Tikkurila brings to Serbia products of proven and certified quality that meet the highest European standards
Founded in 1862 as a small linseed oil production facility, Tikkurila has grown to become one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of decorative and protective paints and coatings.
This year marks the 155th anniversary of the work of the TIKKURILA group. Over the course of more than a century and a half, the profile of the company has changed dramatically. What are the bearers of the TIKKURILA group’s success today?
– Tikkurila has always kept pace with the time often being ahead of it. By following international trends and standards, with constant innovations by introducing new ones, the company has changed and evolved on that route, but one thing has remained the same – absolute commitment to our mission of providing high-quality products and by so raising the quality of life of our consumers.
The high business standards of Nordic countries are well-known. TIKKURILA boasts a large number of certificates that guarantee the high standards and quality of products. How important is the certification for your customers across Europe?
– Tikkurila brings to Serbia products of proven and certified quality, that meet the highest European standards. New tasks have been assigned to coatings by growing market demand, no longer only to protect the surface but also to colour our life and even more to have certain functional characteristics like anti-bacterial, anti-allergy properties etc.
Constantly increasing concern for the environment through the use of sustainable materials represents a great amount of social responsibility that we successfully cope with. Certificates of quality and Tikkurila has more than 300 marked with the ECO label, should be an important factor in purchase decision making.
Much of the Scandinavian business style has already been built into the principles of doing business on our market, but we still have much to learn from our western/northern colleagues
How do Scandinavian efficiency and Serbian business habits function?
– With the arrival of multinational companies in the Serbian market, our business habits have been significantly reshaped. “Fact-based” rationalisation of operations has assumed dominance over intuitive models of the decisionmaking process. The simplicity of communication with direct messages is a characteristic of the Scandinavian business style, which got its footprint in our business practices as well. Being known as an emotional nation, it is not so easy to fit our “southern temperament” into calculated, corporate, “western-style” frameworks. Much of that has already been built into the business principles on our market, but we still have much to learn from our western/ northern colleagues.
Corporate responsibility is woven into the company’s operating system. Through which projects is CSR most often manifested?
– Tikkurila, as a socially responsible company, tries to help vulnerable people and institutions through aids but also young people by providing practical training and education. We have completely renovated neurosurgery department of Klinicki centar Srbije, donated paint and coatings needed to restore the Home for disabled children in Veternik, and donated food to the Shelter for adults and the elderly in Belgrade, all of which represent only part of the assistance that we will continue to provide.
Colours make our lives more beautiful and are inextricably linked to other forms of artistic expressions, such as movement, sound or the written word. As such, we also support the arts through sponsorship of the Belgrade Dance Festival, and sport and healthy living through sponsorship of race with colours – Colour RUNNING.