Oleksiy Raubetski: Development is when you start earning more

The family of Aliaksei Raubetski did not live well. The situation was especially difficult in the early 1990s. There was not enough money for living, the parents were forced to go to work in Poland.

Oleksiy spent summers in the village, helping with the housework, he even had to milk the cows.

While studying at a technical school, he worked part-time as a poster of advertisements and distributed magazines. And at the age of 25, together with a partner, he founded the company Adipol 2007, which he successfully manages to this day.

In a candid interview, the CEO of Adiopol 2007, who recently received the Eurasian Honor For many years of efforts in the cause of the Eurasian rapprochement of countries, cultures and peoples, spoke about the specific features of the work of his company, recalled a curious life hack and admitted that he had changed his priorities.

  – Oleksiy, your company has been operating on the market for more than 15 years. How not to lose motivation and how do you see the further development of the company?

– Development is when you start earning more. The production of more products can be considered development if it has led to an increase in profits.

We often have a dispute with a colleague about which way to improve. I always answer that we have a certain throughput, the capacity of our production.

If we take twice as many orders, we will not be able to fulfill them due to the capacity of the equipment. The production technology is such that by hiring twice as many workers, you cannot produce twice as many products. Based on this, our main goal is to sell more expensive.

Therefore, you need to choose a better order case so that the added value is higher, and not load production with low-margin goods. But here it is important not to miscalculate.

If you are focused on the production of only expensive orders, then such contracts may not get.

– Products intersect, and we are obliged to provide the maximum range. We have to make uncomfortable positions that take more time and give less profit. Otherwise, we will not be a profitable supplier.

Oleksiy Raubetski

– Can you give an example of expanding the product line?

– Relatively recently, they began to produce collar heaters, which are installed on injection molding machines. This is a more mastered product that does not require expensive equipment, special conditions and additional knowledge.

Therefore, there is high competition in this area, which still does not prevent us from occupying a significant market share.

When we began to understand the products, we began to notice weaknesses in existing manufacturers. We figured out how to solve them in terms of durability and efficiency of the heaters.

At the moment, we do not compete with other suppliers on price, we take quality.

– Any business cannot do without life hacks. Is there a story on this subject?

– Undoubtedly. Another type of product that we produce is heaters for railroad turnouts. If earlier in the winter, workers cleared the arrows of snow with their own hands, now there is a heating system for which switch heaters are made.

This is not our invention, such products already existed on the market. We also decided to take up this type of product and successfully mastered it. True, I had to fill the bumps. Initially, we resold Polish products. And after some time, all the heaters were returned to us.

The problem turned out to be that the European railway comes with grounding – the heater is grounded there for safety reasons. And we have a two-wire line that cannot be grounded, because the rail is a means of communication for drivers.

It turns out that the Poles made heating elements according to their own technology, which did not fit our market, and refused to accept them back. We had to redo everything at our own expense.

 – What market share do you currently occupy?

– Substantial. Of the 10 suppliers on the Internet, 9 will offer our products. Although each site says that they are the manufacturers.

– Doesn’t it bother you?

– I do not mind, but I do not confirm the information when the customer contacts us directly. They probably believe that we are their production, just as I believe that they are our sales department.

– Were there any conflicts with customers?

– The complexity of the business lies in the fact that our products are not a finished product, but a spare part that works reliably as part of the equipment.

Therefore, the products require high competence of both the manufacturer and the customer. The latter has a certain responsibility – he must order correctly. Heaters are not a household product, like a TV that you can plug into a power outlet and it will work.

With improper selection and incompetent use, heating elements can quickly burn out. And the customer may have an opinion that our heater is not reliable.

We often have to deal with such situations and, as a rule, the reason lies in the fact that the customer made the wrong order.

– What are your company’s plans for the next couple of years?

– Now we are working according to the scheme received the order and start working on it. There are, of course, several warehouse items that we try to keep. We have a list of heaters that we can make, and they will definitely be bought.

If you make products in stock – it is cheaper in production than under the order. But for now, we don’t have enough time for that. Therefore, in the near future – replenishment of the warehouse with heaters with a guaranteed high demand.

In addition, the customer, as a rule, in the presence of heaters, is ready to overpay so as not to wait. As a result, they can sell for more.

 – Previously, you were engaged in Thai boxing and tennis. Are these hobbies still in place?

Traveling was my main hobby. My friends and I often went hiking – went down the rivers on rafts and catamarans. I also like to cook very much, I am interested in grilled meat culture.

Sports also constantly appeared on the list, as you need to keep yourself in shape. But not so long ago a global event happened in my life – we had a baby. Now the main hobby is him. Priorities have changed. All free time is taken up by the son.