The company expects sales and profit growth to accelerate to 5% this year, director Igor Kastelic told the STA.

The company exports four-fifths of production, with Germany its biggest market followed by Switzerland, Austria and Hungary.

Modular buildings account for roughly two-thirds of the output, with demand for containers, which used to be its primary product, declining in recent years.

In Germany, Rem has shifted its focus on modular buildings such as kindergartens and schools, and it has started carving out a market for itself for low-energy modular buildings, according to Kastelic.

The company also plans to expand to France and strengthen its presence in the UK, with Kastelic noting that Brexit will require additional sales efforts there.

The company had 175 full-time employees and 50 agency workers at the end of February. By the end of next year it plans to increase the full-time workforce to 210.

The hiring depends on the launch of a new production facility at the Trebnje industrial zone, which is already under construction. It is scheduled for completion in January 2019.

The entire investment is valued at EUR 16m, with the company counting on an Economy Ministry grant to support its expansion.