On December 17th, MC Brežice was filled with festive warmth, laughter, and the sparkling joy of children. In the magical December atmosphere, we gifted 81 children, aged 0 to 10, creating memories that will warm hearts for a long time.

The children first enjoyed creative workshops, where they eagerly wrote letters to Santa and made colorful pinwheels. There was plenty of excitement and little surprises as they spun the wheel of fortune, and they also treated themselves to a Christmas feast.

The children watched the show “The Secret Recipe for Happiness” with Katka the Elf, danced along, and helped create a gift for Santa.

When we called Santa together, the holiday magic reached its peak. Children’s eyes sparkled, and their hearts were full of anticipation and joy.

Santa promised that he would visit us again next year!

On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, we once again created an unforgettable magical afternoon at the Youth Center Brežice with another Kovis Christmas Celebration. This year, we brought joy to 77 children, aged 0 to 10, along with their parents, grandparents, and older siblings.

The event was festive and filled with magical moments. In the photo booth, we captured beautiful memories to cherish forever. The creative workshop was bustling with excitement as children joyfully colored Christmas stockings and coins. Everyone enjoyed a delicious Christmas feast, adding to the cheerful atmosphere.

The highlight of the afternoon was a performance by the beloved Pika Flika, who began by assembling a gift and tidying her room. Together with the children, she loudly called out to the eagerly awaited guest – Santa Claus! Pika Flika invited the children to the stage, where Santa personally handed out gifts. Families shared smiles and laughter as they posed for the photographer, preserving these magical moments.

Because the children of Brežice and the surrounding areas have been so good, Santa promised to visit us again next year!

From September 24 to 27, 2024, our company successfully participated in InnoTrans 2024, the leading international trade fair for transport technology, which takes place biennially in Berlin. 

The event attracted around 170,000 visitors from 133 countries. 2,940 exhibitors from 59 countries showcased their latest innovations, including 600 new companies making their debut this year. Visitors had the opportunity to see 133 vehicles on 3,500 meters of railway tracks, further enriching the exhibition experience.

We presented our values and capabilities to our visitors through five key points:

1. Knowledge: Our expertise and long-standing experience enable us to create innovative solutions for the railway and other industries.
2. Opportunity: Our focus on sustainable practices allows us to seize every opportunity to reduce our environmental impact.
3. Value: Trust is our core value, which we build through strategic partnerships and adaptability.
4. Innovation: With a highly skilled team and constant innovation, we remain at the forefront of the industry.
5. Solutions: Our leading solutions, such as brake discs, bearing housings, gearbox housings and stator housings, ensure exceptional quality and reliability.

At the fair we presented ourselves as an innovative company that follows the latest technological trends and actively shapes the future of mobility while caring for the environment every step of the way.

Much credit for our success at the fair goes to the slovenian companies involved in organizing the event. Proevent provided excellent booth design and construction, Studio Virc contributed a new corporate film that effectively showcased our vision and Jezeršek provided outstanding catering.

We thank everyone involved, who contributed to our success at InnoTrans 2024!

2nd Kovis Sports Games: Sporting spirit and unforgettable moments

On Saturday, September 7, 2024, the 2nd Kovis Sports Games took place at the Lipa Sports Park in Štore, bringing together employees from Kovis, Kovis Foundry, and Kovis Transport. 

The event demonstrated that sports are not only an opportunity for competition but also a way for employees to collaborate, relax, and strengthen their relationships. The Kovis Sports Games were started with the desire to foster closer connections among employees, promote a healthy lifestyle, and create enjoyable moments outside the usual work obligations.

At the opening of the Sports Games, we were greeted by Alen Šinko, director of Kovis, and Jerica Vranc, director of Kovis Foundry, who officially announced the start of the enjoyable sports gathering. After a collective warm-up, colleagues competed in four sports disciplines: football, basketball, tennis and volleyball. All teams showed great determination, creating a true sporting spectacle. Other attendees participated in a hike to Celjska Koča or joined a health promotion workshop.

The highlight of the day was the tug-of-war competition, where four teams competed in intense battles. 

After the competitions, the awarding of prizes, and pleasant socializing, it was clear that the games had once again exceeded expectations. We believe this tradition will continue to grow, connecting generations of employees and strengthening their loyalty to the company, health and physical activity.

Photo: Maja Škrbinek

Video production with drone: Jan Pudič 

At the Innovation Day 2024, held on September 10, 2024, the company Kovis once again achieved a significant success with the innovation of the XNET brake disc for high-speed trains, for which it received the national silver award for innovation from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS).
The award recognizes an outstanding achievement in the development of braking systems for railway transport. The XNET brake disc for high-speed trains is crucial for improving the safety and performance of trains that reach very high speeds, placing Kovis at the forefront of technological progress in this field.
The award was accepted by innovators David Deržič and Uroš Grivc. Through their work, Kovis has once again proven that it is a leading company in the development of advanced solutions for the railway industry.
At this year’s ceremony, the 22nd in a row, GZS, under the slogan “We Chose Sustainability,” presented a total of 10 gold, 24 silver, and 12 bronze awards, along with 1 special recognition for an innovation challenge.

