Only those who dare win

Only those who dare win

The bigger picture can be scary. But what is probably more tormenting is the accusation of never having looked beyond that. An accusation that Petra Goldova and Roman Gold, owners of the Lackdesign paint shop in Vienna 1230, need not make. The dynamic duo said hello to the automotive industry a good year ago and repositioned themselves. And very successfully, as the following story will tell.

Presence of mind

We met Roman Gold for the first time two years ago. The Viennese with a distinctive voice is a friend of honest words and has an unusual foresight. Even back then, he told us that car painting wasn't big business; the leasing and insurance companies were pushing prices down too much. Instead, the company, consisting of six people, increasingly specialized in industrial supplies. AKG is an important customer, the microphones of the Pope and the Rolling Stones received their final coat of paint from Gold's spray gun. Anyone who thinks that Gold is a capricious artist is very much mistaken.

Roman Gold is a down-to-earth man who gets involved every day. As part of the reorientation, Gold made its first contacts with the aviation industry as a sales partner for aircraft paints. Soon they were painting handles and interior covers for passenger jets. The quality was convincing and paint design made a name for itself. Gold is not only a meticulous craftsman, but also a good salesman with the right nose for business gaps. Some people may dismiss this as talent, others see it as a mixture of hard work and curiosity. "Roman is an inventor. When he is faced with a problem, he thinks about it until he solves it," says his business partner Petra Goldova. 

With courage and hard work

While working for the aviation industry, Gold encountered such a problem: repairing interior parts and passenger seats. "In aviation, everything is very bureaucratic, every work step has to be recorded. It's a little easier if you can carry out the repairs directly in the cabin," says Gold, who has also recognized greater pressure from airlines to save money. But how should you professionally repair worn leather seats and scratches in an aircraft interior? Roman Gold began to ponder. His idea: A mobile painting system with water-based paint and special cleaning products suitable for aviation. First, the inventor Gold developed the painting system, the Spotti. The battery-operated compressor with pressure regulation in a compact housing and air brush on the hose now allows damage up to A4 size to be repaired directly in the cabin.

The paint required for this is simply applied using special cartridges. It's quick, safe and doesn't make any mess. The industry was thrilled. Gold hit the nail on the head and knew how to sell his patented invention. Sometimes strange situations arise: “It’s not uncommon for me to be working on the machine in my overalls in the morning and then sitting at the table with industry managers over lunch in the afternoon and negotiating our collaboration,” Gold smiles. Is the down-to-earth nature of this place a disadvantage? "Not at all, I hear the opposite. Our business partners appreciate that we get involved and know exactly what we're talking about and aren't just chatterboxes."

Widely positioned

But the spotting wasn't done yet. Cracks or holes in passenger seats cannot be painted. So Lackdesign developed its own putty and care products for the aviation industry. And as Gold says proudly, but not arrogantly: “I know all the competing products, have tried them all myself, but we have by far the best products on the market, including all approvals.” The Viennese spent a lot of time in the USA to make the products suitable for airlines. The care line is also ideal for household use or car care. The inventors themselves are always amazed at how well the means work.

Here too, the two of them did everything right and patented it straight away. Anyone who thinks that Lackdesign just bought chemicals and relabeled them is wrong. "We created the mixture ourselves. There is nothing comparable, we started from scratch," says Petra Goldova. Lackdesign, a small company from Vienna, now has large airlines and aircraft manufacturers as customers. It was possible because we believed in ourselves and developed ourselves further and didn't let ourselves be defeated. A nice source of encouragement in difficult times like these.