Daily Archives: September 21, 2020

Leon Aharonian, CEO of Seti International Transport Company and founder and chairman of the Andre Meat Products Company, has died at the age of 90. In the third round of the Amin al-Zarb Award of the Tehran Chamber, he received the Amin al-Zarb Award for more than six decades of efforts to develop Iran and entrepreneurship from Massoud Khansari, President of the Tehran Chamber.

Leon Aharonian was born in 1309 in the village of Haftavan in the city of Salmas. His father went to Maragheh during the occupation of Iran during the World War and set up a restaurant there with a friend, but with the formation of a self-governing government in Tabriz (1324), he came to Tehran and opened a restaurant in the capital. Leon and other family members helped their father with the shop. Leon Aharonian’s father cared a lot and wanted his children to be responsible from childhood, so in the summer he started a seasonal restaurant for them in their summer village. All of this made Leon’s adolescence a combination of study and work, to which he added sports and hunting at a young age. Cycling was his favorite sport in high school. He also hunted from a young age until he was 80, and eventually donated his large collection to the Yerevan Natural Museum.

After graduating in 1331, he was accepted to the Higher Art Gallery (now Amirkabir University). After graduating, he was exempted from military service by receiving bail, and in May 1335, he was employed in the Soil Science Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture for 480 Tomans per month; The laboratory was established in collaboration with the World Food Organization (FAO). At the end of 1339, Aharonian went to the FAO headquarters in Rome with his family for a year with a FAO scholarship to complete his specialization, and after a few days he went to the Agricultural Research Center in Wageningen University in the Netherlands and continued his education. In 1341, after returning to Iran, Aharonian joined the group on a part-time basis at the request of his father-in-law, who was the founder of Seti Transportation Company and also operated in the field of mining, hotel management and airline ticket sales. And happened to stand up to the abuse of his father-in-law’s partners. Aharonian resigned from the government in 1347 after 12 years and worked full time in Seti Company. In the same years, he signed a contract with Mitsubishi to transfer gas-fired power plants from the southern ports of the country to the construction site of the power plant. Under a contract with French and German companies, Seti Company purchased four units and two generators weighing 140 and 110 tons each to transfer the equipment of Sefidrood Dam and hydropower plant from the south of the country to Manjil. The cargo weighed about 250 tons with a trailer and a bogey. Seti Company was the first Iranian transportation company that was able to purchase heavy goods vehicles from a French company (cash and loans) and import them to Iran. After that, when a contract was signed with the Soviet Union to build steel and gas pipelines from the south of the country, one-third of the pipeline contract was handed over to a French company, which transferred 42,000 tons of pipes and 20,000 tons of equipment to Seti. They deposited. In addition, in those years, the company was responsible for transporting the necessary equipment to operate the 700-megawatt power plant in Ahvaz (Russian Technoprom Company), equipment for substations in the west of the country (three German companies), etc., and in the most important contract, Siemens. For 35 years, Germany transferred all its shipments in Iran to this company. Due to the foreign contracts that it was able to sign and execute in those years, Seti Company grew very rapidly and in a few years, bought trailers and heavy goods vehicles for several decades. They were even able to get a $ 1 million loan (with a three-year repayment) from France to expand their business and buy up-to-date equipment, including a bogie.

With the victory of the revolution and the start of the imposed war, one of the basic needs of the country was the transfer of military equipment, etc. to war zones, and Seti undertook part of this work for free. Granting the company’s trucks and trailers to transport heavy military equipment such as tanks, hovercrafts, etc. to various war zones was part of the company’s services to the battlefields. In the years after the victory of the Revolution, Leon Aharonian expanded his social and trade union activities due to his economic situation and his presence in the Armenian Caliphate Council (he was a member of the council from 1980 to 1986). From 1359 to 1364, he was the chairman of the syndicate of international transport companies for two terms. Also, the establishment of the Iran-Armenia Joint Chamber of Commerce (1372), the establishment of the first airlines between Iran and Armenia (1369) and, most importantly, the establishment of relations between government, security and religious officials of Iran and Armenia were among the things that Leon Aharonian did for friendship and closeness. Most of the people and governments of Iran and Armenia have done.

Source: tccim

Leon Aharonian, one of the benefactors and activists of various Armenian national and social spheres of Iran, passed away at noon on Thursday, September 27, 2016

In the last 60 years, Leon Aharonian has played an effective role in the Armenian community of Iran and Tehran and has lived with the perspective of influencing the social life of the nation and its land. In addition to the Armenian community of Iran, he has had continuous activities in the field of trade, transportation and civil engineering. The valuable services of Seti International Transport Company are obvious to everyone throughout Iran. He was also one of the founders of the Iran-Armenia Chamber of Commerce.

Leon Aharonian is also an active member of the Caliphate Council and has been a member of the Assembly of Representatives of the Armenian Caliphate in Tehran for many years.

They are well-known benefactors and lovers of books. AA Aharonian Armenian Kindergarten, located in the Zaytoun (Majidiyeh) neighborhood of Tehran, was built by him and has always been actively involved in raising funds for Armenian advocacy activities.

His role in establishing and developing trade relations between Iran and Armenia after the re-independence of the Republic of Armenia is undeniable.
School No. 136 in the Olive District of Yerevan, which was destroyed by fire, was rebuilt by him and his late wife and reopened in a glorious ceremony. The Environment Museum of Armenia has also been renovated with his financial support.

The establishment of the “Armenian School” foundation to renovate school benches in Yerevan and its suburbs is another non-profit activity of Leon Aharonian.

As a press activist, Leon Aharonian has been the founder and director of the biweekly Hoys.
Leon Aharonian, as a benefactor and lover of the church, with his direct and indirect financial and spiritual help, has always been by the side of the Armenian religious denomination of Silica and the religious denomination of all Armenians in the Holy Ajmiadzin.

