For the second year in a row, Trimo is participating in the Top Job Ambassador project in cooperation with the Finance newspaper. This time we present our exceptional team of Product Management and Marketing, which embodies in many ways our company value in knowledge, know-how, development and our vision through the eyes of our team, which built all of the above through work experience in Trimo, mentoring, participating in the most successful and demanding projects. Knowledge and experience that is unique to Trimo at key development points. We present teamwork, a team consisting of very different profiles, regardless of that, and because of that, a team that is well-coordinated, complementary, compatible and achieves above-average results in both personal career development and the development of Trimo. This is a team that promotes change, shapes it in the right direction and embodies Trimo as a trendsetter. You are kindly invited to read the article that was published in the Slovenian newspaper Finance https://topjob.finance.si/8969301. 

"When we compete for a building, a great second place doesn't count. We have to win globally." 

With Trimo's development, product management and marketing team on trends and development trends, adapting to Covid-19 conditions, teamwork and the diversity that gives them width. (Anja Zaletel) 

"Our jobs today did not exist in Trimo two years ago. Most of us have opened a new field and job profile in the company at least twice in the last six years,” says Brane Tisu, Director of Product Management and Marketing at Trimo.
 
Brane Tisu, Product management and marketing Director in TRIMO Group

Trimo's broader team for development, product management and marketing consists of 17 members, while the narrower team has seven - architects, mechanical engineers and construction engineers - who do not necessarily do the work they would expect at first glance given their education. “The future are open, hybrid profiles, who are eager to learn. I think no “school” exists today for what we will need in ten years, because everything is changing so fast. This is exactly the charm of our lives - adapting to changes," emphasizes Tisu, who at Trimo takes care of the preparation and implementation of the strategy for the development of new products. As he explains, he is primarily responsible for showing the big picture of where the company is and where it needs to go. It is precisely the diversity of team members, including their character, that gives them width in business, Tisu is convinced. “I think the approach of the team to work itself and to other colleagues is also extremely valuable. We have novelties on the table every day, but I’ve never heard of something that can’t be done. We pre-debate things and move on to the best proposal. We learn from each other and thus develop as individuals and as a team. "


They grow organically and adapt to change

Špela Lokar, Product Manager Trimoterm

They started working together in the technical support department more than six years ago, and today's team, according to Tisu, was formed organically based on the need for increasingly comprehensive solutions, which include strategic thinking, analytics, knowledge of materials, markets and design.

Špela Lokar joined Trimo more than a decade ago as a scholarship holder, and after working in the design department and in the field of building visualizations, she now works as a product manager for the Trimoterm family. As she says, she is building a flexible bridge between sales and customer support on one side, and development and marketing on the other.


Mitja Vovko, Technical Product Database Manager

Mitja Vovko started developing in Trimo, continued in various departments, and today he takes care of the product database. “This is a set of marketing and technical documents of the product portfolio that we create, maintain, store and distribute. An international McKinsey survey found that employees spend an average of two hours a day searching for data that they have lost or are no longer relevant. If we can reduce that number, that’s a big plus for the company. It is important that the people of Trimo are informed about the latest developments and are familiar with current technology. With this tool, information is always available to every employee, anywhere and anytime,” he explains. Due to the well-prepared base, they easily adapted to a different way of working at the outbreak of a coronavirus pandemic.

Matic Slanšek, Product Manager Qbiss

Matic Slanšek, Product Manager for Qbiss One and Qbiss Screen, also started as a Trimo scholarship holder, in a position that may be unusual for a construction engineer, in the supply engineering sector. "It was an unusual experience, but because of the environment, passing on knowledge and getting to know the colleagues, it turned out to be very good," he says. The path led him through technical support to today's profile, where, among other things, he makes sure that technical information about products is harmonized within the company and is reflected externally through marketing content, certification and publications.

 
Boštjan Černe, Head of Product Development

Head of Product Development at Trimo, Boštjan Černe, worked with the company during his postgraduate studies as a young researcher in business, later a doctoral student in the field of dynamic multidimensional heat transfer through panels. At Trimo, he then started working in development, in the field of research and development of materials and products. "The starting point for preparing our development plan is something we call a repository of ideas - it collects various proposals, ideas, innovations and needs for upgrades that come from employees, customers, broader trends or regulatory requirements," explains Černe, who is currently mainly concerned with the development of sustainable products, energy efficiency in buildings and building physics.


