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This newsletter has been prepared weekly both in English and Serbian. Copyright © 2001 The ORAH Investments Company. All rights reserved. ===================================================================== ********************************************************************* ORAH Investments Newsletter # 36 Car Industry in Serbia - Zastava Motor Works! Interview with Mr. Malcolm Bricklin 23.10.2002. Dear Friend, The purpose of this newsletter is to inform you about the current economic situation in the Balkans as well as to make you aware of the right moment for your participation in and your benefit from the regional economy development. We shall be glad to assist and help you thanks to our strong local presence and network. http://www.orah.com The editor's corner this week: Car Industry in Serbia - Zastava Motor Works! Regarding the news that Zastava Automobili signed pre-agreement with US partner Nucarco which envisages establishing of the joint venture Zastava Motor Works we are publishing an interview with Mr. Malcolm Bricklin founder of NUCARCO Inc. "I have driven Zastava's cars with Peugeot's engines and I was very, very impresed. I was impresed primarily with the quality, because this year Zastava's employees, despite a difficult environment, they have made great strides and have kept the quality, and even improved the car. In front of us is a long road, and with the help of people, old and new friends that really want to learn how to enter 21st Century. With that attitude we cannot fail, we can only suceed." This was told to Tanjug (Yugo Pres agency) by Mr. Malcolm Bricklin, the creator of the Yugo-miracle in USA in 80's, and controlling owner of the company working with Zastava, ZMW. Everything started when Malcolm Bricklin in the mid eighties visited Serbia and saw the cars at Zastava. Everybody told him that Yugo will never be sold in USA, because not all of the standards regarding the quality, design and safety can be met. "I brought my people to Kragujevac and we concluded that we can sell the car in the USA, if the vehicle could have a good price, we knew that we would have a great market" - remembers Bricklin. He decided to bring specialists that would tell him what needed to be done to bring the car to the USA market. Zastava did everything it needed and invested great deal of work. After a year and a half, the first Yugo arrived in the USA. It met all of the tough US standards. Bricklin also remembers proudly "that was the fastest growth in sales of an imported vehicle from Europe. In just first year 50,000 vehicles were sold from the total of 163,000. They had just two doors, and without an automatic transmision. Unfortunately after a good start, problems were created. In the beginning everybody worked and the were dedicated because pride had driven the workers to give everything, but afterwards, Bricklin states, money needed to be used to motivate the pride. "We came downstairs and said that we wanted to give bonuses" says Bricklin. "The answer was that not only a few can get bonuses, but everybody". We realized that the system did not allow to only reward the employees directly responsible with the proces. After that because of numerous problems the quality of the automobile declined, that was unaceptable. The deal was stopped." Last year some people from Zastava contacted Bricklin with information. He was asked if he could visit, just to see his "old friends". "First I said to myself, I will not go there, because the same thing will happen, we will work very hard and the system will ruin everything. But I canged my mind and decided to go. I was offered the factory at that time". As Bricklin says, the last thing he needed was one more factory. In 70's he built a factory in Canada, and lost a great deal of money. However in Kragujevac, he realized that it was the only way to guarantee the quality that the vehicle must have. After very long negotiations, talks to the gurus of auto-world, and talks with his own team, Bricklin decided to work once more with Zastava. This time he will sell cars with 2 and 4 doors, pick-up, and a cabrio, and since the engines will be purcased from outside Serbia, all of the strict US standards will be fulfilled. The price will be very attractive for US buyers. Bricklin comments that 3 priorities will be put forth in the new partnership: "We need sales, and my people will work at that around the world. We need money to invest in the factory