To all those who are interested in whether it is possible to grow from a small seed merchant into a serious businessman, whose current position is not only stable in the country's commercial market, but continues to grow rapidly from year to year, it is recommended to read this article. It will be dedicated to a person who managed to prove to many that by dealing with food products that are far from essential, you can bring your company to the top of the most successful companies according to the Forbes economic magazine. His name is Denis Shtengelov, by the age of 45 he became the king of snacks, seeds, waffles, sweets and chips, he was able to open a sports academy in Australia for those who are professionally involved in tennis and golf. But first things first.
Usual Soviet childhood spent in the outback
Shtengelov Denis Nikolaevich was born on May 14, 1972 in the Tomsk village of Gubino, populationwith just over 500 people. His father Nikolai was at that time the director of the Nelyubinsky state farm. Denis Shtengelov has a rather big family: in addition to his brother Igor, there are two more sisters (Oksana and Yulia). Denis's mother died after childbirth, and his father soon married a second time, because it was very difficult for a man alone with two little sons in his arms, so the businessman's sisters are stepbrothers.
In different countries and cities, but together
He grew up in a friendly atmosphere and still maintains the warmest relations with his loved ones, despite the fact that almost the entire family has dispersed to different parts of the world. Brother Igor lives in Russia with his family and is Denis Shtengelov's business partner, his father left for Ukraine, where he is engaged in agriculture. His affairs are also closely connected with the business of his sons. The younger sister Oksana is a manager by education and lives in the capital with her family. The older sister Yulia lived in Switzerland for a long time, and now she has moved to Australia, where she helps to manage the affairs of Denis Shtengelov regarding the sports complex, which was built recently. We will talk about it below.
Time to learn and first steps in business
In 1990, Shtengelov entered the State University of Tomsk in the department of economics. There he met the guys with whom he successfully studied at the same faculty, and upon graduation, in 1994, he tried his hand at business. At the very beginning of his career, Denis Shtengelovmade attempts to engage in household appliances, but this sales industry did not bring him the desired results, and he and his friends quickly abandoned the dubious undertaking.
Seeds
In the same 1994, together with my comrades, I decided to try my hand at small-scale wholesale trade in raw seeds. It would seem that such an idea did not guarantee any financial success, because the partners of Shtengelov and his friends were retired grandmothers. They bought up raw products and distributed them to the masses, however, in a fried form. In the dashing 90s in our country there were a huge number of such grannies, they could be seen in every city. Less than two years later, friends led by Denis Shtengelov were able to build a small enterprise in their native village, which was engaged in the production of sunflower oil. It was the oil-packing plant "Guba Oil". It is worth noting that Denis was greatly assisted in the initial stages of building a business by his father, Nikolai Shtengelov. Well, then the matter was only gaining momentum, and no one could stop the businessman. He got into his environment.
First serious purchase
One of the fateful decisions that the head and owner Denis Shtengelov made on the way to financial success was the acquisition of the Yashkino confectionery enterprise, located near Kemerovo. This was in 1997. By that time, the factory was in a deplorable state, but suchthe state of affairs did not embarrass the businessman at all. Rumor has it that Shtengelov took the money loan necessary for the purchase of Yashkino in the name of his older sister Yulia, who at that time was a student at the University of Foreign Languages. Professional instinct did not deceive the businessman, and a competent approach to business helped to raise the enterprise and bring it to a leading position among competitors in the shortest possible time. Already in 2004, the Yashkino confectionery factory was awarded the prize of the Russian Federation as the largest waffle manufacturer in our country.
Foundation of the holding
Following the success in the confectionery business, in 2002 Shtengelov organized a holding called "KDV-Group", which includes five food plants located and operating in the Urals and Siberia. Incidentally, according to the Forbes financial and economic magazine, Shtengelov's holding now ranks 90th in terms of annual income out of 200 claiming to be the leader of enterprises. "KDV-Group" bypassed such giants as "Yandex" and "Pegas-Touristik". In 2015, the holding's performance was not so high, but quite good - they belonged to 128th place.
Buying snack and s alt fish businesses
No one was going to stop there, and the story of the businessman's prosperity was just beginning to gain momentum. In 2008 Denis Shtengelov, General Director of KDV-Group, acquires twoenterprises focused on the production of snacks and s alted fish snacks: "Bridgetown Foods" and "Siberian Coast". In 2010, the businessman also buys Zolotoy Terem, which was the copyright holder for the Barents trademark. Currently, "KDV-Group" has developed so extensively that it has more than 100 thousand outlets throughout Russia. Branches of the enterprise moved from Siberia closer to the administrative centers and railways. However, the main office of the holding is still located in the city of Tomsk. Shtengelov Denis notes that the company is able to function properly and bring good income, only located in close proximity to the capital, so he slowly moves all his offices and factories, which are successfully developing in the North, closer to the center.
