A New Generation,  
a New Chapter: Tuli at 35
From a family business founded in 1991 to a second generation navigating digital change, 
Tuli’s history is marked by more than anniversary dates.
On 6 November 2014, Tuli received its 
first online order. It was a small but 
significant milestone for a company 
established more than two decades 
earlier, and the beginning of a chapter 
that would eventually see its online 
shops extend across Europe and into the 
United States.
As Tuli prepares to celebrate its 35th 
anniversary this November, that first 
transaction offers one way of looking at 
its history: a series of changes in how the 
business operates, who leads it and how 
it connects with customers.
Danica Pleško, Jože Pleško and Marko 
Hostnik founded Tuli on 21 November 
1991. During the following years, 
the company developed its industry 
relationships, becoming an authorised 
FAG distributor in 2002 and an 
ALWAYSE distributor in 2007. 
In July 2008, Tuli joined the BearingNet 
community, adding an international 
network of fellow distributors to 
its connections. During those 18 years of 
membership, the company has been part 
of 12 global User Meetings, allowing the 
team at Tuli to build valuable relationships 
with fellow industry professionals.
The next major chapter began closer 
to home. In 2009, the same year that 
Tuli became an official HepcoMotion 
distributor, the second generation 
officially joined the family business. 
Two years later, on 9 December 2011, 
that generation took over the company, 
with Erika Pleško appointed as 
Managing Director.
The handover placed the next stage 
of Tuli’s development in new hands 
while retaining its family connection. In 
September 2014, Jure Pleško joined as 
Technical Director, adding another family 
member to the leadership team.
Alongside these changes, Tuli began 
developing a different way of doing 
business. An English-language online 
shop launched in 2013, followed by that 
first online order in November 2014. 
Croatian and Slovenian shops followed in 
January 2019.
The sequence is an interesting detail 
in the company’s story. Its English-
language shop came before its Slovenian 
Above: The Pleško family founders 
alongside the next generation
The next generation of Tuli: Left to right, 
Jure Pleško, Erika Pleško and Urška Rubin
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