Zbigniew Truskolaski
Chairman of Merkator
Zbigniew Truskolaski, 58, graduated with a degree in vehicle mechanics from Kraków Polytechnic and began a career with Polish tractor producer Ursus that spanned 23 years. Beginning as a production line assembly worker, Truskolaski was fortunate enough to have family in England who he visited regularly. This gave him a chance to learn English. In 1976, as one of only three Ursus employees who spoke English, he got involved in negotiations for a licensing deal with English tractor producer Massey Ferguson. In 1978, his knowledge put him at the head of the technical documentation department, which translated and adapted manuals for the tractors. After rising through the ranks to become Ursus' head of exports in 1990, Truskolaski was offered the job of managing director by the Polish government.
Unwilling to accept a politically motivated appointment, he left Ursus hoping to start a used-tractor dealership, but when the idea fell through due to insufficient market interest, he moved to office equipment distributor Centrum 1 as head of copier sales. His language skills put him in direct contact with office equipment manufacturers from the U.S. and Japan, and within six months he had started his own office equipment dealership, Merkator. Beginning with zł. 4,000 in capital and importing goods from Austria by car, the company prospered following the boom in new firms created by the opening of the economy, and within three years had become one of 10 Canon dealers in Poland. Today the company controls 20% of Canon sales in Poland, has 100 employees and made a profit of zł. 2 million ($476,190) last year.
Past notes
1967 - Graduated with a degree in vehicle mechanics from Kraków Polytechnic
1967 - Assembly worker at Ursus
1978 - Head of technical documentation at Ursus
1980 - Head of export-service department at Ursus
1984 - Head of licensed production at Ursus
1990 - Head of copier sales at Centrum 1
1990 - Set up and became chairman of Merkator
Word of advice
"You have to be focused on your market. Know your market and your products and expand within that market."
Greg Goodale