We offer our condolences to Mr. Vahe Aharonian, his son, and other members of the Aharonian family on behalf of the Assembly of Representatives of the Caliphate, the Caliphate Council and the Spiritual Council, the Committee of Inspectors of the Armenian Caliphate of Tehran, and the Armenian community in general.

May the memory of all the dead be blessed.

Armenian Caliphate of Tehran

Source: tehranprelacy

World Economy: Another Iranian entrepreneur died. Leon Aharonian, CEO of Seti International Transportation Company and founder and chairman of Andre Meat Products Company, passed away at the age of 90. He was born on November 17, 2010 in Haftavan village of Salmas city. A village in West Azerbaijan. In a family of Armenians. His family was originally from this village, but his father went to Maragheh during the occupation of Iran in World War II and set up a restaurant there with a friend, but with the formation of the Autonomous Government of Crafts in Tabriz (1324) he came to Tehran and had a restaurant in the capital. he opened.

Leon and other family members helped their father with the shop. So he started working from his childhood and adolescence. Because Leon’s father valued the responsibility of his children, Leon’s life was spent in childhood and adolescence with a combination of work and study. In his youth, sports and hunting were added to it. Cycling was his favorite sport in high school. He also hunted from a young age until he was 80, and eventually donated his large collection to the Yerevan Natural Museum. Leon Aharonian was admitted to the Higher Art Gallery (now Amirkabir University) after graduating in 1331. After graduating, he was released from the army on bail and in May 1965, he was employed in the Soil Science Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture for 480 Tomans per month; The laboratory was established in collaboration with the World Food Organization (FAO). At the end of 1339, Aharonian went to the FAO headquarters in Rome with his family for a year with a FAO scholarship to complete his specialization, and after a few days, he went to the Agricultural Research Center in the university city of Wageningen in the Netherlands and continued his education.

The World of Economics also met with him in 1997. In the interview, titled “A Man for Civilization” published in the Friday World Economic Forum, Aharonian referred to the role of his father-in-law in his business. “I was married, had two children, our house was rented and our salary was not enough to live on,” the statement said. One of the things I did during that time was set up a mineral ore laboratory in our house, which was a great success. At that time, traders exported large quantities of chromite and galena stones, as well as lead, from Iran, and my work in this home laboratory was in this direction. Despite the success I had in my home lab, I gradually realized that my life was not going well. My father-in-law was French and was over 80 years old and ran Citi, a transportation company. He asked me to work for this company, and I accepted. When I entered the company, I realized that there was no trustworthy person besides my father-in-law, and that everyone was abusive. At first, I worked part-time in the company, but after a while, it became full-time. At that time, the French had a lot of economic activity in Iran. The Latian Dam and the Dez Dam in the south and the Zayandehrud Dam were built by the French. The French had done a lot of work in the field of dam construction in Iran. My father-in-law also came to Iran in 1926 and worked in the transportation industry, so they gained a lot of confidence and left a lot of work to him. “Today, about 50 years later, this business continues, and we carry out the largest and most difficult heavy transportation projects in the company.”

Aharonian resigned from the government in 1347 after 12 years and worked full time in Seti Company. In the same years, he signed a contract with Mitsubishi to transfer gas-fired power plants from the southern ports of the country to the construction site of the power plant. Under a contract with French and German companies, Seti Company purchased four units and two generators weighing 140 and 110 tons each to transfer the equipment of Sefidrood Dam and hydropower plant from the south of the country to Manjil. This cargo weighed about 250 tons with a trailer and bogie weight. Seti Company was the first Iranian transportation company to purchase heavy goods (cash and loans) from a French company and import it into Iran. After this, when the contract for the construction of iron and gas pipelines from the south of the country was signed with the Soviet Union, one third of the pipeline contract was handed over to a French company, and they transferred 42,000 tons of pipes and 20,000 tons of equipment to Seti. . In addition, in those years, the company was responsible for transporting the necessary equipment to operate the 700-megawatt power plant in Ahvaz (Russian Technoprom Company), equipment for transmission stations in the west of the country (three German companies), etc., and in the most important contract, Siemens. For 35 years, Germany transferred all its shipments in Iran to this company. Due to the foreign contracts that it was able to sign and execute in those years, Seti Company grew very rapidly and in a few years, bought trailers and heavy goods vehicles for several decades. They were even able to get a $ 1 million loan (with a three-year repayment) from France to expand their business and buy up-to-date equipment, including a bogie.

With the victory of the Islamic Revolution and the beginning of the imposed war, one of the basic needs of the country was the relocation of military equipment, etc. to war zones, and Seti undertook part of this work for free. Granting the company’s trucks and trailers to transport heavy military equipment such as tanks, hovercrafts, etc. to various war zones was part of the company’s services to the battlefields. In the years after the victory of the Revolution, Leon Aharonian expanded his social and trade union activities due to his economic situation and his presence in the Armenian Caliphate Council (he was a member of the council from 1980 to 1986). From 1359 to 1364, he was the chairman of the International Transport Companies Syndicate for two terms. Also, the establishment of the Iran-Armenia Joint Chamber of Commerce (1372), the establishment of the first airlines between Iran and Armenia (1369) and, most importantly, the establishment of relations between government, security and religious officials of Iran and Armenia were among the tasks of Leon Aharonian for friendship and closeness. Most of the people and governments of Iran and Armenia have done.

In the third round of the Amin al-Zarb Award of the Tehran Chamber, he received the Amin al-Zarb Award for more than six decades of efforts to develop Iran and entrepreneurship. God bless him.

Source: Donyaye Eghtesad