Simon Gies, founder of QIKY at NordBau 2023: "Maintaining information flow through digital documentation"

LECTURA is currently at the NordBau 2023 trade fair reporting on news from the world of construction machinery. Listen to our live report from the Start up Stage 2023, this time with Simon Gies, from QIKY about the fair, industry trends and the company itself.

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Aleksandra Jastrzab: Hello everyone, my name is Aleksandra Jastrzab, and I am representing LECTURA Press today. It's Wednesday, September 6th and we are at the NordBau 2023 trade fair, from which we bring you on-site interviews. I am pleased to welcome Mr. Gies from the company QIKY, a participant of the Start Up Stage 2023 project.

Simon Gies: Hello, I'm pleased as well. First, thank you very much for the invitation. We are happy to be part of the Start Up Stage of LECTURA.

AJ: Mr. Gies, as a start-up company, what do you think about trade fairs, do you prefer to meet your customers in person or virtually?

SG: We are a digital company; that must be said. We've done a lot in the direction of machine data and how we can use QR codes to call up machine information on the machine, the complete life cycle. And as you heard it, on the one hand it's digital, of course, but on the other hand it's also a lot of machine technology, machine data. That goes hand in hand with meeting your customers at trade shows, talking to them, simply being on site and being where the products are. There's nothing like a personal conversation, getting to know each other personally, face to face, talking to each other, simply networking and, of course, presenting the brand accordingly. That works very well at trade shows, especially with QIKY, Quick Information Key, getting the concept in your head, having seen it, having read it. Our slogan is also purposefully a bit jarring; "Bock auf ‘nen Qiky?" (“Fancy a Qiky?”), which should of course be a bit of an invitation so that it sticks. When people read or see something like that, it's even better branding, and that works much, much better at trade fairs. Apart from the fact that we also have many existing customers, many friends, and acquaintances, who you then see again and again at trade fairs. The exchange happens, you bring the name forward again, the people who realize "Oh look, I still had something there, I'd have to call again."  That brings a lot and is especially important for a start-up for networking.

AJ: Besides the environmental benefits, what are the biggest advantages of digital documentation?

SG: For me, another much, much greater advantage of digital documentation is that I can maintain the flow of information. A big problem we have, especially in construction, is that we have a lot of older people who are now retiring, I don't think we need to discuss that now, it would fill an entire podcast. But the main thing is that we simply have an information process, and we need to maintain it, so digitization can be precisely this means to the end. Digital document retention, information on the devices, information to make available, to make available for all who work with it and have functionality with it. In short, not to let the knowledge get lost, but to really keep it there. That's the essential point that I always like to mention, along with the environmental benefits.

AJ: How does your company deal with data protection?

SG: Well, I've kept it relatively short, because I've always thought that there's one requirement that must be considered, and that's the classic, current technical and legal regulations. There, above all, DSGV, we adhere to it, we try to do everything possible in that direction. We try to keep ourselves up to date, we are involved in various committees on how to deal with this. Among other things, we have also co-founded an association for younger start-ups. It's called the CTA, and it helps to provide support, especially in terms of what data backup means. I think everyone makes small mistakes at the beginning, so you must overlook them. But of course, we try to position ourselves as best we can and do everything possible to satisfy our customers.

AJ: What would you like to achieve at NordBau 2023?

SG: See existing customers, of course, get into an exchange, stay in an exchange, present innovations, with cool idea providers on the Start-Up Stage. We've already had two or three cool conversations this morning, with interesting people who also have the same mindset, which is also quite interesting. Expanding name recognition, getting into conversation with customers - simply what makes a trade fair, what makes a NordBau and getting to know a lot of people from the real world. Philip and I are both founders of QIKY, come from the field, and are also known for the fact that we don't necessarily run around in a suit and jacket, but rather in jeans and a T-shirt, maybe even in shorts. You will probably see Philip very clearly at NordBau, tattooed from head to toe, but a very familiar face. That's really what it's supposed to be - practice, trade fair, reflecting life a bit, who we are, what we do and why we're the right choice for construction companies. 

AJ: Thank you for talking to us today.

SG: Thank you very much.

Want to see the start-up's full profile and learn more about its products? Check here > >