TIK from Kobarid was established in 1951 as a company for the production of sewing needles. In 1959, they started producing reusable injection needles, so this year they are celebrating 60 years of manufacturing medical devices. Based on sixty years of experience, the company has focused on research and development and specializes its product range in user-friendly products for human medicine and veterinary medicine. In addition to production, they also want to become a development company that offers technologically advanced products with high added value, all taking into account the stricter requirements of the new European MDR directive, which will enter into force in May 2020. According to director Petra Borovinšek, TIK has been investing rapidly in the modernization of its own production in recent years: “In the last three years, we have allocated more than three million euros for this. In this business year, we are adding more than 1.5 million euros for this. production of a new, additional clean room and an additional line for dipping catheters, which will start operating in 2020. A clean room for us means a better organization of production and streamlining of production processes.
Clean rooms are crucial in the production of disposable medical devices. For the quality and optimal execution of the growing number of new orders by existing and new customers, it is extremely important how their production is organized. With the new investment, TIK increased the total area of clean rooms to more than 1,500 m2. Simultaneously with this investment, the optimization of the production process in the field of transport routes, logistics, material flow, digitization of the production process and work organization is taking place.
With the introduction of these changes, TIK is moving in the direction of lean production and plans at least 50 percent higher productivity in catheter production; innovative technological solutions, which will be integrated into the new way of organizing production, also bring significant savings in the use of electricity.
The clean room will be operational at the end of this year, followed by the acquisition of a permit for use by the audit authority and full start-up in the first half of 2020.
Another important milestone in 2019 is the consolidation of the ownership of the company TIK within the Postojnska jama Group, with the company Postojnska jama d.d. and Marjan Batagel at the helm, who years ago recognized the potential and high quality of TIK’s products: “This standard of medical devices is something valuable, as they interfere with the human body and require great responsibility to patients.” He thanked the former longtime director. TIK Branko Brankošček, who was extremely happy that the new owners supported the company with a tradition to stay and develop and continue to actively support it in setting and achieving ambitious goals and realizing its vision, to become an important player in the European market. This is also confirmed by this year’s TIK business result: the company is highly liquid, operates with a net profit, and has a credit rating of AAA. It is also trusted by commercial banks, which, among other things, financially supported the investment in the new clean space.
As the main employer in Kobarid and its surroundings, TIK is of great importance for the local environment; it currently employs 162 people, which is a lot in today’s situation where many production processes are automated. The Municipality of Kobarid strives to provide the most favorable business environment for companies operating in the region: ” I am proud of all the long-term employees of Tik, who make a key contribution to the development of the company. There are not many companies in our region that invest in their own product development and, of course, in the recognition of the domestic brand on the Slovenian and foreign markets, ” stressed the Mayor of the Municipality of Kobarid Marko Matajurc.
Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek is also proud of the successful 60 years of Kobarid’s TIK: “Tik Kobarid has developed from a manufacturer of reusable needles into a high-tech company, which has been recognized as a reliable business partner abroad. “In a highly competitive environment. It is important that such companies are also on the outskirts of Slovenia, not only in Ljubljana, to keep people there, so we will continue to invest in such jobs and provide them with the best possible working conditions.”
TIK’s competitive advantages are great flexibility, innovation, traditionally good cooperation with important European distributors, favorable geographical location and many years of experience and knowledge in the field of production of disposable medical devices.
Therefore, the research and development group constantly strives to provide high-quality medical devices that contribute to life (gynecology program), rescue it (respiratory therapy program, gastroenterology) and improve its quality through its own knowledge, constant development and placement of innovations in production. urology). Their efforts and vision are also confirmed by various awards, such as the silver award of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for innovation, which they received together with the contractor in 2018 for a new line for dipping catheters.
Currently, their most important program is catheters with the greencath® brand, in the development of which they have invested a lot of knowledge, effort, time and money in recent years, mainly with the aim of offering users a top and user-friendly catheter for self-catheterization. That they have succeeded is also confirmed by the market and its users.
60 years of TIK – 10 key points:
1951 – establishment of the company TIK needle factory Kobarid
1959 – start of production of reusable injection needles (this year marks 60 years of production of medical devices)
1965 – Establishment of the development department
1979 – opening of new production facilities for the production of medical devices, import of new equipment for the production of disposable injection needles
1985-91 – period of supplementing the program of medical devices with new items
1995 – all activities except the production of articles for human medicine and veterinary medicine were excluded from the company
1997 – obtaining the ISO 9001 and EN 46001 certificates or the CE mark
1998-2018 – period of investments in modernization, rehabilitation, automation and expansion of production and accompanying premises, introduction of new production programs
2005 – start of production of catheters with hydrophilic coating, one of the most important production programs of the company
2019 – expansion of clean rooms (yellow room)
