Among the most satisfied companies is the innovative furniture manufacturer Lina Design, which has showcased various pieces of furniture the visitors were able to test out for themselves.

"We are very satisfied with the presentation. Several buyers and traders have contacted us while it was taking place. We receive at least one inquiry every day for our showcased products," Damjan Uršič, the company's CEO, has told the STA.

Uršič has also commended the staff at the Slovenian Expo pavilion, who assisted in event management and in networking with representatives of other countries. "The Slovenian pavilion is lead by a competent, ambitious, and communicative team, which has gained a good reputation among other Expo exhibitors."

He hopes Slovenia will be able to make good use of the team's experiences and established contacts at future exhibition, since this was quite a problem in the past.

"Every new Expo team takes at least a month to get in tune with the business and protocol teams of the other countries. When it comes to Expo, every wasted day is a shame, let alone a whole month," Uršič said.

He noticed that more and more countries hire prominent advertising agencies to coordinate activities and visual identity of the pavilions. The agencies appoint their representatives who are then in charge of event management at the pavilion.

However, Expo is not a positive experience for everyone. Žito, a Slovenian food company, took the opportunity to promote their premium product, buckwheat bread with walnuts.

"We have prepared a 60-day tasting event and handed out promotional bags of buckwheat seeds to visitors with a printed link to our website in English and Italian, created especially to promote our bread at Expo," said Tevž Tavčar, Žito's marketing director.

The company was satisfied with the staff and support, but they believe that there was a shortage of interactive content and that much of the available space remained unused.

They believe that despite their efforts, their investment will not return. The exhibition is, in Tavčar's opinion, intended more for the "curious" visitors who do not have much to do with business.

Companies also have the opportunity to participate in numerous economic delegations. Representatives of the Planika milk company have, for instance, attended one organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS).

"We attended business meetings organised as part of the GZS delegation. We had a few productive discussions with Italian agents, who help establish contacts with potential buyers in Italy," said commercial director Miran Božič.

As cheese producer Tolminc, Planika has also attended a conference on products labelled with a protected designation of origin (PDO), which was organised by the European Commission.

Božič said this was a good opportunity for exchanging experiences and networking with other producers of PDO products, and added: "After two short visits, we can say that Slovenia's Expo organisation was satisfactory."