“Our goal is not to offer affordable products, but quality products at an affordable price. This guiding principle has been the secret to our success for many years, and it helped us survive in the crisis,” says Grigori Ushakov.
With a doctorate in business administration, he entered the beverage manufacturing sector in 1997. Over a floor area of some 1,000 square meters, he currently produces some 500,000 bottles of quality soft drinks and mineral water every day. The company’s annual turnover amounts to approximately € 20 million. Yet, the entrepreneur wasn’t always a success.
In 2004, when Ushakov decided to participate in the BMWi Manager Training Programme in Germany, his business was doing well, but productivity was low and the quality of his products left room for improvement.
“I was impressed by the high labour productivity during my first visits to German companies. Their annual filling rates were as high as one million litres per employee, which was three higher than in my company at the time.”
On his return home Ushakov undertook a thorough analysis of his company. Instead of producing for the warehouse, he introduced a just-in-time delivery service, and also decided to invest in a new production line which he had seen at a beverage trade fair in Nuremberg. He is now considering purchasing a new energy saving and environmentally-friendly packaging system from a German manufacturer.
Through restructuring and investments, he hopes to triple productivity by late 2011. The new technology has already helped improve the quality of soft drinks and expand the product range. Over the years, Ushakov has secured a market share of around 40% in his region and around 15% in the remaining part of the country. Since 2008, he has been producing soft drinks without preservatives, using 100% natural ingredients. This means also using fruit juice concentrates from Germany.
“We make products for our children and ourselves”, says the father of six and grandfather of two. “Maybe that’s the secret of our success.”
Name: Dr. Grigori Ushakov
Company: Panda, Vinnitsa, Ukraine
Sector: Food industry
Position: Owner
Training in Germany: 22 November 18 December 2004
Training centre: COGNOS International, Hamburg