Škrabec family

The Škrabec family moved from the village of Škrabče on the Bloke Plateau to Hrovača near Ribnica in the early 19th century. They were farmers, horse and cattle peddlers, selling their livestock all the way to Trieste and other northern Adriatic ports, and ranging among the most prosperous villagers with greatest business acumen.

Anton Škrabec

With his exemplary way of cultivating the land and trading, Anton Škrabec (1844) consolidated the economic power of the farm and was able to provide an education for both his sons, Mihael and Stanislav. The latter studied theology and became one of the most prominent linguists and experts on the Slovenian language of the second half of the 19th century on Slovenian territory.

At the end of the 1940s, the business story of the Škrabec Homestead ended as the members of the Škrabec family abandoned farming and sought work in different types of employment.

Stanislav Škrabec

Stanislav Škrabec took on an enviable business path: he transformed the small local Ribnica Metal Company into a leading Yugoslav firm with production programmes for agricultural machinery, tractor attachments, airline and property development equipment as well as highly sophisticated flexible systems. The company was renamed Riko and employed 1,700 people. He was awarded the most prominent professional recognition, the Kraigher Prize, by the Chamber of Commerce in 1984, whereas the city of Ribnica, his place of birth, made him into an honorary citizen in 2002.

Janez Škrabec

His son Janez, the founder of the Riko and Riko Houses companies, is a businessman of international concern, Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Morocco, President of the Slovenian-Russian Business Council, member of the Board of the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, visiting expert at the Faculty of Economics and Business in Maribor, President of the Slovenian-Kuwaiti Business Forum, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the German-Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and board member of Am Cham Slovenia. In 2009, the President of the Russian Federation awarded him with the highest state decoration – the Order of Friendship, whereas he was also awarded the title of Best Manager by the journalists of Slovenia in 2011.

Personally and through the Riko Group companies, Janez Škrabec acts as a sponsor to institutions, individuals and projects within the fields of culture, art and sport, also actively and faithfully supporting the activities in his local environment. Charles Handy, global management guru, ranged him among the 23 new world philanthropists in his book The New Philanthropists – The New Generosity for his donations and philanthropic efforts.