At the beginning of June, the awards for best innovations by regions were presented as a part of the call by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS) for proposals for innovations 2019. TPV Group participated in the call for proposals in three regions where it also operates – the Štajerska, the Posavje and the Dolenjska-Belokranjska region. TPV Group received 7 awards in total; 2 golden, 4 silver and 1 bronze and 31 individual innovators participated in the award-winning innovations.

The following innovations received GOLDEN AWARDS for innovation of The Dolenjska and Bela Krajina Chamber of Commerce (GZDBK):

• “Smart factory module for automatic removal of products from KTL hangers with automatic quality control of products after the operation of adding KTL surface protection”, by innovators Mišo Pereško, Domen Murn, Miran Ferenčak, Jernej Knežič, Aleš Hribar, Tatjana Lamovšek, Aleš Mohorčič, Andrija Puškaš from the Croatian company Pro EL and assistant professor Drago Bračun, PhD, from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Ljubljana. The innovation has also ranked on a national level!

Description of the innovation:
With the aim of continuous improvements to increase productivity, improving quality, ergonomics, safety, reducing labor costs and aiming at the 4.0. industry, we developed a module of smart factory to strip products from KTL hangers with automatic quality control after KTL surface protection. With the innovative solution, we combined all the necessary operations into one. A sophisticated and advanced technological solution replaced the operator’s repeatable movements which consequently occur while working with high-volume products and subjective evaluation of checkpoints.

• “Development of optimal leakage of surface protection medium by changing the design of the product and improving the work process using an innovative welding cell” by innovative authors Miha Končar, Boštjan Piletič, Dario Novak, Marko Redenšek, Marko Malnarič and Ines Rajkovič.

Description of the innovation:
The innovative product design extends the life expectancy of the product itself, reduces the possibility of the failure of the vehicle’s safety system and contributes to a smaller CO2 footprint of the product. The new sleeve design solves the problem of (non) leakage of the surface protection medium, resulting in stagnation, excessive application, and consequent loss of surface protection. The process of innovation is based on an innovative robotic welding cell design combining the classic two-cell design with two robots into one. While eliminating the need for manual manipulation and table rotation, we save on the cost, space and time of the product production. 

The following innovations received SILVER AWARDS:

• “Innovative Design of a Polymer Element for Preventing Fatigue Damage to the Fuel Tank Attachment Belt” handed by The Dolenjska and Bela Krajina Chamber of Commerce (GZDBK). The authors of the innovation are David Stušek, Vili Malnarič, Rajko Marinčič, Jurij Švegelj and Vladimir Anžlovar.

Description of the innovation:
One of the leading truck manufacturers has approached the TPV and the SiEVA research and development teams in order to solve the breakdown of the fuel tank mounting straps of their trucks. The problem caused great concerns to the manufacturer and even higher costs of recalling inappropriate vehicles, as the lane could break due to the rupture of the fuel tank. This would lead to an unprecedented problem: the possibility of causing a serious traffic accident and even an ecological disaster could result in the leakage of more than 100 liters of oil. The buyer intended to solve the problem by stripping the tape or replacing the material with a more solid one, which is not in line with the principles of “lightweight construction” in the automotive industry. The group of innovators developed an intermediate element that effectively prevents the attachment belt from breaking, increase only minimal weight of the assembly and is financially extremely acceptable for the customer.

• “Automation of operating the KTL entrance with AGV” by an innovation team composed of Mišo Pereška, Domen Murn, Franci Košiček, Zdravko Bučar and Aleš Gričar.

Description of the innovation:
The purpose of the innovation is to improve and automate the KTL process by operating automated guided vehicles (AGVs). The goals of the innovation are to shorten the manipulation time of the KTL input material, introduce “micro” planning of the KTL line, and ensure 100% traceability of the material throughout the KTL process (input – manipulation – transfer – KTL protection – output). In general, the KTL process is divided into smaller process assemblies (material / order / stock / manipulation unit). The current KTL process is “extended” to previous operations (welding, hanging) and is completed after packaging. Each level has a material ID and a stock that is executed through production orders, and in between there is a performance of supply / consumption / acceptance.

