Life as a challenge. Interview with Gheorghe Bălțătescu, technical mill manager Holzindustrie Schweighofer Baco

At the beginning, there was a fascination for the military uniform. But it wasn’t meant to be.

A hardship followed, making him, at only 19, forced to become ‘the head of the family’. And he didn’t disappoint.

Gheorghe Bălțătescu – Gheorghiță to his colleagues– first stepped foot in the blockboard factory in Comănești 19 years ago. Today, on the other hand, he muses over half of his life from the position of technical mill manager at Holzindustrie Schweighofer Baco…

 

The story of HS Baco in Comănești begins in the 1980s when, the Wood Processing Complex was one of the most technologically-advanced units of its kind in the country. Over time, the panel factory sketched destinies, built communities and took the wood processing industry in Comănești to new grounds

Today Holzindustrie Schweighofer Baco covers 17 hectares, employs over 700 people and is the largest blockboard factory in the world, at the same time being one of the development engines for a region which, at the beginning of the 2000s, was marred by deindustrialisation and massive layoffs.

The factory processes softwood timber which couldn’t be otherwise be put to superior use and turns it into blockboards and shuttering panels used in the furniture and construction industries. The company is European leader on the segments and its products are sought after by customers in over 40 countries on five continents

On 29 August, 2000, a 19-year old was trying his luck and got a job as a timber stacker at the Finnforest plant in Comănești.

After the same amount of years, the young professional is technical mill manager of the world’s largest blockboard factory in the same location.

“I really wanted to become part of the military, I was impressed by the uniform the soldiers wore and, when I finished the eighth grade, my parents enrolled me in the Military High School in Craiova, in the aviation class,” recounts Gheorghe (Gheorghiță) Bălțătescu. “But I only stayed in Craiova for three months, because, back then, my parents’ marriage was on the rocks and other problems came up.”

So he came back home.

Here, he specialised in computer science at the Industrial Woodworking High School in Comănești, the first generation in the town with a programmer-operator’s degree. But… “in the 12^th grade, just one month before the Baccalaureate, my parents split for good and, from that point on, I had to take care of my mother, my brother and my sister… After the Baccalaureate I tried to find work, I was having temporary daily jobs wherever I could find something. After one year, as I couldn’t find any other viable solution, I filed for unemployment, but immediately, on 29 August, 2000, I got a job at Finnforest,” he adds.

And he started from the bottom.

He first stacked timber at the timber warehouse, then he became a sorter and an operator on the Kupfer Muhle and Torwege machine in the Baco 1 core section and three months later he was transferred to the panel section of the plant, where he ‘befriended’ the Steinemann machine, alongside which he spent more than ten years.

 

 

What’s it like to spend half your life in the same place

 

Today Gheorghiță is 38, married and the happy father of two boys.

However, it’s not always been easy.

“I remember when I first got hired that I finally experienced satisfaction, I had a job, I was earning money,” he says smiling. “But I settled in really hard, it seemed impossible to me, however, I used to always ask myself ‘how do the other do it’? They’re also human, I must resist as well, and I imposed on myself that I had to resist.”

Gheorghiță grew up in Baco.

He now is a mechanical engineer, he graduated in Engineering and Management in the Mechanical Field at the Vasile Alecsandri University in Bacău and, in just a few days, will hold his dissertation for the Masters’ degree in the Management of Industrial Systems for Processes and Services.

Anyone asked about Gheorghiță on the Baco platform would only describe his as “serious”, “perseverant”, determined”.

Alex Agache, the administrative mill manager of HS Baco, recounts their initial meeting: “it should be about five years since I first met Gheorghiță… I was the technical director and he was the Steinemann operator. He stood out because he was the best operator, meaning he had the least amount of rejects, he had the best results in terms of quality and plate calibration, he was the most knowledgeable. He goes guide the operators even now, showing them how to calibrate the machines, which is very important, because he did not forget where he departed from, and that counts.”

How did things change five years on?

“The personal closeness is important on the office,” says Alex. “We have a synergy and an understanding which, from my point of view, can only lead to better things.”

