Ilnar operates Nexam’s sales in Russia and Central Asia
05/07/2021
Based in Moscow, Ilnar Mingalimov works with prospecting, sales and advising Nexam Chemical’s customers in Russia and Central Asia.
– I find it very rewarding to be a part of developing the industry with better and more advanced materials as a result, says Ilnar.
Ilnar grew up in Samara, where he completed his higher education at Samara State Aerospace University with a degree in International Logistics. It was also in this field that his career began. In 2017, Ilnar started working as a business consultant for a Swedish consultancy bureau in Moscow where he provided management support to various Swedish corporations to be more successful in Eurasia. This is where he first came in contact with Nexam Chemical.
– I started working on a project for Nexam and immediately found it to be a very interesting business with great potential. I took a liking to the industry and market and realized that it was in this field that I wanted to operate. We operate in a constantly evolving industry, that drives and shapes the world and we have the opportunity to play an active role in that unstoppable development, Ilnar explains.
Ilnar sees himself as a connector between the, in comparison, small Swedish company with the big innovations and the big Russian players in the manufacturing industry. Customers in the Russian and Central Asian markets are found in areas such as polymer manufacturing, aircraft industry, construction, recycling and various types of product manufacturing.
Ilnar explains that reactive extrusion and recycling are the two major topics of conversations with our customers in Eurasia right now.
– Suddenly everyone started talking about recycling. Specifically the manufacturers of plastic materials. They all want to be a frontrunner and increase the recycling rate of their products. At the same time, we receive inquiries from polymer manufacturers to tweak the properties of ready-made polymers to reach the certain standards dictated by the industry. We have products to satisfy the needs of all parties in the value chain and make their operations more sustainable.
As responsible for the business development in Eurasia, Ilnar believes that he needs to be both patient and creative in order to create long-term business relationships.
– Eurasia is a region with great and diverse culture. Each country has its own history and local particularities for business operations. Each country has its own cultural code and casual way of doing business. But one thing they have in common is that interpersonal relationships play a big role in facilitating strong business relationships, Ilnar says.
As for most of us, the pandemic has affected Ilnars work with fewer trips and an increase in digital meetings. Something that has now started to slowly change back again.
– The past year has made me realize the importance of meeting customers physically. It is rewarding that we, to an increasing extent, can start meeting for real again. For example, I was in Uzbekistan recently to meet a customer. In addition to a number of meetings and visits to the factory, the head of operations spent time with me after meetings and made a small excursion to show his hometown. I really appreciated his hospitality, it created a solid foundation for a long-term business relationship, Ilnar explains.
Ilnar concludes by emphasizing that he looks forward to continuing to develop along with Nexam Chemical.
– We have the right products that are in demand on the market, a strong team with an upbeat can-do attitude and effective tools to channel the products. I enjoy the variety my job entails and like the challenge of learning about new opportunities chemistry and plastics can offer. It is after all a material found in almost everything around us, from packaging to a sweater, a wind turbine or a jet engine.