Industry insiders
Getting to know the big names of our industry. This month, we speak to Slavica Sterk of Adria UK
Tell us about your current role – what do you do?
I’m the managing director of Adria UK, a subsidiary of Adria Mobil in Slovenia. We run all operations from here in the UK – we define how the products should look for the UK market and brief the manufacturers in Slovenia.
It’s up to us to find out what the UK customer wants. We then bring the vehicles over and they go direct to dealers. Everything is run through our base in Sudbury, in Suffolk, where we also have a warehouse for parts, so there are no problems with language barriers. I’m from Slovenia but am now a British citizen.
So all of the manufacture takes place in Slovenia?
Yes, Adria Mobil in Slovenia has the largest factory in the European RV industry, all under one roof. It was built 15 years ago and is very advanced.
The UK is Adria Mobil’s fourth biggest market, which is why we have so much influence over the products and a lot of autonomy. Adria UK is owned by Adria Mobil, which became part of the Trigano Group two years ago.
How long have you been with the company?
I started at the Adria Mobil factory in Slovenia 20 years ago and then became responsible for Adria UK in 2007. For several years, I was sales director at Adria Mobil and managing director at Adria UK and I worked across both countries.
I’m now based in the UK, which I prefer as it’s a smaller team and you can make quicker decisions.
How did you first get into the industry? Originally I studied biotechnology, then worked for 10 years in the food-processing industry. But I wanted to develop my knowledge of business, so I did a master’s degree in business studies and then joined Adria Mobil.
What memories do you have of caravan trips as a child? We didn’t have our own caravan but we rented them at campsites in Slovenia and Croatia. It felt so free – running around the site as a child, meeting other children, playing all the time, just coming back to the van to eat.
‘Customers say that they come to our stand because they want to see something different – the products are modern and contemporary and appeal to people who value design’
What’s the best trip you’ve ever been on?
I once went to the North Cape in Scandinavia – we drove to the northernmost point of Europe and then back via Finland and Sweden and through Lapland. There were hours and hours of pine trees, it felt like we were on expedition.
Another trip was the NC500 in Scotland – wow! The beaches had white sand and turquoise sea, it was like the Maldives. There is so much to see in Scotland.