factory of Woolen Products).

METALNA

The company started to operate around the year 1920. It was active in the fields of machine building, construction and installation. The workshop on the construction site of the Fala hydroelectric plantthus became Splošna stavbena družba Maribor Tezno (Maribor Tezno General Building Company). The company was initially engaged in iron constructions but later a factory of screws and rivets was established and the company also built bridges, skeletal buildings, crane constructions, overhead transmission line pylons, mining devices, smaller pipelines, cisterns and reservoirs. 

After the World War II the company started to engineer, manufacture and install hydro-mechanic equipment and cranes. The company also built railway bridges in Greece, as well as equipped hydroelectric plants, harbours and factories all over the world. 

At the end of 1950’s, Metalna was joined by Tovarna poljedelskih strojev (the Factory of agricultural machinery). In 1963, the company opened a factory unit for constructions in Krmelj and in 1972 a factory unit for the production of construction equipment in Senovo. 

During the period of workers' self-management Metalna was redesigned into a Basic Organisation of Associated Labour (TOZD), which was abolished in 1990. After abolition of TOZD, Metalna Maribor d.d. founded several companies, but despite all its efforts it couldn’t avoid bankruptcy proceedings, which started in 1995. 

TAM

The company was established during World War II. The Germans needed a safe and suitable location for production of aircraft parts. The construction started on 25 June 1941 and by 1942 the company already employed 7105 workers. The factory was built by locals and foreign prisoners under duress of the occupying power. In 1943, the construction of underground production halls started so that the production could run uninterrupted until the end of the war. Allied aircrafts caused extensive damage to the factory and the production started to wane. 

After the war, The Federal Ministry for Industry decided that the company shall cease to produce aviation industry products and will commence with automotive production activities. The factory was also renamed from the Factory for production of aircraft parts into Tovarna avtomobilov Maribor – TAM (Maribor Automobile Factory). The first vehicle to leave the production line was called Pionir and it was produced in accordance with a Czech license.  

In 1953, the company designed and produced its first truck that was named Luka.

TAM gradually expanded and became the largest manufacturer of trucks and buses in Yugoslavia. 

Under the new name Tovarna avtomobilov in motorjev Maribor (Maribor Automobile and Engine Factory) a new line of vehicles under the name TAM 2000 was put on the market. TAM also started producing military trucks for the needs of the Yugoslav People’s Army.

After the disintegration of Yugoslavia, TAM dissolved into several smaller companies that continued with the production program of the former TAM. But despite that bankruptcy proceedings for all TAM subsidiaries were started in 1996. 

In 2001, the company TVM – Tovarna vozil Maribor (Maribor Vehicle Factory) was founded which manufactured buses, upgraded or refurbished vans under the Iveco brand and manufactured chassis. Unfortunately, this new company also went bankrupt in 2011. 

TAM in figures: 

• in 1986, the company produced 200,000 vehicles and employed 8175 workers – a slightly more than 6,000 of them were man and around 2000 were women; 
• in 1947, the first 29 PIONIR vehicles were produced;
• during the first 15 years following the World War II, the factory produced 17,416 PIONIR vehicles,
• in 1950, TAM started producing PIONIR buses;
• in 1952, the company organised its own auto services across Yugoslavia;
• in 1953, the company started opening automobile stores in Yugoslav cities;
• in 1957, the company introduced the first TAM 4500 truck, produced according to the KHD licence;
• the company exported its vehicles to Turkey, Burma, Germany, Iraq, China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, Indonesia, Congo, Ghana, Colombia, Pakistan, Soviet Union and Poland; at its peak, the production program of the company included 15 different types of trucks and buses, predominately of its own design and together with special vehicles, such as fire or utility vehicles, more than 90 different types of vehicles were produced;
• in 1941, the company approved the factory’s logo with three circles and a five pointed star in the middle, designed by architect Černigoj.