to finish (painting areas, and the asembly lines)., and to fix everything else that was ruined in the war, along with the computer room that was leveled. We will need about $100 mil to bring everything up to the level of production of 140-150,000 vehicles per year. For operational capital we need an additional $50 mil, and then comes employee training period. Bricklin says that the employees of Zastava are very bright people and are willing to learn, are very talented and adds "our goal will be to retain the people over there, to increase our sales and to start raising salaries so that our workers can live better. I never met a group of people that had more talent and willingnes to work", say Malcolm Bricklin. His mother was from Rusian and his father was from Philadelphia, Mr. Bricklin is the father of five and grandfather of five, as well as former husband of three women. He will be 64 next Marc, maybe by then the final contract will be signed. He has been in auto busines since the sixties. He was the first to importe the Japanese Subaru to the US market. In the seventies he made a car called the Bricklin and in eighties he imported Pininfarina Spyder and Bertone's X1.9 (Alfa and Fiat). In those years, Yugo came to the US and in nineties he developed electric bicycle. "After I looked at everything, working with Zastava was the most exciting. We have a factory that can make 250,000 cars for sales to markets around the world, where every year 60-70 million cars are sold. We have an attractive vehicle with a new interior design, air bag, and some exterior canges that are cool looking and a great engine. I think we can make a good busines, and help Serbia because it deserves. We need to invest to help them come out of situation that they are in." says Bricklin with a voice that brings forth great optimism and willingnes to do exactly that. To our last question about the destiny of the workers Malcolm says, "The workers are great, and what we have negotiated with ministers is that I will start sales around the world of Zastava's cars immediately without canges, to sell them as they are now. The worst thing that I could imagine is to start laying people off. I cannot think of a worse scenario. On the other hand, it would not be smart to have too many employees. Therefore my job is to sell as muc as I can so we wouldn't have those kind of problems" I finished the interview with Mr. Bricklin, at this moment he is the most promising investor in Serbia. Tanjug Pres Washington 16.10.2002 By Dragan Atanckovic Readers' feedback: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: +381.11.311 34 42 PS Please forward this message to others. Your comments are highly appreciated. ********************************************************************** Auto
industrija u Srbiji - Zastava Motor Works!
Povodom vesti o postpisivanju predugovora Grupe Zastava automobili sa americkim partnerom Nucarco, koji predvidja formiranje novog zajednickog preduzeca Zastava Motor Works (ZMW), objavljujemo intervju sa gospodinom Malkolmom Briklinom osnivacem Nucarco korporacije. "Vozio sam Zastavin auto sa Pezovim motorom I bio sam veoma, veoma impresioniran.Bio sam impresioniran pre svega kvalitetom, jer sve ove godine Zastavini radnici su u nemogucim uslovima, uz velike napore, odrzali kvalitet I cak ga unapredili.Pred nama je jos dugacak put, sa ljudima, starim prijateljima ali I novim, koji zaista zele da nauce kako da udju u 21.vek.Sa takvim stavom ne mozemo da pogresimo, mozemo samo da uspemo". Ovo je danas izjavio Tanjugu gospodin Malkolm Briklin, tvorac Yugo-cuda u Americi 80-tih godina, I vecinski vlasnik sada zajednicke firme sa Zastavom, ZMW. Sve je pocelo tako sto je Malkolm Briklin sredinom osamdesetih godina bio u Srbiji i video automobile u Zastavi. Svi su mu tada govorili da se Yugo nikada nece prodavati u Americi, jer ne mogu da se ispostuju zahtevi u pogledu kvaliteta,sigurnosti, dizajna. "Doveo sam svoje ljude u Kragujevac I zajedno smo zakljicili da mozemo taj auto da prodajemo u SAD.Ako ta kola budu imala pravu cenu, imacemo veliko trziste."priseca se Briklin I dodaje, da je tada odlucio da dovede specijaliste koji ce reci sta sve treba da se uradi da bi pocela prodaja. Tako je I uradio. Zastava je tada zaista uradila sve kako treba, ulozivsi ogroman trud. Posle godinu I po dana, u Ameriku je stigao prvi Yugo , koji je zadovoljavao sve rigorozne americke propise. Uz to, seca se Briklin ponosno, "bio je to, u americkoj istoriji, najbrzi uspon uvoza automobila