Communication: digital channels and innovative approaches

Mojca Šavnik, Head of Marketing

Communication is managed by Mojca Šavnik, head of marketing. As an architect, she used to be the one addressed by the construction industry, but now she is in the opposite role. “Today’s and tomorrow’s marketing challenges are a reflection of a technologically exponentially evolving world, breaking down some communication barriers. We believe that many of the answers lie in innovative approaches in digital marketing, so we pay a lot of attention to it,” she explains. Digital channels are even more crucial today due to the current circumstances. “Things have definitely changed. Whereas previously we focused on trade fair presentations, now everyone in the industry is moving to digital platforms, online trade fairs and webinars. In international markets, we strive to go beyond traditional methods of dealing with potential customers and deliver a relevant message that would arouse interest and, of course, most importantly, an action response. "

"During this time, we want to treat our customers in a personalized way, focus on them, get to know them and address them," adds Špela Lokar. "One such idea is interactive coffee, to which we will soon invite them, talk to them, exchange ideas and projects."


Marko Rožman, Qbiss Brand Promotor

Marko Rožman was the last to join the team this year, as a promotor of the Qbiss brand, responsible for the strategic development of markets. It is Trimo's premium product, in sales of which they want to make a bigger leap. "I came to the company without many years of experience and acquaintances, knowledge and energy were most important. Here they really recognize young potentials and enable them to develop, " he emphasizes.


What they develop …

“In 1987, the world’s first mineral wool sandwich panels were made on this site on a continuous line. At the company, we make sure that we are leaders in our field and that our solutions are a technological standard, ”emphasizes Tisu. Among Trimo's past achievements, Rožman emphasizes the early introduction of BIM libraries, in which all parameters and data on products that can be viewed and operated in 3D programs are stored in digital form. The first libraries were developed in 2012, well ahead of many competitors, and now they are constantly upgrading them with new products, says Rožman.

The team also recently prepared a catalog for Qbiss One, in which they described in detail the system, its functions and guidelines for presentation to customers. “The book was created in response to recurring questions about the product. We now have a base from which to draw, and people do not waste time searching for data, "says Slanšek. According to Tisu, the catalog is the only one of its kind in the industry and has significantly reduced the number of requests for technical support. Because it has been well received, similar books are now being developed for other products as well.

"We do not sell finished products, such as buying a watch in a store, but we adjust them for each customer separately," emphasizes Lokar. "This year, we therefore focused on individual building segments and developed a product formula that can respond to demand quickly, on a daily basis. When you buy a product, you don't realize it, but it's really made according to a formula for the type of facility and the customer. "


… and what are the future challenges?

Trends are moving in the direction of a circular economy, reducing environmental impact, safety and user-friendliness, the team said. “A strong trend is individualism, user-tailored solutions. A step forward in this area means the possibility of installing additional elements or any materials on our panels, "explains Černe. “We also deal a lot with the environmental impacts of products - how materials affect people and the building. Our panels can hold up to 56 percent of already recycled material, and at the end of their lifespan, we can recycle 99 percent of it. We are also working on the development of biodegradable packaging material for panels. It's not just about the products, we recently started a project to improve the sustainable operation of the company in a broader sense. "

"If we look a little further - in the future we could also have such products that would decompose themselves in a certain, desired time," adds Lokar, who otherwise sees Trimo's potential in the future mainly in the development of business models. “A big leap, for example, would be the ability to order a house and pay online with the help of some sort of configurator, such as a car order today. Another perhaps a bit futuristic idea is rotating facades - linings that would be replaced for a certain period of time and returned for recycling to be ready for the next cycle. Today, regular changes in appearance are important for customers, and by reusing the same cladding, it would be more environmentally friendly, and at the same time, despite the change, the facility would operate smoothly, "she explains.

Lokar sees the future of the team as a kind of start-up within the company, where they develop new ideas and projects. "In fact, we are already doing that today, we have made a lot of innovations in recent years," Tisu is convinced. “We compete in the league of the best in the world. When we compete for a building, a great second place doesn't count - we only incur costs. We need to win globally, "he said.
 

Janja Špiler, HR Director Trimo Group