Valery Lyudva

RAIMBEK PEOPLE

A series of interviews with employees of the Raimbek Company dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the company.

"I FIND MY WORK VERY INTERESTING!"

Valery Lyudva is an irreplaceable person for the Raimbek Company. Heading the production department of Raimbek Bottlers, he has launched every company factory, has participated in the creation of all products without exception, and is personally responsible for ensuring that all equipment at Raimbek's enterprises is in perfect working order.

 - Valery Alekseyevich, how did you end up at Raimbek?

- My whole life I’ve worked in beverage production. In 1974, I joined the non-alcoholic beer association of Alma-Ata. I might say that it was a childhood dream come true – working in a lemonade shop! Then there was the Pepsi-Cola plant, and in 1998 I was invited as an expert to inspect the production site, which at that time was on sale. I was not yet aware back then that in the coming decades this site would become my workplace. A line for packaged goods production was installed here, in this former fruit canning plant.

I first saw the site of the future plant in May 1998, together with Raimbek Batalov and Yerlan Shinturinov. "Raimbek Bottlers" LLP was established and registered in June. For six months they were bringing in and installing equipment, and in December of the same year we conducted final testing.

- In other words, the Raimbek Company’s juices have exact date of birth?

- Sure! December 30, 1998 - the date of birth of the product itself, the first line with which we entered the market, Juicy brand. This project was and remains very successful. Only two years later, in 2000, we became leaders in terms of the volume of production and sales of juice products in Kazakhstan. And we have maintained this position ever since.

Our first products were apple, orange, and tomato juices. Over time new packaging formats appeared, and three years later we purchased two more production lines. At the same time we launched the juice-containing drink Palma – another leader in its segment. At the same time, we released new 0.2 liter packaged products.

- Was it difficult to launch the production itself?

- It was a completely new project for us back then. Even taking my long experience with beverage production into account, I found these things quite challenging. Aseptic production, which we were setting up, was very different from the way we had worked in Soviet times.

Here everything depends on the quality of the primary products. Everything depends on pristine cleanliness during the production process, the cleanliness of the packaging material before filling the package with ready-made juice or milk.

And we kept going. It wasn’t long before the fourth line was purchased; we were expanding production areas and expanding the volumes of production. We were the first firm in Kazakhstan to offer our consumers completely new packaging. Ever since then we have been trying to maintain this brand, to make sure it is convenient for consumers to hold a bag of juice, open it quickly, and store it conveniently and securely. It was important for us to have a package that is a “perfect fit” for our consumer’s hands.

- You keep saying "for us", "we"...

- Well yes, it's all team work! We started with specialists who were used to working on an old, Soviet production line. They had been the backbone of the former fruit cannery. They were real professionals of the old school. They were training us and we learned a lot in the process, creating a great production team, which is working quite successfully in "Raimbek Bottlers" these days.

Time changes, the market changes, customers' requests change ... For example, our 2 liter Tetra Pak package was the first of its kind in Kazakhstan, as well as in the territory of the former Soviet Union. And it was actually either third or fourth in the world. For us, work means constantly moving forward. It means making interesting, contemporary, popular products for the market.

- What is a personal achievement in the company that you are especially proud of?

- I have been working here for almost 20 years and I can say that I am proud of the fact that I was here at the very beginning of all production development and implementation, of both juice and dairy production in Almaty. I took an active part in launching the juice plant in China.

I am proud that I have contributed a lot of knowledge in order to make these projects successful. There were certain difficulties at every stage, either due to diversity of our production - juices, dairy products, beverages – or to setting up new production in other countries, as with our project in China.

We’re constantly moving. This year we are planning a very serious expansion of our product line, completely different format, different packaging. For our market it’s something completely new.

I really enjoy my work! We never stop, continuously working on new products, changing formats, looking for new projects. There are many ideas that have not yet come to fruition, though I’m taking part in their development. Specialists who work at Raimbek are usually dealing with 2 - 3 projects at a time. It never gets boring here!

- What is the secret of the company's success, in your opinion?

- The secret of our success lies in the consistent focus of our company’s management on researching directions for effective expansion in the future. Not that every project is successful, but that’s life, it happens... I think that the main advantage of your company is constant movement, the constant search for new ideas, new projects, new life every day. To those who have gone into production, I’d say, there’s no way out! Just keep up with it. Anyone who goes into productions stays with it for life!

- How do you envision the company in 25 years?

- In 25 years ... I think it is going to be even more advanced from a production perspective. Some projects are being developed and thoroughly analyzed today, projects for the near future, meaning 5-10 years. These are very serious, challenging and extremely interesting projects. This is our future. I think that in 25 years the company will have at least 10 factories - large, engaging in different kinds of production, using domestic sources.

It is important that our company decided to develop its business in the food industry. You fail in various different business ventures, but it’s almost impossible in the food industry. No matter what, people will still have three meals a day. And we will always be there, offering our high-quality products.

I think that the future of our company is very bright. Cheers to those who will work here in 25 years!