Novo mesto’s charming old centre may resemble a sleepy fairytale from a postcard picture. In this case appearances deceive. The small town some sixty kilometres south of the capital is a key industrial center and the home of several of the largest Slovenian exporters.

Its most important industries are pharmaceutical and automotive. Novo mesto’s largest company is Krka: a pharmaceutical group with over 2 billion euros of revenues. Since 1973, French Renault has produced over 5 million cars in its Novo mesto Revoz factory. Now Renault plans to use Revoz to produce small electric cars, in particular the new Twingo e-tech model. Adria Mobil is one of “Europe’s leading companies in the recreational vehicle and mobile home markets”. Since 2017 Adria Mobil, with annual revenues of over 680 million euros, has been part of the French Trigano group. TPV Group focuses on automotive components and light trailers. The company employs over 1,100 people and has over 500 robots in its plants in Slovenia, Serbia, and China.

Novo mesto’s businesses tend to be more geared towards bricks than clicks and the city is home to fewer exciting start-ups than some other towns of similar size in Slovenia. This is not for lack of talent: Novo mesto is also an important national cultural and sports centre. Its exporting champions are among the nation’s most innovative companies and regularly receive regional and national innovation awards.