15 minute read
I want to be fair to my people
Roman György has been working at Břidličná since 2005, with the exception of a short break. Three years ago, he started as a Production Director for packaging materials. He considers himself a fair person. A capable team and the opportunity to learn something new every day are his biggest motivation at work. When he goes grocery shopping, he spends a lot of time by the refrigerators, where he compares the products his team makes with that of the competition. He gave the MTX Group Magazine a long interview about his life story.
You are the Production Director at Břidličná. But where did you start?
Have you been a Production Director since day one or has it been a journey? To cut a long story short, I had to work my way up. More than once, actually. You see, this is the second time I’ve been working at AL INVEST. Initially, I started in August 2005, at the metal sheet division of the former tube hall. I was doing quality control and packing at the McKay line at OTK. After that, I started working at the McKay line directly and then at the strip plant, at the salt bath, and eventually at the DUO 8 and DUO 5 rolling mills. I kept on changing positions at the sheet metal division (ALUM) for two years, until I was offered my first technical position – Intermediate Operation Quality Control Specialist. I was reviewing quality control processes for intermediate and final inspections following the ISO 9001 and ISO TS 16949 (aka IATF) quality standards. I worked for four years at this position, gathering experience in quality control. At the same time, I was remotely finishing my bachelor’s degree studies, with a thesis on improving product quality at the ALUM division.
When and why did you leave Břidličná?
After six years at AL INVEST, I decided to quit for a while to see the world. My girlfriend and I moved to Brno. I started working at an automotive parts pressing shop, where I would spend each day making quality control plans based on drawings, and doing product FMEA and instruction cards. After three years, my girlfriend and I decided to travel abroad. And since I couldn’t stay there very long because of my job, I decided to quit and start at a new place. This time in London. We worked at an enormous warehouse of a retail chain. The warehouse was located in the outskirts of London. I was very impressed by the level of logistics and its motivation system, based on daily performance evaluation. Those who weren’t meeting their goals were paid the minimum wage.
When did you decide it was time to leave London and move back home?
We didn’t like living in a big city and wanted to return to Břidličná. In 2014, all technical positions at the ALUM division were occupied, but there was a new opportunity. The Production Director at the FOLB division was looking for a foreman for a color mixing plant. He needed someone fast. On Sunday, I was invited to go see the operation and walk through the workplace, and I started working on Monday.
Did you get back on track or did you have to start anew?
I had to start completely anew. I didn’t know the process, the division, the workers or even the position. A color mixing center is very important for making flexible packaging materials because it prepares the paints for refinement and print. I was no longer working in quality control but in production. I think my bosses were not disappointed with me, because a year later, I was offered the chief foreman position. After a few interviews, we shook hands, and I started another chapter at the company. Two years later, I was promoted again to my current position of Production Director, where I’ve been working for the past three years.
What was your first job? Was Břidličná your first employer?
After graduating from an engineering high school in Bruntál, I went to study at the Technical University of Ostrava. At that time, I wasn’t taking it very seriously and dropped out after the first semester. My biggest priority was football and practice. My mom wasn’t really supportive of this and told me if I wanted to stay at her place, I needed to get a job immediately. I went to a recruitment agency to see Iva Škrkoňová and asked for a job with morning shifts, so I had time for football practice. There were a number of open positions, and I started my career at AL INVEST.
In your current position, what are your responsibilities and how many people are in your team?
As my title suggests, I am responsible for production and affiliated plants such as the color mixing center or roller center. The goal of any production is making materials on time in the required quality, while using resources as efficiently as possible. To put it simply, my responsibility is to manage qualified people so that they use our equipment as safely and efficiently possible to produce quality materials. If there is a problem that interferes with one of these factors, we need to find it, record it, fix it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. The most important thing in production are people, and they are a big part of my job. I need to train them, motivate them, solve their problems, and so on. I need to deal with these things on a daily basis and don’t always do so as well as I’d like. I manage 9 technicians and 128 category-D production workers.
