The Slovenian subsidiary of the German BSH Home Appliances Group was one of the companies worst hit by the devastating floods a year ago. Its revenue was slashed by a quarter and profit by a fifth last year, but the company is now back to almost full production capacity.

Based in Nazarje in the Upper Savinja Valley, an area that was heavily flooded in August 2023, BSH Hišni Aparati employs some 1,400 workers.

They estimate the damage caused by the floods at more than €100 million. The figure includes both damage to property as well as loss of revenue, they told the Slovenian Press Agency.

The company generated €364 million in net revenue last year, 25% less than the year before, and net profit plummeted by 19% to €9.6 million.

After the floods, the company had two metres of water going through its plant and the staff had to face more than 30 centimetres of sludge, but they managed to salvage 70% of their equipment.

Currently 95% of the plant is operational, so production levels are comparable to those before the floods.

"Some parts of production are not yet fully automated since we do not have all the equipment yet. The equipment we have the most problems with is the most complex equipment, the one needed for coffee machine production."

They received state subsidies for furloughed workers. The furlough system was in place from September to the end of last year. During some of the months up to 600 workers were furloughed, but the company did not have to reduce the headcount due to the impact of the floods.

Since January this year, nearly 150 new staff have been recruited to increase production to maintain supply levels. They are looking to hire over 100 more.

They are planning to put out about 6.2 million home appliances this year, up from 4.3 million in 2023, and generate €460 million in turnover. They hope for the results to be back at the levels before the floods.

The company would like to build a replacement facility next to its central storehouse to move the most technologically advanced production processes there.

The plot they have selected is still designated as farmland and they are in talks with the local authorities to re-designate it. They hope to get the papers by the end of the year to start construction in mid-2025 in order to launch production at the new plant in 2027.