The first meeting of representatives from the Slovenian and Croatian forestry and wood industries, organised by the sector associations Sloles and the Croatian wood cluster, and sponsored by the companies ”Straža” and ”Šumsko gospodarstvo Novo Mesto”, was held on January 29, 2025. The meeting was attended by entrepreneurs from the wood industry, representatives of professional associations and forest owners, as well as representatives of public companies and institutions from both countries.

Before the meeting, all participants visited the company ”Solis Timber” in Straža, Slovenia, where they saw the latest “Ledinek” sawmill technology, the modernisation of drying kilns with ”NIGOS” automatic controllers, and the ”Topling” boiler room. The company’s CEO, Miljan Nikolić, gave a short presentation about the MC-3000 and MC-2000 automatic controllers and introduced the visitors to the production program, innovations and technical solutions that we apply in our wood drying kilns and steaming chambers in order to save thermal and electric energy, increase energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.

Following that, a roundtable was held at the cultural centre of the municipality of Straža, Slovenia, focusing on current topics. The discussion considered the complex conditions on the European and regional markets, the growing impact of climate change on forest states, and the increasingly uncertain future of the sector.

The message sent from the meeting is that we should continue with the intensive communication of forestry and the wood industry in Slovenia and Croatia and the organization of periodic meetings, all with the aim of exchanging best practices, determining common priorities in the area of the wood products market, reducing the impact of climate change, as well as solving the increasing number of personnel challenges.