About the Firm whose Leader is the Businessman of the Year of the North Moravian Region

Prosperita | 18.4.2006 | column: Success in business | page: 9

If I told her that I wanted to get to Bochemie, she would surely have directed me through the footbridge across the railway lines and I would have been there. Neither with the first receptionist was I lucky enough. "I cannot let you in to the director here, you have to go back and then near by road on the right to the Prefab," she said. This capital letter P befits to the prefab. It was written on the visitor’s card like this and the small piece of paper opened for me the door to Ing. Ladislav Kraus, director general of Bochemie s.r.o., who was awarded the Businessman of the Year of the North Moravian region last year.

* Your enterprise, Bochemie, limited liability Company, has been a private company since 1994. What can you tell us about its history?

This company has a very long history. We celebrated the hundredth anniversary two years ago. Thus, it was founded in the time of Austria-Hungary. At that time, the firm did not manufactured the same products, as it puts on the market at present, but nowadays we still manufacture some of the then product. Actually, it is zinc chloride that is at present produced only marginally, but is offered by our firm and demanded on the market.

* You are a top Czech producer of disinfectants and cleaning products. Is it possible to define at lest a little the market segment, on which Your products break through?

First of all, I must say that we are a small chemical factory focused on production of chemical specialities. Someone might say that according to the number of employees we are a medium company, but the typical size of a chemical factory operating worldwide is absolutely different, therefore we are a small company. However, I add to it that according to the European Union parameters for offering grants, we already are a big company and thus without grant right. For example, we have a very narrow segment of high-quality steel deforgeability. Here, we primarily focus on stair steel wires, which in itself is, a considerable specialization worldwide. So, we are in this respect number one in the world and we can openly say that our lines stand form the United States, the whole Europe through to South Korea. We can boast with a similar position in production of materials for alkaline accumulators. In the field of cleaning and disinfecting products for households, we mostly concentrate on our domestic market and the neighbouring Slovak market, too. We are engaged in business of disinfectants for health care and other branches as well. In the field of fungicides, I would like to mention our agent Bochemit. Due to its excellent effects against mildews and wood-destroying fungi, it is widely used in building industry not only in our country and in Slovakia, but thanks to our active business policy also in the Baltic States. From there, we want to reach the Russian market and then markets in the lands, where a lot of wood is used for building.

* You have been the director of Bochemie s.r.o. for nineteen years. Is there something that you can give You more pleasure in Your function?

I like to I see people enjoying that, what they designed and prepared themselves, what we have agreed on and when it leads to successful ends. I am pleased that it is up and running here. It has not always been like this and my function has not always been pleasant, either. The beginnings, after we became independent, were most difficult. Whether I wanted to bring myself to admit or not, a lot of things directly depended on me at that time. The smallish group of people with them it all here rested was in the first years overly small. Now it is much bigger, which I consider to be a great success. It is exactly about this involvement of people who were just passive executors sooner.

* At present You employ 420 workers. Is it difficult to coordinate this team?

It is not important at all how many employees you direct. Most important thing in our firm is to manage more business activities that differ one from another. We are not in one homogenous business. And this makes the management most difficult. We have five basic activities in our parent company. Disinfecting and cleaning program for health care, institutions and agriculture, then follows protection of wood and building materials, then cleaning and disinfecting program for households. The fourth activity is field of metal surfacing and finally the fifth is production of materials for electrochemical current sources. Layman maybe cannot see it at first sight, but these products are greatly different one from another not only in the way of their production and what they are made of , but possibly in their customer structure and sales promotion, too. Let us have as an example our products for households supplied under the brand name SAVO. Exactly for them, we have the typical standard marketing with media promotion, multistage distribution and so on, as it is usual with consumer goods. Our supplies of chemicals for surface working in steel industry with the name Feropur are realized in a completely different way. Here, we through our subsidiary company first supply pickling line serving for steel deforgeability and we subsequently supply Feropur that is the principal component in the pickling process. It is something totally different than in the case of brand SAVO.

* I cannot resist asking You the question that You certainly anticipate to be asked about: the above mentioned brand SAVO. What is its story actually like?

With SAVO we are number on the market, though only on the Czech and Slovak one. The product and brand name has existed since the 70^ies of the 20^th century. For the reason of objectivity it is necessary to add that such product was known on West markets even before, but rather as bleacher. By the way, this discrepancy in comprehension and usage lasts up to now. In the United States is a similar preparation taken as washing agent for white laundry, in our country hardly anybody would pour it into the washing machine. It is taken as unambiguously and solely designed for cleaning and disinfecting. There are at least two opinions on how the brand name SAVO originated as well. The first one says that it is based on the initial letters of the term sanace vody (water maintenance), the second claims that it is a French word for cleaning soap - savon. But it is nowadays almost impossible to trace it, how it really was.

* I am interested in Your view on the role of promotion and advertising. Is it at all possible to realize it in the conditions of a small chemical factory?

Advertising surely plays a big part, although thanks to general knowledge of the brand, the investments in it do not need to be so huge. And as regards our line of products dependent on it into a certain extent, and in our domestic conditions, it is not that bad. But from the international point of view, specifically, if we would like to enter the big west markets, where nobody knows this brand, then our opportunities are very limited. This also shows what a small chemical factory can afford and what its giant multinational competitor can afford even in advertising.

* Is there anything from the part of authorities or legislation that places obstacles in your way?

There are lots of things. Not only our legislation but also legislation of the European Union makes everything more complicated than it would be nice. There are more and more rules, regulations, directives and notices around us again and they all stifle the business freedom. I do not claim that any kind of regulation or rules should not exist, but it is really too much. There are so many changes and regulations from the point of view of European Union regarding the chemical industry that is an extreme effort just to monitor them. Though, that would not be the worst thing. It is bad that nobody knows what decree or regulation is going to be effective tomorrow or in five years. And this makes our situation harder. We buy a great number of chemicals, then we mix them and this is how our product originates. How can we plan our development when we do not know which of them will and which of them will not be available in the near future?

* What is Your future will for Your work?

Perhaps that I would still find pleasure here and that our firm would work like a charm even in time, when it will need me only occasionally.