 

• silver recognition by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Posavje region for the innovation “Autonomous control of the suitability of the thrust lever with seat adjustment function” by authors Mišo Pereško, Veljko Goleš, Uroš Brinc and Domen Murn. The innovation has also ranked on a national level!

Description of the innovation:
In the automated process of product control, we control the quality of varnishing with the machine vision technology. The central part of the line is represented by an industrial camera with a user interface, where we set parameters or control criterias. The camera captures the outer surface of the tube and displays a developed image with located defects at the interface. A test of the internal geometry of the tube is carried out at the exit of the line following the principles of gravity and the system with go – no go gauges. The device places the appropriate tubes in the final packaging or, in case of error, in the ejection bin, according to the information in the control section. Errors are divided into visual surface errors and transient errors (gravity test). The automated packaging assembly of the machine is performed with an empty packaging dispenser in which the system folds automatically the exact number of finished products and then transports the full packaging unit to the operator at the end of the line.

• silver recognition by the Štajerska region Chamber of Commerce for innovation “Development of a family of caravans for dog transportation”. The authors of the innovation are: Željko Šekuljica, Aleksander Karlovčec, Anita Leben, Peter Hajdinjak and Sandi Kramberger.

Description of the innovation:
On the market, there are many strictly dedicated products that do not fully suit the requirements and wishes of consumers due to changeability of consumer’s habits and trends in the direction of modularity, universality and widespread use of the product. Keeping up with the wishes of our customers, TPV Prikolice developed a universal caravan trailer which is primarily designed for dogs transportation, as all necessary standards and recommendations have been followed. Only with minor interventions (removal of barriers), the trailer gains general use and the possibility of transporting different loads.

 

BRONZE award of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Posavje region for the innovation “Manufacturing and installation of smart ejector of NOK pieces on sheet metal forming tool”, by authors Marko Pečarič, Anton Draginc, Miroslav Kuharič and Rudi Crnić.

Description of the innovation:
The TPV Group developed a system for smart ejector of inappropriate pieces, which captures information from the press and tool, and automatically eliminates inappropriate pieces via pneumatic system, smart flaps, sensors and controller. Innovation represents a complete solution that prevents the passage of inappropriate pieces with missing bushings, rivets, nuts, pins, screws and threaded threads. The innovation fully automates the process of checking and ejecting pieces and eliminates the need for an operator.

 

TPV is a company aimed at development and progress since the very beginning. We are aware that only new challenges can bring changes

Anton Podbevšek, the most prominent protagonist of the Novo mesto spring, a unique and bold initiator of the Slovenian avant-garde movement, and a model of Slovenian modernists, who introduced a lot of radical novelties on the Slovenian literary scene.

During a recent pulling down of a house in Ljubljana, they accidentally found the original copy of a literary rarity, a collection of poems A Man with Bombs annotated by Podbevšek, and typescripts of a corrected edition which was never published, and TPV at their 30th anniversary of operations and upcoming 100th anniversary of the Novo mesto spring decided to help to return it back to Novo mesto in cooperation with the Miran Jarc Library.

Returning the collection to the city of Novo mesto is an important act towards preserving cultural heritage on both local and national level as it has made it available to citizens of Novo mesto and other interested public in both physical and digital form.

The literary collection along with some other rarities from Podbevšek’s heritage will be offered to the citizens of Novo mesto by Marko Gorjup, M.Sc., the president – Director of TPV Group, and on behalf of the citizens received by the Mayor of the Municipality of Novo mesto, Gregor Macedoni. The collection will find its place in special collections held in the library in Novo mesto.

The ceremony of handing the collection followed by a rich cultural musical program will be held on Wednesday, 5 June 2019, at 18:00 in the atrium of Miran Jarc Library in Novo mesto. Admission free.