Congratulations to all the award recipients! 

On June 10, 2024, the Regional Chamber of Commerce GZS Posavje/Krško, awarded the best innovations in the Posavje region. Four gold, eight silver, and four bronze awards were given, representing the efforts of eleven companies.

Kovis d.o.o. received a gold award for their innovation “XNET wheel brake disc for high-speed trains (350 km/h).” Innovators Uroš Grivc and David Deržič developed a technologically advanced brake disc featuring a newly developed free floating bolt that attaches the brake disc to the train wheel. The XNET cooling design reduces ventilation losses and saves energy, contributing to sustainable development.

The gold award winners will compete for national awards at the Innovation Day 2024, which will be held on September 10 at Brdo pri Kranju.

Congratulations to all the winners!

On Thursday, April 18, 2024, we successfully conducted a fire drill at KOVIS d.o.o.  in cooperation with the Brežice Fire Department.

The main objective of the drill was to check the readiness of employees in the event of a fire and to evaluate the effectiveness and coordination of our fire safety plan. We simulated an emergency – a fire in the packaging area and the evacuation of employees from the production and administrative areas of the company.

The employees responded quickly and effectively, following the evacuation instructions. The evacuation proceeded smoothly and without incidents, allowing for the safe evacuation of all employees to the assembly point, the parking lot in front of the company.

The Brežice Fire Department successfully carried out also a fire-fighting operation, contributing to the success of the drill.

Following the completion of the evacuation, a practical demonstration of fire extinguishing with fire extinguishers followed. Each employee had the opportunity to extinguish a small fire and use a fire extinguisher.

At KOVIS d.o.o., we are committed to providing a safe working environment for our employees and visitors. Therefore, conducting fire drills is important to be prepared for potential emergencies and to maintain high safety standards.

Project Description:

Within the framework of the development project, the consortium partners, companies Kovis d.o.o. and Kovis Foundry d.o.o., will develop a wheel-mounted brake disc and a metal pallet for adapted brake disc logistics. The innovation is intended for use in rail vehicles reaching speeds of over 200 km/h.

Project Objectives:

Kovis: The main objective of the project is the development of an innovative technical solution at a global level – a wheel brake disc (KZD) for high-speed train traffic (speeds above 200 km/h). This disc will also include a completely newly developed dynamically loaded screw, which will serve as part of the system for attaching the brake disc to the train wheel.

Kovis Foundry: The project focuses on the development and production of special metal pallets that serve the adapted logistics and storage of wheel brake discs (KZD) for rail traffic.

The investment is funded by the EU and is part of the measures of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (NOO), which forms the basis for the use of funds from the NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.

Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Recovery and Resilience: www.noo.gov.si

 and the portal www.evropskasredstva.si.

On Monday, December 18, 2023, we once again managed to conjure up a magical afternoon and held another Christmas event in Kovis. The Youth Center Brežice welcomed 82 children aged between 0 and 10, their parents and older siblings with a magical photo corner, a creative workshop and a real Christmas feast. Katka the Elf painted and assembled the reindeer together with the children in the creative workshop, and then invited them to the hall to watch the educational festive show “The Best Job in the World”.

When Katka Škratka, together with the children, finally found the bell, they used it to summon Santa Claus, for whom everyone had been eagerly waiting. Katka the Elf called each child by name and Santa gave them a present and smiled with them at the photographer who immortalized this magical moment. Santa promised to see you again next year!

On Saturday, September 9th, 2023, the first Kovis sports games and a meeting of the companies Kovis, Kovis foundry and Kovis transport took place in the Lipa Sports Park in Štore.

In the Kovis companies, we not only promote business excellence, but also being active and a healthy lifestyle. The idea of Kovis sports games was born from this philosophy. It is a day that combines a sports competition, entertainment and an opportunity for connecting between colleagues and companies.

As part of health promotion, all participants in the sports games were able to measure their blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

Before starting the competition, all the meeting participants were welcomed by the the director of the Kovis foundry, Jerica Vranc.

The morning warm-up provided a great start to the day. Although the purpose of the event was primarily socializing and recreation, a competitive part was also held as part of the meeting; competitors competed in football, basketball, volleyball, and tennis. In the meantime, hikers went to the Old Castle of Celje, where they enjoyed historical glimpses and a wonderful view.

At the end of the competition, there was also an extremely tense tug-of-war, whichwas won by the team from Kovis.

After a delicious lunch, a lucky draw was organized for the participants of the games, which brought laughter, joy and rich prizes contributed by our business partners.

We ended the day with the awarding of trophies for the best and with a pleasant gathering with colleagues.

The first Kovis sports games successfully opened the door to the tradition of sports bonding and fun. We look forward to future events where we will continue to build the connection between sport and socializing together and create unforgettable moments.

Video production and photos with drone: Žan Vengust 

Photo: Blaž Smeh