Earning a leading position on the Russian market, where the fast

LOCALLY GLOBAL
Earning a leading position on the Russian market, where the fast developing food industry has triggered favourable conditions for the expansion of packaging industry, assumes intelligent strategy and a good corporate culture. In an interview
with Mr Gulyaev, general director of the Russian company Komus Upakovka, Vanja Švačko looks at the company’s strategic
approach to market dynamics.
K
omus Upakovka is a division of Komus, a leading Russian stationery and office
product supplier and a major plastic packaging manufacturer. The company
has been operating for more than 20 years and has seven factories that cover the
entire manufacture and distribution of various paper and cardboard products and more
than 70 chain stores all over Russia.
Product excellence
Komus Upakovka primarly deals with the production of rigid plastic packaging for the
food industry. It was commissioned in 1997 in the city of Golitsyno (Odintsovsky District)
and started with the production of disposable plastic food packaging. “Today we offer
more than 250 products made from different materials for the confectionery industry,
cooking, fast food and dairy products. We produce packaging for salads, desserts, sushi,
small sized confectionary, cakes, ice-cream, semi-finished products, trays, PVC films and
polypropylene (PP) containers,” states Mr Gulyaev.
As a testimony to the quality of its products, Komus Upakovka was certified according
to ISO 9001:2008 by the French company ‘Afnor’. Quality management in this Russian
company covers all spheres of work – product design, production and delivery, as well as
human resource management. During the past 14 years it has been the winner of various
competitions and awards in the industry.
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Progressive expansion
Shortly after the successful launch in Odintsovsky District, the leadership of
Komus Upakovka worked out a strategic plan for opening logistic units in other
Russian regions to support its activities on a larger scale. As a result, new factories
were established. The one located in Maloyaroslavets (Kaluga region) is running
an extrusion line and producing polystyrene film for its own production units.
The other three are the Ural division, Siberian division and production site in
Krasnodar region.
“As far as logistics are concerned,” says Mr Gulyaev, “apart from those five factories
there are three more large complexes dealing with finishing work on orders and storage of
our products for partners in those regions. They are located in St Petersburg, Krasnodar
and Samara.”
Unique system of production
Komus Upakovka has a well-developed system of production, sales and distribution.
“The structure of the company has proven to be our biggest advantage. It guarantees
proximity of production to the partners in all regions,” claims Mr Gulyaev. “Since
the company’s strategy is based entirely on a unique system of production and logistic
infrastructure, we are present in all major business regions in Russia. One of our main
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GN Thermoforming Equipment
We are proud of our partnership with Komus Upakovka. From the very beginning of this successful enterprise more than 15 years ago, GN Thermoforming
Equipment has provided machinery for their production requirements.
We take this opportunity to wish our friends at Komus Upakovka continued
success as they move forward with their future growth plans!
GN Thermoforming Equipment is a leading global manufacturer of servodriven, roll-fed thermoforming machines, based in Nova Scotia, Canada. Over
the past 30 years, we have exported our equipment in more than 68 countries
around the world.
ANDRITZ Biax – reliable partner of Komus Upakovka
Komus Upakovka, a producer of rigid plastic packaging for the food industry,
relies on ANDRITZ Biax know how and technical expertise to service and
maintain their 3,6 m BOPS film stretching line. The line which is a major piece of
equipment in the Komus company was delivered by former DMT.
ANDRITZ Biax as part of the ANDRITZ Group supplies complete sequential
and simultaneous stretching lines and turnkey plants for all types of biaxially
oriented films. The ANDRITZ Group is a globally leading supplier of plants and
services for hydropo¬wer stations, the pulp and paper industry, solid/liquid separation, the steel industry, and the production of animal feed and biomass pellets.
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goals is to create a perfect operational system that would facilitate the highest quality
production and reliable and fast delivery while keeping the costs down.”
Apart from exclusive and individual packaging offers, the company’s own tool
manufacture for the production of moulds, good design and operational solutions,
Komus Upakovka has a sound investment policy. For example, it has recently invested
in the building of a plant for the production of biaxially oriented polystyrene (BOPS).
Construction entered the final stage in 2008. Komus Upakovka is the only manufacturer
of BOPS in the Russian Federation and thus has a strong competitive advantage from an
economic point of view.
Domestic trading and future plans
Komus Upakovka operates on the emerging markets in Russia and currently has no plans
to stretch its activities internationally. Instead, the company wants to conquer other Russian regions and for that purpose it has scheduled the opening of a new site. “The most
important concept in our business is bringing the production site as close as possible to
the point of sale. In that way we are reducing transportation costs,” explains Mr Gulyaev.
Future plans also include the development of its current range of products and materials,
the purchase of new equipment and the start of production for more durable and protective
food packaging. “Our business cannot afford to stand still. We are leaders in the Russian
plastic packaging industry and that position demands from us continuous work on product
innovation and anticipation of what is affecting the packaging industry,” adds Mr Gulyaev.
Being a leader brings a lot of responsibilities, especially in a market full of competitors
and fast growing small companies. In order to fulfil customer requirements, the company
is proactive in developing solutions that can help its partners to sell their products. A special
department with the most experienced sales professionals and a team working on design
actively contribute towards the development prospects of Komus Upakovka. Its ability to
recognise market dynamics, to innovate and to be a strong strategic partner reflects the
corporate culture of the company and the attitude of the people behind its success.
Visit: www.komus-upakovka.ru
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