UN year the couple also founded Pharmaclinic, which now im- ports products from Japan and Korea, and whose operations were combined with Shall- pharm's in 1994. All the subsidiaries together, including the Rekah Pharma- ceutical Industry, are known un- der the name of Rekah and employ 150 workers. "I love competitors, but we were much better than the oth- ers in terms of service, price and personality," says Mr. Elgrably. 'e cooperate with our clients; I know everybody by their name; I know their wives' names and their children's names." Having revamped the phar- maceutical factory, the firm now produces 80 different types of medicine. In 1995, it reached an agreement with Teva Pharma- ceutical Industries for the acqui- sition of know-how, production rights and permission to use the product names of 37 medicines manufactured by Teva. Rekah now produces those 37 medicines, giving Teva 9 percent royalty; Rekah is also the exclu- sive distributor of Ahava and Wella products to pharmacies in Israel. Their highest profits are reached with imported medi- cines, which in 1994 constitut- ed 39 percent of its gross profits; locally manufactured medicines (excluding Rekah products) made up 20 percent of its gross profits, cosmetics 21 percent, paramed- ical products 14 percent, and toi- let and baby products 6 percent. / _Th Brother Ya'acov is the director of Shallpharm, brother Michael manages Ophir, youngest broth- er Asher is sales manager and sister Yaffa Nahmani runs the original pharmacy in Ashdod. One of the reasons for Mr. El- grably's success, says Jerusalem- ! based Mediplus Pharmacies owner and longtime client Moshe Hevroni, is his direct involvement with the pharmacists. Mordechai Elgrably, says Mr. Hevroni, sees things from the pharmacists' point of view and sits in on planning and financial meetings. In addition, he helps the small-neighborhood phar- macists with their ad and spe- cial-offer campaigns, enabling them to compete with the larger chains. He has been smart enough not to swallow all the profits but to pass some of them on to the pharmacists. `That's hard to compete with," says Mr. Hevroni. Tragedy struck the family just when they were gearing up to open their newly modernized fac- tory. In August 1994, their old- est son, Udi, 22, was killed in Lebanon. Suddenly their whole world was turned upside down. "Udi was very proud of what we had built by hard work," says Mr. Elgrably. "He got to see the new factory just before we opened it, and he was very happy. Then our lives became chaos. Every- thing was black and nothing seemed important anymore. It was very difficult to continue." Nevertheless, after the shiva, Mr. Elgrably threw himself into his work from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. It was a form of therapy, he says. And he was helped by the work- ers' care and dedication. Where- as before they gave 100 percent, after Udi's death they gave 150 percent, he says. That same year the Elgrablys decided to take their company public to raise funds for more de- velopment. They floated 27 per- cent of their shares for $3 million, nearly half of which was bought up by American pharmaceutical. producer Ivax, whose annual sales last year totaled $1.26 bil- lion. "They wanted to be partners with us in Israel," says Mr. El- grably, who together with Geor- gette still holds 70 percent of the shares. The remaining 3 percent were bought collectively by 50 of the pharmacists who work with the firm. Mordechai Elgrably now hopes to find a way of doing big busi- ness in Israel with Ivax and still feel he is in charge. "I don't want to lose the right to develop the company as I would like, but an opportunity to work with an in- ternational company of this size doesn't come along every day." Ivax is not the only big con- cern interested in Rekah, ac- cording to Mr. Elgrably, who says he has had inquiries from leaders in the local pharmaceu- tical industry. From Ivax, at any rate, he hopes to gain techno- logical know-how, and he has dreams of becoming involved on a larger scale in importing and exporting products. He plans to sell more shares of Rekah, but only in a few years' time, when he feels the stock market is stronger, he says. Although post-election media reports indicated that some for- eign investors seemed skittish about projects in Israel, Mr. El- grably says he was certain the economy would not be affected negatively. "I think this fear has been exaggerated," he says. "It is true that with the Labor gov- ernment there were economic in- vestments, but in other sectors there were problems. After the terrorist attacks there. would have been more reason for for- eign investors not to invest." Meanwhile, he will continue making plans for the future. Hav- ing carefully thought-out plans, he says, is the only way to reach goals. "In life generally and in busi- ness particularly, you have to know where you want to be in 10 years' time," he says. "And you cannot zigzag if you want those following you to trust you." ❑ ANNOUNCES APY LIMITED TIME OFFER! Two-Year Certificate of Deposit $1,000 minimum, personal accounts only. Annual Percentage Yield as of 6/10/96 and is subject to change without notice. Substantial penalty for early withdrawal. Earn Today's Higher Interest on CDs. Call or visit your nearest D&N office today! Earning Your Business Every Day For More Than 100 Years DM A BANK of Troy 363 W. Big Beaver, Suite 150, Troy (810) 528 1223 1305 W. 14 Mile Rd., Clawson (810) 280 0565 3005 University Drive, Auburn Hills (810) 475 1650 - - MEMBER FDIC - Internet http://www.dn.portup.com 0 1996 1)&19 Bank . EWA!. ROUSVG LENDER You can make a difference. One life at a time. Touch a Life. Give to the U4ited Way. 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