EP1606122B1, SI21455, granted european and slovenian patent
Particular geometrical elements of the mechanism's base plate are patented, because they cruically influences on the
possibility for 25% savings of material.
New patented lever arch binder clipping mechanism was realized in mass production of the company Niko d.d., Železniki. The new mechanism with improved characteristics and savings of 25% of material at base plate, quickly replaced the old design of the mechanism. Because of increased demand on the market, the Niko d.d. company produced in the next years only this type of mechanism with all available capacities. The company claims that implementation of the new mechanism shape enables savings of about one million Euros only on material and transportation costs basis. It should be also noted great importance for the company, because ''program Lever Arch Mechanisms covers 90% of the whole production of the company"[www.niko.si: Annual Report (AR) 2006].
In the Annual Report (AR) 2005 of Niko d.d. it stays: "In 2005 we produced and sell almost 10% less than it was planned, what corresponds to the same amount of production than in 2004. The main reason was adoption of the production to smaller sale amounts. But at the end of the year demands for our products drastically increased..." Namely, in the middle of 2005 the first series of the new mechanism was produced and in 2006 the company went on by producing only this mechanism. For the next year they report: ''Due to much bigger production we made 40,125 hours of overtime, what is much more than in past years – all saturdays were working saturdays due to extreme demands for our mechanisms... In the year 2006 our revenue was 25.4 millions of Euros, what is 32.2% more than in the last year... The production increased by 26.6% regarding 2005 and the sale was increased by 29%" [www.niko.si: AR 2006]. This was the reason that they "started with the investment in the production facilities at the end of 2006" [www.niko.si: AR 2007]. Niko d.d. becomes the largest European manufacturer of lever arch mechanisms: "an European market share is increasing on 30%" [www.niko.si: AR 2006].
The project became more known in public after award for innovation was granted by Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia to the research team. The event was presented in the majority of electronic and press media. One of the results of publicity at that time is also an interview in Delo, a largest daily newspaper in Slovenia.