The winners were chosen for their companies' results, according to the GZS. On average, the combined value added of their companies went up by 7.4% over the past five years, which was about 60% faster than the economy at large.

"They could be described as companies with above-average productivity, are resolute exporters, they do not have debt, invest in employees, pay salaries that are above average in their respective industries, and care about the future," according to GZS director general Sonja Šmuc.

"They invest about 7% of revenue in investment, which is 40% more than average," she added.

Peter Kosin, the CEO of Inea, believes the company is a good example of applying research findings to the market. He underlined the importance of nurturing values such as honesty, hard work and loyalty.

Rok Barbič of Stilles expressed grievance that the company has flourished furnishing hotels abroad but failed to get a foot in the door in Slovenia. He hopes that things will change once major tourism players are privatised.

Tomaž Berginc of Eti Elektroelement said that a key success for his company was that it developed into an international group with 12 subsidiaries. It has 27 patents registered in Europe and all of its products were developed by its team.

Rudolf Horvat of Saubermacher said that the company started out focusing exclusively on municipal waste management services. Today, this accounts for only 20% of its operations. The rest of its business is based on cooperation with industrial companies.

Srečko Jesenek of the namesake print shop said that his company generated EUR 900,000 in value added per employee annually. Focusing on export, the company has about 50 clients in 30 countries.

Dušan Olaj of Duol believes the company is a pioneer in new technologies. "This is a typical case of a garage, family-owned company" that made it big. "We have built some 1,600 constructions all around the world... Today we are partners with the European Space Agency and NASA in developing habitats for Mars and space data technologies."