EU4Business and EBRD support furniture maker Innova in Georgia
From digital sketches to bespoke design
Stylishly furnishing your house requires particular know-how in Georgia. The country is not home to many well-known interior decor brands, while ordering from abroad is usually expensive and logistically complex. This is why homeowners often turn to local furniture designers for sleek kitchen sets and functional wardrobes.
Designers, for their part, rely on furniture hardware manufacturers like Innova Georgia – a company that helps translate creative ideas into reality.
Innova Georgia is one of 180 companies which the EU4Business Initiative, through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has helped invest in top-notch equipment and machinery to boost quality, efficiency and reliability.
Experience merged with innovation
The founders of Innova Georgia have more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing furniture for their clientele.
“Our experience is one of the greatest assets of our company,” says Beso Chkheidze, General Manager of the company.
Another asset is the business’s drive for innovation. Keeping its finger on the pulse of the sector and contributing to its development are the guiding principles at Innova Georgia. The latest addition, software for sketching furniture, is the ultimate source of pride for the company, and allows designers to draw their pieces digitally. Innova Georgia’s modern production facility provides frames, cabinets, drawers, doors and more to assemble functional pieces of furniture.
“We bought this software in Italy. And actually, if one knows the technology, it allows one to design even a fighter jet. Our young IT specialists have been working on the programme for several years already and adapted it to furniture design. It is easy to use, and one can build perfect furniture with it,” notes Beso.
Introducing the new software required scaling up production.
“Our software and production sites advance in tandem. The designers can now come up with their designs in the program without visiting our premises, learn about prices, then order hardware, which can be delivered to their workshops. This saves everyone time and resources and makes the whole process more structured,” according to Beso.
The production site – vast by Georgian standards – is divided into painting, woodworking and laboratory sections. It has modern equipment, some purchased with the help of the EU.
Making furniture in the digital age
The joint EU4Business-EBRD Credit Line programme helps small and medium-sized businesses to invest in modernising production facilities: new equipment allows the companies to drive growth, create a safer workplace, foster the responsible use of resources and streamline environmental practices.
The companies receive loans from partner financial institutions. Upon successful implementation of investments, the enterprise receives up to 15 per cent of the loan as grant incentive.
Apart from Innova Georgia, companies from many other sectors, such as construction, hospitality and winemaking have benefitted from the programme.
Digitalisation of furniture manufacturing is the future, according to Beso, and that is why the company plans to export its software abroad.
“Our industry is continuously changing with new trends and applications. We try our best to deliver robust hardware that will last a lifetime for our customers in Georgia – and share our knowledge with partners abroad,” he concludes.