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Written by ZOOZ
consulting and training | (972)-9-9585085 | info@zooz.co.il
| www.zooz.co.il
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| Issue 72 |
Hello!
We
are pleased
to send you the new issue of LaZOOZ.
This monthly newsletter is sent as a free
service to thousands of senior executives.
It features different sections each time, and does not include advertisements.
We tried to keep it brief, assuming that your time is precious
and the work is plentiful.
Those who wish to learn more, will find links to articles and relevant information sources.
We hope that you will find the newsletter useful. We will be happy to receive any comments and suggestions.
Pleasant reading!
Ari Manor, CEO, ZOOZ
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Details
An interview with a senior executive
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Meir Tal, CEO of the Rotal Group
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Number of company
employees
:
Approx. 30 company employees, approx.
6 of which are my direct subordinates.
We provide:
Equipment and materials for the Israeli industry.
Rotal deals with cleaning materials, fuel additives,
adhesives, sealants, separation materials, and
lubricants for industrial applications.
I have been in my
position for
: :
Approx. eight years.
History:
I completed a bachelor’s degree in Chemical
Engineering from the Technion and Trinity College in
Ireland. I then became the CEO of Lachman, which
deals with computing and control for industry such
as: height meters, pressure gauges, flow stoppers,
flow gauges, temperature gauges, noise gauges, and
more. I completed my M.B.A. at Cambridge University
in England and when I returned to Israel in 2003, I
decided to join Rotal – a family business that my
grandfather established and which was passed on to
my father, and which I now run. Rotal acquired
Lachman, and after I became CEO of Rotal, the
company acquired and incorporated additional
companies and activities, and became the Rotal
Group.
What I like about the
job
:
Doing,
creating, and the relationships with customers.
The most difficult
part of the job
:
The
responsibility. I am responsible for an entire
staff, for the financial aspect of the company and
for sales success. The constant struggle to achieve
goals that we have set for ourselves is not easy.
Goals I want to
attain
:
That the
business will grow drastically, and from a personal
standpoint to attain long-term financial stability.
Our vision:
Rotal’s vision is to serve the entire industry in a
high-quality and professional manner. The vision is
put into practice by constantly studying the changes
in the market. We also attempt to be top quality and
professional in every field we touch.
Original products
in the
field:
“Pre-coated adhesive” that secures screws – this is
a special substance that is already found in the
screw. As soon as you screw it in, the active
ingredient begins to secure the screw.
Sources of
innovation
:
A
regular forum of the management and staff convenes
and we use it to systematically develop new and
successful ideas.
Recommended professional book:
A
book that I recommend, which has been with me for
many years is Crisis Management by the Harvard
Business Review. Details about the book can be found
here.
Rotal’s website:
www.rotal.com
Send feedback to
:
meir@rotal.com
Would you like to be interviewed?
:
contact us
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Education
A must-read book for managers
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Tasigu Li Et Mina Tzemach! (Get Me Mina Tzemach!) / Prof. Kamil Fox /
Dvir
In his book,
Get Me Mina Tzemach!, Professor Kamil Fox succinctly explains how
to conduct market surveys properly, and how to overcome various deviations when
conducting surveys. For example – how can you take people that never answer the
surveys into account? And what about people that lie during surveys? And to what
extent can a survey be accurate?
Kamil is a
professor of Statistics at Tel Aviv University who served as the President of
the Israel Statistical Association, and is constantly conducting surveys for
Ha’aretz newspaper, and election polls on television. Professor Fox uses his
extensive experience in conducting surveys to explain in his book how surveys
can describe or distort reality, according to how they are used. He describes in
detail the manipulations that are sometimes done using surveys, how to pick up
on them as readers and how to avoid them as pollsters. And as a bonus, the book
is seasoned with amusing anecdotes and with the author’s well-developed sense of
humor.
If you work
in Marketing, or make decisions based on polls and surveys, use this book to
understand the theory and practice of surveys, and how you can systematically
learn your customers’ preferences. You are guaranteed a light and enjoyable
reading experience, despite the “heavy” subject matter.
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Invention
An innovation which
surprised the world market and competitors
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Meat? Substitute!
About Tivall’s vegetarian schnitzel
In 1983, Gazi Kaplan, the Farm Coordinator of Kibbutz
Lohamei HaGeta’ot (The Ghetto Fighters Kibbutz), wanted to
set up a factory on the kibbutz after realizing that
agriculture was beginning its demise. In his search for a
suitable factory, he inquired regarding the option of
establishing a plastics factory with Moshe Lekach, from the
Palram factory in Kibbutz Ramat Yochanan. While Moshe was
praising the wonders of plastic, Gazi noticed a Fedco
booklet on his desk. Gazi, who was curious by nature, asked
Moshe about Fedco, and he responded that it was something
unimportant – a food factory that he was asked to look into.
Gazi asked him for the booklet, and Moshe was happy to give
the “nuisance” to Gazi. It turned out that the owners of the
Fedco factory wanted to get rid of the factory for cheap
because they didn’t believe they could persuade the Israeli
nation to eat soy-based meat substitutes.
Gazi and his people looked into the market with seriousness,
and reached the conclusion that the market had potential.
They joined the late Dr. Micha Shemer, a food technologist
that wanted to develop plant-based food products, and they
set up the factory’s first laboratory in the kibbutz’s old
shoe workshop. The factory, which was named Tivall,
was founded in 1985 with an investment of $4 M. The first
product the factory developed was a vegetarian schnitzel,
after a survey showed that schnitzel was the most popular
and favorite meat dish among Israelis. The first TV
commercial for vegetarian schnitzel stressed the fact that
it was cholesterol free. In fact, Tivall’s schnitzel was the
first ready-made schnitzel sold in Israeli grocery stores.
Tivall’s products are technology-based, and 4% of the
company’s annual revenues are invested in R&D. Among other
things, Tivall developed a unique and patent registered
method of processing fibrous vegetable protein, FVP, which
gives vegetarian products a fibrous texture, resembling that
of a piece of real meat or chicken. In 1993, Tivall launched
the corn schnitzel, which has become the best-selling
schnitzel in Israel.
Over the years, Tivall’s sales grew and the company added
numerous innovations, including a line of ready-made
vegetarian meals, veggie snacks with hints of cheese, a
light corn schnitzel, and a thin vegetarian schnitzel.
Tivall also recently came out with a line of vegetarian
schnitzels that can be heated in a toaster.
Tivall currently markets to 15 countries worldwide, and the
company’s annual revenues in 2008 were estimated at approx.
300 M shekels, with 60% coming from export. Osem acquired
50% ownership of Tivall in 1995, and completed the
acquisition of all the shares in 2010, according to the
value of 1.1 B shekels for the factory. Every member of
Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta’ot received an average of one million
shekels for Tivall’s complete acquisition. And Gazi Kaplan
himself is the current CEO of Osem. So, indeed, curiosity
pays off…
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