84 Business View - January 2016
company he founded with its constant passion to in-
novate. (Only last year, Manfred applied for five new
patents.) Corma invests heavily in research and devel-
opment, and lately its focus is on sustainability and
creating more “green” machinery and practices. While
Stefan is quick to point out that, “our machines are
very, very energy efficient,” the company is aware that
“the market is turning towards using a lot of recycled
material, such as post-industrial scrap, that our cus-
tomers would like to be able to use in the pipes. So
we have to develop technologies to be able to use and
process that material.”
Competition in the corrugated pipe machine manufac-
turing industry is from a small number of competitors,
primarily from Europe and China. But Corma is the
most well-known company around. Still, it continues to
seek out new customers, mainly by attending various
trade shows around the globe. This year, the company
has already sent delegations to several U.S. cities, In-
dia, Colombia, Brazil, China, Europe, and Mexico. And
Stefan enjoys the travel. “It’s really exciting. It keeps
everything fresh when you meet people from different
countries and cultures and you have to try and under-
stand the psychology of different markets.”
Corma Inc. is also a very involved community citizen.
Stefan Lupke
, Vice President
MANUFACTURING
