‘We have our own way’
Adria breaks the mould thanks to its unique design, elegant style, and superior quality.
Journalist Andrew Ditton meets two of Adria’s key players: Mr Matjaž Grm (Executive sales and marketing director) and Mr. Anton Kastrevc (Executive research and development director).
Anton Kastrevc and Matjaž Grm
Adria breaks all the rules. Its products are massively popular and the brand is respected across the world, yet the Adria brand is anything but ‘mainstream’. Few companies can match Adria’s flair for design, quality, and innovation. How do they do it?
Matjaž Grm is an enthusiastic man infused with Adria DNA. He explains: ‘Here at Adria, we bring Product, Sales, and Marketing together into one department.’
Why is that a good thing?
‘Communication,’ continues Matjaž. ‘Adria has a wonderful network of importers and dealers, and they enjoy strong relationships with the people who buy our products. By including ‘product’ in our sales and marketing team, it means we can combine our customers’ invaluable feedback with our innovation.’
Head of R&D, Anton Kastrevc is a man obsessed with innovation.
‘Nobody asked for a panoramic window in a van such as the Twin,’ comments Anton. ‘Yet now we’ve introduced it, it’s been incredibly popular.’
New ideas and innovations are popped into an ‘incubator’ for anything from a few days to a few years, to allow exhaustive tests and research to be carried out.
‘I will always take something from the ‘incubator’ on holiday with me to see if it works,’ says Anton with a smile.
What about persuading careful dealers to stock an innovative new product?
‘We have to earn the trust of our dealers and of our customers,’ comments Matjaž. ‘We earn that trust through maintaining Adria’s core values of quality,
design, and innovation. If our dealers and our customers trust us, they will try something new.’
‘Quality is part of our culture,’ agrees Anton. ‘Adria developed from the automotive industry, not from carpentry, so quality is in our DNA. We measure quality at every stage of every process.’
‘We also use our knowledge of diverse markets to our advantage, too,’ Anton continues. ‘For example, our products need to withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees centigrade in Scandinavia, and +40 degrees in Australia. That depth of knowledge allows us to develop very tough products.’
‘As well as this strength and durability, it is crucial to us that we maintain a bright, open, inviting living area with stacks of feel-good factor that will appeal to a worldwide audience,’ adds Matjaž.
‘Our Geographical location here in Slovenia also contributes to our culture,’ he continues. ‘It’s often said that we have German discipline, Italian creativity, and Balkan flexibility.’
‘We have amazing people working for us,’ says Anton. ‘In Adria, there is a creative restlessness. It is relentless. Our people live, eat, sleep, and breathe Adria.’
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
WE ASKED MATJAŽ AND ANTON WHAT THE FUTURE MAY HOLD FOR THE LEISURE VEHICLE BUSINESS. THEY IDENTIFIED TWO OF SEVERAL MAJOR TRENDS AFFECTING THE INDUSTRY.
Matjaž: “The digitalization trends in the car business and in daily life are big drivers of change. With our new Adria MACH application, you can have control of your Sonic, Alpina or new Astella in your phone or tablet. Really convenient and easy, it also helps you plan your journeys and future possibilities are endless”.
Anton: “Everyone in the leisure vehicle business is monitoring the auto makers and scenario planning what will happen to the driving force of all vehicles – the energy source – and when these changes become game changing. Adria is no different and certainly the future, not today but in the medium term, will see exciting new possibilities in this area”.
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