Nicolae Malaxa - cel mai prosper om de afaceri roman din toate timpurile

Prin anii 30 ai secolului trecut, functiona la periferia Bucurestilor una dintre cele mari si mai prospere fabrici de material rulant din Europa, Uzinele Malaxa.

Familia Malaxa se aciuise in Moldova la sfarsitul perioadei fanariote, prin anul 1818. Era o familie de aromani, indeletniciti cu comertul, veniti din Grecia. Un urmas al celor veniti, Costache Malaxa, si sotia acstuia, Elena-Ruxandra Balalau, fiica spatarului Balalau, au fost parintii viitorului om de afaceri Nicolae Malaxa.

Omul de afaceri a descoperit "nisa" de profil

Nascut la Husi, Nicolae Malaxa a urmat scoala primara si liceul din Iasi, dupa care parintii, dornici sa-si indrepte fiul spre un viitor modern, l-au trimis, pentru studii, la Politehnica din Karlsruhe, in Germania.

Acolo, obtine diploma de inginer si isi incepe activitatea aprofundand domeniul elaborarii fontei. Concomitent, intra de timpuriu in afaceri, un domeniu pentru care pare predestinat.

Imediat dupa Primul Razboi Mondial, Nicolae Malaxa sesizeaza ceea ce numim astazi o "nisa" de profil: productia de material rulant, intr-o tara cu infrastructura incompleta si, mai ales, grav avariata in urma razboiului.

In acest context, el obtine un teren modest in apropierea capitalei, unde la 3 august 1921 infiinteaza un atelier pentru fabricat material rulant, si pentru reparat locomotive si vagoane.

O colaborare perfecta si un cotracat de proportii

Baza initala a atelierului era mica turnatorie de fonta - domeniu in care se specializase - destinata comenzilor pentru saboti de frana din partea cailor ferate. Era in perioada cand Romania nu producea fonta de calitate, iar comandarea sabotilor in strainatate insemna adesea stagnarea transporturilor.

Atelierul Malaxa oferea primirea operativa a comenzilor si livrarea prompta a sabotilor, la un pret care merita acceptat, pentru a nu bloca transporturile.

Caile ferate, scapate de obsesia importului greoi, au inteles ca Nicolae Malaxa este solutia pentru continuitatea transporturilor, iar Malaxa intelesese demult ca nimic nu te face mai prosper in afaceri, decat asigurarea unui client constant si platnic, cum este statul.

Colaborarea a fost perfecta, iar legatura pecetluita cu o reciproca incredere. Pe aceasta baza, obtine un teren in apropierea garii Titan si construieste in perioada 1923-1927 o uzina de material rulant, cu linie de garare si incheie cu CFR un contract nu numai pentru repararea, dar si pentru producerea unor locomotive de conceptie romaneasca.

In baza contractului, a primit un important avans din partea cailor ferate, dar si credite de la mai multe banci. A fost suficient pentru ca sa-si utileze uzina cu 82 de masini-unelte cumparate din Germania, iar uzinele Malaxa sa devina cea mai performantafabricade material rulant din Europa acelor timpuri.

Un om de afaceri prosper, in plina criza

In continuare, a angajat 180 de muncitori germani calificati, pentru a incepe lucrarile de fabricare a locomotivelor, dar si pentru ca muncitorii germani sa-i instruiasca pe muncitorii romani, care urmau sa le ia locul.

In anul 1928, prima locomotiva cu aburi fabricata in Uzinele Malaxa era livrata cailor ferate, iar in anul 1931 a inceput fabricarea automotoarelor cu tractiune Diesel - o raritate europeana la nivelul acelor vremuri.

In anul 1933, in plina criza europeana, uzinele Malaxa livrau loocomotiva nr. 100. Presa vremii arata ca locomotivele din seria 151.001, de conceptie romaneasca, erau printre cele mai puternice din Europa si au cunoscut un succes comercial rasunator la Targul International de la Milano din anul 1940.

Incepand din anul 1930, in Romania nu s-a mai importat nicio locomotiva, toate fiind fabricate la Uzinele Malaxa, sau la cele din Resita.

Salariatul propriei sale uzine

Merita retinut si faptul ca industriasul Nicolae Malaxa nu a neglijat problemele sociale ale muncitorilor sai. Acestia aveau printre cele mai bune salarii din Romania avand totodata asistenta sociala si medicala asigurata, echipamente de lucru si masa la cantina.

Mintea iscoditoare a industriasului n-avea astampar. In 1945, a construit primul prototip al automobilului marca "Malaxa", care poate ca ar fi avut, si el, o evolutie stralucitare, daca nu intervenea regimul comunist si nu se prevedea deja confiscarea uzinelor.

