Sonia Ionescu, CFO CTE Trailers, on the future of CTE Trailers

How does a company that distributes and assembles heavy commercial vehicles—a highly technical field dominated by engineers—look through the eyes of a CFO?

Hello. The heavy commercial vehicle market is a highly dynamic sector and very sensitive to market movements, especially when it comes to trailer sales, which serve the general goods transport sector—one of the first parts of the economy to be affected by end consumer purchasing power.

On the other hand, the construction segment is also impacted by the availability of market funds, for instance in reference to material prices. The same applies to infrastructure projects, agricultural transport, and so on.

What have been the biggest challenges for CTE Trailers in the past 10 years?

After recovering from the 2009 crisis, our main challenge was to consolidate our market position and develop our after-sales and bodywork segment. These areas ensure a comprehensive package of services for our clients. At the same time, by diversifying our operations, we managed to ensure the company’s continuity and financial stability.

Another challenge in the past 10 years has been tripling our staff. The recruitment process is quite complex, as we want a team whose members share the same values.

We have also invested around 5.5 million euros in modernizing and expanding our service center, new offices, and the parking lot at Ciorogârla—all completed in 2020. Over the past 10 years, we also began a major digitalization process, implementing an ERP system that we periodically adapt to fit our company’s activity. The process continued with the implementation of a CRM, and we now aim to further digitalize other workflows to become as efficient as possible.

We succeeded in establishing a group of companies with both local and international components and we continuously work to harmonize organizational cultures.

Last but not least, I have to mention the COVID pandemic and all its challenges, such as health concerns, economic difficulties, various restrictions, and a reorganization of work. It showed us how important it is to have a united team in any situation.

To stay at the top, you need to play as a team, and the CTE Trailers team has grown steadily over its 20 years of activity. What’s the secret?

I believe the secret lies in carefully choosing the people you want to work with. A team should be made up of people who share your values, because you work together every day towards common goals. From the very beginning at CTE, I realized that these objectives can only be achieved if you can rely on your team and if every team member understands the purpose of their work. So, we tried to build our team based on these principles, and I believe we now have a closely knit group of well-trained professionals who come to work with pleasure and do their jobs with dedication.

In such an industry, challenges arise daily. What are the main challenges at this level for a CFO in the transport vehicle supply sector?

The challenges are probably similar to those any CFO faces. You must always keep up to date with economic changes to make the necessary adjustments in company operations or strategy. You need to ensure that budgeted performance and profitability indicators are met, maintain a constant cash flow for ongoing activities, find flexible solutions for current challenges, and secure financing for the company’s investments.

In what ways does CTE Trailers stand out?

At CTE, we always focus on our clients’ needs. That’s why we constantly strive to enhance the package of services and products we offer. We believe in long-term partnerships, both with our clients and our suppliers, and we aim to grow together consistently. As a result, I believe we show a lot of flexibility in finding the best solutions.
We also aim to create a friendly and pleasant work environment, based on teamwork, mutual respect, and trust. Another aspect that sets CTE Trailers apart from other competitors is our deliberate decision to invest in the future through the Dual School Program. This program gives young people who have completed eight years of school the chance to learn how to become auto mechanics and gain immediate access to a job after graduating from the dual vocational system.

How important is information in a CFO’s work, and what impact do market changes have in today’s geopolitical and economic context?

Undoubtedly, access to information is extremely important. We must always stay connected to the market and the evolution of the economic and geopolitical climate.

CTE Trailers invests continuously. In 2020, you inaugurated the largest service center in the field at Ciorogârla. What economic impact has this move had on the company’s development?

It was an important and challenging project for us, which we successfully completed. The new service center was built to allow us to respond promptly and effectively to our clients and meets all industry standards. We learned a lot from this project and hope to replicate it in other parts of Romania and, in the not-too-distant future, in Bulgaria as well.

How do you feel CTE Trailers has developed over its recently completed 20 years of activity?

I joined the CTE Trailers team in May 2003, so I can say I’ve grown alongside the company and learned a great deal during this time. We’ve been through tough times together and celebrated many successes. I believe all these accumulated experiences have consolidated us as a team, and looking back, I can say I’m proud of all the company’s achievements and of my own contribution to its development.

What plans do you have for the future, and how do you view government support programs and EU funding?

We want to continue our digitalization process and implement projects aimed at reducing the environmental impact of our operations, such as improving energy efficiency. In the near future, we’ll also start building a service center with a warehouse, offices, and parking in Arad.

At the moment, there’s a lot of talk about government support programs and EU funds. We, too, are eagerly awaiting the announced financing programs so we can develop sustainably.

Do you have any specific goals or expectations you wish to achieve to ensure the company’s sustainable growth?

I believe a common goal I share with the entire team is to ensure the company’s stability and financial strength. We constantly adapt and strive to attract young people who will ensure the continuity of CTE Trailers.