2020
Since childhood, Vasyl Bakalyna, now head of the elevator department at LNZ Group, was «drawn» to machinery: he always wanted to repair something or take it apart. He believed, and still believes, that a technical profession is a prestigious one.
As a child, I worked on the threshing floor of the collective farm. During harvest we spread out the grain and got paid for it. But the prestige lay elsewhere: when, at the First Bell celebration at school, the head of the collective farm praised us and gave us symbolic gifts, we were boundlessly happy.
I graduated from the Dmytro Motornyi Tavria State Agrotechnological University (then still an academy), majoring in «Agricultural Mechanization. Mechanical Engineer».
At first I wanted to study medicine and even submitted documents to Zhytomyr Medical University, but my classmate was not admitted, and I stood by my friend. So I joined the army. After that, technical education became my priority.
Today, a professional team works at the LNZ Group elevator, on duty almost 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. You could say there is no rest. The team always works for results: so that the grain is preserved and shipped on time, without stopping the process.
In 2007, I took the position of technical engineer for grain dryer maintenance. Before that, I worked as an engineer at a collective farm for 10 years, and then served as village head for another 10 years.
In my managerial position today, my experience in public service helps a lot. There I learned to work with people and reach compromises in critical situations.
My team has 86 people, with an average age of 40. I do not consider it appropriate to raise my voice at my colleagues. I always listen to the opinion of another employee, even if he is younger than me. And the team's motivation lies in good wages.
All achievements at work are entirely the achievements of both my team and the whole LNZGroup team. We are responsible for ensuring that the products that arrive at the elevator are properly stored and delivered to their final destination. That is, we have constant and efficient work at every step.
During the grain receiving and shipping season, we switch to irregular working hours. Of course, sometimes I stay late at work over technical issues, since the process must not be disrupted under any circumstances.
I like and am inspired by the trips organized by LNZ Group. We constantly travel around Ukraine and learn from the experience of our colleagues. Although our technical side is also at a fairly high level, so people come to us as well.
My mother worked as a driver, and it was her leadership qualities that were passed on to me.
My hobby is my garden. As soon as I moved to the village, I immediately planted it. There is not a single season when I do not try to plant something new. At the same time, I try to protect the older trees, for example, apple trees that are already 80 years old. Now my garden has apple trees, pear trees, peaches, sweet cherries, apricots and more. We either eat the whole harvest ourselves as a family or give it away to relatives and friends.
At 25, I worked as an engineer at a collective farm. And I really liked how the machine operators worked: they did everything slowly and steadily, but at the same time they got everything done and did not put things off. From them I learned responsibility and discipline.
I would not change anything radically in my life. I am satisfied with my work at LNZGroup and the people around me.
I am convinced that working with complex machinery requires special quality education and experience. After all, without practical grounding, it is hard to master the world of agricultural engineering. Those who want to work in agriculture need to be multifunctional specialists: to study programming, agronomy and engineering.