Din motive greu de inteles, regimul comunist l-a tolerat pe Malaxa, chiar si dupa nationalizare. "Tovarasul Malaxa" a devenit salariatul propriei sale uzine, unde a si functionat ca inginer pana in anul 1948, cand, facand parte dintr-o delegatie comerciala trimisa la Viena, nu s-a mai intors in tara.

Nu lipsesc controversele

Este incontestabil ca succesul omului de afaceri se datoreaza talentului sau in domeniu, dar si cunostintelor ingineresti. Totusi, asupra acestei glorii fara precedent la noi in tara, exista controverse.

Astfel, istoricul Ioan Scurtu sustine ca Nicolae Malaxa s-a imbogatit prin sprijinul masiv acordat de guvern sub forma de credite si comenzi de stat.

Guvernul ii avansa capitalul, iar apoi ii cumpara productia solicitata, asigurand producatorului profituri substantiale. Au fost ani cand 98% din productie era livrata catre stat, profiturile atingand rate intre 300% si 1.000%.

Se mai insinueaza ca afacerea era puternic sprijinita de regele Carol al II-lea, catre care s-ar fi intors discret o partre din profituri. Mai mult decat atat, omul poliitic Constantin Argetoianu consemneaza in memoriile sale ca Nicolae Malaxa "si-a constituit un fond de rulment al coruptiei".

Nimic din toate acestea nu poate fi probat cu certitudine, dar nici nu putem afirma ca exista omul de afaceri perfect, ale carui succese nu se ascund in intunericul aranjamentelor.

A demonstrat ca romanii nu erau doar plugari si pastori

Dupa ramanerea la Viena, s-a refugiat in Statele Unite, unde, cerand cetatenie SUA, americanii au incercat sa arunce asupra lui Malaxa stigmatul colaborationistului, care livrase material de razboi Germaniei si ii finantatse pe legionari (ca si pe comunisti, de altfel).

Demersurile n-au avut succes, iar Nicolae Malaxa si-a dus traiul folosind rezervele banesti pregatite din timp in banci, pana in anul 1965, cand moare la New Jersy (SUA).

Merita citate cuvintele cu care un fost colaborator al sau l-a caracterizat pe Nicolae Malaxa: "A fost omul si inginerul care a avut cutezanta, priceperea si simtirea patriotica sa demonstreze lumii vocatia industriala a romanilor pe care strainii ii considerau a fi numai plugari si pastori".

http://www.ziare.com/afaceri/stiri-afaceri/nicolae-malaxa-cel-mai-prosper-om-de-afaceri-roman-din-toate-timpurile-1070385