"Babkiny Semechki" and "Krasnaya Zvezda" confectionery factory
In 2013, the general director and co-owner of the KDV-Group company decided to purchase the Babkiny Semechki plant for the production of packaged sunflower seeds. It was a very successful deal, according to Denis Shtengelov himself, because a ready-made business was acquired, bringing a good annual income, namely 5 billion rubles. In the same year, the Krasnaya Zvezda confectionery factory was also bought. This deal turned out absolutely spontaneously, and no one even thought about it, just an offer was received, which was considered as soon as possible. Despite the fact that the confectionery factory, like "Babkiny Semechki",was an operating enterprise capable of generating income, Shtengelov Denis Nikolaevich wanted to modernize everything there. Firstly, in his own words, the enterprise is located far from the center, and he would like it to be located somewhere in Voronezh. Secondly, the technology for the production of chocolates, which was used by the staff before the purchase, has long been outdated and gone into oblivion. Shtengelov wanted to change almost everything: personnel, equipment, location, chocolate recipe. By the way, he successfully carried out all this, except for moving the factory to a new place of residence. This is still in the plans of the businessman. And the famous confectionery bar "Sprint", whose chocolate recipe was successfully changed with the advent of a new leader, is still very popular among our country's sweet tooth.
Private life
Shtengelov Denis Nikolaevich, whose biography was mentioned just above, is successfully married and is a happy family man. He has three children: two adult sons aged 17 and 16 and a seven-year-old daughter. In 2010, the whole family moved to live in Australia, and now Shtengelov is forced to be torn between his business in Russia and his loved ones. His eldest son plays tennis and has already taken part in iconic competitions in our country, Australia, as well as in the United States of America. Experts predict a successful sports future for him. The second son also goes to school to learn tennis at the professional level. Perhaps such a strong passion for the children of a businessman in tennis led him to the decision toconstruction of a sports complex.
Investing in sports
General director and founder of the industrial holding "KDV-Group" Denis Nikolaevich Shtengelov has long planned to build a sports complex in the city of Tomsk, but for some reason his plans have changed. Perhaps the reason for this was the departure of the businessman's family from Russia to Australia, or perhaps the king of snacks, seeds and sweets decided to make his way abroad. But be that as it may, a new sports complex has already been built and put into operation in Australia in the city of Gold Coast, Queensland. By the way, this state really cares about the lives of its citizens and is considered a heavenly place to live. There, even in the center of the urban jungle, the authorities built an artificial island with a real ocean, in which there is not even water from it, but even real waves. The sports center, built on the investment of a Russian businessman, is a tennis academy and a golf club. At the head of the new sports complex, Shtengelov put his sister Julia, who changed Switzerland, where she lived for the last 15 years, to Australia in 2010. The sports center owns a huge territory, thanks to which 40 golf courses, focused on practicing long-range shots, could be accommodated here at once. The field is equipped with 12 holes. Also in the center you can play a mini version of the popular game. The playgrounds equipped with 18 holes are thought out for it. It is worth saying that both fields are equipped with the latest technology and supervised by specially invited coaches of the highest categories. Laser tracking of the ball, ultra-sensitive cameras that track the player on the field and sound the signal about the correct position for hitting - these are not all the high-tech innovations installed in the sports complex.
Kinship ties
Denis Shtengelov, whose fortune is estimated to be quite a tidy sum, in the new sports center also thought out everything for tennis players. There are 12 courts with a special coating and 8 with a hard one. For small children, a special reflective wall has been built and there are squash courts. Even on the territory of the sports complex there are restaurants, shops, a swimming pool and much more, so it can rightly be considered an entertainment center. This project is their joint brainchild with their sister, which might not have happened if the Shtengelov family had not visited Queensland in 2004. Then they did not go on a planned vacation to Thailand because of the flood, but went on vacation to Australia. Since then, the entire businessman's family has fallen in love with the island of Tasmania and a country famous for its abundance of kangaroos.
Results of 23 years of successful business management
In conclusion, I would like to summarize all of the above by making a list of Denis Shtengelov's achievements to date:
- During 23 years of successful business, Denis Shtengelov crossed the bar for daily production equal to 50 tons. In the very near future, the businessman plans to reach the half-million mark.
- More than 16 thousand people work under his wing, and his staffemployees are rapidly replenished day by day.
- Revenue from the work of his holding is more than 40 billion rubles.
- Entered the top 100 most successful business owners according to Forbes financial and economic magazine. Denis Shtengelov overtook such giants as Yandex and Pegas-Touristik.
- Rebuilt a tennis and golf academy on the Australian Gold Coast.
