Journey Between Worlds
His country was socialistic, then capitalistic. He was a
radiophysics doctor, then a print shop manager. He suffered from
the work of product pirates and "spied" on the West. Igor
Shpak from Kiev has experienced a lot. His print shop,
ADEF-Ukraine, is currently reproducing a Bible on which all of the
Ukraine's presidents swear.
When you're thrown into cold water for the first time in your life, the options are "either/or" - either stay still and go under or very quickly learn to swim. Igor decided on the latter and chose to swim. When socialism collapsed in his home country, Ukraine, he decided to publish a book on investments. After all, books on management would certainly be as high in demand in the newly capitalist economy as nails for a home builder, Igor thought.
However, the Ukrainian hadn't reckoned with the new economic system's dark side. "Just as we wanted to publish the book, we found out that there was already a pirated copy in circulation," he remembers. Employees at one of the print shops he had commissioned had secretly smuggled out individual chapters from the book - a bitter financial loss for the prospective publisher. What should he do to safeguard future book projects? Change print shops and hope for honest staff? The man from Kiev had a better idea. He bought an old printing press and starting printing the books himself. That was in October 1995.
New location for 3.2 million Dollars (2 million Euros)
Back then Igor hadn't even dreamt he would one day head one of the Ukraine's most modern print shops. ADEF currently employs a total of 130 people, and that figure will soon even reach 180. "We now have plenty of space," says Igor, who only recently moved the location of the business, shelling out around 3.2 million dollars (2 million Euros) in the process. The new company site lies about 21 miles (34 kilometers) west of Kiev and is 1.1 hectares large. The newly completed production area, finished in January 2007, brings this space up to 16,146 square feet (1,500 square meters). Additional production halls are also planned. The print shop specializing in books, magazines and commercial print products achieves a respectable revenue: In 2007 this totaled around 2 million dollars (1.26 million Euros).
Physicist on a new path
For a long time, there were absolutely no signs foretelling Igor's printing career. Now 60 years old, he spent most of his life studying the career of Albert Einstein. Igor taught in the radio physics department at Kiev University for a quarter of a century. His specialty was quantum electronics; his dissertation was on Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. At the end of 1991, the fall of the Soviet Union set off a political earthquake which also shook Igor's world, "It was terrible. A few fellow professors kept afloat by selling fruit and vegetables at the market. Others went abroad," says Igor. He left the university of his own accord at a time when inflation was reaching record highs every day. With his last paycheck, he was just able to buy 8.8 pounds (four kilograms) of bananas. Two important partners were already on board at that point: Alla Istomina, a former history teacher and Andrej Solomin, who had studied physics under Igor. The beginnings were humble. "Our only one-color printing press stood in a small room measuring 439 square feet (40 square meters). After printing, everything was done manually. For example, our families regularly helped us to bind the books," Alla looks back.
Organizational genius Alla is the owner's right hand. She coordinates and supervises the entire production process, keeps control of the finances, and takes care of the marketing and publicity work. The management degree she completed later through an adult-education program has proven advantageous here. Alla has a lot in common with her boss: Both are amazingly energetic and optimistic. Both are also very religious. "There are more important things than the hunt for more and more profit," says Igor. "At the beginning of 2007, my faith gave me a lot of strength when my wife passed away after many happy years spent together." So it's surely no coincidence that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a big customer. Roughly a third of sales comes from them - for the production of books, calendars and icons with holy images.
You can download the complete article on the top right-hand side.
When you're thrown into cold water for the first time in your life, the options are "either/or" - either stay still and go under or very quickly learn to swim. Igor decided on the latter and chose to swim. When socialism collapsed in his home country, Ukraine, he decided to publish a book on investments. After all, books on management would certainly be as high in demand in the newly capitalist economy as nails for a home builder, Igor thought.
However, the Ukrainian hadn't reckoned with the new economic system's dark side. "Just as we wanted to publish the book, we found out that there was already a pirated copy in circulation," he remembers. Employees at one of the print shops he had commissioned had secretly smuggled out individual chapters from the book - a bitter financial loss for the prospective publisher. What should he do to safeguard future book projects? Change print shops and hope for honest staff? The man from Kiev had a better idea. He bought an old printing press and starting printing the books himself. That was in October 1995.
New location for 3.2 million Dollars (2 million Euros)
Back then Igor hadn't even dreamt he would one day head one of the Ukraine's most modern print shops. ADEF currently employs a total of 130 people, and that figure will soon even reach 180. "We now have plenty of space," says Igor, who only recently moved the location of the business, shelling out around 3.2 million dollars (2 million Euros) in the process. The new company site lies about 21 miles (34 kilometers) west of Kiev and is 1.1 hectares large. The newly completed production area, finished in January 2007, brings this space up to 16,146 square feet (1,500 square meters). Additional production halls are also planned. The print shop specializing in books, magazines and commercial print products achieves a respectable revenue: In 2007 this totaled around 2 million dollars (1.26 million Euros).
Physicist on a new path
For a long time, there were absolutely no signs foretelling Igor's printing career. Now 60 years old, he spent most of his life studying the career of Albert Einstein. Igor taught in the radio physics department at Kiev University for a quarter of a century. His specialty was quantum electronics; his dissertation was on Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. At the end of 1991, the fall of the Soviet Union set off a political earthquake which also shook Igor's world, "It was terrible. A few fellow professors kept afloat by selling fruit and vegetables at the market. Others went abroad," says Igor. He left the university of his own accord at a time when inflation was reaching record highs every day. With his last paycheck, he was just able to buy 8.8 pounds (four kilograms) of bananas. Two important partners were already on board at that point: Alla Istomina, a former history teacher and Andrej Solomin, who had studied physics under Igor. The beginnings were humble. "Our only one-color printing press stood in a small room measuring 439 square feet (40 square meters). After printing, everything was done manually. For example, our families regularly helped us to bind the books," Alla looks back.
Organizational genius Alla is the owner's right hand. She coordinates and supervises the entire production process, keeps control of the finances, and takes care of the marketing and publicity work. The management degree she completed later through an adult-education program has proven advantageous here. Alla has a lot in common with her boss: Both are amazingly energetic and optimistic. Both are also very religious. "There are more important things than the hunt for more and more profit," says Igor. "At the beginning of 2007, my faith gave me a lot of strength when my wife passed away after many happy years spent together." So it's surely no coincidence that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a big customer. Roughly a third of sales comes from them - for the production of books, calendars and icons with holy images.
You can download the complete article on the top right-hand side.
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