Two years later, it was jointly acquired by China Hi-Tech Group Corporation and its partners and the following year, became wholly owned by China Hi-Tech. Today, it is back on track.

Sonja works at the finance department of TAM-Europe. Her colleagues have given her a nickname that she is proud of: walking encyclopedia. She has witnessed the company's rise, fall and rebirth, knows its history and is a valued long-time employee whose opinion is listened to.

A TAM-Europe second-generation airport shuttle bus at Madrid Airport, Spain

The 54-year-old's deep affection for the organization has a personal element. "TAM is like our home," she said. "When I was young, I met my future husband on the company shuttle bus. We both used to go to work and finish at the same time every day. We gradually came to know each other well, fell in love and got married. You could say the company was our matchmaker."

Sonja was desolate when the company declared bankruptcy but when the Chinese investors acquired it, like the other employees, she also hoped for its rebirth. "The new investors retained the TAM brand that had become part of our life and we got jobs here. It was so exciting," she said.

Today, both Sonja and her husband work for TAM – he is in the research and development department. They have also been joined by their son, who came to work in production after graduation. The family has been growing with the company.

Though she is in finance and not engaged in technology or marketing, since she knows the history of the company as an old-timer, whenever the organization holds or participates in product fairs or other promotional activities, Sonja always volunteers to be a product demonstrator.

When people ask about the company's products, Sonja is always able to focus on the key points and the highlights. "Now we are in second place in terms of airport bus sales in Europe," she said proudly. "We are also developing electric buses with novel design, outstanding performance and excellent quality. They have been praised and recommended by customers in various countries."

With the rejuvenation of the time-honored brand, like Sonja, the whole company is full of confidence about the future.

These are two milestones in TAM-Europe's efforts to widen its global market in recent years.

In 2017, an unprecedented aviation equipment exhibition was held in Dubai, a global aviation hub. The event attracted more than 300 well-known companies and over 7,500 professionals from 50 countries and regions, including Britain, Germany and China. Two products of TAM-Europe – its pure electric buses and VIP airport buses – won praise at the fair.

The second came in 2018, when Passau, a scenic resort in Germany, held an open tender for electric buses. Located at the confluence of three rivers, the Donau, Inn, and Ilz, Passau is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt, City of Three Rivers. The city planned to replace the buses in the city center with pure electric vehicles. As Passau has a network of narrow tunnels, TAM-Europe's buses were especially suitable for the road conditions as they have a small turning radius. The field test drive for the buses proved to be successful and the company hopes that Passau will be the first city through which its eco-friendly electric vehicles will enter the German market.

At present, TAM-Europe's main products are airport buses, followed by coaches and electric passenger cars. The airport buses have been expanding the company's presence in the field of international civil aviation.

An electric airport shuttle bus produced by TAM-Europe is exhibited at the China International Import Expo.

Since their production started, TAM-Europe has sold more than 300 airport buses to customers from more than 20 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

With the new energy vehicle industry rapidly developing around the globe, the company is focusing on becoming the world's top brand for airport buses and an international outstanding brand of electric buses.

Eco-friendliness is an important feature of global brands, and market expansion depends on the improved environmental standards of the products. TAM-Europe attaches great importance to this and has incorporated it into its development philosophy, ensuring that it is followed in product design.

In November 2018, when the first China International Import Expo was held in Shanghai, TAM-Europe signed a cooperation agreement with solar energy component maker Hanergy GSE to jointly develop systematic solar roofs for all-solar electric vehicles.

They sum up the cooperation with a tagline: complementarity and professionalism.

Airport buses work in an environment where they face protracted exposure to the sun. TAM-Europe's target markets are Europe and the Middle East, which have an abundance of sunshine. Hanergy GSE's technology is perfect for this scenario.

The cooperation of the two professional companies is regarded to be significant since it is thought that in the future, vehicles will run solely on solar energy.

The VERO electric bus is an environmentally friendly strategic project launched by China Hi-Tech after its acquisition of TAM. The electric bus has a special structural design. Renowned Dutch designer Henk Haverkamp played an important role in developing the vehicle. He designed a modular underlying structure, abandoning the approach of most bus manufacturers – designing electric buses by altering the structure of traditional diesel buses. This gives the VERO electric buses unique advantages. They are lightweight, can be used in multi-scenarios, and have a short delivery time.

The launch of the VERO electric bus project reflects the company's capabilities in research and development and innovation. It is also an important milestone in its historic leap from traditional buses to new energy buses.

The perfect test drive in Passau was just the beginning.

Igor is a customer service staff at TAM-Europe. In his 50s, he handles a large volume of phone calls, mail distribution, information relay and other tasks every day. Although these tasks are monotonous and seem trivial, they are important because they are related to the efficient operation of the company. Igor has spine problems and is in poor health but works with enthusiasm, diligence and meticulousness.

"I like my job very much, and am happy to contribute to this inclusive and enterprising collective," he said emotionally.

TAM-Europe has many loyal local employees like Igor. It has achieved a high degree of localization. More than 90 percent of the employees are local residents. The research and development, production, procurement, and general management teams are all composed of Slovenians.

A view of Maribor

Slovenians are diligent and a high proportion have higher education. Their technical level and proficiency is also high, taking the average national productivity close to that of Western European countries. Moreover, the labor cost here is lower than in Western and Northern Europe. All this has laid a solid foundation for excellent product quality and competitive prices.

TAM-Europe attributes its success to its employees who are both loyal and skilled, helping carry forward TAM's brand, experience and technological strength.

Cultural inclusiveness is a necessary condition for people-to-people bonds. TAM-Europe conducts training and team building so that cultural exchanges and understanding between the Chinese and Slovenian sides are strengthened.

The management's equal respect for Chinese and Slovenian culture has gained widespread recognition among the locals.

The time-honored brand owes its rejuvenation to both its local talent team as well as a global one. In recent years, the company has been attracting marketing professionals from Austria, Britain, Turkey, Spain, France and other countries and has established an international sales mode. They not only understand the European market but are also very familiar with the commercial vehicle service system. This has provided strong support for TAM products to expand their market across the globe.

Today, TAM-Europe's business philosophy is transnational operation and global development, followed by all employees. TAM employees, regardless of color, race, or language, have a common vision for corporate development and see their future as integrated with the common mission of the company. They respect each other and are working together for a common business goal. They are also contributing to the long-standing friendship between the Chinese and Slovenians.

Sonja rejoices in the rejuvenation of the time-honored brand that had gone bankrupt. "It has also made my family a happy family," she said.