It’s approaching four years since COBA acquired a small plastic manufacturing facility in the Russian Federation to extend our group’s reach into Eastern Europe and Asia. That company today is going from strength to strength, and trades as COBA SPK Profiles. It is located in the Samara region.
COBA has continued to invest in the business and there have been some significant changes, not least the relocation to a new manufacturing facility, alongside investment in new equipment and the integration of corporate software.
We recently caught up with Plant Manager, Sergei I. Fadeev, to find out more. “When COBA acquired the business in July 2014, I am pleased to say that we managed to retain the best employees in the company, who have remained very active in its development.
Sergei goes on to explain, “Investment in the infrastructure of our business has given us a tremendous boost. This has provided us with the necessary conditions to select new specialists and master new technological processes. As a result, we have made good progress in creating a successful, stable, modern enterprise which gives our business in the Russian Federation great prospects for growth and development. In fact, sales of COBA SPK Profiles has increased by some 120% over the last three years, despite a difficult period in the economy.”
Here we share some comments from employees of COBA SPK Profiles.
Sergei N. Povarov, Extrusion Line Operator, continues to work in the company. He has been with the business since March 2012:
“I remember how it started, and I can say that now it looks better: a new production building, many new processes, better equipment. In general, it is worth working here, and I appreciate my workplace.”
Planning Manager Vladimir A. Dudnikov started in February 2011:
“I have been working in this company for a very long time. Previously, I spent a lot of time in planning production – I applied only the tables in the Excel program. But since 2016 the company has introduced COBA’s “IFS” system, and I have been trained on this. Now I can plan production much better and more efficiently, and, I can quickly get information about our reserves, orders, expected deliveries. It really has taken us to a new level.”
Sergei Fadeev concludes, “I am sure that we can continue to move forward boldly, having serious prospects in the market of automotive components. The future is very exciting and I’d like to thank every employee of the company. We have a very solid team.”
Telephone: +44 (0)116 240 1555
Email: sales@cobaautomotive.co.uk
