Polysack Plastic sees Russian potential
year after a highly successful year for its Polyphane plastic
packaging brand. The fast rate of growth in the Russian food
industry - in particular confectionery - was the principal reason
for Polysack's success, writes Angela Drujinina.
Polysack estimates that sales of film wrapping increased by 90 per cent in Russia in 2004, while sales to CIS countries were up 30 per cent.
"The sheer size of the Russian market - and its potential for further growth - has impressed us," said Natalya Bugrina, spokesperson for Polysack's Moscow branch. "Specifically, the fast growth in demand for packaging materials for food products, in particular from the confectionery industry which is using increasing amounts of film wrapping, a field in which our Polyphane Twist product is a recognised leader."
Polyphane's biggest selling point is its 'green' status - it is marketed as an environmentally safe alternative to films such as Cellophane, PVC, polyethylene and polypropylene. But it is also said to be more cost effective than other films, according to the company: "Producers can wrap 10 per cent more sweets with Polyphane compared to the same quantity of rival materials, at a speed of 1,800 sweets per minute."
The company's growing reputation has seen it win new orders across Russia in the last year. Most of Polysack's business was previously with companies based in the Moscow, St Petersburg and Kazan regions, but 2004 saw it clinch new deals with companies based further east in Novosibirsk, Altay and Primorsk.
Even further afield, Polypack has gone into partnership with a company based in Kazakhstan, a move designed to take advantage of the potential for growth in Central Asia.
The group has also invested in a new warehouse in Moscow in response to the rapid growth in demand. The additional warehouse will enable it to cut delivery times for its customers.
According to Bugrina, more than 10 per cent of the chocolate and sugar confectionery products produced in Russia last year were wrapped in the company's Polyphane Twist packaging, and the firm plans to double its presence there over the next two years by stealing market share from other packaging materials (paper) and other plastic films which are less environmentally friendly and not as cost-effective.
In particular, the company will continue to look for new customers in Russia and the CIS. The company's biggest client at the moment is one of Russia's biggest confectionery groups, Novyi Mir from St Petersburg, but it also supplies Donetsk-based confectioner àâê and another packaging supplier, Conflex, based in Yekaterinburg.
As an indication of its ambitions, the company has recently floated on the Israeli Stock Market, a move designed to make it easier to raise cash for expansion.
