Established by Boris Mesec, the company first started expanding from Slovenia to the Croatian and Austrian markets, and is currently present almost all around the world, Dnevnik said as it announced the winner.

According to the newspaper publisher, the company sets global standards in the development of automation and speed of its machinery, and is characterised by a dynamic growth.

In the last five years, Mebor doubled its sales revenue to almost EUR 12m, and the added value of the team of 40 employees last year reached EUR 98,500 per employee, an exceptional amount for Slovenia, Dnevnik said.

In addition to investments in major projects, the company is also developing specific machines for the production of wood shingle, wood veneer and insulation materials.

Among the top 50 companies in its segment, Mebor posted the highest profit by far last year, EUR 1.85m, and an above-average return on equity of 38%.

"The family company Mebor proves that there are no differences today between the big and small, but only between the fast and slow," said the award jury featuring past award winners and representatives of the academia, civil society and businesses.

The award was handed to the company director Boris Mesec by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec at Wednesday's ceremony in the Cankarjev Dom arts and congress centre in Ljubljana.

Šarec said at the ceremony that the Gazelle was an award for those who had a vision and who knew they wanted to create and achieve more, adding that success was never a given.

The Gazelle Award project was launched in 1991, and was upgraded with six regional competitions and the national competition in 2001.

Last year, the main award went to Tehnos, the Žalec-based maker of farming machinery and parts for household appliances, cars and aircraft.