SUCCESS INDEX. New resident of the Ufa Industrial Park about business and charity

One of the most popular manufacturers of office furniture in Bashkortostan, Smart Office company became a resident of the Ufa Industrial Park in May of this year. During the period of cooperation with the Development Corporation, the initiative was successfully presented at the meeting of "Investchas" and entered the List of priority investment projects in the region. About future plans, the imminent opening of the company's workshops in the Ufa Industrial Park, charity and much more in an interview with the commercial director of the company Andrey Gashev.

Andrey Vladimirovich, tell us about your company. How long is the company on the market?

- We are a relatively young company. On the market for about 5 years. The main focus of Smart Office is the production of office furniture. Now we cooperate with a number of large customers. So, the furniture of our production is located at the airports of Ufa and Perm, some branches of the Russian Post, offices of Rostelecom, the BSPU technopark, etc. In addition, now we have actively started to engage in charitable activities and allocate part of the finished products as assistance to social institutions.

What were your first steps in business? What results has the company come to today?

- Both I and the CEO came to the business with experience in this field. Initially, the company produced furniture products for organizations and individuals, but later we reoriented production for the manufacture of office furniture. Along with the scaling, it became clear that it was time to expand. So we got acquainted with the Development Corporation and the Ufa Industrial Park, where the first thousand square meters will be launched in 2023. Now we are starting cooperation with a large supplier of equipment to robotize some processes. This does not mean that we want to replace people in production. First of all, this is due to a shortage of qualified personnel. That is why we have concluded a cooperation agreement with the Ufa Forestry Technical College, thanks to which Smart Office will act as a platform for practical training with the possibility of further employment.

As you know, the current geopolitical situation complicates the work of many enterprises. Have you experienced the sanctions pressure?

- In general, we did not feel any changes. Partly because for a long time Smart Office has been cooperating with the company "Kronoshpan-Bashkortostan", which supplies us with raw materials. We also get some of the components from the Asian market, so our production is stable.

Earlier you mentioned that the company is actively involved in charitable activities. What prompted you to do this?

- Charity is, first of all, a desire to help those who need it. This is our personal initiative. So, we paid attention to children's social institutions and recently delivered a batch of educational tables to the Center for the Promotion of Family Education. Shagita Khudaiberdina. After that, it was decided to take the institution "under the patronage" and help children on an ongoing basis. In addition to financial assistance, we have also planned a number of events for the students of the center: a football match, a tour of the production workshop and much more. We are open to cooperation and ready to help. For example, in May of this year, our company sent a shipment of furniture as part of a humanitarian convoy to the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics. But we also want to help those who were forced to leave their native lands, so at the moment we are working on the issue of helping refugees.

Due to the current economic situation, some enterprises declare their readiness to occupy the vacant niches. How is your company working towards import substitution?

- I think that the withdrawal of some companies from the market now makes it possible to occupy many niches and develop in them. If we talk about our company, at the moment we are working more on the Bashkortostan market, but with further scaling of production, we intend to actively enter the Russian market. At the same time, we are interested in exploring the market outside of our country. Therefore, we recently became participants in the Made in Bashkortostan project to try ourselves as exporters.

What do you think distinguishes Smart Office from other furniture manufacturers? What is the advantage of the company?

- Before opening production, we conducted a thorough analysis of the market and consumer interests. As a result, it became clear that we needed to focus on the manufacture of office furniture and did not lose. In my opinion, in addition to high-quality products, we stand out by the fact that we work "in a warehouse". That is, the main task is to replenish the warehouse with finished products in order to significantly reduce the waiting time for the order.