Designing and building one’s own house is a dream for many, but with millions of decisions to make, the dream can soon turn into a nightmare.
“The roof is your first line of defence against snow, rain, hail, heat. A stress-free experience is what Roof Art offers its clients,”Ilarion Ursu, the CEO of Moldova’s RoofArt explains during a perfect elevator pitch.
“When roofing your house, there are no extra elements. Every single detail is important, but of utmost significance are the requirements and needs of the clients.”
“When we entered the market, everything was new. We started from a tiny workshop, all elements were handmade. Now we employ about 60 people, the production process is automated and our company is the point of reference to others,” said Mr Ursu, who has been with the company since its launch in 2001.
From small beginnings
It has been a long but worthwhile journey and what the company now takes most pride in are its more than 300 partners all over the world, five teams of highly skilled roofers and, most of all, minimum 600 projects performed all over Moldova.
More than 50 per cent of its turnover is generated from sales of troughs, metal tiles and rainwater systems manufactured in the country. The remainder comes from imports of other types of roofing from abroad.
Some 15 per cent of rainwater systems and roof tiles manufactured in Chisinau are sold in Moldova, the rest exported to the European Union and beyond.
“When looking back, one can say that we made it, but the secret of a truly successful company is to never stop its journey of growth and progress.’’says Mr Ursu.
Driving businesses forward
RoofArt is one of around 270 companies in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine that has received financing from the EU4Business-EBRD credit line.
Through partner banks, the EBRD provides €1.1 billion in credit lines and trade finance for SMEs in the three countries to pursue more trade with the EU by adopting European standards.
This funding is complemented by €58.3 million in incentive payments and technical assistance from the EU under the EU4Business initiative.
“The free trade agreement with the EU opens up a plethora of new opportunities for businesses in Moldova and the EU4Business-EBRD credit line allows those companies not to miss out on the benefits from relations with the world’s biggest trading block,” says Mr. Aneil Singh Head of Cooperation at the European Delegation to Moldova.
“This programme not only makes it easier for local SMEs to adjust to European standards, but also ensures that the local population enjoys European quality products and services.’’
Up on the roof, quality takes roots
With the loan, RoofArt has invested in fully automated production lines for roof tiles, which helped the company to increase productivity, boost the quality of its output and decrease the per-unit cost of its products.
“The brand new machinery helped us increase our capacity and we’re now producing up to 300,000 square meters of roof tiles per year. Now we can further differentiate our portfolio and expand our export markets,” says Mr Ursu.