Biography[edit]Born in a family ofGreekorigins inHui, Malaxa studied engineering inIai(at theUniversity of Iai) andKarlsruhe(at thePolytechnic University). Late in his life,Petre Pandrea, a Romanian intellectual who was for long a member of theCommunist Partyand later became a victim of theCommunist regime, wrote a memoir which, in part, dealt with Malaxa's biography, recording it with a dose of hostility. In it, he indicated that Malaxa's father died a young man, and that Nicolae was kept in university with money earned by his mother and sister.[1]Pandrea, who called Malaxa "a mama's boy" and argued that this had shaped his character, also noted that, after graduation and contrary to his family's wishes, the engineer married a divorce (who had been married to one of his early business partners).[1]In time, he claimed, tensions grew between the two Malaxas, after the "Puritan" Nicolae came to resent his "frivolous" wife.[2]Malaxa joined theRomanian Railways Companyas a constructions engineer.[1]Petre Pandrea implied that this went against procedure, and was the result of Nicolae Malaxa having befriended Chairman Alexandru Cottescu.[1]The same source indicated that Malaxa continued to engage in business ventures, and that, upon the end ofWorld War Iand theRomanian Campaign, he was living in Iai and managing a grape-selling business.[1]In 1918-1919, he quit his job at the Company and started a new business dealing withrolling stockmaintenance the venture was instantly successful, a fact which Pandrea attributed to the infrastructure's decay under the previous occupation by theCentral Powers.[3]Thus, Malaxa revitalized rail vehicles left into disrepair, which he sold back to the state at ten times the investment.[4]According toTime, Malaxa "parlayed a shoestring into a chain of arms factories and a partnership in Rumania's largest iron works".[5]By the end of the 1930s, the Malaxa factories were mass-producingsteam locomotives,diesel locomotives,trainsets, rolling stock, steelpipes, and were one of the biggest industrial groups inSoutheastern Europe, and the main provider of equipment for the Romanian Railways during the period. In several of his locomotive designs, Malaxa used innovative solutions (in locomotive design those developed in byGeorge Constantinescuon the basis of histheory of sonics; in factory design in collaboration withHoria Creang).[6]Owning much of Romania's steel industry through his strong presence inReia,[7]he was chairman of theFord Motor Company's Romanian section, and arguably the richest man in Romania at the time.[8]Malaxa was close to theauthoritarianKingCarol II. Together withAristide BlankandMax Auschnitt, he was one of the major businessmen present in the king'scamarilla(seeNational Renaissance Front);[5][9][10][11]such political connections also implied that his success was partly ensured by preferential deals agreed with the state, and in some cases by the placement of inferior products on acaptive market.[12]According to Pandrea, Malaxa had made a habit of manipulating state officials into granting him preferential credits, which explained his interest in supporting Carol's moves.[4]Reportedly, Malaxa and his wife were especially close to the king's mistress,Elena Lupescu, and even became related through marriage (after Lupescu's nephew, an engineer, married the niece of Malaxa's wife).[10]Around 1939, Carol's sonMichaelwas rumored to be in a relationship with Lulu Malaxa (Nicolae's daughter).[9][13]Petre Pandrea also alleged that, soon after turning 17, the virgin Lulu had been raped by Carol on board hisLuceafrulyacht before her father decided to intervene, remove her from the circle of friends, and send her to study inParis.[10]Pandrea also claimed that this was the origin of the notorious conflict between the engineer and Auschnitt, alleging that the latter's wife, was Carol's third mistress and resented Lulu's apparent success.[4]He also claimed that Elena Lupescu was cheating on the king with his secretaryErnest Urdreanu, who was also an important figure of thecamarillaand who kept close contacts with the Malaxas.[4]Unlike most other large industries in the country, Malaxa's was not tied toBritish,FrenchorCzechoslovakinterests.[7]Instead, Nicolae Malaxa maintained business links withNazi Germanyas early as 1935.[7]At a time when Nazi Germany was gaining more influence in Romania, Nicolae Malaxa collaborated withHermann Gringin confiscating the assets of theJewishAuschnitt (who had been arrested and prosecuted on false charges in September 1939),[14]and subsequently placed his industrial empire in the service of theReichswerkeduringWorld War II.[8][15][16]Just after Carol fell from power in 1940, Malaxa was briefly imprisoned on charges that he had resorted toextortionin previous years.[9]Probably sympathizing withNaziideology, he had financed the activities of the Romanianfar rightIron Guardorganization as early as the mid-1930s,[5][17]and especially throughout theNational Legionary Statethe latter established.[18]During theRebellion and Pogromit provoked in January 1941, the Guard made use of arms manufactured by Malaxa, as well of his house (turned into a citadel and attacked by theRomanian Army)[5][19] he was consequently put on trial byIon Antonescu's government.[19]In February 1945, several months after theKing Michael Coupwhich toppled Antonescu, and following the start ofSoviet occupation, his Bucharest factories were at the center of mysterious and violent events.[20]At the time, independentPremierNicolae Rdescuhad come into conflict with the risingRomanian Communist Party, and his frequent speeches to his supporters were disrupted by organized workers.[20]This occurred in Malaxa's plant, and the incident ended with shots being fired and several people killed.[20]The Communist Party claimed that they had been targeted by the Army, acting on orders from Rdescu, despite the fact that bullets recovered from the bodies were not of the kind used by the military.[20]Aggravated by another of Rdescu's addresses, in which he deemed Communists "foreigners without God or a nation", the crisis ended with the appointment of a new cabinet endorsed by the Communist Party and theSoviet Unionand presided byPloughmen's FrontleaderPetru Groza.[20]Malaxa used his opportunity to flee after being sent on an economic mission by King Michael, and settled inNew York City, where his family joined him after being expelled by the Groza government.[8]Malaxa and his son Constantin (19221999) had their Romanian citizenship revoked in by theCommunist regimein 1948.[21]In May of that year, he met with the ousted Nicolae Rdescu, and financed him money to start issuing ananti-communistmagazine titledLuceafrul(of which philosopherMircea Eliadewas editor).[22]Alongside accusations involving his endorsement of the Iron Guard, it was alleged that he had been collaborating with theRomanian Communist Partyduring his last years in Romania. In 1955, while Malaxa was visitingArgentina, theImmigration and Naturalization Servicebriefly revoked his reentry permit.[23]Both charges were again voiced byDemocratic Partypoliticians duringRichard Nixon's1962 electoral campaignforGovernorinCalifornia, after focus was placed on the friendship and business connections between Nixon and Malaxa.[24]A government investigation dismissed the accusations,[25]but, in 1979, his pro-Nazi past was again investigated byThe Washington Post(which claimed that high-ranking American officials close to Malaxa had been involved in a cover-up).[26]Suspicions regarding Malaxa's allegedcommunism, dismissed early in the era ofMcCarthyismby Rdescu,[27]were investigated in 1958 by theUnited States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, and centered on rich gifts he had sent to Communist leaders such asAna Pauker Malaxa defended himself by arguing that these had been sent in order to ensure his family's safe passage into America.[8]Having apparently never applied for American citizenship,[25]Malaxa died at his residence inNew Jersey.[8]wikipedia