Gheorghiță sees the change through different lenses: “In the meantime I got married, I graduated from University, I am the father of two boys who charge me with energy and, I have to admit that I find it easier now, because I come from an environment which I know – production. But it’s hard at the same time, it’s something new, it’s a giant leap that I took.”

And he’s candid saying that, “if there are people who changed my life 300 degrees they are my wife and Alex Agache – my wife because she made me be ambitious and gave me the determination I now have, and Alex because he knew he can get more from me, he knows I am ambitious, he knows how to motivate me, I am the type of person who hates to disappoint.”

His openness, honesty – which sometimes is perceived as a weakness– and, above all, his results, make him a vital piece of the Baco apparatus.

“I believe in people who dedicate their energy, knowledge, talent and skills to the development of the company and to the betterment of the employees,” says Dan Bănacu, general manager of Holzindustrie Schweighofer Romania. “In a management position one is not only accountable for the operations of a company, but also for the people whose current and future wellbeing is largely up to the way the organisations functions as a whole and to the decisions leaders take on a daily basis.”

 

When expectations are exceeded

 

Gheorghiță was stepping on a new stage of his professional life on 11 March, 2019.

“My first day as a mill manager was interesting, but, at the same time, awkward,” he says smiling. “Honestly, I wasn’t seeing myself in an office. I had expectations, as a shift leader I dreamed of becoming mill manager, that was the next level, but the fact that I took this giant leap led me to feeling slightly uncomfortable, because I prefer to control things. I trust myself and I believe I will manage to digest all the information I come in contract with, even though at times it seems hard to manager.”

The fear of the unknown is, however, reined in by the total support he gets, regardless of the decision he takes in his new role, from both Alex and his family.

The memory of the first weekend after his appointment if the new position makes him smile once again.

“I was euphoric, I was very enthusiastic when I started the new job, but I somehow felt ’thrown to the wolves’ in the vet first weekend,” says Gheorghiță. “I had to take part in a training will all the other mill managers in Romania as well as the members on the board from Vienna! It took me by surprise, it was a shock, I was nervous, but I managed quite well.”

For Gheorghiță, “this is the peak of my career, I want to maintain the level I reached and I want to perform. I used to be a person who wouldn’t have gone outside his comfort zone, but my wife made me wish for more. I consider I am a lucky person, I have everything I ever wanted. I worked hard, I persevered, it hasn’t been easy, it’s been hard since I was 19, nut it’s been a rewarding experience. My life was a challenge. My parents’ divorce matured me, from that moment on I learned how to fight challenges – and there haven’t been few. Owing to Baco I finished my studies, I built a house, owing to Baco I am what I am today, it gave me the chance to persevere. I was always motivated and rewarded fairly for my work.”

A sporty character, the new technical mill manager was, back in the day, part of the factory’s football team. He says he has an open nature, “maybe sometimes too honest, which also led to disappointments. I do not want to change, for anyone;

The dean of my faculty (who I consider a mentor) told me: ‘if you succeeded in everything you did so far just by being yourself, don’t try and change, for anyone, keep it up. If you produced good results, it means you’re doing it right’. I am as determined as back then.”

He gets his inspiration from the people he works with and he’s constantly learning. And all these are noticed and appreciated.

Alex remembers: “When he was promoted to shift leader, he had already proven to be different from other leaders through implication, devotion and his new ideas, one could already see his leadership potential. He is not the right person at the right place and I am certain results will show up and he would manage to team up with all those involved. In any new position one learns new things, experiences new challenged, it is important to trust oneself and know that one can go through anything and be certain they can do it. By trusting yourself, you can do it one hundred per cent.”

Dan concludes: “I have a great deal of trust in Gheorghiță. He was part of the good times as well as of the hardships in our organisation. He know what success is, but he has also seen the black clouds in the economic activity. I am convinced he would do anything in his power, that he would not forget to prepare continuously and that he would always improve his performance so that the people who today depend on him live better, so that together we drive forward one of the best-organised and productive wood processing companies in Romania.”