Slovax Does Credit to Slovakia

The spouses Katarína and Matúš Tokarčíks came to the islands ten years ago. They both started their lives there at jobs that they were allowed to take on within their visa requirements, i.e. as au-pairs, personnel of restaurants or workers at construction sites, wherein they gained many contacts who in turn became their future clients. 

What were you doing in the first years or months after your arrival to the UK?
Matúš was working at many renowned construction companies and participated in various interesting commercial projects in the exclusive department stores Harvey and Nichols and Selfridges, as well as in the Sainsbury’s su­permarket chain.      
In 2000, we founded a construction company with the prosaic name: Slovax.

How did you feel when doing business in this new environment?
We were not afraid of doing business in England, because their legislation was assisting small traders through different informational brochures. The advantages were clearly seen in the detailed and transparent websites (www.businesslink.gov.uk, www.hmrc.gov.uk), which are also translated into Slovak. Our other advantage was that we are proficient in English and are able to communicate with a client without major problems.

Many people recall with love their first larger assignment after years of hard work. What was it in your case?
Our first larger assignments came in co-operation with a Finnish interior designer with whom we closely worked with for clients, mostly in the lucrative London districts – Chelsea and Kensington. One of these assignments was the complete reconstruction of the apartment for the Jordan princess, with whom we still maintain working contacts.

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What construction and adaptation works have you carried out most frequently?
The company specialises in the construction of family outbuildings and the conversion of attic rooms. Our favourite work involves projects and works that require the overall reconstruction of interior premises, where Katarína can realise her full potential in interior design, for which she obtained a diploma.  

Who are your employees? Did the criteria, according to which you chose them, change?
Our employees are exclusively Slovaks, partly because of the effective communication at the workplace and partly because of the working zeal. We have a „sixth sense“ for the selection of employees but, of course, the main criterion is their professionalism and knowledge of their respective profession. We employ certified professionals only to eliminate errors and, of course, also because of the professional result and guarantee.

Who are your main competitors on the domestic market – the English or immigrants such as the Polish?
The competition throughout the UK as well as in London itself is tough and so, of course, it must be taken into account. Naturally our competitors are the English, but also various immigrants from Poland, Lithuania, China and recently, Romania.  

Transactions on the real estate market have nearly stopped due to the current crisis. How did it influence your company and the type of your usual assignments?
Transactions on the real estate market have stopped and real estate prices have decreased up to 20%, including directly in London. Fortunately, we are not reliant upon the real estate „tigers“ and we have strongly taken root in the area of private projects. We mean by this that we work directly for the customer in his or her own real estate.
We feel honoured that we have had long-term co-operation with the Slovak Embassy, for which we carry out different construction works and with which we maintain close working relations. 

Each company usually has development plans in place. Where would you like to be in five or ten years?
The economy and environment will increasingly become closely connected with the construction industry. The United Kingdom belongs to the leading countries that are taking radical measures in favour of the environment and various industries and sectors are beginning to abide by them. For this reason, we believe that the way our company has chosen to take, and will continue to follow in the future, must be environmentally based.
In a period when energy prices increase, we will focus on the utilisation of natural sources, such as the recycling of storm-water, solar collectors and underground sources of thermal energy. Our aim is to contribute to healthier and more economical housing in the following periods in the projects to be implemented in the UK or in Slovakia, which is where we plan to open a branch in the near future.



Contact:
Slovax
Katarina Tokarcikova
+44 (0)7916151294
+44 (0) 208 204 1502
slovaxbusiness@yahoo.com

Photo: Slovax

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