Interview with Nehat Loga – From a family trade business to a building materials merchant

The founder and owner of Loga Baustoffe offers personal insights into his remarkable journey – from the first steps to an established business. In this conversation, he explains how he built a successful company through practical skills and business acumen. He reveals his strategies for succeeding against competitors and shares his vision for the future of the construction industry. An authentic portrait of a passion for quality, entrepreneurial courage and the firm belief that the customer must always come first.

Founding and early days

Question: Mr Loga, how did you come up with the idea of founding a building materials business?
Nehat Loga: The roots lie in my family – my father was a civil engineer, and we ran a trade business. While sourcing materials for our projects, I realised: this could become a business. Trading fascinated me, and the idea for Loga Baustoffe was born.

Question: You worked in the trades yourself. How did that help you build the business?
Nehat Loga: Practical experience was crucial! While purchasing for our family business, I recognised the opportunities in trading. Enjoying the challenge kept me going – until we had grown so much that I needed support. At that point I had a choice: work with an established market player or expand together with a long-standing friend. We chose the latter.

Question: What were the biggest obstacles in the early years?
Nehat Loga: Finances! Sourcing materials required substantial upfront funding. A supplier from Macedonia helped with a credit line. It was also important to develop a clear unique selling point – our own brand Pevalit. However, strong growth temporarily caused problems in processing sales. We had to take corrective action to maintain the quality of our processes.

Question: How did you win your first customers? Was there a defining moment?
Nehat Loga: A friend built his house in 2003 – I supplied everything for him. That was the starting point. Suddenly, word spread that we offered fast solutions and fair prices.

Business model and success factors

Question: What sets Loga Baustoffe apart from large competitors?
Nehat Loga: Speed! We deliver before others react. Add to that expertise and real partnerships: for us, the customer comes first, not turnover. Every project is unique, and every day we do our best to support our customers as well as possible. Many customers come because they only hear standard responses to problems elsewhere – we offer trade expertise rather than sales rhetoric.

Question: How important are own brands such as Pevalit or Pevapor?
Nehat Loga: They are the backbone of our business! The brands stand for quality and are established in the market.

Question: How do you find the right manufacturers and partners?
Nehat Loga: Through long-standing relationships and targeted research. At trade fairs, for example, we discovered manufacturers such as Solid – now important partners.

Question: How did you manage to grow despite the competition?
Nehat Loga: Our motto: “It's not the big that eat the small – it's the fast that eat the slow!”

Question: What role does sustainability play?
Nehat Loga: A central one! We recycle expanded polystyrene, plastic sheeting and cardboard, and use green electricity from e.Optimum AG and have a solar installation with a total capacity of 2.5 MW. Our own brands are climate-neutral, and we look for energy-efficient suppliers such as Haering.

Future and expansion

Question: What new products are you planning?
Nehat Loga: We would like to expand our range to include machinery – including plastering machines and accessories.

Question: How do you see the future of sustainable building materials?
Nehat Loga: Building material recycling is becoming increasingly important. We want to keep pursuing this with our own brand and the other manufacturers.

Question: Where do you see Loga Baustoffe in 10 years?
Nehat Loga: I hope the next generation will continue to serve our customers with passion – as partners, not simply as number-crunchers. Our success is based on human values, not numbers.

Leadership and entrepreneurship

Question: What was your most important leadership principle?
Nehat Loga: The question is not when we can deliver – it is how quickly the customer can pay. Speed is everything.

Question: How do you motivate your staff?
Nehat Loga: Through fairness and respect. Courtesy costs nothing, but creates loyalty.

Question: Which mistakes did you regret?
Nehat Loga: “Trust is good, checking is better.” Many things could have been prevented through closer oversight. Sometimes I waited too long before intervening.

Question: What advice would you give young founders in the construction industry?
Nehat Loga: Come to us – we will gladly support and help you!

Question: Looking back, what would you do differently?
Nehat Loga: Hire more trained specialists rather than people changing careers. In the end, their expertise makes them much more cost-effective.

In the conversation, Nehat Loga impressively demonstrated how to lead a company successfully with passion, expertise and clear principles. The founder of Loga Baustoffe showed once again that true entrepreneurship is about more than figures: above all, it is about attitude and a focus on the customer.