What are the qualities of a good leader?
They should be empathetic, assertive and know their operation very well. These are the basic qualities I would mention at a job interview. Describing a good leader or their qualities is not easy. I think they should be a good all-round leader with moral principles and values. They should be fair to their subordinates and set an example to them. They should work hard, follow rules, and make important decisions on time. Another important thing is good knowledge of production processes and technology. It helps to make the right decisions and to do so quickly. There are several educational institutions and programs that teach these qualities and skills, but without self-criticism and the ability to admit a mistake, it is impossible to become a good leader. This is probably one of the most important skills or qualities that a good leader should have.
What is your normal working day like?
I go to work between six and seven, depending on my son, who wakes up with me between five and six. I review reports from the previous day, check performance, and prepare for the morning meeting. This is the same every day. After the 8:30 morning meeting, each day is a bit different. On Mondays, we usually deal with operational problems from the weekend and have a meeting with the sales team. On Tuesdays, after the morning meeting, I get ready for the meeting about continuous improvement of selected processes. There, I try to spend as much time as possible in production interviewing the workers. Wednesdays are dedicated to quality checks and HR. On Thursdays, we deal with the occupation of machines and the schedule of shifts for next week. On Fridays, I catch up on my backlogs for my boss and do detailed performance analyses. On weekends, I am reachable by phone in case there is an issue such as malfunctions and so on, which are normal in any production process. In the meantime, I work on new projects and investments, primarily as an advisory and data manager. We talk about health and safety at work and the rules. No two days are alike, and the program is influenced by many aspects.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
There are two things. The first is to be as good leader as possible when you often work with limited information and under pressure. This combination can cause occasions when workers are treated unfairly, which is something I want to avoid. I really want to be fair to my people!
And the other one?
The other one is setting my work-life balance. Production runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, about 350 days a year. If you want to have prompt information that is necessary for making decisions, you are constantly on the phone, and this is often very demanding, especially for my family.
What do you love most about your job?
The diversity. There are different problems to be solved every day. Seriously, I’ve been a team player, even outside of work, since I started playing football when I was four. I have to say our current team is strong and motivating. I work with a lot of skilled and expe- rienced people at different levels, from the workshop all the way to top management. I can learn something new every day, which is important to me.
Roman György with colleagues
Photo: Barbora Mráčková
If you didn’t work in production, where would you be?
That’s a tough one. I tried the path of a financial consultant and an insurance agent. I thought about emergency services for a while, but I was always drawn to production and AL INVEST the most.
You work with packaging materials. Have the products you make changed significantly in recent years?
Is there any visible progress in this area? I see three main trends that shape our development: the recyclability of products and the energy intensity of producing them, the increasing pressure on the safety of products that come into contact with food, and the increasing demands on quality. These trends increase the requirements for technical and technological equipment of production facilities and the knowledge and skills of machinery operators. Rather than whole products, their individual components, such as thermoplastic paints, adhesives, and waxes, are changed to maintain the required properties (weld strength, etc.) even with thinner coats. We must also make sure they do not contain illegal substances.
Do you come across your products in your personal life?
Yes, daily. When I go grocery shopping, I often spend a lot of time looking at “our” butters, yoghurts, chocolate figures and so on. I look for defects and I compare ours with those of our competitors. When we show people our products, they are often amazed at how many well-known products we make packaging for. These are mainly dairy products and confectionery packaging, which is distributed to almost all large retail chains.
Which products first come to mind when you say AL INVEST?
Romadur, Lipánek, Zlatá Haná and many more.
How far do you live from work? Was the distance from home important when you were deciding where to work?
It takes me 6 minutes to walk to the front gate and 17 minutes to my office. When I lived in Brno, I would commute by public transport 50 minutes each day, which wasn’t a deal-breaker for me, but I definitely see my current distance as a huge advantage. When considering job offers, this is a key factor, especially if you want to spend time with your family.
