Jury Todorov: «Our each train, wagon, container… we see in on-line mode»
He started to carry out duties of General Director Deputy on commercial issues of «KARPATNAFTOCHIM» Ltd. in November, 2017 – shortly after renewal of products output at petrochemical enterprise after several years of outage.
So Jury Todorov had to get down to business straight away – to estimate situation quickly and to create the most optimal and efficient structure of his service department as well as to select qualified staff for professional fulfilment of their assigned obligations, professional and functional duties.
As our interlocutor admitted, to start a new page in his working biography at «KARPATNAFTOCHIM» was more complicated compared to his job at Odessa refinery where he had obligations to make customs clearance and to head the delivery department. Easier and simpler was also for him to work at petrol stations network, because practically there was a similar job like at the aforementioned plant. The refinery production and petrol stations could not be compared to petrochemical enterprises. At «KARPATNAFTOCHIM» Ltd. in the processes of production is necessary to be fully involved and to understand them; the scopes of output are huge, the nomenclature is wide and targets regarding products sale and raw material purchase are not even adequate to many great industrial enterprises in Ukraine.
– When I came in August, 2017 to «KARPATNAFTOCHIM» Ltd. for automation arrangement of business processes, sales, logistics shipments as well as solution of other problematic issues of business and commerce, firstly we together with leading specialists and management of the company determined the most optimal structure of the service department of General Director Deputy on commercial issues, – recollects Jury Mykhaylovych. – And it was taken a special decision to form four departments: logistics; sales; customs clearance and pyrolysis feedstock supplies; additional chemical feedstock and fuel-lubrication materials provision, as well as marketing group and also to manage the division of railway unit. But during departments’ formation and selection of specialists to our team I encountered the temporary complications. There was someone who did not understand our business-processes, someone who was scared that will not be able to work in a new team, etc. But I ensured everybody that in our commercial service department will really be such professionals with whom would be possible to work fruitfully and with mutual support. At that time I also mentioned that in future they all will be eager to come to job every day. And it’s really pleasant that many young specialists believed these words and now we are successfully working together.
For more than three years of work at «KARPATNAFTOCHIM» Ltd., I became persuaded that at this great petrochemical enterprise there are all chances for young people to develop their professional knowledge efficiently. But in order to reach this, it’s necessary to have a great desire for each new information, heard from experienced professionals, as General Director of the Company Ivan Pidsadyuk, Manager of Ethylene and PE plant Ivan Fedoriv and other leading specialists, and to absorb the information, like sponge absorbs water, strive to better comprehension and understanding of technological processes, product market, etc., which could be the base for correct decisions regarding taking actions in different situations. Nowhere in high institutions these skills are to be taught.
– Since June, 2017 and till present our enterprise works without cessations. The volume of production at all facilities of «KARPATNAFTOCHIM» is constantly increasing; they have already been working at full rates a long period of time. And in warehouses of the enterprise final products do not lie long they are timely shipped and sold to the Consumers. How did you manage to reach such stability in sales?
– By very laborious and effective activity of our team. When we started our activity, the production facilities in 2017 worked at low rates. At that time caustic soda output was about 7-8 tons per month. Now monthly is produced 15-16 tons of this product, it means twice as much. At the beginning there were problems with rolling stock, car tanks, container-tanks, logistics process arrangement, transportation and products sale to the Consumers, delivery of feedstock to the enterprise. Slowly but surely we tried to solve these issues. The rolling stock has been optimized, were determined definite routes of container trains, shipment planning, the control for all freight transportation to sea ports, railway transit points as well as return of empty wagons and cisterns was automated, and time for products loading and delivery to destination points was considerably shortened. We also managed to improve essentially the situation with raw material supply to the enterprise, to speed this process. Shortly to say, the team of commercial service makes all necessary to create for production facilities of «KARPATNAFOCHIM» favorable conditions to operate on full rates.
On this occasion I’d like to mention a considerable contribution to our joint work by Roman Krohta, a chief of logistics department, who had never before been involved in logistics, and Andriy Shevchuk, his deputy for transportation organization. Both are full of new ideas and own vision of ideas implementation. And these two specialists made great efforts to automate business-processes. Now we can see in on-line mode each container, each cistern, each wagon, and each half-wagon, where are they located, where are they moving to and in general what happens in ports, transit points of our products transportation for further shipment planning. I am proud of the above-mentioned specialists and other representatives of our team with high professional skills – and they are Roman Dzubanovskyi Nazar Pukhta, Roman Psuk, Volodymyr Shtogryn, leading specialist of marketing group, Mykola Homa, chief of railway division. And this list could be larger, because the team of our service department is really professional. Without these guys I could not be a confident leader.
– Whether your team has managed to enter with products sale of the enterprise to markets of some other new countries?
– This year our ambitious dream regarding PVS-S sale to United States came true. We entered at the time being to the market of Brazil – the largest country of South America. I really believe that polyvinyl chloride, which has a great demand in the world will also enter the market of North America, where USA is a world leader in PVC production.
This year was also shipped and sent for the first time to USA our benzene. But however, still main markets for its sale remain countries of Europe.
We not only try to sell our products to Ukraine or abroad. For its sale we search for the most interesting and profitable markets. Previously we also worked with China, but it’s not very attractive market for us, because this is mostly the market of low prices.
Besides Brazil, USA, new markets where we entered with realization of our products became counties of Africa, Israel and other. We exported PVC to countries of European Union, where our products compete with European producers.
– Has your team been affected by coronavirus?
– Yes, a lot of our workers were affected by COVID-19. And I was ill too. It was so hard, 5-6 days the temperature was 38,50. I felt a great weariness, actually I did not lose smell, and I tried not to be in panic. I did not stay in the hospital. I was at self-isolation, followed the doctor’s advice, and drank much water. In such a way I recovered. And when tests results became negative, I upon approval of doctor came back to my job again.
– What do you expect from the year 2021?
– It’s difficult to make prognoses. But considering the fact that now in the world has been developed vaccine against coronavirus the situation on sales markets of petrochemical products is being stabilizing, so let’s hope that the year 2021 will be better than this one. But it’s unlikely to be easier year for the activity of «KARPATNAFTOCHIM» Ltd. The most important, in my point of view, will be necessary to consider pricing professionally, to organize products sale on margining markets correctly as well as purchase of raw materials, to conclude direct contracts for sale and procurement and further surely move forwards, to evolve rapidly, to build new units, new plants and to generate employment for development of Kalush like industrial town.
Was recorded by Vasyl TKACHUK.
On photos: Jury Todorov;
General Director Deputy (in center) together with Roman Krohta and Roman Dzubanovskyi.
