Case Study: In faraway markets, Ontario machinery maker builds solid business

Since 1973, Corma Inc. has produced corrugated plastic pipe manufacturing machinery and equipment with a focus on international markets. Stefan Lupke, executive vice-president, says, “My father, a mechanical engineer from Germany, realized there was a niche market for corrugated pipes, but that the company couldn’t rely just on sales in Canada and in the northern U.S. From the beginning, his strategy was setting up international agency sales offices to promote our products.”

Participation in global trade shows and partnership with Export Development Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency have helped the company create awareness and build relationships. Headquartered in Toronto, Corma now has offices, sales agencies and service centres throughout North America and in Germany, Slovakia, China, Portugal, Turkey, India and Central America.

“Even when the [North American] economy is strong, there is high saturation. Companies have to go out and find new markets. There’s obviously more expense, but we’ve now exported to over 90 different countries.” Stefan Lupke, Executive Vice-President, Corma Inc.

While the company’s markets continue to expand with the need for infrastructure in developing countries, there is still work to be done in branding Canada as a mechanical and technical leader, says Mr. Lupke. “Many of our major projects provide water infrastructure, for which demand continues to grow in India, Africa, China and Central and South America. But our major competitors are German companies, so we’re always fighting that ‘made in Germany’ brand, which is very strong.”

Corma's Management
From the launch of Corma Inc. in 1973, the organization focused on developing sales in foreign markets. The Lupke family, left of photo to right: Annette Kovalik, daughter and senior vice-president, parents and founders Renate and Manfred Lupke, chair and CEO, and Stefan Lupke, son and executive vice-president. Photo: supplied

Organizations such as Corma no longer have the luxury of relying on sales in North America, he says. “Even when the economy is strong, there is high saturation. Companies have to go out and find new markets. There’s obviously more expense, but we’ve now exported to over 90 different countries.”

Partnership with Export Development Canada has enabled the company to leverage opportunity in developing markets with market research and products such as receivables insurance, contract frustration insurance and political risk insurance. “This year, less than 5 per cent of our sales occurred in Canada, and 75 per cent occurred outside of North America. EDC was involved in many of these projects in one way or another,” says Mr. Lupke.

This report was produced by RandallAnthony Communications Inc. (www.randallanthony.com) in conjunction with the advertising department of The Globe and Mail. Grant MacMillan, Category Manager, gmacmillan@globeandmail.com.

New installation from Corma Inc. helps meet growing demand for corrugated plastic pipe in Africa

Corma Inc., a world leader in corrugated plastic pipe manufacturing equipment, has recently partnered with prominent international manufacturer Grupo Fersil to meet the growing demands of Africaʼs large civil engineering projects. Corma has equipped the Grupo Fersil subsidiary FIL – Tubos Angola with two complete manufacturing lines to produce double walled polypropylene corrugated pipes ranging from 50 to 1,200 mm O.D.

Corma Corrugator in Angola

This new turnkey manufacturing installation in Luanda/Angola will supply corrugated plastic pipes used in drainage, sewage and cable ducting applications for Africaʼs expanding infrastructure improvements. The two manufacturing lines boast Cormaʼs patented Double Layer In-Line Coupling Technology for the highest quality couplings. FIL will also benefit from Cormaʼs latest Insert Technology which facilitates the manufacture of pipe in multiple stiffness classes without the need to change Mold Blocks.

Corma corrugator at Fersil plant

This installation marks an amazing leap forward in FILʼs production capabilities. Corma has expressed their gratitude at being chosen to support Grupo Fersil which continues to expand its business into exciting new market places.

Fersil's Corma equipment

About Corma Inc.

Corma Inc. is an international operating company headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has been rapidly expanding to worldwide markets. Corma has recently identified Africa as one of its most promising market places for the future. With nearly 40 solid years producing corrugated plastic pipe manufacturing equipment, Corma has become renowned for both turnkey manufacturing installations as well as individual components. Corma supports all of its products with a 36-month warranty and superior customer service.

About FIL / Grupo Fersil

FIL – Tubos Angola is a member of Grupo Fersil, a well-known group of companies that maintains several manufacturing locations and sales branches around the world. Grupo Fersil is celebrated as one of the leading manufacturers for the highest quality pipes in Southern Europe where it owns locations in both Portugal and Spain.

