According to Promwad's head, choosing Lithaunia as the location for its next international office was based on two key factors; access to EU markets, and the wealth of creative and talented IT experts the Baltic country has to offer. "While working with our clients in the EU, we understood that we must be as close to them as possible," explains the company's head Roman Pakholkov. "As our Research and Development Centre is located in Minsk, Vilnius was the most logical solution. Besides, Lithuania has plenty of young creative specialists as well as experienced engineers who are fluent in English. We, therefore, see excellent future prospects in Lithuania."
The company also has representative offices in Denmark, Russia and China, and a Research and Development Centre in Minsk. The new Vilnius team will have a range of functions and will be staffed with experts in a number of different disciplines. Promwad's aim is to employ up to 25 specialists, including project and sales managers, software and production engineers, over the next 2 years.
As an innovative company that brings theoretical concepts into reality, Promwad is also keen to collaborate with educational institutions to aid this process. They agreed on a partnership with Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU), their cooperation would help to bridge the gap between the theoretical knowledge acquired in university and the practical skills required for the development of products. The company also has plans to collaborate with other higher education institutions further down the line.
As Promwad's manager explains, nurturing talent has always been a key focus of the company. "When we were setting up our Research and Development Centre in Belarus, our aim was both to recruit returning high-class specialists and to retain talented graduates from our higher education institutions. Our goal in Lithuania is the same; we want to provide our new employees with opportunities to be creative and to develop as professionals in their home country", Promwad's manager stated.
Promwad has a turnkey approach to product development and production, controlling the entire process, from the initial idea to the final product: it develops the concept of a device, the engineering solutions, the design, and all the necessary software, and then overseas its mass production. Creating new electronic products by request of its customers, the company has completed over 200 projects and the devices designed by Promwad engineers are used by millions of people all over the world every day.
One of Promwad's most successful projects is the Lapka sensors for iPhones. Sold in the USA, Canada and Russia, these gadgets enabled users to measure nitrate levels in their fruit and vegetables, or to check radiation, humidity and electromagnetic fields, all using their smart phone. Upon the order of the Lapka start-up, Promwad developed enclosure structure, produced a pilot batch, and prepared this product for mass production. The US internet giant Airbnb monitored the success of this project and acquired the Lapka start-up last year.
Indeed, the industry in which Promwad operates, dubbed the Internet of Things, is an area for huge potential global growth according to Mantas Katinas, general manager of Invest Lithuania, a foreign direct investment development agency. "The Internet of Things is the industry of the future," Mr Katinas points out. "Given the increasing number of users of smart devices and the idea of smart homes (which is becoming increasingly popular), this field will grow rapidly in the future. According to various forecasts, the market for the Internet of Things could be worth up to €6.4 trillion in 2020, and it could unite over 34 billion devices worldwide." And Mr Katinas believes Promwad's presence will give the industry in Lithuania a significant boost. "Promwad is a pioneer of the Internet of Things in the region, and is now bringing its know-how to the Lithuanian specialists and companies working in this industry."
