The FINANCIAL — Interview with Merab Gokhelashvili, General Manager of Conference System, PhD
Q. Can you tell us a brief history of your company?
A. Our company “Conference System” has been operating in Georgia since 2013. It started when my friends and I decided to offer customers a service of conference systems that would pleasantly surprise them. As you know, there is no one service area in our country that fully meets high standards. Accordingly, in many situations where we were ourselves customers, we did not like the services offered by others. This was the inspiration for us to create a company whose service would have been oriented at the client, would be easily accessible, and very near to perfection.
Q. Why did you decide to launch such a company?
A. In our community circle, there was always the initiative to organize events. After conducting a social survey and summarising the results, the provision of service for events in our country was one of the weakest areas, and so we decided to go into this direction.
Q. What are the products and services you offer your customers?
A. From 2013 till now we have overcome many difficulties. As I already mentioned, this direction was absolutely new for us and we had to start everything from the very beginning: the training of staff in the technical direction and more. There are technical nuances rooted in our experiences, our strengths, and thus we have a company that offers one of the highest technical services in the country. Specifically: synchronous translation equipment, microphones and sound systems, LCD monitors and all the other details that are necessary for perfectly organizing and running conferences and meetings.
The company is developing on a daily basis, we do not stay in one place and we always keep refurbishing our technical inventory and retraining our staff. A clear example of this is that in 2018 we bought one of the best 2P LED displays in the country and our clients already have the opportunity to receive high quality from this.
Q. Why should customers trust your company? In what ways is it exceptional compared to other companies?
A. Our company has the trust of leading international organizations, embassies and state agencies in the country. In 2018, Conference System provided technical service for the largest event in Georgia – OGP, with 2500 delegates, providing technical support for simultaneous translation, audio and video visualization.
Also, I would proudly note that, for the first time, on 26 May, 10 languages were simultaneously translated and technically provided by our company. The technical inventory, which is the highest European quality and professional team, allows us to say that one of the best companies in the country in this direction is none other than Conference System.
Q. What price policy do you have?
A. The prices are individual and depend on the specific order. We have corporate clients for whom prices are different. Instead of concrete numbers, the main thing for us is the attitude that our company and its employees receive from Conference System’s customers.
I would recall in particular one occasion when we were technically providing for a project of the US Embassy. At the end of the event, for the first time in history, they prepared exclusively for our staff member, and awarded them, a ‘Certificate of Best Technician’ – this was great validation for us.
Q. And finally, is there anything you would like to add?
A. I would like to thank each member of our technical team. In fact, it is they that created this company. If it weren’t for their attitude towards Conference System, and if it weren’t for the team spirit they are distinguished for, we would not be a successful company today. I would like to wish for the continued success of Conference System and wish for the improvement of service standards throughout the country in general.
By Eva Bolkvadze
