A few words about me …
I was born (like most of us) some time ago and then it all began. Even as a toddler, I rode a motorcycle. “MZ” in the tourer version (because you could probably call it today), dressed in windshield and saddlebags, carried me all over Poland. It is true that I traveled effectively between my parents, but it must have been cool because I remember these trips perfectly well – I was maybe 3-4 years old, and as you know from this period, little interesting things are remembered.
But as it happens in life (there must always be some “BUT”) when I entered the age when I could sit at the controls of a two-wheeler, parental wisdoms effectively blocking me the purchase of my own bike – because it is really dangerous (it is indeed the truest truth). Everyone probably knows the text: “Buy yourself for your own money”. In this state I had to survive until the 30th: after all, when I started earning money, a chick found me and a marriage happened and there was no cash just for myself. Later, of course, the child was born, so again more important expenses appeared. And the so-called “responsibility” haunted me to almost 30 years of age.
And then I said enough. After long and “expensive” negotiations with my wife, I allowed myself to buy a 10-year-old Yamaha Virago 250. Of course, it was a completely “naked” version – no bags, gadgets etc.. To my surprise, to equip her in a good quality basic clothing, you have to spend several thousand zlotys. I quickly gave up on her dressing. A few months later, at the beginning of the next season (2004y), I was already driving a brand new (well credited) Yamaha Drag Star 650 Classic.
A little bit of learning came in handy …
I finished IT studies, and later studies in management and marketing, I worked in several companies in the profession of IT (also in managerial positions). Despite my professional successes, I have always been tired of the need to create something that can be touched. Unfortunately, IT did not give me that.
At that time the idea to run my own workshop was born – in June 2005 I registered a company called SENTOCOM. The subject of chromium production was completely strange to me, although growing up in a house where my father is a professional locksmith teacher, I received a solid school of “fencing” with various tools. It was only necessary to develop it.
I spent the first months in the garage – my first so-called “Workshop”. After six months, I rented several larger rooms and employed the first employee (not counting my father, whose help I could always count on). I financed all this from the IT job – for over 2 years there was no profit from the company. Working at the same time on two jobs was extremely hard. But it paid off. Thanks to it, I could change the motorcycle to a slightly larger one – the Kawasaki VN1600 Classic. Currently, the company is located on 450m2 area and produces several hundred accessories for motorcycles from various manufacturers. In 2009, my stable grew by the first Harley (see “Gallery”), which pulls more money from me for tuning than my wife (and I thought it was impossible).
How it works today …
My knowledge of electronic and IT issues is one of the most important factors for the company’s development. Thanks to this, there were no problems with going out to customers, presenting the offer on the web in the form of readable websites, or designing the first online store (I have left the present tuning of the graphic layout better than me). With our production, the vast majority of details are laser-cut. I prepare all projects first in a CAD program, and then cut them out on my own machines or order them to be cut out to subcontractors. I have been designing and making computer controlled CNC machines from scratch for a few years.
The employees, however, are the essence of the company’s operation. Due to the unusual industry, each of them had to learn from the beginning of the profession. Today, they are long-time employees who can do their job with “closed eyes”. I would like to point out that every product is finished by hand (polishing, bending, welding, cleaning, etc.), which is why prices that once seemed high to me are now something natural – manual work is the most expensive form of production, but in small-lot production it is irreplaceable.
What exactly RoadStyler is …
The name RoadStyler is a marketing operation. In fact, the company is called SENTOCOM, and RoadStyler is the name of the product (trademark). Currently, the main emphasis in advertising I put on the RoadStyler logo, because according to my assumption, products to become “branded” must have the basic characteristics of a brand product – in this certainly a recognizable name. I hope that the name RoadStyler, pronounced additionally with the American accent, gives the impression of a “good product”, eagerly chosen from among many on the Polish market and not only.
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Throughout my (also child’s) life I invented gadgets, designed devices more or less complicated and I know that what I do today meets me in 90% – I still wait for the remaining 10%, maybe I will surprise myself.
Andrzej Skiba