iz Evrope. Prve godine je prodato 50.000 automobila, od ukupno prodatih 163.000 automobila sa dvoja vrata bez automatskog menjaca ". Na zalost, posle fantasticnog uspeha, pojavio se problem.Na pocetku su svi radili veoma naporno , jer je ponos terao radnike da daju sve od sebe.Posle je trebalo, kako Briklin kaze, novcem potkrepiti ponos. "Dosli smo dole I rekli da hocemo bonuse", prica Briklin."Odgovor je bio da ne mozemo samo mi da dobijemo bonuse, nego svi.Shvatili smo da sistem nije dozvoljavao da se nagrade samo radnici koji su imali direktne zasluge u citavom procesu. Docnije, zbog raznih problema, kvalitet automobila je poceo da pada, sto je bilo neprihvatljivo. Posao je prekinut." Prosle godine, od nekih ljudi iz Zastave, do Briklina je stigla informacija sta se tamo dogadja, sa pozivom da ih poseti i da bar pozdravi stare prijatelje. "Prvo sam rekao sebi da ja tamo necu da idem, jer ce da se dogodi ista stvar - mi cemo naporno da radimo, a sistem ce sve da unisti. Medjutim, predomislio sam se i odlucio da odem. Tada mi je bila ponudjena fabrika." Kako prica Briklin, poslednja stvar koju je zeleo je jos jedna fabrika. 70tih je sagradio fabriku u Kanadi I izgubio puno novca. Medjutim, u Kragujevcu je tada shvatio da je jedina garancija kvaliteta, da ima sopstvenu odgovornost u celom poslu. Posle napornih pregovora, razgovora sa strucnjacima iz automobilskog sveta, razgovora sa sopstvenim timom, Briklin je odlucio da ponovo radi sa Zastavom. Ovoga puta ce se prodavati auto sa dvoja i sa cetvora vrata,pik-ap, kabriolet, i, s obzirom da ce motori da se nabavljaju u inostranstvu, bice zadovoljeni veoma strogi americki propisi.Cena ce biti veoma atraktivna za zahtevne americke kupce. Briklin istice tri prioriteta u buducem partnerstvu. "Treba nam prodaja, i to ce moji ljudi da rade sirom sveta. Treba nam novac da unesemo u fabriku, da se zavrsi farbara, linija montaze, i sve ono sto je unisteno bombardovanjem, kao i kompjuterska soba, koja je sravnjena sa zemljom. Bice potrebno oko 100 miliona dolara da se sve dotera za proizvodnju od 140-150.000 kola godisnje.Za obrtni kapita treba daljih 50 miliona dolara. Onda dolazi obuka radnika". Briklin kaze da su radnici u Zastavi veoma pametni ljudi, koji hoce da nauce i koji su veoma talentovani i dodaje da ce "nas cilj biti da drzimo te ljude tamo, povecamo prodaju i pocnemo da dizemo plate, jer radnici treba pristojno da zive. Nikada nisam sreo grupu ljudi koja ima vise talenta i volje da vredno i naporno radi.", istice Malkolm Briklin. Od majke ruskinje i oca iz Filadelfije, g.Briklin je otac petorice sinova, deda petoro unucadi i bivsi muz tri zene. Napunice 64. u martu iduce godine, mozda bas kada se bude potpisivao glavni ugovor. U automobilskom biznisu je od 60tih godina. Prvi je uvezao japanski Subaru na americko trziste. 70tih je napravio auto koji se zvao "Briklin", a 80tih je iz Italije poceo da uvozi Pininfarinin Spajder i Bertoneov x1.9. Tih godina je prokrcio put Yugo-amerike, a 90tih je razvio elektricni bicikl. "Ipak, kada sve sumiram, najuzbudljiviji posao je sa Zastavom. Imamo fabriku koja moze da proizvede 250.000 automobila za plasman na svetskom trzistu, gde se svake godine proda 60-70 miliona automobila. Imamo kola koja su atraktivna i, sa novim unutrasnjim dizajnom, er begom,sa nekoliko spoljnih promena da izgleda vise kul i dobrim motorom, mislim da mozemo da napravimo dobar posao, da pomognemo Srbiji koja to zasluzuje, i koja mora da ulozi ogromne napore da izadje iz situacije u kojoj je", kaze Briklin glasom koji odaje veliki optimizam i odlucnost da sve to stvarno i ucini. Na nase poslednje pitanje o sudbini radnika, Malkolm Briklin doslovce kaze:"Radnici su odlicni,i ono sto cemo pokusati da uradimo, a i dogovorili smo sa ministrima, je da ja odmah pocnem da prodajem sirom sveta Zastavine automobile bez izmena, kakvi su sada. Najgora stvar koju mogu da zamislim je da pocnemo da otpustamo ljude. Ne mogu da zamislim gori scenario. Sa druge strane, ne bi bilo dobro imati vise ljudi nego sto nam treba. Moj posao je, dakle, da vise prodam, da ne bi imali takvih problema.", zavrsio je razgovor za Tanjug, g.Malkolm Briklin, ovog trenutka najozbiljniji americki investitor u Srbiji. Tanjug Pres Vasington,16.10.2002. Dragan Atanckovic Odgovor citalaca na: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: +381.11.311 34 42 P.S. Molim te da ovu poruku prosledis svojim prijateljima. A tvoj komentar ce nam zaista znaciti. |
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