Industrial automation players cast their nets wide

Local companies specialized in industrial automation have established their priorities for this year: to redeem IOUs, participate in every auction in the field and be more aggressive on markets that were overlooked in recent years. Ion Andronache, Syscom 18 president, told Business Review that another major target for his company is to increase the value of exports from the previous year.

Dana Ciuraru

What anti-crisis measures did you take last year?

I believe that our anti-crisis action plan consists of common sense measures which would be implemented by every company in times of turmoil. I refer to cost cutting, more aggressive marketing, discovering new markets and motivating our most valued employees, which has already been done. Besides me, the Syscom 18 shareholders are Vasile Enache, George Barbalata, Gabriel Cojocaru and Anka Pera.

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What steps will you take to develop the business in the face of the current economic situation?

At Syscom 18 we have focused more on increasing exports and boosting company awareness on the market. We want to make known our most important asset: our specialized and trained personnel. However, we do not have a consistent investment plan this year. We plan to participate in all auctions for turn-key products and systems deliveries, as more investments in thermo power plants are expected. We will be more aggressive on markets on which we haven’t been very active in recent years, such as thermo energy, the water industry, drug production, the beverages sector and the food industry.

How have your most important clients fared during the economic crisis?

Surprises pop up from where you least expect them – that’s a motto which has been proven recently. Some of our most important clients, whose financial situation is good, have asked us to put back the payment deadline to 90 days.

With some exceptions, our clients and suppliers have understood our position and we had a very good collaboration last year despite the turmoil that affected us.

We haven’t lost any important clients, as in general we have long-term partnerships based on high-quality services.

What is your debt situation and how much money do you have to recover from different companies?

Our biggest problem last year was recovering the receivables. Two large projects gave us a lot of trouble, as we were waiting for the money from them for a long period, which hurt our cash flow. But in the end the situation was remedied.

Last year we had to receive some EUR 2.6 million worth of receivables and to pay invoices of about EUR 2 million. This year the ratio is much better as the IOUs reach about EUR 1.5 million and debts EUR 900,000.

What is your sales target this year?

Last year was a very good one for us in terms of exports, which reached about 10 percent of sales. Our plans are to reach a similar level this year as well. Our main clients remain important players such as Romgaz, Petrom and Transgaz. Last year, we reported a turnover of about EUR 14 million and a net profit of EUR 300,000. This year we aim to reach EUR 17 million in revenue.

Our most recent major project, completed at the end of last year, was implementing vapor recuperation systems in ten Petrom deposits, a multi-million euro project.

How do you think the market for Syscom 18 will fluctuate this year?

We estimate that the market shrank 30 percent last year, compared with the previous year, as all of the 100 players on this market – distributors, producers and system integrators – have been affected by the economic crisis. The local automations market fluctuates between EUR 300 million and EUR 400 million in a normal year. This year will continue to be a difficult one as banks will be strict, investment budgets will be tight, each company will be trying to redeem their IOUs as fast as possible and foreign companies specialized in supplying automated equipment and services will be more active on the local market.

dana.ciuraru@business-review.ro