Petrolplaza Event Review of Autocomplex 2017 - Part 2

Our company produces advertising and information equipment for filling stations. We work all over Russia and Kazakhstan. As for the crisis… We do not see any dramatic decrease at the moment. I believe the situation in our country has stabilized and big oil companies such as Lukoil and Gazprom continue to spread their fuel station networks every year with more and more new fuel stations emerging. This is every year the same. I would say that small companies have somewhat restrained their development. So we do not see any significant growth or interest at the moment. The present situation can be explained by the fact that more and more rumors and uncertainties about electric cars are circulating, so everybody is waiting for something. A lot of our partners, some small private companies, feel that great investments into the filling station network development appear to be unjustified at the moment and that sooner rather than later electric cars will become an integral part of our everyday life. So it seems to be more reasonable to build big fuel stations at highways in order to use them later as roadside service stations, whereas building large fuel stations within the city appears to be senseless. Often we can hear statements from various government officials who claim to allocate budget funds for that purpose and so on. It is our third time at this exhibition. This year we have decided to show our product to its best advantage, so to say, and brought a real pylon sign to the exhibition. By the way, this pylon sign has already been sold to another city and after the exhibition we will bring it to our plant, repaint some elements, put another logo on it and ship this pylon to the Republic of Kazakhstan. My name is Anna Ambarova and I am the general director of Franco company, exclusive distributor of Franke Coffee Systems, the manufacturer of Franke coffee machines from Switzerland. We have been on the Russian market for more than 20 years and, thus, we’ve also been actively working and developing our business in the fuel retailing industry. When talking about the latest trends in the filling station market we can say that the usage of telemetry technology, QR code scanners, various loyalty cards and other card systems are the most prevalent in the industry. This trend is very relevant as our clients don’t only need information about the operation of the coffee machine but also about the product that it provides for its end consumer. Thus, we can receive and collect data about the quantity of coffee drinks made, about how much coffee beans and milk the coffee machine uses, which technical problems occur, which lets us not only receive and process these data, but also influence the operation of the coffee equipment directly. I believe that increasing demand for coffee – and this trend is quite apparent – is growing not only in the Russian market, but also in Europe. It seems to me that today nobody can do without a cup of coffee in the morning, and many of us also indulge ourselves with this wonderful drink in the daytime. I feel that this trend is definitely growing in the fuel retailing sector too. And here is a delicious cappuccino for you. As you may know VDS company provides package solutions for the fuel retailing business starting from the concept development and design: we provide engineering solutions, manufacture metal works, produce advertising equipment for stations as well as assembly and maintenance services. We are a company providing complete integrated cycle services. When talking about the current trends of the market it’s probably worth mentioning that our customers increasingly tend to adopt new formats and search for new business niches. What I mean here are, first of all, automatic filling stations and new formats of multifunctional complexes incorporating hotels and restaurants. Brand new highway filling stations are appearing on the market. It is the search for such tailored solutions that is the main success factor for our customer today. So, this is the idea that we are promoting and exploring at the exhibition. Along with it, we are presenting a number of projects completed this and last year. So we are introducing some of our new concepts, best practices and ideas to our customers. It is important for us to be present at this exhibition and to show our traditional customers that we are here, that we keep working and progressing, that we are actually successful in our business. Unfortunately, today we often see companies trying to plagiarize and copycat other companies or their solutions. It’s not always bad for us; we are used to it - when others follow you, you are going in the right direction. Yet, this is not always in the best interest of our clients. Sometimes the image of our customers might be copied and damaged by dishonest suppliers. That affects the high standards set by oil companies in the industry – this is our main concern today. We are a German company EHRLE. Our company produces touch-free self-service car washes. The Russian market is very attractive for us, for we have noticed great progress in the industry at this exhibition. We have considerable experience in Central Europe… For example, in Poland alone we have built in more than 1,250 car washes; for BP’s filling station network we have made more than 150 washes. We would like to apply this experience to the Russian market. From this exhibition we can conclude that a lot of investors and prospect customers are interested in high quality products with high washing and service efficiency. We can offer that to our investors, and we are very glad to take part in this exhibition. Trends are never-ending. The current design trend suggests a drive for simplicity, comfort and convenience. Today we can see that many brands become obsolete very quickly, so owners of filling stations and oil producing companies often have to renovate to stay up to date. By offering simple and bold designs instead of sophisticated and complex solutions, the simple designs will actually have a longer lifetime on the market. Therefore, our customers would have no need to invest money again in a new design because the “old” one will not get outdated so quickly. We are representing our own equipment, the company responsible for visualization of filling stations, and our main goals at this exhibition are to attract new customers and win new contracts, to see what our colleagues offer. These are the goals... It’s a good exhibition, with a great format and a lot of interesting market players that we didn’t know before – so we have made new acquaintances and we will build these new relationships. Our company has just turned 20 years old this year. During this time we have been supplying a full range of processing equipment for filling stations, providing supervision for installations, commissioning works and technical assistance. You know, the exhibition is a good opportunity to meet with our long-term business partners to discuss urgent and current issues. As usual we are exhibiting the equipment from our supply range that you can see at our booth. We are also presenting some new management equipment like a control system by our partner Franklin Electric. It’s quite difficult to talk about any development today, although there is still some progress in the industry. All of us are probably longing for the growth of 2010, 2011, 2012. Surely there is no such progress today. Surely there is no such progress today. This has many reasons and we’re all aware. Hopefully the situation will change for the better in the future and the market will start rapidly growing again. As for now… One step at a time. Mikhail, good afternoon! Thank you very much for the exhibition this year. Today is the third day and it’s nearly over. We’d like to know your opinion on how everything went. I have to say that, despite the major difficulties that the Russian economy is experiencing today, our exhibition has still run very well. It proves the fact that the Russian economy is showing a general trend towards growth and stabilization. This trend has also had a positive effect on our exhibition. Taking into account both visitors' statements and number of participants, I can assess the exhibition in very positive terms. The companies that are determined to overcome the existing difficulties are strengthening their position in the market and their participation in the exhibition is an indicator of their economic stability. I’m glad to see that the majority of our regular exhibitors are really determined to resolve all difficulties and earnestly strive for new accomplishments. Yes, that’s exactly right. Please tell us if there are any specific plans for 2018. The next exhibition is even more important for us, for this is going to be the 25th anniversary exhibition. Naturally we want to make it more spectacular and representative. When talking about special features, we shall place greater emphasis on environmentally friendly technologies, such as natural gas as fuel for cars. Besides, our new thematic segment of charging modules for electric cars is increasingly developing and is becoming a tradition. May we reveal your secret plans to PetrolPlaza followers? Only in strict confidence. Exclusively for PetrolPlaza.