2019 11 22

Out of The Garage to The Fastest Growth TOP Lists

Photo: “Voltas IT”.

 

Easy to understand and always in your pocket: could car diagnostics be smart, mobile and accessible to everyone? The developers of “OBDeleven” say: yes! And they are endorsed by hundreds of thousands of users worldwide, with over 800,000 cars already connected to the system created by Lithuanians. No wonder that a system developers company “Voltas IT”, operating in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone (FEZ), took first place in this year’s prestigious ranking of Deloitte’s fastest-growing technology companies in Central Europe.

 

Two brothers, Aivaras and Edvardas Astrauskai, worked in the field of automotive electronics repair and reliably managed a small but successful auto repair shop business for many years. Until they were joined by their cousin Martynas who was fascinated by electronics and programming. He became the missing link from which the development of a modern product for cars began.

“By that time, almost everyone had a smartphone, so we realized we could offer a diagnostic solution for the car of the future,” says Aivaras, Head of Business Development at “Voltas IT”.

Immersed in the works, men soon tested a unique product in their workshop: the world’s first professional intelligent diagnostic system “OBDeleven”. In 2014, they founded “Voltas IT” in a simple garage and launched the Beta version.

The app’s popularity and sales have skyrocketed: today, the app has been downloaded more than 1 million times, connected to more than 800,000 cars, and more than a thousand new users join “OBDeleven” daily. The main users are car enthusiasts, for whom the car is more than a means of transport. Most of the company’s sales consist of exports to Western Europe and the USA.

 

Direction – Kaunas

As the system’s popularity and sales grew rapidly, the garage in Jonava district had to be replaced with more spacious and suitable premises.

“In 2018, we decided to move the company to Kaunas. The new modern office building in the FEZ area seemed very convenient for us in terms of communication and business development opportunities,” says Aivaras, claiming that Kaunas is attractive to their company due to strong growth in various fields, good specialists, developed infrastructure and quality of cultural and social life.

Over a few years, the team of “Voltas IT” has grown to 25 professionals from various fields and, according to company executives, there are plans to grow even further: the company is constantly looking for people in the areas of programming, engineering, customer service, sales, and marketing.

 

Growth leaders in Europe

During the 5 years since its creation, the “OBDeleven” system has been constantly changing and evolving, with more modern solutions, new features, new virtual products for the car, and adaptations to newly released car models. To secure its future prospects, “Voltas IT” signed a cooperation agreement with “Volkswagen AG” in 2016, and today they undoubtedly are the leaders in smart diagnostics.

Photo: founders of “Voltas IT”, from the left Martynas, Aivaras, Edvardas.

Leadership and acceptance by customers were also recognized in “Deloitte’s” annual ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies in Central Europe: this year, “Voltas IT” was recognized as the fastest-growing company in the Central Europe region. And this is not surprising: the average growth rate of a company in 2015-2018 was as high as 5,734 percent!

“Our goal is to create a modern product that every car driver wants: useful, easy to understand and accessible to everyone. So, I would say that the main reason for our ultra-fast growth is a good product and endless passion for it,” says Aivaras, one of the creators of “OBDeleven”.

As a pioneer in this field, “Voltas IT” has almost no competitors in professional smart diagnostics.

“We do not consider companies in traditional car diagnostics as competitors because our customer groups are different. Our biggest asset is fast innovation launching, up-to-date data (licensed by “Volkswagen AG”), and user-generated content,” says the Head of Business Development.

According to him, the biggest challenges of the company today are attracting, training and retaining top-level professionals, sustainable growth of the company, and ensuring the security and stability of the “OBDeleven” system.

Expansion to other car models support is planned in the near future: an agreement has already been signed with the BMW concern. In the future, “Voltas IT” intends to develop new products to facilitate the daily life of the drivers as well as to use artificial intelligence in the field of vehicle diagnostics and repair.

Information by “Kaunas IN” Business Division.

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