The story of Meta Rot, retired Sales Director
The Crossroads That Set Your Direction
I joined Mikrocop in 1991, at a time when Ljubo Koritnik and I, in a way, met each other halfway. Back then I worked at Hermes, the company that held Kodak representation. These were exactly the devices that Biroservis—now Mikrocop—had been servicing. Hermes had its own service department too, but in this area, Biroservis was truly the dominant force. We, as Kodak’s official representative for Slovenia, were strong in sales—and I was the one responsible for that side of the story.
Hermes began the privatisation process, and Kodak had a clear interest in keeping the Slovenian market covered. I had two options in front of me: either I take over the representation myself and start my own company, or I join an organisation and bring the representation with me.
Building a Relationship Without Realising It
I already knew Ljubo from before, because his technicians would come to our consignment warehouse to pick up Kodak spare parts. It’s true they mostly did this when they were “under water”—when things were urgent. Otherwise, they had their own purchasing channel in Germany.
Customer satisfaction was always Mikrocop’s number one priority. If they didn’t have a specific spare part and therefore couldn’t resolve an issue within the contractually agreed timeframe, they came to us. They were always exceptionally correct, kind, and reliable. So when time was tight, I would lend them a part without any fuss, “on an IOU”. Once they sourced their own, they returned it. That’s how relationships were built—without complicated agreements, simply on trust.
My First Thought: Ljubo Koritnik
When I found myself at that crossroads, Ljubo was my first thought. I’m not an entrepreneur by nature, so I quickly knew I needed strong leadership—something I could grow alongside.
I called him to set up a meeting, and it turned out he was thrilled by the idea. Kodak representation was one of his big wishes. Everything happened very quickly—Mikrocop became Kodak’s representative, and I became the 12th employee and the third woman in the company.
Kodak Representation and a Lot of Independence
I started in a predominantly male team, and for almost ten years I was the only Kodak sales person. At Hermes we had support departments; here my range of responsibilities was much wider—from all marketing activities to sales and customer relationships.
I learned a lot as I went. It was a time of compromises, sometimes at the expense of private life. But I was young, full of energy, and highly driven.
Three Versions of a Document—and a Typewriter
One of the sweetest anecdotes comes from the time when we didn’t even have computers. Meeting minutes, letters, offers, explanations—I typed them on a typewriter. Ideas changed quickly, opinions clashed, decisions were revised—which meant rewriting everything from scratch more than once. And that was, to put it mildly, not exactly fun.
Today, in Word, you delete, edit, or simply check a previous version. Back then, every correction was a whole new story. Technological progress later made work much easier, but adapting to it required a shift in mindset, too.
First CDs and a Digital Tattoo
Kodak began the transition from microfilming to IT with hybrid devices—camera-scanners that enabled microfilm and digital capture at the same time. Digital images were stored on CDs. It took two years for us to get all the equipment and viewers, but we were among the first to offer it. Even though interest in the new technology was high, buyer trust was still quite limited, so camera-scanners were more of an exhibition piece than a serious sales opportunity.
Still, our most successful sales story was actually upgrading the classic microfilm camera with a scanner. We sold with the philosophy: “your investment in technology is safe—buy today for tomorrow.” No one bought the upgrade itself, but almost everyone later bought a scanner.
We believed floppy disks and CDs would disappear, but digital records would remain. Digitalisation became part of our identity—a digital tattoo, an invisible mark of who we are.
The IT Turnaround and a New Dynamic
In 2000, Mikrocop experienced its biggest technological and strategic shift with the acquisition of the IT company CIS. Suddenly, the company was joined by young IT minds with sharp ideas and a completely different work dynamic.
Before that, we could agree on many things quickly, without much bureaucracy. Now there were more discussions, more alignment, more perspectives on the same topic. Ljubo always aimed for broad consensus, but once a company outgrows a certain size, that simply isn’t possible anymore. You can’t keep everyone happy. And that wasn’t easy for him, because he genuinely wanted us all to feel like one big, happy family.
The cloud had been one of his visions for a long time. With the IT team, we gained the knowledge and momentum to start making that vision real. Ljubo had an exceptional ability to inspire— even if you had doubts, he could convince you to believe in the idea and work hard for it.
When Numbers Do the Talking
Buyers of microfilm equipment were mainly banks and other institutions in heavily regulated industries, where large volumes of paper documentation were generated. These documents had important evidentiary value—transactions, signatures, procedures—so due to legal requirements they had to be stored long-term. This is how we earned strong references in the banking sector, which then opened doors to other industries. Equipment was gradually upgraded and replaced, and customers trusted us more and more. For some, we became the go-to supplier.
When I joined Mikrocop, we had around 15 long-term contractual customers. When I retired, there were several hundred.
We Built Trust
Mikrocop never built on empty promises or behind-the-scenes deals. Always on knowledge, experience, and quality delivery—with a long-term partnership mindset.
Often I helped customers go one step further—with calculations, strategies, and arguments they could use to defend an investment in front of their management board. If you have the knowledge, why not share it? In large organisations you often never even meet the board—you build relationships and trust with the people in operations. And every honest step counts.
New Leadership Energy and InDoc EDGE
An important milestone for me was also Simona Kogovšek taking over leadership of Mikrocop. Simona and I already knew each other from before, when she was on the side of one of our key customers, and we worked together successfully for years. Over that time we built a strong relationship and mutual trust. That’s why I was truly happy when she took the helm at Mikrocop.
From Arhiviraj.si and Brezpapirja.si, the new InDoc EDGE platform was born. Developing it from scratch was demanding and brought many organisational challenges, but the decision was the right one. Today, Mikrocop stands on its own digital platform, connecting document management, business processes, and long-term archiving.
When a Company Becomes Part of You
Mikrocop became such a big part of me that I was ready to fight for it with everything I had. And looking back, many felt the same. More than a few people who left Mikrocop did so with a heavy heart—even when it was their choice and part of following their calling. That’s belonging. When a company becomes part of you.
If you have a leader with vision and courage, and a team that trusts each other, knows how to have fun, and builds the story together, almost anything is possible. And when you look back with a smile on all the internal “inside jokes” and funny stories, you know you spent your professional life well. And that it was worth every moment.
