Saving production near Poznań — new agreement in 22 days
A conflict over profit sharing threatened to stop the production line. We conducted 4 mediation sessions and introduced amendments to the statute that satisfied both parties.
At a plant near Poznań, production almost stopped due to a quarrel between two owners over 430,000 PLN of profit. Instead of going to court and blocking the company for years, we sat down at a common table to repair the share structure.
The challenge
37 people work at Stal-Pol, and the conflict had lasted since March 2024. One partner wanted to buy a new CNC bending machine for 280,000 PLN, the other preferred to pay out a dividend for private investments. Emotions were so strong that the gentlemen stopped talking to each other, and all arrangements went through expensive law firms.
Over 7 months of dispute, the owners spent 31,400 PLN on the legal handling of pleadings alone. Production began to slow down drastically because no one wanted to sign material orders above 45,000 PLN. The company was losing liquidity, and employees began asking about job stability.
Our approach
We started with separate talks so that everyone could vent their anger without witnesses. Then we organized 4 joint sessions in our office. Our goal was not to find the guilty, but hard facts. We calculated the real costs of line downtime, which had a sobering effect on both parties.
We showed them how much the company would earn thanks to the new machine over 18 months, and how much it would lose on interest and contractual penalties for undelivered components. We focused on mathematics, not on who offended whom more during the meeting last year.
The solution
We prepared a new company agreement based on clear 50/50 rules. We introduced a provision that 47% of the profit always goes to the reserve fund, and the rest is divided according to parity. We also added a safety mechanism: every disputed financial decision above 65,000 PLN must go through a quick mediation path with us before it goes to lawyers.
We changed the representation method so that operational purchases up to 85,000 PLN could be made by one partner. This unblocked the daily operation of the factory. The entire process, from the first coffee in our secretariat to the notary visit, took us exactly 22 days.
Results
The dispute was closed without court involvement. Production started at full speed, and the new CNC bending machine arrived at the hall in mid-November.
Timeline
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October 6, 2024Analysis of financial documents and first talks with partners
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October 12, 2024Mediation session on profit division and equipment investments
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October 21, 2024Acceptance of the final draft of the new company agreement
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October 28, 2024Signing documents at the notary and ending the dispute
"We were one step away from destroying the company we built for 9 years. Forum Sovereignty brought us back to earth. The new agreement is concrete and finally I don't have to ask for permission when buying screws."