For further information regarding the FIL – Tubos Angola project or any of the breakthrough technology available from Corma Inc., please contact:

Worker producing a corrugated pipeLogo of Corma
Corma Inc.

10 McCleary Court
Concord (Toronto), Ontario
L4K 2Z3
Canada
Tel.: +1 905 669 9397
Fax.: +1 905 738 4744
info@mindshape.com
www.corma.com

Logo of Fersil
FERSIL
– Freitas & Silva, S.A.
Zona Industrial de Cesar
Rua das Matas
Cesar
3700 ‐ Oliveira de Azeméis
Portugal
Tel.: +351 256 856 011
Fax.: +351 256 856 011
fersil@fersil.com
www.fersil.com

Corma Inc. Helps Lead a Breakthrough in Double Wall Corrugated Plastic Pipes in India

Corma Inc., a world leader in corrugated plastic pipe manufacturing equipment, has recently partnered with the Kolkata-based international operating Alom Group of Companies to meet the growing demands of India’s burgeoning urban infrastructure.

Corma has equipped the Alom Group subsidiary Alom Poly Extrusions Ltd. with two complete manufacturing lines to produce Double Wall Corrugated High Density Polyethylene Pipes from 50 to 1,500 mm outer diameter. Thanks to Corma’s patented technology, the Alom Group is the first company in India to offer Double Wall Corrugated HDPE pipes over 1,000 mm.

Alom's Corma corrugator in India

Corma’s latest advancements in machinery and pipe product design enable Alom to produce an HDPE product that is safer, more cost-effective and more environmentally sound than traditional concrete pipes.

This installation marks a great breakthrough in India’s plastic pipe market which will play a crucial role in future urban development. Corma has expressed their gratitude at being chosen to support Alom Poly Extrusion which is rapidly penetrating the Indian market with this new high quality product for municipal projects.

Corrugated pipe plant in India

About Corma

Corma Inc. is an international operating company headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has been rapidly expanding to worldwide markets. Corma has identified India as one of the most promising market places for the future. The company has spent nearly 40 solid years producing corrugated plastic pipe manufacturing installations as well as individual components, and offers unprecedented support for all of its products with a 36- month warranty and superior customer service.

About Alom Poly Extrusions / Alom Group of companies

Alom Group of Industries constitutes three companies: Alom Extrusions Limited (Howrah and Balasore Units) and Universal Machines Limited (Howrah) operating in the field of aluminum extrusion and its associated products, along with Alom Poly Extrusions Limited (Falta) manufacturing Double Wall Corrugated HDPE pipes. For further information on Alom products, please contact us at mtkg@alom.in or visit http://www.alom.in For further information regarding any of the breakthrough technology available from Corma Inc., please contact us at: +1 905 669-9397 or info@mindshape.com

Corma corrugator in India

Corma wins infringement patent suit in Shanghai against Jwell Machinery Co.

Corma Inc.’s Patent Infringement Suits in Shanghai: Are about to Come to the End

Recently Manfred A. Lupke, legal representative of Corma Inc., has entered agreements regarding enforcement settlement with three defendants for patent infringement cases which were instituted in Shanghai. A total amount of RMB 750,000 yuan in total has been adjudged as compensation to Lupke after trials of second instance. Lupke won the law suits.

The patent infringement centers on Corma’s exclusive Mold Block Quick Return Technology, the use of which increases output rates while offering the pipe producer a reduction in the capital expenditure
for moldblocks.

The three defendant Chinese manufacturers, Shanghai Jwell Machinery Co., ERA Construction Materials Development Co. and Anhui Guotong High-tech Pipes Co.Ltd had been decided by court as having manufactured, sold and used products infringing Lupke’s patents for business purposes, therefore were put under the civil liabilities as to cease to produce the infringing conducts and compensate the damage.

After two years of court hearing procedures and another two years pursuing the enforcement of effective civil verdicts, Lupke wishes the enforcement procedure will end very soon.

Headquartered in Canada, Corma Inc. has been a leading provider of corrugated plastic pipe manufacturing machinery and equipment and has already registered patents in many selected countries around the world. The company has been registering patents in China since the mid-eighties, with more than 30 patents issued and dozens more in the application stage. Equipped with years of experiences defending its leading-edge technologies from patent infringements, Corma has developed its legal ability and resources necessary for protecting its competitive advantages in countries in which it operates, and is ready to protect itself where its intellectual property rights are infringed and deregulated.

