Tržič, a town at the foot of the Karawanks once known for its textile and shoemaking industries, has been redeveloping a former cotton mill to boost local business and provide opportunity to young people.

The cotton spinning and weaving plant (BPT), whose origins go back to 1885, closed down in 2004 after more than a hundred years in operation.

With the help of municipal funds and private initiative, the brownfield site began to be redeveloped in recent years to provide new business and housing premises.

One of the buildings in the complex has been renovated with the help of EU cohesion funds to serve as a business incubator to promote entrepreneurship and boost the local community's development.

The 900-square-metre facility was set up at the cost €1.8 million, €1.1 million of which was provided by the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development in the form of grants.

The incubator features offices, a meeting room, workshops with 3D printers and woodworking machines, and support facilities. It provides flexible workspace to entrepreneurs and innovators, and to people who work remotely.

The municipality says the facility will enable young entrepreneurs to realise their ideas in a stimulating environment by offering state-of-the-art premises, technological equipment and mentoring support.

Project to help keep young staff at home

Addressing the launch on 14 January, Minister of Cohesion and Regional Development Aleksander Jevšek said the incubator received funding aimed for border municipalities.

Young skilled staff from border regions in particular are leaving for better paid jobs in Austria and Italy, so Jevšek said it was the government's job to create the conditions to bring them back.

According to him, €11 million was invested in incubators in 2023 and 2024, with an additional €30 million to be available this year and the next for up to 13 incubators, mainly in underdeveloped border areas. He said the success rate of businesses created in incubators is 70-80%.

In the first years of operation, the Tržič Business Incubator aims to create at least ten new businesses and attain full occupancy.

Incubator part of bigger plan

This way the former cotton mill is becoming a hub for new business stories, innovative solutions and the creation of new jobs, with Mayor Peter Miklič pointing to a new impetus in the efforts to revitalise area.

"As if the incubator has sent some signals to private owners. For the last few months we have been in intensive talks about how to further develop the BPT area," he said.

"This project is not only an investment in infrastructure, but also in the future of Tržič as a dynamic and entrepreneurial community," the mayor added.

According to the project's website, the BPT complex will include accommodation, a cultural and museum area, a business area and a small shopping centre, where local producers will be given priority.

In cooperation with the municipality, the project is being led by BPT, the successor to the cotton mill and the owner of real estate and small hydro power stations that used to provide electricity for the mill.