Most warmly invited!

Yesterday, representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, led by Minister Zdravko Počivalšek, visited the TPV Group in Novo mesto. The TPV Group is one of the leading development suppliers in the automotive industry, which develops products for the most demanding premium car manufacturers that have a significant impact on driving dynamics, safety and driving comfort
The management of TPV presented to the guests the achievements in the past year emphasizing newly acquired deals. They also presented the planned projects and future development plans of the company. By developing their own solutions for smart factories, TPV is also one of the main players in the field of automation and robotization. Therefore, representatives of the Ministry have also been interested in highly automated production processes at one of TPV’s business units.

Minister Počivalšek expressed his satisfaction with the visit and congratulated the management of TPV for their achievements.

 

 

ABOUT TPV GROUP:

TPV Group is one of the leading development suppliers operating on the global market of automotive industry. Their core activity, whose main driver is the company TPV d.o.o., is development and production of different components for automotive industry, such as body and chassis assemblies, car seat components and parts, and engine gaskets. Moreover, they develop and provide comprehensive solutions for production logistics management, where the automated guided vehicles, which are result of their own development, are one of the key products. The company is located in five sites in Slovenia– Novo mesto, Brežice, Suhor, Velika Loka and Ptuj – and one site in Kragujevac, Serbia. Due to the needs of customers, they intend to extend their production processes to new markets in the following years.
They are globally recognized as a development and pre-development supplier in the automotive industry. Their development services are purchased by most demanding OEMs for their premium brands like BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Land Rover, Renault etc. TPV develops products which have a significant impact on the driving dynamics, safety, ecology and driving comfort.

The TPV Group is besides TPV d.o.o. composed of TPV Prikolice d.o.o., TPV Avto d.o.o. and TPV Šumadija d.o.o,, extending their field of operation to sales of new and used cars, program of comprehensive services for car users and program of light car trailers. The latter are developed and produced jointly with the German partner Böckmann. TPV is also one of the partners in the development company called SiEVA, who develops technological competencies and takes part in various research projects.

 

This year, company TPV celebrates its 30th anniversary, which made the programme of the 6th Day of Innovation of TPV Group, the event where TPV Group presents their innovative activities and achievements of the previous year and points out the trends and novelties in this field, particularly rich. At this opportunity, TPV launched their own open platform called  TPV Innovation Station to acquire new ideas and connect with external partners.   

Mr. Marko Gorjup, MSc, Director – President of the Management TPV d.o.o., held the opening speech, where he stressed the decisive role the innovations play in ensuring competitiveness to companies, and by saying »when the innovative minds unite, the ideas do not only add up, but also multiply« he pointed out the need to open and cooperate in this field to the greatest extent possible. In TPV they are aware of this so they have been systematically developing, promoting and remunerating innovations at all levels of operations involving all employees for many years now. As of today, their innovation system is opening outwards by launching a new platform called TPV Innovation Station and inviting organisations and individuals to create together the mobility of the future.

The idea of connecting and opening was supported also by the main speaker at the event, dr. Johannes Reindl, Head of Strategy and Processes Innovation Management, Purchasing, BMW Group, who in his lecture demonstrated the impact of innovations on changes in the automotive industry and the way BMW addresses this area.

The presentation was followed by a round table discussion on  »Innovative platform and open innovation« with  dr. Johannes Reindl, BMW Group, prof. dr. Marko Munih, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, and prof. dr. Marko Jaklič, Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana. Under the guidance of  Krunoslav Šimrak, Director of Research and Development in TPV, the participants explained in more details the advantages and possible ways of cooperating and connecting in the field of innovation, and opening companies outwards. With an exciting launch of space shuttle, the conclusion of the round table transformed into the birth of TPV open platform for innovation called  TPV Innovation Station. It represents the ground for the innovative ecological system  involving all employees, external partners – faculties, institutes, startup companies, incubators, TPV’s OEM customers, suppliers, etc… – and innovative students, and other individuals who will be in this way given the environment to have their ideas matured and help to make their dreams come true.

