By Jaihaniza Jamaluddin & Dani Taylor
A motto is significant for any organization. It represents the beliefs, ideals, and culture of the organization. At Giatec, if you have ever attended our quarterly townhalls, you would have probably heard our CEO, also known as our “Chief Excitement Office” – Pouria Ghods, mention our motto of “work hard, have fun, make history.” Here are some notable mentions of how “Giatecers” worked hard, had fun, and made history in 2023!
Working Hard
- Student and full-time hires:
- 2023 was a year of big growth for the team! We onboarded 28 students/co-ops, and 49 full-time employees. Of those 49 new full-time hires, 6 of them were past co-op students!
- Achieved the “Best Quarter” result in Giatec history in Q1 of our 2023-2024 fiscal year with 82% growth YoY.
- Broke new records in terms of international sales, pre-sales estimates, and customer onboarding sessions.
Having Fun
- Family & Friends winter tubing event in February:
- We held a snow tubing event at Le Domaine de l’Ange Gardien. We invited our employees to bring family members and friends to come snow tubing, followed by a traditional sugar shack dinner.
- Celebrated Giatec’s 13th birthday party in September:
- In honor of our anniversary, we had a backyard party with music, games, and food trucks. Our employees could gather and enjoy food and great company while celebrating Giatec’s 13th Birthday!
- Continuing the tradition of appreciating our most valued asset – our employees! Giatec had its annual Employees Appreciation Month in August as Giatec kickstarted its 2023/2024 Fiscal Year!
- Each team received a budget to take time off work to do an in-person activity together of their choosing. The activities that the teams chose were paintball, mosaic lamp making, bowling, golfing, hiking, a cooking class, etc.
- The biggest annual corporate holiday party organized to date was in December, where Giatec hosted approx. 180 employees and their loved ones!
- We had our annual Holiday party at the Westin Hotel in downtown Ottawa. All employees were invited with plus ones. They enjoyed dinner, a live band, dancing, a magician, prizes, and more!
- Organized three potlucks in 2023 where “Giatecers” enjoyed delicious dishes from about 20 countries, thanks to our diverse talent!
- We have employees from all over the world and from many different backgrounds. What better way to celebrate and share our cultures than by bringing in different foods that we love? All employees were invited to bring a dish that represented their culture (e.g., a favorite family dish, a tasty treat from childhood, or a current personal favorite). All attendees had a fantastic time trying all the different foods brought in.
- Organized three team blood drives for Canadian Blood Services.
- Employees were picked up from the office in the Canadian Blood Services van and given breakfast, snacks, and fun drinks for the ride. We all had a great time together while helping a great cause!
- Visit an in-person learning session with Olympian, Lisa Weagle in May.
- Lisa Weagle is a three-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion, winning gold 🥇, silver & bronze at the World Women’s Curling 🥌 Championship! Lisa represented Canada in the 2022 and 2018 Olympic Winter Games. She currently competes as part of Canada’s top-ranked mixed doubles curling teams.
Making History
- Launching SmartRock® Pro
- SmartRock® Pro, the latest addition to our award-winning product lineup, was launched in January 2023 at World of Concrete 2023. This first-of-its-kind technology is a fully self-calibrating concrete sensor, making it the world’s most powerful innovation in concrete strength monitoring.
- Commercialization of SmartMix
- Giatec launched the AI-powered SmartMix™ into commercialization at NRMCA’s ConcreteWorks 2023 in September. The first AI-generated mix was put into production by one of our early adopter customers in December 2023.
- Giatec scored a Hat Trick as the 2023 Winner of the Employer Excellence Award from Hire Immigrants Ottawa (HIO) for 3 consecutive years. This award recognizes local employers who have integrated innovative workplace policies and practices centered around the recruitment and integration of skilled immigrant employees.
All these accomplishments demonstrate the commitment of Giatec to its employees and its mission to revolutionize the concrete industry. Giatecers rose to the challenges presented by 2023’s economic landscape demonstrating resilience and perseverance. This is only the beginning of our story as we look forward to keeping working hard, having fun, and making history together in 2024 and beyond!
