In mid-May SIBUR held its first field session for representatives of its major accounts. KAMAZ Master team co-sponsored the event; it has been SIBUR’s partner for many years within “The Silk Road” motor rally. The team provided a unique opportunity for the guests: the rally pilot experience riding together with professional members of the team in their training area.

The session held in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny was hosted by SIBUR’s customers from 40 companies representing different sectors of the economy: petrochemistry, packaging, construction, tires, rubbers, etc.

“A bright memorable event contributing to informal contacts between the partners, which are especially valuable in the current context. When I was a boy, I enthusiastically followed the Dakar Rally. And of course, the most spectacular part of the race was that of the trucks, and we always cheered on our racers driving KAMAZes. Later the new motor rally “The Silk Road” got started, and again our racers were able to outperform all the other contenders. Having arrived at the unsurfaced training grounds in Tarlovka, I got submerged into this atmosphere again”, Maxim Kizimov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Plastic, says.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic introduced its own adjustments to business communications. During almost a year of quarantine restrictions, despite efficient online communication, both SIBUR employees and their customers felt an acute lack of face-to-face interaction. With that in mind, the SIBUR team decided to start with sharing the latest information on the most relevant topics with the customers.

“During the session we learned about the main vectors of SIBUR’s progress, and it was especially useful to listen to the analytical presentations on the polyolefins market. We also had an opportunity of meeting the top managers in person. After such events you get to understand that SIBUR values each and every customer”, says Islam Khuppiev, Mirtrubplast CEO.

Guests took part in a KAMAZ truck race.

The pandemic changed the situation in the petrochemicals markets. The industry witnessed heterogeneous leaps of demand and prices for both feedstock and polymers. Demand grew significantly in some segments consuming petrochemicals (pharmaceuticals, personal hygiene products, household chemicals, packaging), and simultaneously it shrank drastically in other segments (automotive industry, construction, textile industry). The key industry development trends have also undergone changes: some trends strengthened, others slowed down or even disappeared. Based on 2020 results, the global GDP decreased by 3.6%. In the near future China is expected to be one of the global economic growth drivers, coming out on top in terms of oil refining by 2025 and achieving 80% self-sufficiency in terms of base chemicals. The focus of the Chinese producers will be gradually shifting towards manufacturing products with higher value added.

“The business agenda was intensive and relevant, says Mikhail Tovmasyan, SLT Aqua CEO. We gained very important information from our SIBUR colleagues about the polymers market situation and forecasts, because this is what we have to deal with in our everyday activities. Information about sustainable development and carbon neutrality trends among industrial companies was equally important.”

“First of all, I would like to emphasize that the SIBUR team was open in their communication with partners and provided a great opportunity for professional interaction, Bashplast CEO Vasily Kosmynin believes. I would like to make special mention of SIBUR’s comments on the situation in the global economy and in the petrochem industry specifically. They helped systematize the observed turbulence in the market and forecast the period of possible changes”.

“I can say with certainty that it was a high-level event”, said Ruslan Lukmanov, Deputy Director for Commerce of UK TAU NefteKhim LLC. “The program included active exercise (participation in sports activities), an information block with an update on the situation in the petrochemicals market and its development potential and an informal business session during which we and our colleagues had an opportunity to discuss, in an informal setting, the current issues and development prospects for our companies considering the highly volatile market. It was a very eventful and useful program, and we will be happy to participate in future SIBUR events, if invited”.

Throughout the programme’s business section, participants were invited to discuss various aspects of the market with SIBUR representatives.

Another trend is the growing carbon neutrality focus of many countries. Sustainable development is one of the topics on the radar of all stakeholders—from end users to the investor community and regulators. Petrochemical companies have their own priorities, such as development of a circular economy. The industry has tremendous potential in this sphere due to unique qualities of polymer products, their ability to be recycled and used in production, as well as the scope of polymer applications in today’s world. SIBUR is active in developing products with high content of recycled feedstock. One of SIBUR’s projects contributing to the circular economy principles is producing “green” PET granules containing recycled feedstock at POLYEF site in Bashkortostan. It is expected that POLYEF will be able to engage the recycled polymer packaging in its processes as early as by mid-2022.

“We should especially emphasize that SIBUR’s sustainable development strategy and the associated recycling projects are very important, Natalya Veselova, Chief Procurement Officer at TARKETT, comments. I consider especially useful the presentation with a review of the global petrochem markets and the influencing factors.”

The latest updates of the E-commerce platform and plans to develop digital tools were also presented at the session.

The guests expressed high appreciation of the format of the event and the relevancy of the topics selected for discussion within the business agenda. The opportunity of face-to-face communication between SIBUR and its partners will have a positive impact on the partner relations and the comprehensive understanding of business.

“In general, this kind of events are always useful, especially in the post-pandemic world. It was a great pleasure to see that all the participants are active and growing, this somehow inspires confidence in the future and incentivizes. I felt that rubbers were not sufficiently presented in the business agenda: no market forecasts, insufficient information about SIBUR’s current and planned projects, Denis Sadovoy, Head of Procurement of Voltire-Prom, believes. Nevertheless, we were able to fruitfully communicate with our colleagues from SIBUR. The great achievement of the organizers of this event was creation of the team spirit!”

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