Conversations with NIBULON’s employees about their career paths in the company, regardless of their positions, always confirm the idea that our careers and their potential are in our hands. Moreover, these stories inspire us to be better, to look at our work from a different perspective, to remember why we chose this profession and why we love it. We hope that Oleksandr Nechepurenko’s story will inspire you as well.

Oleksandr has been working for the company for over ten years. During this time, he has held several positions: he started as a transporter at Zolotoniska branch, worked as a grain handling operator for a year and a half, and as a shift foreman for five years. In 2021, Oleksandr was promoted to a chief mechanic at Zolotoniska branch. Since the beginning of this year, following changes in the structure of the department for elevators operations at the regional level and the grouping of elevators, he has been a mechanic at three branches – Zolotoniska, Pereiaslavska and Vitove, which are part of Cherkaska group. In addition to his professional development at NIBULON, Oleksandr also completed his higher education in Mechanical Engineering and got a qualification of a mechanical engineer.

This is how Oleksandr recalls his ten years with the company:

“A good friend of mine, Oleksandr Taranenko, had been working (and still works) at NIBULON. I asked him if there were any vacancies at the company and asked him to pass on my contacts to the HR department. I didn’t hold out much hope as jobs scarce everywhere at the time. However, a week later, I received a call. That’s how I started my journey at NIBULON as a transporter. I was responsible for loading trucks and railcars with grain and setting up grain routes. A few months later, I was transferred to the position of a grain handling operator, which involved drying grain.

Then I became a shift foreman, which is a completely different level of work and responsibility. You are no longer just responsible for yourself but for the entire team on shift. And this is up to ten employees! Plus, you are responsible for receiving, shipping, and properly distributing grain crops. This job requires knowledge of the branch’s specifics, organizational skills, and attentiveness.

When the chief engineer offered me the position of a chief mechanic at the branch, I accepted! I was familiar with all the processes at the branch, I wanted to climb higher and felt the inner strength to do so. Besides, I was interested in trying something new. In my current position, I am responsible for equipment maintenance, overseeing the proper operation of equipment by mechanics, tractor drivers, drivers, and welders. I conduct safety briefings, inspect and repair the machines, as well as replace spare parts. This is by no means a complete list of my duties, but I think everyone get the general picture.

Since the beginning of the year, I have continued working in this direction, but now my responsibilities have expanded to two more branches. On the one hand, the changes seem minor, but on the other hand, I have to learn how to organize the entire work process and employees in a new way, to keep the focus on three objects at once. Mobility, concentration, attention to details, and the ability to coordinate and properly distribute the team’s workload – these are probably the main qualities one needs to possess or develop. I do not know what other changes await me in the future, but I am sure that they will all be for the better, and I will gladly accept them!”

But what inspires us the most is not so much Oleksandr’s career path as his attitude towards work and his enthusiasm when he talks about it:

“What do I like about my job? You know, before NIBULON, I had already worked at various plants and enterprises. But when I came to the branch, I realized that there are completely different processes, work organization, and scale. And I found all of this fascinating! From every position, I gained something useful, something new, and gained experience. For example, I had to cover for the senior foreman, who worked with documents. I used to be able to print out files, and that was all I needed for my job. And then I had to learn our internal system. I had to draw up documents, group them, hold tenders, and deal with invoices. I know that this job is not for everyone, but I like it. I started learning everything. It’s important for me that everything is precise, accurate, correct, so that no one can find fault with my work. So if I don’t know something, I want to find out. Not because it is necessary for my work, but because I want to learn something new.”

We are happy to work in a team of professionals who choose not just a profession, but a way of life.

Earlier in the ‘My Journey’ section, we told you about the story of Oleksandr Antonenko, branch manager of the Pereyaslavska branch