Innovativeness is strongly involved in all work processes and mindset of employees in TPV Group. Since they established an effective process of acquiring, encouraging, evaluating and implementing new ideas in 2007, they have received over 13.000 innovative proposals. What is particularly exciting is that the number of submitted proposals is increasing every year and that all employees, not only individuals,  are taking active part in this. Last year they submitted over 3.000 innovative ideas. Furthermore, the number of team innovations has increased as well, which is especially optimistic as innovativeness is based right on cooperation and team spirit.

Among the innovative ideas, the Innovation Committee traditionally selects the most valuable proposal submitted by an individual and a team who receive an additional award. At the ceremony, the recognitions and awards for the best innovative ideas  were conferred by the director – president of management, Mr. Marko Gorjup and the director – member of management, Mr. Ivan Erenda.  According to the Innovation Committee, Predrag Vučinić was the most impressive innovator with the innovative proposal called »Manufacturing of a welding tool for resistance welding on the Daimler project«. The award for the most valuable team innovation was conferred to Blaž Stare, Mišo Pereško, Veljko Goleš, Alen Černelč, Boris Antolovič, Peter Pšeničnik and Jože Gramc  for their innovation called »Smart machine – cardboard box assembler with cardboard storage«. Both awarded innovations follow the company’s guidelines and support the company’s vision »Connecting innovative solutions« for they have been implemented in cooperation with at least two business units within the company and are directed towards the automation, search for breakthrough ideas and optimisation of existing processes. They have both contributed to increasing the company’s competitiveness, winning new deals, achieving higher productivity, and improving work ergonomics.

In accordance with strategic guidelines adopted by TPV Group, the further education of employees is besides the innovation system also part of  the incentive plan. Therefore, Mr. Marko Gorjup and Mrs. Martina Brec, the HR director, granted recognitions to all employees who finished their education last year:  Edvin Jankovič, Davorin  Cimermančič, Nino Švab, Matic Muc, Jernej Knežič, Nenad Rađenović, Davor Novak and Boris Menič. 

Increase in employees knowledge by learning, researching and exchanging knowledge enhances the competencies of individuals and company. With a view to encouraging such activities TPV has been for many years announcing the call for the Martin Sever Award for the best research thesis, graduate thesis, master thesis, doctoral dissertations, paper thesis and articles relating to the theme of the call. The award for the best master thesis was conferred by  Mr. Marko Gorjup and Vladimir Gregor Bahč, the procurator of  TPV Group to Boris Menič for the thesis »Estimating durability of dynamically loaded weld joints with anticorrosion protection« (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana).

As every year, TPV was innovative also in the way of passing the awards – this year they were delivered by a space shuttle which is the result of their own development.

The event was in an innovative way spiced up by musicians Anina Trobec and Joseph Wheba, who, especially for this occasion, played an innovative instrument made from parts TPV manufactures for the most demanding car manufacturers. 

A proof that TPV’s care for innovativeness is not fruitless and that with the growth in number of submitted proposals their quality grows too, are also 8 innovation awards TPV received last year: a gold recognition and award for the best innovation of people’s choice conferred by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Dolenjska and Bela krajina Region,  two gold and one silver recognition for innovation by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Dolenjska and Bela krajina Region, a gold and bronze recognition by the Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Posavje Region, and a silver recognition by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Štajerska Region. In future, the company is going to focus their innovative strength even more intensively on the area of automation and robotization, digitization, cloud management, and innovation platform.

