When Russian manufacturer Termopak thought of opening its first overseas office it was Dubai it selected not least because of its importance as the Middle East’s premier commercial hub and its business links to the rest of the world.

Termopak, which makes packaging machines for a range of products from vegetables to chocolates and video cassettes, has also announced plans to set up an assembly plant in nearby Sharjah, where it already has a service centre, following strong growth it has registered from its UAE operations since 1998. As well as serving the region, some of the machines that the Dubai office stocks also go to some European markets.
 “Our machines are the result of conversion of the Russian military industry,” says Termopak, which commenced production in Moscow in 1993. In Russia alone it sells more than 3,000 different machines per year through a network of 185 dealer companies while a similar number is sold overseas.
All machines are patented and have quality certificates from the Russian State Test Agency (Rostest) and the Russian Public Health Ministry.
According to Serguei Kouznetsov, its general manager for Dubai-based operations, the Gulf constitutes Termopak’s biggest overseas market with sales in North Africa picking up well, particularly in Libya where the company recently supplied five shrink-wrapping machines. The North African potential has encouraged the company to set up an office in Sudan, which will likely open in September of this year. Kouznetsov says the Sudan office will for the time being not hold stocks but operate more like a showroom, serving customers in its region with goods shipped directly from the Dubai office.
Top market in the region is of course the UAE, but outside the country it is Saudi Arabia that accounts for most sales while Oman, Qatar and Bahrain also register good business.  Kouznetsov says the Middle East market is warming up to Termopak’s shrink wrapping and vertical form, fill and seal machines and remarks the latter has turned out to be the main revenue earner. He also claims the Termopak facility in Dubai is the only one in the region to stock vertical form, fill and seal machines. “And of course, no one in the Gulf produces that kind of equipment,” he says.  “Our Moscow head office also reports it is gaining in popularity worldwide.”
Kouznetsov explains the machine was introduced recently and took two years to develop, advancing from a semi-automatic version but with added-on features. It is fully computerised, has weighing scales and, he points out, it is cost-effective and particularly an asset to dry food producers. And while it   incorporates    components from several leading companies, the knowhow is essentially Russian, he stresses. The MI Stella model, for instance, has multiheads and can be used with different types of dosing - volume-wise and weight-wise. It is compatible with pipe diameters 70 mm, 80 mm and 100 mm for films of 255 mm, 285 mm and 355 mm (“pillow” packet 110 mm, 125 mm and 160 mm). The parts come from Camozzi, the computer input from Motorola and the weighing system from Sikom. The company recently sold two of the machines, one going to a UAE firm and the other to a Saudi company.
Among products it recently launched is the Termopak 2000 for block and piece products with PVC and polyolefin films. “The model is indispensable for small and individual manufacturers. It has small dimensions, low power consumption and a low price along with a stable high quality of packaging,” says the company.