Magazine: ‘I give you the millet, take good care of it!’ – Generation change at a family enterprise the Pa-Comp way

Family business Pa-Comp Kft. is the market-leading dry crop company. Our magazine interviewed managing director Krisztián Sándor Papp.

You and your younger brother, Levente Dezső Papp were teenagers when your parents started Pa-Comp Kft. How do you remember this period?

– Our parents founded the company in 1993 and my brother and I also became owners. Step by step we learned how the business is working, e.g. we worked in the warehouse, delivered products, drove the trucks, etc. At the same time, I continued the family tradition and graduated as a minister of the Reformed Church. Right now I am the head of Pa-Comp Kft. and I still work together with my brother.

What values did your parents pass on to you and how did these values help you to manage the company successfully?

– One of the most important things they taught us is that you can only make progress with hard work. We also learned that by working together our family and company can overcome any difficulty.

It was about 10 years ago that the generation change happened at Pa-Comp. How did you feel about taking over the responsibility?

– ‘I give you the millet, take good care of it!’ says the Hungarian folk tale when the farmer tells the son to manage the crops. The generation change took place between 2008 and 2010. It isn’t easy to give control over a company to your son and it is also difficult to receive it. A similar generation change occurred at our partners at about the same time, and this made it easier for me to work with these companies.

You have mentioned that you serve as a minister of the Reformed Church, too. How do the spiritual and the material worlds meet in your life?

– I have been leading the Nyírtét Reformed Congregation for 20 years. I officiated the wedding ceremony of many business partners and baptised many of their children.

What are those company management issues in which your opinion differs from your parents’ view? What things do you see differently?

– We have brought a different kind of thinking to the company, but Pa-Comp remained a family business. Unlike my father, I am not operating machines in production; my task is to implement development plans, to realise and supervise investments, and to plan the business deals. It is very important that my brother and I have always accepted advice from our parents, and hopefully, they can also live with our decisions now.

As a minister, you are responsible for each member of your congregation. Is this true about Pa-Comp Kft. as well?

– Absolutely. At the beginning of the year, I always bless the company, the building, the colleagues and their families.

– You should never forget where you started from and how you got so far: this is the only way we can maintain a healthy value system – Krisztián Papp, managing director of Pa-Comp believes

Pa-Comp started out as a small business, but its sales revenue is already HUF 2.5 billion and the company is still a family business. What is the secret?

– Divine providence. We support and trust one another. Plus we try to help others as much as we can since God gives us so many things that it feels good to give some back to the people.

Is the youngest generation already interested in the work done at the company?

– Yes, and they are very enthusiastic as well. My son is 12, my daughter is 10 and my brother’s son is 8 years old. Every summer they work for one month for the company. Pa-Comp has a past, a present and a vision for the future, too! We lead the way in product and technological innovation. In the autumn of 2020, we are starting another milestone investment. //