Worldwide: Georgia

From mining and maritime applications to industry and infrastructure projects, from construction and over-the-counter sales in branches to cylinder manufacture and the mobile Rapid Hydraulic Service: no two days are alike for HANSA‑FLEX employees in Georgia. 

Georgia had no specialist supplier of hydraulic components before the founding of the first HANSA‑FLEX subsidiary in 2011 in Tbilisi (Tiflis), the country’s capital city. Gojko Pokrajcic, who is now the Managing Director of HANSA‑FLEX Georgia, saw great potential in the country despite its somewhat unstable initial economic situation and convinced HANSA‑FLEX headquarters with a detailed business plan. HANSA‑FLEX Chairman Thomas Armerding visited the Georgian capital to get to know the potential investors and Georgian partners on the spot. This provided the context for the final decision in favour of market entry, which laid the foundation for a success story. Today, HANSA‑FLEX is the market leader in the field of hydraulics in Georgia.

In Georgia – as in many other countries – HANSA‑FLEX firmly believes in the benefits of in-house training of its employees. The training programme offers not only courses in hydraulics and fluid technology but also in practical skills such as lathe operation. “Training is provided specifically to fulfil our needs and with one eye always on the changing requirements of the market and our customers. To us, continuous professional development is indispensable,” says Anna Maisuradze, Director HANSA‑FLEX Georgia. The Georgian subsidiary works with the company headquarters in Bremen in making available the training programmes and course materials. This cross-border co-operation extends beyond employee training and development. On special projects or enquiries, HANSA‑FLEX colleagues based in other national subsidiaries such as Kazakhstan, Latvia or Croatia provide active support. “At HANSA‑FLEX, we are really one large family in which we all help each other simply and effectively, without much ado,” says Anna Maisuradze, summing up the special character of the family company. 

With around 3.7 million people living on an area of 57,215 km², Georgia is rather densely populated. The locations of the six branches are chosen for their proximity to the customers. The growing customer base includes companies from construction and agriculture as well as numerous small and medium-sized organisations and international industrial companies. In addition, there is the maritime sector on the Black Sea as well as several major public sector infrastructure projects. Despite the diversity of the industries and company size, they all appreciate the high quality of HANSA‑FLEX products and services and their competitive price structure. “German quality is a genuine hallmark of quality for us that we wish to prove day after day with our commitment,” explains Anna Maisuradze. The national subsidiary would like to be much more than purely a supplier and sees itself as a system partner that can completely cover the wishes of its customers. With this in mind, the branch in the Kazreti mining region focuses on the specific requirements of international mine operators. “We are very proud that we were selected as the sole hydraulics partner for these sites because of our product quality and customer service,” explains Anna Maisuradze. 

From a start under challenging conditions, HANSA‑FLEX is today enjoying continual growth in Georgia. It is no wonder that two further branches in East and West Georgia are planned to open by 2026. “The region around Poti on the Black Sea is known as a centre for shipbuilding, which is why we would like to establish ourselves there as a system partner for hydraulics,” says Anna Maisuradze. We are also focusing on expanding our portfolio in other directions. Facilities for in-house hydraulic cylinder production and maintenance have been set up in Georgia and are currently in the test phase. In future, they will also be available to serve other national subsidiaries. Another project for the team in Georgia is the mobile Rapid Hydraulic Service. The first service vehicle has already been stationed in the winegrowing region of Kakheti in the east of the country. The need for hydraulic products and services in Kakheti is especially high – which is precisely why we are currently working intensively on covering the potential hydraulics requirements in the region. Having three call-outs in the first week shows the potential in Georgia for this service, which is still relatively unknown here. The search for further bases for our mobile Rapid Hydraulic Service continues.