NEVA exhibition debut: what does business expect from it?
NEVA 2021 marine industry exhibition is going full speed ahead! Coronavirus crisis and its concequences didn’t influence the amount of companies and visitors, actually this year’s exhibition is bigger than ever before. We were interested what made companies take part in an event like that in such a difficult time. So we asked several debutants. Viktor Bochagin, a CEO of PK MS company, answered our questions.
The company has been on the market since 2008. It all started with a small workshop, where only two people worked, and there was only one lathe. Since then, the company has begun the serial production of various ship fittings – deck scuppers, actuator parts of the 573rd group, heads: mushroom, exhaust, air pipe, water/gas tight covers, glands for electrical cables and wires, etc.
Every year the volumes increased, the equipment of production improved, the technologies were updated and new customers came. And this year PK MS company decided to use the results of its long-term organizations to the public.
Marine fittings from PK MS are created in accordance with all the necessary documents, such as quality plans and orders for production. Technological processes and route maps have been developed for the products, and the recognition of the RRR and RMRS has been obtained.
– Victor, tell us what will be represented at your stand at the NEVA 2021 exhibition?
– First of all, our products! We, as a manufacturing company, want to show (not only to tell about ourselves in words) what exactly we produce, and what modern high-tech equipment we use for it. We also want to show our capabilities to our potential partners. And, of course, you can get to know us personally at the exhibition. We want to show that real professionals will work for you – operators of CNC machines, an operator of a robotic welding site, turners, electric and gas welders, etc., and not just sales managers.
– What are you ready to present as the central exhibit at the stand?
– Despite the fact that we have a small enterprise, we were able to establish mass production of elements and fittings for ship ventilation and air conditioning. These products will become a new display.
– This is your debut at the exhibition? Why did you decide to exhibit for the first time this year?
– Earlier, I have taken a part in this exhibition. Many factories know us and work with us. Then it was more correct for me to invest in modern equipment and training of my employees. But logic dictates that, perhaps, those who do not yet know about us, choose a supplier focusing on what the search engine gives them in the first line. And the exhibition provides an opportunity to get acquainted with the products directly, to learn how products are created. After all, it will be more convenient and profitable for everyone to work without intermediaries.
– Do you follow online events from the organizers of the exhibition? What do you think about new interaction formats (online conferences and negotiations, remote work
etc.)?
– I am not a young person – a pensioner, and even a former naval officer. And, frankly, I’m used to working and communicating primarily with people, and then with legal entities. Live communication is valuable for me, therefore participation in NEVA this year is especially important.
– Import substitution will be one of the topics for discussion in the business program. For you, for sure, this is also an important question. But if you, as a manufacturer of products, were given a word, what would you tell us? About your experience and existing problems.
– Problems are something that should accompany any enterprise, this is normal in any work. Anyway I would highlight the amount of cheap Asian products with the ‘Made in Russia’ label. I think this is not the only a problem for my enterprise. But it worries us quite a lot.
– What result do you expect from the NEVA?
– I think that it will be possible to meet and reach out to those clients whom we don’t know yet. And so we wait and see. “Hopes nourish young men and bring joy to the elders.” (a quote from a Russian poem by A. Pushkin)
