Host Anna Sviridova (hereinafter – A): We all need support and motivation in difficult times in order not to lose faith in the best and be able to overcome the difficulties and challenges of fate. My name is Anna Sviridova. Today our hero is the co-founder and commercial director of TEPPA Oleksandr Yasinsky. The company produces food products based on cereal and leguminous crops. We understand the importance of this business! Good day, Oleksandr!
Guest Oleksandr Yasinsky (hereinafter – O): Good day.
A: You know, those men who always want to feed people – they are so kind and sincere. I look at your smile and realize that it is true. Have you dreamed of feeding people since childhood or it just happened on its own?
O: Since childhood. We recently conducted an excursion for high school students at the enterprise and they asked me: “What did you want to become when you were in school?” And I remembered that I wanted to be a farmer. My father is a beekeeper and I began helping him since the 80th year. I was 7 years old back then.
A: Tell us a little bit about TEPPA and your work so that our listeners can understand how important this story is.
O: TEPPA was founded almost 26 years ago, since then we have been working around the clock and have not stopped production for a single day. We process grain that is grown by our farmers and produce cereals, flakes and so on.
A: And here we start our morning with you and TEPPA. What were your thoughts, your actions, your steps not just as a family man, but also as a businessman when the morning of February 24, 2022 came?
O: I remember the most about the morning of February 24 is that I was already supposed to be on my way to Kharkiv, but my companion called me at 5 a.m to say that the war had begun and Kharkiv was being bombed. I called my friends, in particular from Kharkiv, I asked how they were doing, where they were going and invited them to us. Of course, I had to go to work as I had to be with our company, with our workers in order to support them. We have 300 pepople working in our company, which means 300 families and great responsibility.
A: Have your business, enterprise or food production ever stopped?
O: We were never going to stop. We have a lot of contracts and customers, so we had to organize everything and solve all the problems so that there was no panic and the drivers could normally work. Almost all workers performed their tasks. I remember the village of Husarivka near Balakliya – the battles already took place there. A chief named Yuriy turned to us as they had oats and said “Take away at least something, because everything will be either destroyed or plundered.” We lasted for several weeks thanks to this raw material and only then we contacted other farmers. Our production did not stop thanks to that farmer.
A: Thank you so much, Oleksandr! Were there any charitable or humanitarian projects? Have the militaries turned to you for help?
O: We did not increase our products prices for networks and for other buyers. In addition, we had nothing to pack our products in, but we found packaging in our warehouses, which had already been taken out of circulation and almost all our products were packed in old packaging at that time but we fulfilled our orders in this way. Heads of village councils, AHs and enterprises turned to us for help including Naftohaz as we have a trade union nearby and they also need to distribute products. Our farmers were among those who assisted us as they brought raw materials for processing and we are thankful to them as well.
A: How is your business going on now?
O: We work, we help people, we pay taxes and we have increased production, in particular abroad.
A: Oleksandr, have there been any new requests from society, maybe you have come up with some new ideas at this war time, maybe you have experienced certain transformations or started releasing something that you have not produced before?
O: Yes, we have a new product. We began to produce products that do not belong to food. These are fillers for cat toilets. How do you think that happened?
A: That is interesting!
O: The name of this product’s brand is “Joe.” This is the name of my cat, who is 3 years old. The children, as always, brought a cat and now he is our pet. We always bought those granules for him. I read what they were made of. Then we, together with our specialists, developed a recipe and tested the product on my cat. The product was launched in just a month and now it can be purchased in almost any chain store, even in the largest one…
A: Oleksandr, you know, such facts and stories really give inspiration to people and show that life goes on even in such difficult conditions – our entrepreneurs are ready to support even cats! Thank you so much for that, Oleksandr! I am sure that we will not stop and will go forward to our victory with such entrepreneurs and leaders.
O: Thank you for the invitation. We will help people until we win, and when we win this war we will restore our country.
A: Because we and our children are here to live. Oleksandr Yasinsky, co-founder and commercial director of TEPPA, was the hero of our story. And as always – Slava Ukraini (glory to Ukraine)!
O: Heroyam Slava (glory to the heroes)!
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