Strong political, cultural, and business ties between Czechs and Slovenians were cut off in the second half of the 20th century. Nowadays trade and investment flow slowly, yet surely showing strong signs of growth once again.
Slovenians and Czech lived in the same state for centuries, the Hapsburg Empire. The Slavic nations used to be intricately connected. Joseph Ressel, the inventor of the ship propeller, did his first experiments in Slovenia. Slovenian architect Jožef Plečnik led the restoration and modification of the Prague Castle. Czech investors were essential for the industrialization of Slovenia, with their involvement in the textile industry in Kranj and Maribor, in the chemical industry (Tovarna dušika Ruše), in food processing (Kolinska) and banking.
These close ties were almost completely severed by the iron curtain. Nowadays trade and investment flows are slow, but surely growing once again. The largest printing paper manufacturer in the region, Vipap, was acquired by the Czech state in 2008. Last year, the Czech government managed to sell its stake in Vipap to holding company RIDG, owned by Czech private investors. In approximately the same time, Czech Energo Pro Group acquired Litostroj Power, the world’s leading producer of equipment for hydropower plants. Kranj based rubber company Savatech was bought by Czech ČGS group – which was soon after taken over by the Swedish Trelleborg. In 2015, Czech soft drink company Kofola bought Radenska, a 150-year old Slovenian mineral water brand. In late 2019, the media reported that a stake in Slovenian railways may be bought by EPH, a large energy and logistics group controlled by the billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Kretinsky already owns a 13 percent share of Slovenia’s largest company, fuel trader Petrol.
It seems that Slovenians are a bit less active on the Czech market. Gorenje bought established Czech home appliances manufacturer Mora Moravia in 2005. Czech Rembrandtin became part of Slovenian coating and paint group Helios in 2009. Both companies are now owned by Asian corporations, Gorenje by Chinese Hisense, and Helios by Japanese Kansai Paint.
Trade between the Czech Republic and Slovenia is steadily increasing. In 2014 it reached 1 billion euros. Last year the value surpassed 1.5 billion. Despite these positive movements it is sure that the opportunities for cooperation are far from being exhausted. The nations share not only their history but also many cultural similarities. This cultural closeness makes an excellent foundation for successful business cooperation. To find proof of this we need not look more than a century into the past.
