Back in 1976 Milan Tomic was a young man living in Belgrade,Serbia, former Yugoslavia. It was difficult to find a job despite several years in mechanics training school and experience in machine repairs. Curiosity resulted in a journey to Sweden to visit relatives - within only a week he got his first employment. Milan’s long and successful career is now completed through his own innovative venture, Soliotech.

from sweden with love

During his first decade in Sweden Milan worked as a service technician and salesman, covering both Scandinavian and European customers. This was in the 1980’s. His original plan was to live and work  in Sweden for a couple of years to save money for a flat and a second hand car, but Milan fell in love with a woman and stayed in the country permanently. At one point he was 1,5 years into full time university studies when a desired job offer came up – it made him put the studies on hold, to start working for the renowned HIAB Corporation in 1990.

“This was a dream come true, spot on what I’d always aimed for. I worked at HIAB for ten years in different roles, for example in charge of product distribution worldwide and Area Manager for HIAB’s markets in the former Soviet Union.”

His last position at HIAB was CEO of their sales company in Poland, which he established on site in 1993.

      “I’m still thankful for the experience; HIAB is a fantastic company with high-end products. And overall it was an exciting and dynamic time in Poland in the 1990s as the country was going through major changes. All the infrastructure and telecom was built up and repaired during this period.”

business venture in solar energy

After working and living in Warsaw, Milan returned to Sweden with his family in the summer of 2000. He was offered the position as Marketing Director at Rasjo Torv, an international company in bio-energy.

The role included development of the company’s business in Sweden, Poland and Latvia.

It’s eleven years since Milan Tomic left Rasjo Torv. He now runs his business venture Soliotech with a great deal of passion.

Customers: Public offices and estate owners, both publicly and privately owned.

“I thought: I’ve started and built several companies for my employers. Why not build an exciting business for myself? I was already in the bio energy business, so it wasn’t a giant leap to other alternative energy sources. Early on I was interested in both solar energy and wind power, even though they were both new to me. The more I dived into it, the more I got focused on solar energy.”

sunrays: smart and reliable

  “The sun is an amazing energy source and as far as we know it’s eternal. The sun rays travel at the speed of light for seven minutes before they reach the Earth. The wind is more elusive, it comes and goes. Solar energy is easier to define and work with.”

Smart products have been around for some time. Why don’t we see a major breakthrough?

      “The human mind is slow by nature and doesn’t adapt to changes as quickly as we like to think. One very good example is the car – it needed some thirty years before it could be called public. Prejudice tends to slow down innovation and new technology.”

this bench is more than a spot

     “Man has always found a spot to rest on, but the solar bench has got extra features such as WiFi, re-charging of mobile phones and LED illumination!” says Milan. “Our bench has a safety factor as well. When it’s dark outside the bench has a basic illumination. That kind of useful and simple electronic functionality is cost efficient. Safety also means being able to quickly charge your mobile phone in public areas, as well as lighten up your way home and safeguard important information.”

Tell us about the progress in Soliotech.

     “The past 18 months it’s been advanced project management to achieve a functioning supply chain of partner companies and people, collaborating in the production and delivery line. Starting with the factory that manufactures the metal structure, all the way down to the in-built electronics, programming of circuit boards, assembly and packaging. 75 % of the production is local in Sweden.”

Where are your most important markets geographically?

     “Scandinavia and Europe are close at hand initially. We have great expectations for Northern Europe since it’s often stated that we are early adopters of new technology. At Soliotech we need to present new products on a yearly basis. One of our projects is to provide heated benches.  Imagine the comfort of a warm seat in a bus shelter in wintertime!

 How do you plan to achieve your goals?

“Distributors and partners are key factors for growth, especially in Europe. We also co-operate with universities and industrial designers to further improve the functions and estethics of our products. The journey has just begun”, says Milan Tomic with a confident smile.