Transport - a family tradition
Romanian Transport Company of the Year 2011 - Continental
The founding and the development of TCS (Transconstruct Co Snagov) isn't only a success recipe, but also a great story, with all the ingredients of an adventure novel... in transports.
In 1987, Ilie Raduta, now general manager of TCS, was working in Morocco, as driver for a Romanian company that has been working there on a construction site. His story continues in Spain, as an employee of a transport company and then he started on his own. Everything started from his passion for trucks that he felt even from his childhood.
Romanian school, Spanish practice
The fact that he was in contact with the transports world starting from his first years and also the classes of a specialized school in this field helped Ilie Raduta to gain important theoretical and practical knowledge.
"The high-school was specialized in automotive. Back then, the professional training was very important. In my class, only 11 from 36 students succeeded to be admitted in the driving school and we were only 2 who passed the exams for the driving license. At 17, I knew perfectly how an engine was working - in theory and practice", remembers Ilie Raduta.
The professional skills had the future owner of TCS employed on one of the construction sites in Morocco, even though he was very young. Then he immigrated to Spain.
"Once in Spain, I demanded political asylum to the Red Cross and after 3 months I got the permission to go to Madrid. There I met two Romanians who were working in transports and they introduced me to a construction company. I was tested practically and I was hired. The knowledge I gained in Romania helped me a lot in Spain. But there I had the opportunity to see how the modern transports have to be carried on, with flexible vehicles", said the owner of TCS.
In 1992, he bought his first truck with a credit that he obtained with difficulty. It cost around 22,000 EUR (reported to today's money). That time, big infrastructure projects were starting in Spain and a good period for development followed.
"I sold the first truck in 1995 and I bought 2 older ones, with which I started to operate in Romania. We were the first one with tipper semi-trailers in Romania", underlined Ilie Raduta.
The activity in Romania concentrated on the production and the transport of aggregates and later they developed also the transport of powder materials.
"We have two ballast production sites and 6 exploitation points. There are functional, but the low demand of the market makes us to exploit around 30-40% of their potential. In addition, the lever of the prices isn't even covering the costs any more. The explanation is connected to the questionable legality of some important quantities that are sold on the market and to the over-loading of the vehicles. We are strongly affected but the unfair competition in this sector", showed the owner of TCS.
The activity within the professional association
The serious problems that the transporters have to face made TCS to involve in the activity of a professional association, being one of the founders of ATRC (the Road Transport in Construction Association) and also one of the founders of FORT (the Federation of the Romanian Transport Operators).
"The current transport law doesn't have any connection with the real needs of the transport market. When I worked in Spain, there were no circulation restrictions. This is why I don't understand why in Romania we are not giving priority to the work. We are imposing too many restrictions and then we are complaining that there's not enough to work! We spent a lot of energy to solve some problems that everybody faced. Unfortunately, a lot of the people who've been working in transports have other goals and interests that obtaining a frame than could ensure the healthy functioning of the transports in Romania. We are only a few who have true private companies. We are talking about a lot of companies in which the decisions are taken by other people than the ones who seem to own them. And these businesses are not conceived on long-term and they don't develop as family businesses", underlined the president of ATRC.
Well-informed drivers
TCS' philosophy in the relationship with the employees was to offer them all the information about the company, about the vehicle, about the market, with a goal of rendering them responsible and of consolidating the mutual respect.
"You recognize a good driver by the aspect of the vehicle he drives. The TCS drivers know how much we pay for a litre of diesel, how much the tires cost, the maintenance of the vehicle, the insurance... but also how much we gain for a ride. Having all this information, they can calculate their own productivity. The ones who can't adapt to this way of working don't stay within the company. In addition, to encourage an economic style of driving, we are giving bonuses to the drivers who obtain lower fuel consumption than the imposed one - 50% of the cost of the saved fuel", explained the owner of TCS.
The thefts meet zero tolerance in TCS, the drivers who are caught being immediately fired.
"I believe it's a great shame for someone to be caught stealing and I am telling the drivers that the fuel theft is not accepted in any way. When we couldn't find the drivers in accordance with our demands, we rather stayed with idle trucks", underlined Ilie Raduta.
Taking into consideration the fact that the difficult situation of the construction material market, caused by the low demand, affected also the transports, it was inevitable to develop a new activity, to be able to cope with the situation.
"Lately, we developed a new activity, the general goods transport. We have 10 curtain-siders which are doing national and intra-community transport, and the results are very good. We also intend to increase the number of the trucks that are doing intra-community transport", said Ilie Raduta.
Anyway, he considers that the difficult times for the transport market aren't over yet.
"I believe that we continue to have an excess of transport capacity on the market. The ones who are complaining that they can't find trucks are the ones who offer low prices, at the limit of the costs or even under them", explained the owner of TCS.
Ilie Raduta, general manager TCS:
"My father was a driver and I had contact with this world since ever. When I was 10 years old, I knew how to drive a Bucegi truck. I was permanently connected with the trucks, with the engines... with everything that means transport."
"In 1987, I've been working on a construction site in Morocco, within a two year contract. Towards the end of the term, I decided not to come back to Romania, because I knew that things won't get better. So I decided to immigrate to Spain."
"We have today over 180 employees. The fleet includes 70 licensed vehicles, to which we can add the interior trucks. In addition, I didn't give up the activity in Spain, where I currently own an international transport company, with 10 trucks."
"The implication in the patronal activity has to bring benefits, at least on long-term. Unfortunately, we are only a few who have the courage to demand our rights."
Radu BORCESCU
radu.borcescu@ziuacargo.ro
Publicat in revista Ziua Cargo din September 2011
