Читать книгу Tough Business - Владимир Баранчиков - Страница 12

Do you know what the expression «the inside truth» means? You know, of course, this is the truth, obtained during torture, during which the unfortunate man was driven needles under his nails, and there was no doubt that this was the bloody truth – the ultimate truth, the crystal clear truth. But this chapter is not about torture.

I didn’t know many serious companies that, as a result of adverse events, were able to return to the previous level. As an example, we can cite the fall and collapse of the Baltic Financial and Industrial Group, a powerful oil trader and concern in the North-West of Russia. As a result of the actions of competitors, its organizer and ideologist Pavel Kapysh was killed by a grenade launcher shot in his armored car on the University Embankment in St. Petersburg, and the security service could not prevent this tragedy. Our Holding was also attacked by criminal elements, the leadership kept the powder dry, successfully fought and defended our independence. The blows of fate, terrible blows, we felt in the future, but today we overcame the financial crisis, and new divisions were thrown into battle, namely the legal department and the Vice president for Trade, Mr. Amir. One day he called me and asked me to submit a draft contract. I specified which one was Russian or export, he chose the first option. Then, in the presence of a lawyer, I was asked a number of clarifying questions, which were answered. Where the delivery is, what we deliver is a mystery to me (I have already written about the competitive syndrome in our organization). The lawyer developed the contract, the vice-president approved it and submitted it to the president for consideration.

Three hours later, my intercom phone rang with the president:

– Come in. What contract did you transfer?

Explained: what they asked for, he gave.

– The contract is no good, give me an export option. And check the final edition!

– But there’s a lawyer there, – I ventured.

– A lawyer should also be taught!

That’s it! An engineer teaches a lawyer how to draw up a contract! However, I didn’t have to teach, guess why. Soon they were left without a legal department, however, as well as an insurance and travel company. Marina and Vsevolod Valentinovich still held on, but it was clear that this would not last long – the structure of the «Holding» was truncated in the process of optimization and reasonable cost savings.

One, two – and I drew a contract for ten thousand tons of oil bitumen for delivery to Ukraine, the Lutsk roofing material Plant. The technology of making roofing material is quite simple – cardboard, in fact paper, is impregnated with this bitumen and at a certain temperature, a well-known roofing material is obtained. It is clear that the plant has no money, deferred payment. In this case, the functions in the department were ordered to be divided: I am engaged in the shipments of the refinery – they know me there and do not give these contacts to others of ours, technical issues are also for me, and Sergei Nikolaevich is sent to native Ukraine to establish working relations at the plant – something he stayed in the office too long… He returned five days later with fascinating stories about visiting the restaurant, but I didn’t hear anything sensible – apparently, he thought it was wrong to share information with me. Shipments from the plant began, and in the first batch received, Lutsk found a violation of the standard for the most important parameter – the viscosity of bitumen. I figured out that the viscosity of bitumen is determined by the depth of penetration of the needle. The question arose – either we stop the shipment, or we solve quality issues by lowering the price or increasing the payment period, if this is not critical for the technology. We went the second way and offered the plant to specify the tank numbers, the weight of the cargo and the amount of deviation from GOST. And here is a letter on the letterhead of the LRZ plant with signatures and seals on my desk: a deviation of the limit parameters was detected in six railway cars…

The writer O. Henry in one novel has an example of a meaningless question: what is a policeman for? And why is there a smart boss and a computer, let me ask? Also a meaningless question! And in order, I will answer you that you can miraculously make sixty out of six cars on paper, and ask for a discount in the price from the manufacturer of this bitumen in the amount of fifty percent, and the most amazing thing is that the refinery agreed with this. In fact, these cars with bitumen stood on the tracks for a long time, the director of the LRZ even saw them with his own eyes, but he could not buy them. And if I could, why would we exist then, because our company took the risks of non-payment, and for the refinery, in theory, it is not permissible.

Day after day, week after week, and there is still no money for bitumen, despite our requests and demands. But suddenly a miracle happened: a familiar supplier from roofing material contacted Sergey and said in an agitated voice that some people had called the director of the plant, threatened on behalf of the Holding and advised the director to «say goodbye to his family». For debts, you have to understand. Of course, the sane Sergey Nikolaevich, as a former employee of the internal affairs bodies, brushed aside all these fabrications and said that he did not know anything about it, and there could be no such thing, we are not the mafia… We exchanged meaningful glances. Soon the payment slowly began to creep, but apparently not very significant in order to calm down some evil forces. After a while, we were informed that the director’s summer cottage had accidentally burned down. Then the director quit, something with health that did not allow him to live long in retirement.

The responsible persons at the roofing material plant stirred in fright, began to look for money and offer barter – in fact, the roofing material itself. This is what Sergey did, but without much success, our long-time partner in fuel oil, Andrey, joined him to help. He himself was originally from Ukraine and had useful contacts. But in general, the situation was difficult, the debt remained significant. In April, two representatives of the plant came to us to negotiate with our management – I would not like to be in their place. The result: Khazir Daudovich at the meeting abruptly stated that Muzychenko had «failed» the contract with Lutsk (by the way, I have never heard him call Sergei by his first name). Sergey hung on a thread, he was suspended from exports and left only deliveries to Russia. Viktor Vasilyevich, the head of the department, was assigned to deal with petroleum oils and reassigned to Vice-President Amir, effectively removing him from large-tonnage petroleum products – fuel oil and diesel fuel. As Gorchakov told me, a talented organizer and a successful performer of this plan:

– We have defeated the Ukrainian mafia!

Including me.