“We basically start the entire technological flow in the factory!” Interview with Nicu Burlică, shift leader round wood (HS Rădăuți)

Stepping onto the platform at the Holzindustrie Schweighofer sawmill in Rădăuți, the untrained eye sees only stacks of logs, cranes constantly moving around carrying heaps of logs with the same length and diameter, as well as a continuous humming, which makes one think of the way bees work in a beehive. A forestry specialist, though, can name the species one log belongs to, just by taking a look at its color, hue, bark or section. Nicu Burlică is such a specialist.

Looking out the office window every morning when he gets to work, Nicu sees almost one kilometre of lined up crates. The round wood shift leader at Holzindustrie Schweighofer Rădăuți knows that the left side of the line-up is filled with high-quality logs, while the less perfect ones are stored on the right side.

“We, basically, are the department which starts the entire technological flow, that’s why is it extremely important to do our job right from the very beginning, meaning that the sorting of the logs needs to be done according to size and quality classes, so that it goes smoothly for everyone from that point on,” says Nicu.

It’s been 10 years since, fresh off the studying halls of the Faculty of Forestry, he braced up and applied for a job at a multinational that had just set shop in Rădăuți. “I was so proud of my diploma from the Faculty, of the fact that I was going to work with wood, which was a passion of mine, but during the interview no one cared about my diplomas, but only about I was able to do!” says Nicu, remembering how much the technologies he saw when he first set foot in the factory impressed him. “I seriously asked myself when I would find the time to learn so much! It was something completely new to me, I mean, I had done internships in other factories, but I had never seen before what I saw when I came here!”

He got hired as a sorter in the planing hall. “I, however, wanted to come to the round wood department because, as I had a degree in Forestry, I would have done what I learned in school! I ‘survived’ for about one month in the planing hall, after which they sent me to the round wood… I got in the command centre and it felt like I was stepping into a plane cockpit! When would I be able to learn all these things? I really got scared!” adds Nicu, smiling.

From a plain sorter to shift leader in just 4 months

It didn’t take too long, though, for the 25-year old to catch up. “I, above all, had knowledge of the wood field: I already knew species, qualities, I vaguely knew what was going on, all I needed to learn were the technical aspects. And it didn’t take me that long to learn!” remembers Nicu. Responsibilities kept growing, because, in just 4 months since he first stepped foot in the timber factory, he was promoted to shift leader at the round wood department, the place he wanted to be in from the very beginning!

What was the hardest thing, back then?

“Ooo, the hardest thing for me was working with people, because I was basically a child, I had just graduated from university, and many of the crane operators and people under my command could have easily been my parents,” smiles Nicu. “It’s pretty hard to tell a group of 15 people how to do their job, because, if they ask you ‘Why?’ and you are not experienced enough to come up with an answer, you get stuck! I’d gone through a few moments like that, when I felt intimidated, but by talking to people, by giving examples, by being helped by them, we got over it. And there were no complicated issued involving people that I faced.”

You feel fulfilled when your work is appreciated

Now 35 years of age, Nicu is a team player.

He doesn’t brag, he shyly accepts compliments, however, he proudly and enthusiastically speaks about the team he leads. There are 15 people now under his command, but the number fluctuates, depending on the production volume.

“The most beautiful moments happen when your work is appreciated, and we performed really well here, in Rădăuți, by working as a team!” he says. “We can help each other anytime, should one of our colleagues be away on some errand at another factory there wouldn’t be a problem, we help each other.”

He is glad that the company invests in training programmes. “We are now implementing the kaizen system in the factory, through which we learn how to gradually improve what we do, step by step, each day. Yes, I know that results cannot be seen immediately, but from what we implemented so far, I can already notice some improvements. I believe results will come, at it is somehow a shame we didn’t to this earlier, but, as they say, better late than never!”

At work, Nicu feels at home, especially since his wife has also been working for the company, for 2 years now, in the financial department. They met during university years and they moved to Rădăuți on the spur of the moment, without any plan or idea of what to do. “But now we bought a house in the city, we live here and we feel it is very important to have the security of a stable job. We do have that! In the meantime we also welcomed ‘junior’, who’s now 4 years and 5 months old, and has reached the stage where he asks deep questions. As an example, he watched our wedding videos and was extremely intrigued that he missed such an important event: ‘Mom, dad, why am I not present at your wedding? Where was I? Did you send me to grandma’s?’”

After 10 years working for Holzindustrie Schweighofer, Nicu believes he has his future secured.

“I am proud that in these 10 years I got certifications and diplomas, I learned a lot and still have a lot to learn. And I strongly believe I am in the right place!”