Marko Lotrič, CEO and founder of the internationally established group LOTRIČ Metrology, started his independent career by opening a workshop for calibrating scales, weights and pipettes. Today the group brings together more than 110 experts in the field of metrology, who are employed in six countries.

In addition to the main company, LOTRIČ Metrology, which right from the beginning has operated from the Selška Valley in Slovenia – in Kranj to be precise – there are the subsidiaries LOTRIČ Certificiranje and Iskra LOTRIČ in Podnart. The subsidiaries operate in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Austria, where accredited laboratories are set up.

All in one
The company is one of the leading providers of "all in one" metrology solutions. This means that it covers 95 percent of the metrology needs of the majority of its customers, and selects and represents 30 manufacturers of the highest quality metrology systems.

EXACTUM measures everything that can be measured
EXACTUM is a smart system for full automation and automatic control, the fruit of the knowledge and work of the expert group at LOTRIČ Metrology. It is an innovative measurement system that improves working processes in industry, healthcare, laboratories, warehouses, greenhouses, and galleries, in transport and anywhere requiring controlled conditions. It is an investment in quality that eases work and ensures security and comfort.

As the company explains: "This is a systemic solution that uses uninterrupted online measurements to control the most diverse parameters such as temperature, moisture, pressure, lighting, air flow, meteorological parameters and the content of volatile substances in the air. The option of remote control enables access to results gathered together in one place and the monitoring of measurements in real time. In the event of the set limit values of parameters being exceeded, EXACTUM triggers an alarm via e-mail or text message that enables a timely response and rapid action. This advanced system also offers the possibility of automatically saving and generating reports and graph printouts, and thus reviewing the measurement history and critical events."

The EXACTUM systemic solution currently provides optimal conditions in 10 different countries. "We have 23 extremely satisfied partners and 954 measuring locations. In this our organisation is helped by the international standing of the LOTRIČ Metrology group. With certificates in 36 countries and a QNET network of international partners, the company provides services within the CEE region and beyond." The firm’s references now include more than 12,400 companies.

Quality, excellence, growth
Without doubt, LOTRIČ Meroslovje (LOTRIČ Metrology) can be described as one of those Slovenian companies that are synonymous with quality and excellence. They operate in compliance with the ISO 17025 and ISO 17020 standards and the EFQM model of excellence. In 2012 they received the highest national recognition for business excellence, and a European 5–STAR Recognition Award for excellence. In the same year, they also received national recognition in the form of a bronze Gazela.

The secret of their success lies in part in collaboration and connections. They collaborate with 16 research institutes and universities, and have four registered patents as a result of this. They are co-founders of NELA, a central development centre for the electrical and electronics industries. Working together with the Jožef Štefan Institute, in 2011 the firm completed the project for an Intelligent System of Laboratories in Healthcare – iLAB – which won a TARAS prize, an award for the most successful collaboration between the business sector and academic research environment in the area of innovation, development and technology.

Growth is the shared aim of all employees, and the company is also aware of the important role of the individual in this process. "In creating the common story of a successful firm, the role of the individual working for the good of all is extremely important. We encourage the constant personal development of work colleagues and open up various possibilities for them to be innovative. We have a clearly formulated plan to promote health in the work place and we hold a full Family-Friendly Company certificate. We also devote much attention to our common values and shared links."

Growth is the foundation of everything the firm does, and, in contrast to many Slovenian companies, interest in working with them is growing. "Last year we were joined by more than 10 new colleagues, including a female graduate microbiologist and graduate electrical engineer, a woman graduating in health, two masters of mechanical engineering, a woman graduating in social studies, a female doctor of science in the field of biomedicine, and still more we could list."

LOTRIČ Metrology are also planning to recruit more staff this year. "Given the trend for the development of services and products that we have mapped out as part of the company strategy up to 2020, we will employ in particular new colleagues with knowledge of mechatronics, electrical and mechanical engineering and bioscience in connection with information and communication technologies (ICT). We will increasingly need knowledge in the area of biochemistry, where all activities in the future will be linked to ICT support and the programming and automation of processes that are part of Industry 4.0."

Story of the Little Prince
Often the firm are asked about the secret of their success. They respond with the story of the Little Prince: "The story features a fox who teaches the Prince that he must look with his heart, because the essence is invisible to the eye. But the essence of LOTRIČ Metrology is very visible. The essence is us, the people. Who love to do what we do. And we create with love."

Sparkles in their eyes
The driving force behind LOTRIČ Metrology’s development is their own innovations and culture of excellence, which ensure the company is often first on the market with new features, and that they offer customers superlative and reliable measurements. But as they themselves point out, the biggest secret of their success is their love of metrology. "Our systems, which exceed expectations, make our eyes sparkle. At each moment we are ready to tune in to challenges and help solve them. We know very well the importance of the product, the production process, the logistics and each link in the chain. We understand how demanding the market is. It is clear to us that the products and processes must be of the highest quality. An awareness of all this creates the values that we put into our collaboration."

They add: "Companies leave the responsibility for measurements to us. This then frees up resources for them to focus on their core activities and their dynamic development. After all, on the market it is not just growth that counts, but the speed of development. In the LOTRIČ Metrology group we believe that through our metrology solutions we are helping to accelerate their development. Our vision is – We measure, you grow."

Tanja Glogovčan, Sinfo