Our phone call found Oleksandra Samokhina, who is also the co-owner of the TEHNOTABLE company in Poland. If the majority of our fellow citizens, who are currently there, are still in the status of refugees, then she is in business affairs: there is a need to create a foreign division of the company, a well-known domestic manufacturer of ergonomic furniture – mainly work tables with electronic height adjustment.

– We already have a representative office here, – clarifies Mrs Oleksandra, – the next step is to set up production of our products in Poland. We have created a new, innovative, high-tech product that has no analogs in the world. It became obvious that it would be easier to launch it into serial production and export – and it is oriented in view of its price primarily for export – from the territory of the European Union, especially if we take into account the current Ukrainian situation, in which the cost of production in Ukraine is higher than in Poland.

Even before the war, it became obvious that we could not compete with Chinese analogs with our basic models of ergonomic tables on foreign markets.
After analyzing the world market, we found that the trend for the designer, technological work desks is just emerging, and the need for personalization of workplaces is growing. That is why we decided to focus on this. In 2020, together with the Ukrainian industrial design studio “Alandesignstudio”, they created their first design model of the WPN working studio, for which they received a patent in Ukraine and in the world. It suddenly turned out that the demand for it in these difficult times not only did not decrease but also increased.

But entering the market with one station, which is distinguished only by design, is an unjustified expense. Therefore, after analyzing the latest studies on workplace ergonomics and WHO research on the impact of sedentary work on health, we, together with the Ukrainian industrial design studio “Oitodesign”, created the innovative ENGY workstation.

We were convinced that our designer tables have export potential by taking part in the autumn international exhibition of ergonomic goods “Orgatec”, where we were the only participant from Ukraine.

The interest of the exhibition participants in our station was significant. Moreover, representatives of famous world brands of similar furniture, who did not pass our stand, sincerely congratulated us on such a technological achievement. Of course, such recognition gave us wings and added confidence in the station’s good market prospects. Having received a lot of specific and preliminary orders for it at the exhibition, we were faced with the need to create a reliable production base on which it would be possible to launch its serial production. Currently looking for investments for this project.

– We also sincerely congratulate the company on such an achievement. Since the Ukrainian manufacturer, especially a member of our Association, managed to create a product that has no analogs, we could not help but ask to tell you about its innovativeness and functionality.

– Multifunctional ENGY station – a four-support table with an ergonomic tabletop and height adjustment for standing and sitting work with a load capacity of 320 kg. Features an electric monitor lift, healthy sunlike LED lighting, plant pots, humidifier, and air purifier, and wireless charger. Water supply to the countertop and a cup holder with cup heating, a drawer with a biometric locker, and a shelf for the system unit are provided.
Functional high-tech filling of the station, expensive materials, and components – all this creates its high-cost price, which is not for the Ukrainian market. All the more so in conditions of war.

– Do you offer any new products for the Ukrainian market?

– One of the essential advantages of our ergonomic work tables is that they are electrified for ease of use. And now, when there are massive and long-term power outages in Ukraine, this advantage is no longer attractive, which is why domestic sales have lost their former stability. But Ukrainians still have a need for our ergonomic desks in these difficult times. Special gratitude to buyers who, even after purchasing a table, do not lose touch with the company, suggesting something, advising, or even offering interesting technological solutions. Some of what customers suggested was used as an option in the new station.

So far, we have agreed with one Ukrainian company that produces batteries and accumulators to develop a battery that could be used to equip our tables so that Ukrainian users can work at them even in the absence of mains electricity.

– What were the chosen ways of finding financing for the creation of a production branch of the company in Poland?

– Traditional in such cases: either searching for reliable investors or obtaining grant funding. The efforts of our small but purposeful team are currently focused on these searches.

After diving into this topic, we realized how difficult it is nowadays to find financing for our project. First, there is a tendency to reduce financial donations by investment funds in view of the deterioration of the economic situation in the world due to the Russian war. Second, they often avoid supporting projects that aim to produce hardware products – and our innovative workstation belongs to this category.

But it is not in our spirit to submit to difficulties. We are moving towards the goal step by step: developing a new product, presenting it at a prestigious exhibition, and now it’s time to find funds to launch its serial production. For this purpose, we send proposals to investment funds and study the possibilities of existing grant programs. In the near future, we will also use Kickstarter for this purpose, in order to get a reaction to our product from potential end users, whose evaluations are important to us.