Olivia Prize 2020 awarded! VTS Group, p-beep and EPAM Systems win the first edition of the Olivia Business Centre awards.

Olivia Business Centre, the largest business centre in Poland, awarded its Residents for their greatest and most important achievements of 2020. The winners were selected from 46 submitted projects, competing with each other in three categories: Olivia Pro Bono, Olivia Business and Olivia Global. The Grand Prix was won by the Polish company VTS Group.

VTS Group was also recognised in the Olivia Global category for the popularity enjoyed by the Group’s products around the world, as well as the supply of the most modern Ventus VVS ventilation and air conditioning units, fan coils and air curtains at EXPO 2020 in Dubai. 414 VTS “production centres” have been installed in the exhibition halls of 17 countries as well as in the Polish pavilion.

The EXPO exhibition is the most important global economic event that contributes to the international promotion of countries in terms of technological achievements, innovation and ecology, as well as tourist and social potential. The possibility of installing Polish solutions in the pavilions of so many countries identifies this project as outstanding on a global scale, which was noticed by the jury, awarding VTS Group the Global category.

The additional distinction with the Grand Prix was due to the involvement of the company’s global logistics resources in the importing of 150,000 masks for the Pomeranian Voivodeship in the first weeks of the pandemic, in partnership with the Business Center Club and the Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

– We are very pleased that the jury of the Olivia Prize competition appreciated the projects implemented by the VTS Group last year. – says Hanna Siek, VTS Group President. – Due to the prevailing pandemic, it was a particularly difficult year for all of us – globally. I am particularly proud because, despite various challenges and difficulties beyond our control, VTS found itself perfectly in the new reality and used this difficult time as an opportunity for even more dynamic development. This allows us to be optimistic about the future. This award is a great opportunity to thank all employees and associates of VTS Group around the world who, despite the limitations related to the pandemic, have not, even for a moment, ceased to set the pace that others are trying to catch up with. What we have achieved and are still achieving within the VTS Group is for all of us a reason for great joy, pride and satisfaction.

The winner in the Olivia Business category is p-beep for the p-beep paging system. The main task of the p-beep system is to help maintain efficient communication between people in places where classic communication is difficult due to external factors, such as noise, long distances or the need for discretion. The system serves, amongst others, medical services in temporary hospitals throughout Poland, and in the temporary hospital organized at the National Stadium in Warsaw. Thanks to the solution consisting of touch buttons located next to the beds, patients can quickly and efficiently notify the nurse about the need for help. Nurses receive a vibration signal on the smartwatch, as well as a message indicating from which bed the alert came. The systems also work well in large industrial plants, including Polish factories of global tycoons, including Samsung, Bosch / Siemens.

– The Olivia Prize Business award is a great honor for us, and also a great joy – says Grzegorz Poźniak, president of the p-beep management board. – In our daily work, we are most pleased with positive comments from our clients who confirm what we believe in. And we believe that technology, and more specifically p-beep paging systems help, improve and facilitate work, as well as, what is most valuable nowadays, ensuring safety. When we have been recognised and awarded with such a valuable award as the Olivia Prize in the Business category, we are convinced that we have chosen the right direction and that our work makes sense. There are many factors that have shaped us. One of them is the environment in which we live on a daily basis. Over the last few years, we have taken part in many initiatives organized by Olivia Business Centre and O4 Coworking, which have a visible impact on the development of our company. It is a unique place that provides conditions for development, as well as making everyday work simply enjoyable. – adds Grzegorz Poźniak.

The Olivia Prize in the Pro Bono category went to the EPAM Systems (Poland) and its employees who, when medical services were struggling with a lack of personal protective measures and equipment, decided to support local hospitals by producing 3D-printed face shields according to the open-source design of Prusa Research. Soon over 150 participants joined them and they succeeded in producing approximately 200 face protectors and filter adapters per day – mostly in their homes. EPAM Poland supported the volunteers by covering the costs of the 3D Printing Filament used in the manufacturing process and providing logistics support. Thanks to the volunteers’ and EPAM’s joint efforts, medical care teams could perform their work in safer conditions.

– We are delighted that the initiatives taken by our employees helped support our local health care workers and we are proud of the community of over 150 volunteers who came together to give selflessly of their time to build and deliver the much-needed protective face shields – said Ievgen Berezenko, Head of Northern Poland Delivery, EPAM Poland.

– The awards crown the work on the most important Resident projects in 2020. – says Bogusław Wieczorek from Olivia Business Centre. – By announcing them, we wanted to honor the initiatives and projects carried out by companies operating in Olivia, and additionally promote them in this difficult period of the pandemic. It is very encouraging to see how many important and useful projects were implemented by our Residents in 2020. The projects submitted to the Olivia Pro Bono category are particularly worthy of recognition, including activities in the field of ecology, animal protection and support for charitable organizations, and which definitely dominated quantitatively in this year’s Olivia Prize. – adds Bogusław Wieczorek.

The thematic scope and scale of projects submitted in such a difficult year as 2020 mean that we are optimistic, impatient even, for the announcement of the competition for 2021!