Have you always lived in this region, or are you from elsewhere?
Except for the three and a half years, I have always lived in Břidličná.
What has changed the most in the company in recent years?
A lot, actually. The whole leadership. I see the biggest changes in investments and personnel management. A number of investment projects are being discussed that should take us to a higher level. We are establishing a fully automatic cutting center at our packaging plant. I should hopefully soon have the chance to go and check out a similar one elsewhere, as an inspiration. HR is setting up an academy for the systematic education of employees, where we will raise the experts our company needs. More work is being done to motivate flexible and efficient workers. Also, we don’t want to hold on to workers who are not reliable and who don’t perform as well as they should. This should improve the climate and atmosphere inside the company. I don’t think anyone wants to do somebody else’s job.
Can you take a break from work? How do you relax?
I can’t relax by doing nothing, I am always physically active. Since I was little, I have been playing football, which has always been a mental boost for me, and when there was no football, I relaxed by doing other sports. In recent years, I’ve sidelined football and found a new hobby, which is my family. I have an amazing wife who supports me in everything and kids who are great, taking after their mom. Our older one will be three in June, and he keeps us busy all the time. He is the best quality controller, and he never stops, even after asking “why” five times. Finding answers for him can be really difficult. Our younger turned six months yesterday, and she also keeps us busy. Her brother inspires her, and she wants to be as mobile as possible, so she started crawling a little earlier than we expected. There have been a lot of restrictions due to the pandemic, so most of my afterwork activities are with my family in the countryside around Břidličná.
What is your favorite place in the Czech Republic (or abroad)? Where do you like to return?
The Czech Republic is beautiful. Even though I don’t like living in a big city, I like to go to Prague once in a while; it has a special charm for me. And wherever I come back from, the moment I see the Jeseníky Mountains rising in front of me and I see the tower on the Praděd hill, I know I am home. I never get tired of that sight.
Is working in production still attractive for students leaving elementary and high school?
The advantage of work in production is diversity. We need all types of people with a lot of different skills. Besides, today’s generation may be attracted by the rise of automation and robotization, which is part of our new investment projects. Production involves a vast number of professions and is suitable for a large spectrum of graduates. For those who know exactly what they want to do, as well as for those who, like me 15 years ago, have no idea what they want to do in life. Even those who are not interested in working in production, it is an experience that will move them one step further in life.
Who is suitable for this job, which qualities and skills should they have? Does it have to be a “mechanical person” or can anyone do it after training?
The most important quality is diligence and the desire to grow. Mechanical people are very talented, I would say. It’s easier for them, but it’s the same as in sports: talent is not enough, and often the more diligent people take it further than the talented people.
Why should young people be interested in working at Břidličná? What would you use to attract them?
Břidličná is surrounded by beautiful countryside, which is something many people in the country do not have within reach. Everything you need is within driving distance here, often faster than in a big city. The area nearby is a paradise for winter sports. We have football and biathlon clubs with a long tradition. When we are not limited by Covid-19, we can go to the pool, which is free for employees. Every year, our plant organizes cultural events for its employees, such as Fabrikafest, which is very popular here. As an employer, AL INVEST is responsible and dependable. I have never seen it not meet the agreed conditions, and I am not only talking about my team. I am the third generation in my family working for the company. I have never heard about the firm not meeting its obligations to employees. It’s important to remember that the town has been in symbiosis with the factory for 90 years and that the more the factory prospers, the more the town will prosper. Of course, it also works the other way around. We have been writing history together for several generations and I believe that for several more generations we can benefit from our cooperation.
Roman György
Photo: Barbora Mráčková
What would you say to your colleagues (and potential future colleagues) through our magazine?
To those with whom I work, I thank you for the fact that together we manage to overcome all the obstacles that we sometimes hit. And to those who are considering working with us, I look forward to meeting you.
