Andrascik, who took a job with P&G right after graduation, says his plans for Romania include development of the plant at the same rate as until now to be able to serve millions of customers with Timisoara-made products.
“If we were to look at the sizes of the P&G worldwide production facilities, Timisoara plant is one of the smaller production plants; this being said, we do deliver better results in many areas compared to our mega plants in other parts of Europe,” Andrascik said.
“My colleagues are committed, passionate and motivated and we would like to continue delivering at the same pace serving several millions consumers across geographies with P&G products produced in Timisoara.”
He would not say how high the plant’s production capacity is or how much production is worth, though.
The plant in Timisoara, which had 600 employees at the end of last year, posted 144 million lei (EUR32 million) revenue in 2012, the same as in 2011. The facility operates at maximum capacity and makes Ariel, Tide, Bonux, Fairy detergents and Ace laundry bleach. Fifty percent of the production in Timisoara is exported, mainly to Balkan countries and Turkey.
P&G arrived in Romania in 1993 and two years later bought the detergent plant in Timisoara.
Andrascik has been working for the US giant since 1996, where he has held various positions.
“My assignment in Timisoara is just great both from family and professional point of view. My parents in law live five minutes from our place and we are just seven hours by car from Prague. Professionally it is my first assignment as a plant manager. In brief, I would say that at this stage in my life, this is the perfect assignment for me.”
Tomas Andrascik replaces Adina Pascu, who left her position with the P&G plant in Timisoara to become general manager of the largest European plant of the group in Novomoskovsk, Russia. She thus returned to the plant where she supervised liquid detergent production for two years starting 2003. Pascu was put in charge of the Timisoara plant in 2007 and has been working for P&G for almost eighteen years.
Andrascik took his position at the plant in December but says he does not see Romania as a completely new country for him.
“It all started in 1986 when I spent holidays in Mamaia at the Black Sea. Prior to my assignment, I have been visiting Timisoara frequently since 2004 and witness its fast development. And in 2010 I got married in St. Nicolas church in Timisoara: as mentioned previously, Romania is my second home.”
He explains that transition is part of his lifestyle, having moved from Czech Republic to Belgium, Australia, Russia and now Romania.
“Moving from one location to another was very easy. When I took this new assignment and we moved from Prague to Timisoara, it was like going to our second home, as my wife is from Timisoara. This location is the 15th place I have moved in, so in this context, you may understand why I say that it’s a “way of living”.”
Getting a new assignment in P&G, in a different location, is normal, considering the ‘promote from within culture’ that the company is built on, he said.
Tomas Andrascik says he chose to stay with P&G and not go to work for another company for three reasons: the job rotation system, the people one gets to work with and the company values.
“You never get bored, once you start to reach your comfort zone in a specific role, you will move to a different job. It makes you learn and grow constantly.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)