They will not be making luxurious yachts in Prekmurje, despite the already standing big production hall worth around 6 million euros. The hall has been abandoned ever since the company filed for bankruptcy. Until recently locals feared that all that would remain would be another monument to the impoverished regional economy.

However, it turns out the story is not over yet. The factory was purchased at the first auction for a starting price of 3,42 million euros by the Roto Group, led by the former head of the Slovenian Chamber of Crafts and Small Businesses, Štefan Pavlinjek: "There were rumours, but we did not want to speculate and wait for a potential second auction and lower price. That’s why we bought the factory at the very first auction. We have been developing two programs for some years now, which we plan to move to Puconci. We will make kayaks and canoes, as well as large 50 thousand litre water tanks."
New factory to come to life in three months
The Roto Group is made of 12 companies in four countries and has a total of 330 employees. The group turns around 35 million euros per year. It exports products in as many as 70 countries. Roto has already used the new production facilities, which spread on an area of more than eight thousand square meters in Puconci, when it rented the hall during Seaway’s bankruptcy procedure. At that time Roto paid a monthly rent of eight thousand euros.
"The new factory will come to life in three months, as we also have to move all our advanced technology there. Of course the investment is conditioned by the group’s continued development. Some employees will move from our current production halls and we will also additionally employee around 15 locals," explains Pavlinjek.
The municipality in question is also relieved that the Seaway story will not unfold in the worst possible way. When the Jakopin brothers built the production hall, the Municipality of Puconci also helped out by writing off a big part of the communal taxes - around 320 thousand euros. The municipality now hopes that Roto’s successful business will also invite other investors to their industrial zone.