The headquarters of the BEZ Group, a transformer maker, could use more than a lick of paint. The executive parking lot is a patchwork of cracked asphalt, while the main office building, a stodgy communist low-rise on the outskirts of the Slovak capital, advertises space for rent. Inside, the furniture and fittings date back to the 1970s.
Not what you might expect from a fast-growing, export-based company that saw sales jump 55 per cent last year to almost €57m ($90m). But for Juraj Smatlik, the chairman, modesty is a cardinal corporate virtue.
