Slovenia Customer Day

On the 22nd of November 2014, Jan Fale and Matjaz Kolar, Wood-Mizer’s dealers in Ravne na Koroškem, Slovenia, hosted their largest customer day to date. The event was held at a local airport in the mountains, and approximately 600-700 people attended over the course of the day.

Wood-Mizer’s full range of professional sawmills (LT10, LT15 with the MP100 moulder/planer, LT20b, LT40 mobile, and LT70 mobile) were on display and demonstrations were made throughout the day at regular intervals. 

Two musical groups provided live entertainment during the festivities, and fresh Slovenian meat, soups, and bread was provided to the attendees throughout the day.

A major highlight for visitors was the airplane rides offered throughout the day in a Pilatus PC-6 Porter, which is famous for its short take-off and landing capabilities, displayed in popular films such as Air America with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. The airplane present at the show even had its own Hollywood history – it appeared in the opening scene of the James Bond film GoldenEye in 1995. 

The airplane has since passed to a new owner, who runs a skydiving company. The pilot was more than happy to demonstrate the manoeuvring capabilities of the aircraft during the flights, much to the surprise and momentary consternation of more than a few passengers.

At the close of the event, Karina Ocalewska and Jacob Mooney, representatives from Wood-Mizer’s European headquarters, presented a plaque to Mr. Fale and Mr. Kolar, recognising their achievements in significant sales growth over the past four years. Mrs. Ocalewska commented that they are one of the fastest growing Wood-Mizer representatives, and congratulated them on their hard-earned success.

The event resulted in the sales of five LT15 sawmills, an LT20B sawmill, and an LT20 mobile sawmill, as well as many other discussions with current and prospective customers regarding their goals and future plans. Jan and Matjaz have many plans for continuing their growth, and for supporting their customers’ business success. One plan they have is to form a wood coop-style collaborative in the future, which will assist Slovenian sawyers in selling their lumber and finding new clients.