BUSINESS
GEORGIA TODAY AUGUST 20 - 26, 2021
9
Nova - 15 Years of Experience in the Georgian Market of Construction and Repair Materials
BY ARCHIL GELASHVILI. TRANSLATED BY KETEVAN SKHIRTLADZE
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n the Georgian reality, the construction-repair materials industry has become both progressive and competitive. The expansion of the development sector and the growing demand in this market have
pushed manufacturers and suppliers to move to a fundamentally different standard and follow trends. Clearly, establishing oneself as a leader in such a saturated space is not an easy task, and to achieve this, companies have to create and realize competitive advantages. Those who have been involved in construction and renovation, will have likely heard of the company ‘Nova,’ which, with its daring attitude, timely solutions, and competi-
tive offers, has earned the status of one of the leading players in the market. Nova appeared on the Georgian market of construction and repair materials in 2006. Initially, the business started with five friends importing and selling building materials, which later led to the founding of one of the largest and fastestgrowing organizations. Five years after the start of the operation, in 2011, Nova started producing materials itself and continues to actively modernize and expand the process to this day. The products produced by the company are presented in a wide range and include polyethylene tanks, roofing materials, plasterboard and metal profiles, water barriers, and various accessories. In exclusive representation, Nova cooperates with such brands as NIPPON PAINT Group: BETEK, FAWORI; SAINT GOBAIN Group: IZOCAM, RIGIPS; INGCO, and BIEN. In 2020, Nova opened three retail centers in Tbilisi, Batumi, and Kutaisi, where more than 50,000 products are presented. Production is an important driving force for the economic development of the country, and Nova is trying to contribute to this direction. Where, in the past, the inscription "Made in Georgia" did not deserve the benevolence of the consumer and often meant a lack of trust, today this trend is developing with positive dynamics. People are now attracted to products made in Georgia, especially when they are of high quality and competitive price. That is why, since 2011, Nova makes sure to introduce and develop production lines. At the initial stage, the company started working on roofing materials of different colors, sizes, and shapes in the Tbilisi enterprise. Within a year, it also started to produce plasterboard profiles and accessories, and in 2014, the Batumi plant began production of polyethylene water tanks, paint, and plastering angles. Nova expanded its production line of roofing materials again in 2015, and its gypsum board profiles in 2016 at its Batumi branch. Since 2017, the company has made the production of gypsum-cardboard and metal-plastic profiles in line with European standards, and, due to the increase in market demand, the production line of polyethylene tanks has further
increased. Today, Nova's products include more than 100 types of polyethylene tanks, siding and siding accessories, more than 30 types of roofing materials and accessories, and more than 40 types of plasterboard and metal profiles. In 2020, Nova equipped its enterprises with new painting equipment, which tripled the existing productivity. Also last year, it started the production of accessories for drainage systems. Georgian products made by Nova, as well as imported exclusive products, will be available to customers in three mega centers and online platforms across the country. Taking care of customer satisfaction and improving the customer experience is the main vector of any successful business; however, success is largely on the shoulders of a company’s employees. That is why Nova provides more than 600 people employed in the company with the opportunity for professional growth, motivation, and stimulation, and constantly takes care of creating acceptable, pleasant conditions for employees. "Stimulating employee motivation in different ways and finding the correct ways is an inspiration in itself, because each person knows better what gives them the energy that is in harmony with their inner motivation,” says Edisher Khimshiashvili, General Director of Nova. “In order for this motivation not to become counterproductive, we need to find a connection between their own values, work, and professional environment. The comfortable arrangement of workspaces for employees, the availability of leisure and ‘unloading’ spaces, various incentive rewards and bonuses, sports activities and entertainment events are all accepted practices which we actively use in Nova, but all this sometimes is still not enough to motivate." As such, to increase the enthusiasm of employees and their productivity, to contribute to their professional growth, and to mark the need and value of their work, the company uses three ways: ● Employees are actively involved in the operations of the company and no one restricts their freedom in decision making; ● They are able to enhance self-efficacy by using the transparency of the results
SOCIETY
EU Steps up Vaccine Support in Eastern Partnership Countries
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n 10 August, the European Commission increased its assistance package to deploy safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in the Eastern Partnership from €40 million to €75 million. This additional funding will speed up the vaccination campaigns in the six Eastern partner countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine. With this new €35 million assistance package, the EU seeks to substantially increase access to vaccines in the Eastern Partnership region, facilitating vaccine sharing by the EU Member States and reimbursing the cost. This assistance complements the EU’s support to the COVAX initiative, the world’s facility to
ensure fair and universal access to COVID19 vaccines. The first package of support worth €40 million was launched in February 2021 to strengthen preparedness and local readiness for safe and effective vaccination of the population, in partnership with the World Health Organization. EU support included training of health managers and medical staff involved in the vaccination campaign, key logistical support for the delivery and handling of the vaccines and supplies, vaccination data and safety monitoring, communication and community engagement, as well as support for the development of a digital COVID certificate. “The EU is determined to support our Eastern neighbors to speed up vaccina-
tion as this will be decisive for ending the pandemic and launching the socioeconomic recovery of the region. We care for our partners,” Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi said. The newly adopted programme is part of Team Europe’s global COVID-19 response and builds on the joint efforts with the Member States and the EU cooperation with the WHO. The EU and WHO are working together on the €35 million Solidarity for Health Initiative in the Eastern Partnership, providing substantial medical supplies across the region, including over 11 million items of personal protective equipment, 12,000 lab kits, over 1,500 ventilators, oxygen concentrators, and pulse oximeters, and over 20,000 PCR testing kits.
Source of photo: European Union
achieved and the correct feedback; ● The company trusts the competence of its employees and creates a work environment where the individual achievement of any professional is properly valued. This is a small list of the tools that Nova’s management team uses to stimulate the professional motivation of its employees, but these three approaches help people build closer ties with the company and perceive themselves as members of a larger family. The company Nova aimed to create the best online store in 2021, andare actively working on it. On the Nova online platform, aside from construction and repair materials, all the products that one can find in the mega centers are presented. Khimshiashvili told us about the dynamics of the company's digital channel development and the importance of working in this direction. “The Nova team works on a daily basis to improve our website. We want to offer online visitors the products they want, which will be combined with comprehensive digital content, photos, and videos. First of all, we try to make our page simple, fast, sophisticated, and customized. We think this is the most important thing,” he says. “Our goal is to make our potential customers loyal to the site, to offer them any information they need, and to make online shopping a pleasant experience.” The Nova online store combines both construction and repair materials, as well as a wide selection of different household products in one space. As a company states, this platform will greatly simplify the process of repair and improvement for customers. Nova tries to satisfy the need of its customers as much as possible, to offer them fast delivery service and high-quality products without their needing to leave home. “We monitor customer behavior and take into account their needs, assessments, and feedback. Although our online store has only recently appeared in the digital space, we have gained a lot of loyal and satisfied customers, and we believe that we will continue to do so in the future. Our team will do everything for continuous growth and development,” Khimshiashvili noted.
