The Kaišiadorys businessman complains about the shortage of staff: if you ask for more money, he gives

After graduating from the Agricultural Academy at that time, the man acquired the profession of an engineer, but he still did not dream of his own business. Now he has a team of 4 who produce a wide range of metal products, mainly sauna stoves and boiler boilers. True, the boilers themselves are not produced here, they are transported from Uzbekistan.

During the pandemic, boilers became popular

The boiler has a large capacity with a semicircular bottom, produces a variety of dishes. Boilers are usually made of cast iron. The boiler cooking method is still very common in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, but the businessman warns that this cooking method has become very popular in Lithuania this year.

“Now they are very popular, everyone buys and produces everything: pigeons, pilaf, you just invented. The wife laughs that there are a variety of techniques, but everyone buys boilers. As long as you spend a few hours, it is fun to get together and socializing, people probably like it. I can’t cook in a kettle, “laughs V. Puroklis.

The entrepreneur says that the kettle pots come in different sizes, such as 22 or 16 liters, and all the ovens are made to order, so all the products are different. Here is V. Puroklis showing the name – the client asked to make a gift – a boiler – for a Valdas friend, therefore “Valdo” was burned on the attached oak table with a laser. A boiler of this type, together with a barbecue, costs about 220 euros.

Develop universal ovens individually

You need a boiler to make a good half day, but you don’t get two in one day.
It turns out that stoves made in a man’s workshop can serve many functions. V. Puroklis shows a great universal oven created by him. Such a device is already more expensive, it costs about 900 euros.

“I created something very interesting: here it shows the temperature, there is a smokehouse, like fish, then there is a boiler, after removing it, there are rings – elections, when you remove them, the barbecue is gone, you can also Grilled. It is possible to complete the grill, it can also be turned into an oven, to bake, say, a cone, he says. – It used to be cheaper, but now metal has become more expensive, so production has become more expensive. It’s bad for us for that, but somehow we’ll make a living. We cannot raise prices much. Metal is not the main component of the product, so not everything has become twice as expensive, only a small percentage ”.

The interlocutor claims to have many competitors, but for that reason he is only happy, he calls them assistants.

“I create everything myself, it is a pleasure when others copy me. I go first, others after me ”, he laughs. Life has learned everything, it all comes from here ”, he points out, nodding.

The quarantine has brought benefits

Sauna stoves here cost from 400 euros. They are only produced individually, so all orders are different. The businessman assures that orders are usually fulfilled in two weeks. There is certainly no shortage of orders, but customers have to wait a few months.

“It was a cold winter this year, everything exploded, it froze, I said we would relax, but none of that: everyone tidied the stoves, we worked and we did not stop. The quarantine was even better for us, everyone was sitting on the shoulder at home ”, smiles V. Puroklis.

The interviewee points out that there is also a seasonality in this business: “I go on vacation in August, I relax a bit, there is usually a quieter period, then in winter, in January, when everyone spends money, orders go down. In September, when everyone returns from the holidays, there will be a sharp increase in orders. “

Previously, a man with metal products traveled all over Lithuania, participated in 6-7 exhibitions a year, so, as he says, Lithuanians already know. “Thanks to the pandemic, how good that these shows are over, there is no need to transport products,” he jokes.

He refuses to work with retail chains.

V. Puroklis claims that it does not cooperate with commercial networks, because it just doesn’t work.

“I don’t supply the stores, prices go up there, it’s nonsense, it’s better not to start with them. Unreasonable fees are “charged” to you. Senukai has repeatedly requested to supply products. When I read your demands, I realized that I would be working for nothing.

We have to do both and two, large quantities, although we would, but the arrangement will be at some point when I sell it. Failure to deliver on time will result in immediate penalties. You still have to do promotions on time. That’s what I said, why do I have to support you? Whoever needs it comes, Lithuania is not big. I’ve been working for so many years, you know me, who needs to call and come. Buy it, ”he says.

If the employee wants more, pay

When asked about employee motivation and the challenges a pandemic poses, the man is outspoken – he never has employee issues. The company employs locals who have already tried emigration in Ireland but have returned due to favorable conditions in their homeland.

“If you have normal people who want to earn money, there are no problems. They say there are no people to work for. The biggest nonsense is that people need to pay the money on time to get enough. You asked for more – give more, then you will have employees. The reason everyone leaves Lithuania and comes from Ukraine is motivation with money, ”says the businessman.

The interviewee observes that training a welder or other person to work with metal is extremely difficult. The training takes at least a year before the new employee can already work independently.

“Teaching a person this job – it is difficult, if I tell him – go ahead, he will go away, and what you will have – he will come to know nothing, he will get mixed up underfoot, he will make a defect. Then you calculate that maybe it is better to pay if you ask, take it ”, says V. Puroklis, but does not reveal the salaries paid. Laughing, he says he won’t get back those who want to work later.

If a new hire comes in, other colleagues train him internally. You will not learn this job in any other way.

“The vocational schools haven’t learned anything, they take money, then a person comes and doesn’t know how to cook, then we train them. One was curious: there is a nearby vocational school that sends students to practice. A child welder came; for two days she was doing something here, scrubbing, dressing. Later, he says he wants to talk, “I don’t like physical work.”

Currently, in addition to the manager, there are four more employees and an accountant. V. Puroklis himself dominates a bit, because he is mainly dedicated to management: the phone is almost silent.