Kata Kovács, Réka Lőrinczi and György Vargyasi share their experiences on the Management Shadowing program

Between 7-8 March 2024, the GTK students – Kata Kovács, Réka Lőrinczi and György Vargyasi – participated in a Management Shadowing program, at Bonafarm ZRT, being the “shadows”of Barok István, Director of Strategic Business Development at the company.

The first day started at the Budapest office with a company visit, where we learned about the group and its history, as well as the ongoing projects of the business development department. They started with a presentation on the current market for pigs, chickens, ducks, crops, and milk, how the prices change, expectations, and current plans.

Later during the day, we were able to attend two strategy meetings, where we were given an insight into how commodity price setting and forecasting work within the group. To close the first day, we listened to Istvan’s presentation at Agrovirtus LeadersLab’s leadership training on how to run an FMCG company effectively in the 21st century.

On the second day of the Shadowing, we visited Szeged, where we first visited the salami plant of Pick Szeged Zrt. Fülöp Zsolt, Pick’s salami production manager, led us through the plant, giving us a glimpse of how the freshly slaughtered pork is transformed into Pick’s winter salami, available for purchase on store shelves. During the demonstration, we understood the essential processes that contribute to the quality of the product, and we also gained useful information about the technologies used.

Our second destination for the day was the Szeged facility of Sole-Mizo Zrt., where Kuk Titusz, the production manager, guided us on a tour. He began by outlining the factory’s operations and then walked us through the production line, showcasing the advanced technology utilized to craft the various Mizo dairy products—milk, fermented items, and flavored selections—that we often find on store shelves.

We learned a lot from the eventful two days, both from a professional and industry perspective. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Barok István and his team, Énekes-Deczky Xénia, Griz Gerda-Zsuzsanna, and Bálint Ottóffy for these two days of learning.