Market testing for a new recycled rubber application

We are driving south on the German motorway. I'm in the passenger seat of a rented car. The driver, our client, is one of the founding partners of the Gipuzkoa-based company GomaVial Solutions.

The company GomaVial was created 6 years ago with the aim of developing business through an innovative technique for the deconstruction of used tyres. Thanks to this, they have managed to separate the valuable rubber layers of which today's tyres are made into thin rubber sheets. These bands of the best rubber on the market can be used in an infinite number of applications in various sectors of industry.

The aim of our journey is to present the H-Rubber belts as a safety barrier for indoor shooting ranges. After a worldwide market analysis, we found that there is a real interest in H-Rubber in Germany and Switzerland and therefore decided to organise an agenda to visit potential customers at the destination. As this is a new material and a new application, it is vital to get the commercial message across correctly and there is no better option than a "face-to-face" meeting with the target.

As important as the quality of the product, the price, the technical data or the competitive advantages that you present... are the details of putting a face to the interlocutor, being able to empathise instantly with the target customer, being able to engage in a relaxed chat and going deeper into the product or the sale in due time.

A combination of "technical knowledge" and "commercial attitude" which, mixed in the right measure, help to accelerate a possible sale. So we come back from our trip happy, with requests for quotations and interesting conversations in our heads that will help us to find future applications for H-Goma together with our customer.