Interview with Rustem Karimov and Robert Karimov, General Manager and PR manager of Karimov GmbH at FEFCO 2023.
We are here at FEFCO. How do you like the show?
It’s just amazing, so many people. I’m not usually at these events, but since I was needed as a presenter for the spotlight, I’m here and I’m enjoying it. I see a lot of different people.
What exact product did you bring to the show? What is your presentation about?
Our presentation is about IXS-PAL® integrated pallet system that converts corrugated cardboard into a pallet. The goal is to replace the wooden pallet systems that are existing right now with this new system, which is more ecological and more sustainable.
Do you have any goals after the exhibition for your company? What would you like to achieve?
We have received a lot of interest in our system. As a next step, we would like to give the people who are interested a taste. We would like to send some samples and get their feedback. Then we can make them an offer for a machine and hopefully also see the machines implemented at their sites. That way, we can increase our market share.
The goal is to replace the wooden pallet systems that are existing right now with this new system, which is more ecological and more sustainable
How did your company perform in 2023? What challenges and problems did you face and what achievements have you accomplished?
A great challenge we faced this year, and the previous year, and continue to face, is the conservatism when it comes to the use of our system.
Since a lot of people are accustomed to using wooden pallets, I guess it’s a general thing to be critical towards new developments. But we would like to have the people be a bit more open about this, since if one considers how packaging used to be, also in wooden crates and wooden barrels, the packaging industry has changed a lot.
Now most of the material is corrugated cardboard. We see it as a natural trend that the pallet will also be converted in its material into corrugated.
However, we are very hopeful and positive that this development will continue and move in the direction of corrugated being used as a material in more places. And as such, we are very optimistic about our future.
Maybe you have a message for your customers and for our audience about what is unique, exactly what is unique, in your product and what is your advantage over the competitors and the market.
Our message is that as a corrugated cardboard manufacturer, one faces a lot of challenges. And in the past, there have been many improvements in regard to the production line. However, we see a critical point at the very last step, when the product is actually shipped out, where there are some problems.
And we think it’s only logical that the manufacturer then actually uses their own material to create this sort of pallet to ship out the products. So, we invite you to try our innovative and eco-friendly solution and see the benefits for yourself.
We know that you brought here kind of the most mind-blowing innovation, which is the corrugated table tennis, right? So, maybe you would like to demonstrate it and maybe I would appreciate it if I could try it.
Thank you for your time. Thank you for the interview!
Thank you!
Reporting by Adam Tkalenko – corruga.expert