 

ABOUT TPV GROUP:

TPV Group is one of the leading development suppliers operating on the global market of automotive industry. Their core activity, whose main driver is the company TPV d.o.o., is development and production of different components for automotive industry, such as body and chassis assemblies, car seat components and parts, and engine gaskets. Moreover, they develop and provide comprehensive solutions for production logistics management, where the automated guided vehicles, which are result of their own development, are one of the key products. The company is located in five sites in Slovenia– Novo mesto, Brežice, Suhor, Velika Loka and Ptuj – and one site in Kragujevac, Serbia. Due to the needs of customers, they intend to extend their production processes to new markets in the following years.
They are globally recognized as a development and pre-development supplier in the automotive industry. Their development services are purchased by most demanding OEMs for their premium brands like BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Land Rover, Renault etc. TPV develops products which have a significant impact on the driving dynamics, safety, ecology and driving comfort.
The TPV Group is besides TPV d.o.o. composed of TPV Prikolice d.o.o., TPV Avto d.o.o. and TPV Šumadija d.o.o,, extending their field of operation to sales of new and used cars, program of comprehensive services for car users and program of light car trailers. The latter are developed and produced jointly with the German partner Böckmann. TPV is also one of the partners in the development company called SiEVA, who develops technological competencies and takes part in various research projects.

TPV Group revenue:   153 mio € (2017)

Employees: 1.205 (2017)

TPV consolidates its path towards the world’s top suppliers in the automotive industry. In addition to the historic deal with BMW, this year TPV also achieved a remarkable succes on the market with the premium car manufacturer Volvo Cars.

The acquired deals include the development and production of structural chassis and automobile bodywork with the function of supporting and protecting the electric power. This way TPV enters the field of electric vehicles even more intensively and becomes one of the key suppliers of Volvo Cars in the field of electrification, which is one of the main trends in the automotive industry. More precisely TPV is penetrating into the segment of aluminium products, introducing a range of new  most advanced technologies.

The obtained projects are the result of a systematic approach to the development of the market and will consequently strenghten the market position of TPV in the coming years. These projects represent a great potential for the development of the TPV Group on global markets, as well as the expansion of existing production sites in Slovenia. TPV is planning to create more than 100 new jobs and expansion of production capacities designed as smart factories.

According to Marko Gorjup, director – president of the management, “this year TPV has achieved a record year in terms of volume of new-found businesses which represents an excellent companionship for the future. By strenthening trust and winning such important deals from leading premium manufacturers such as BMW and Volvo Cars, we strengthen our position as key development supplier in the automotive industry. I am proud of my colleagues doing exceptional work and constantly demonstrating our excellence and creating the mobility of the future by developing product for the world’s best-quality vehicles.” 

Strategic cooperation with Volvo Cars represents an enormous potential for increasing the volume of operations in all key global markets where TPV appears and “… is a confirmation of the globalization strategy of the TPV Group with planned penetration in the US and China”, added Gorjup.

ABOUT TPV GROUP:
TPV Group is one of the leading development suppliers operating on the global market of automotive industry. Their core activity, whose main driver is the company TPV d.o.o., is development and production of different components for automotive industry, such as body and chassis assemblies, car seat components and parts, and engine gaskets. Moreover, they develop and provide comprehensive solutions for production logistics management, where the automated guided vehicles, which are result of their own development, are one of the key products. The company is located in five sites in Slovenia– Novo mesto, Brežice, Suhor, Velika Loka and Ptuj  – and one site in Kragujevac, Serbia. They are globally recognized as a development and pre-development supplier in the automotive industry. Their development  services are purchased by most demanding OEMs for their premium  brands like BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Land Rover, Renault etc. TPV develops products which have a  significant impact on the driving dynamics, safety, ecology and driving comfort.
The TPV Group is besides TPV d.o.o. composed of TPV Prikolice d.o.o., TPV Avto d.o.o. and TPV Šumadija d.o.o,, extending their field of operation to sales of new and used cars, program of comprehensive services for car users and program of light car trailers. The latter are developed and produced jointly with the German partner Böckmann. TPV is also one of the partners in the development company called SiEVA, who develops technological competencies and takes part in various research projects.
TPV Group revenue:   153 mio € (2017)
Employees: 1.205 (2017)