 

How one manufacturer headed off the Chinese threat

National Post Logo

Ontario maker of pipe machinery obtained Chinese patents as early as the 1980s, and opened
a Shanghai plant in 2006

Alexandra Lopez-Pacheco, Financial Post

Back in 2000, Concord, Ont.-based Corma Inc., which makes corrugated plastic pipe manufacturing machinery and equipment, was facing a number of looming threats to its business in some 80 countries. But as soon as the writing began to appear on the wall, Corma set out to develop and implement a proactive strategy to deal with those threats. Thanks to that, the company’s revenue has not only continued to grow, despite the recession, it has improved its efficiencies while reducing costs, established a presence in a foreign market, protected its patented property and left most of its competitors far behind.

“Corma’s business has always been export driven,” says Stefan Lupke, the company’s executive vice-president, adding that since the company’s inception in 1973, its annual domestic sales have never accounted for more than 5% of its total sales revenue. Despite its geographical reach, Corma’s market is a niche one, with its main competitors based in Germany.

“It was a fairly level playing field,” says Mr. Lupke. “Then the Chinese came on at high speed, and we were concerned. I think some of our German

competitors had a bit more of an arrogant attitude, believing the Chinese wouldn’t have the quality, just have a cheap product no one would buy. They did have a cheap product, but the quality improved each day.”

Corma's activities in China

These new Communist China capitalist contenders were not pulling any punches – and their cutthroat strategy included copying Corma’s products and selling them for a third of the cost. “They copied the equipment right down to the last detail and, yes, the quality wasn’t quite there, but at a third of the price, it did prompt a lot of people in some of the developing markets to buy a lot of their equipment,” Mr. Lupke says. “We had to rethink our strategy and how we’re going to survive.”

Luckily, Manfred Lupke, the company’s founder, chief executive and Mr. Lupke’s father, is a man of foresight. “My father had begun applying for patents in China in the late 1980s,” Mr. Lupke says. “Everyone laughed at him. But we just kept on with that.”

Corma, which has approximately 30 patents issued in China, set out to defend its intellectual property rights in that country and has won several IPR infringement cases there against Chinese copycats.

“A lot of these copycats stopped copying our machinery and started copying the German machinery, which was not patented in China. It decimated some of those German companies.”

Corma’s strategy, however, went far beyond this because it was also looking at threats from the changing landscape in the manufacturing industry. “The playing field has changed and you have to adapt and have a global strategy, because if you’re just manufacturing in Canada or here in Southern Ontario, you’re not going to be competitive any more,” Mr. Lupke says.

He says it was imperative to review the company’s entire operation to find improved, cost-efficient methods and procedures to build its equipment, while maintaining and even improving their quality.

“This was the reason we established Corma Shanghai Inc.,” Mr. Lupke says. That was in 2006, but the company first did extensive research, including consulting with Export Development Canada, the Canadian Embassy in Beijing and Consulate in Shanghai.

Expanding into a foreign market, says Mark Bolger, EDC senior advisor, Asia, “does require taking a serious look at the opportunities, stepping back and applying sound business and commercial due diligence and making the choices that make the most sense. It’s not something a company should blindly rush into.”

Corma, for example, spent close to three years fruitlessly looking for a like-minded joint-venture partner. “Ultimately, we made the decision to form a wholly owned foreign enterprise operating in Shanghai,” says Mr. Lupke, whose company turned to EDC for help in acquiring political risk insurance for its foreign investment. In turn, this helped Corma secure financing from its bank.

“We are convinced that by finding and leveraging the efficiencies in our production process through our activities in Corma Shanghai, Corma Inc. has been able to maintain and, in fact, increase sales and our market position by 13% over the past two years,” Mr. Lupke says. “Given the tremendous pressure on the manufacturing sector, we are very pleased with these results. Corma has a full order book for 2010, whereas our traditional competitors from Germany are experiencing reduced sales and have had to shorten their work week.”

Instead of facing threats, Corma is now well positioned to seize growing opportunities arising from the demand for infrastructure for clean water in India, Africa, and Central and South America.

“It’s really worked out well for us,” Mr. Lupke says.

Financial Post

National Post Article