Commercial Writing

I wrote the following content for Polyplastic Group, the largest plastic piping manufacturer in Russia and the CIS region. In 2018, Polyplastic Group sought to expand their reach in Europe, so a group of executives presented this pitch to a consortium of potential investors and customers in Munich, Germany. The audience was primarily German, but members and citizens of other European and European Union states were also present.

My client, Polyplastic Group, gave me general guidelines and a rough sample text. My job was to research, refine, rewrite, and edit this presentation to address the needs and preferences of both the Russian clients, and the German/European Union based audience. Prior to this project, I had lived and worked in both Germany and Eastern Europe, and was well aware of both the business culture, and the wider cultures found throughout the region. The client also requested that I preserve elements of spoken Russian presentation style. So I utilized my experience in copywriting, brand and corporate strategy, and cultural anthropology to address the client's cultural and business concerns.

For example, I ensured that the piece was emotive and impactful when spoken in front of a live audience, and easily understood by second-language speakers of the English language. I also offered suggestions on content regarding sustainability, corporate responsibility, employee welfare, and customer-focused details like quality control and services like custom manufacturing—all topics that offer broad appeal to European investors. My suggestions were utilized in this text, and also applied throughout the entire event presentation and discussion.

This work is presented here with the permission of the client.

Polyplastic Group Investor Pitch

Technology is changing our world—making our lives more comfortable and safe. But what is comfort?

Our physical comfort is often linked to utilities: Water. Heat. Gas. Electricity. In every house, every apartment, and every place of business.

Utilities provide us with the necessities for daily life. But how do we get utilities? Through pipeline systems. Today, many of these systems are largely composed of polymer plastics.

The first polymer pipes appeared only about seventy years ago, and polymer materials are now widely used to create the most reliable and environmentally friendly plastic pipeline systems.

The POLYPLASTIC Group is the largest producer of plastics and plastic piping systems in Russia and the greater CIS region. We are also among the 500 largest Russian companies. Our company operates Klimovskiy Pipe Plant, which is among the largest and most modern plastics manufacturing facilities in Europe.

How do you turn an everyday material like plastic into a strong, durable, and reliable product? By utilizing advanced manufacturing capabilities and maintaining consistent technical professionalism throughout the production process.

Our plant produces pipes of all diameters—from sixteen millimeters to three meters. These include multilayer, solid wall, and corrugated pipeline systems. We can also manufacture customized products on request.

Polyplastic Group products are convenient to mount and use. Our pipes are resistant to abrasion and will transport drinking water for decades at a consistently high level of quality. We guarantee that our products will have a service life of more than 50 years.

Polyplastic plants operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The Polyplastic Group maintains high standards of quality and service in every respect, in every relationship, from our employees, to our customers, to our shared environment.

We adhere to the Integrated Management System ISO 9001 and 14001, and all of our products adhere to international quality standards. We also perform quality testing for every batch of raw materials, and on every shipment of finished products.

Over the past twenty years, the Polyplastic Group has produced two million tons of high quality, long lasting polymer products. That's more than three hundred and sixty thousand kilometers of pipes. If laid end to end, these products would encircle the earth’s equator more than nine times!

Our pipeline systems have changed the face of Russia and Europe. Our products are used at the most significant infrastructure projects in Russia, including at ZAPSIBNEFTEKHIM—the nation’s largest petrochemical complex. At the new Vostochny cosmodrome. At Russia’s Olympic venues and football stadiums. And at many other projects throughout Europe.

We are more than our five thousand employees and fifteen plants. More than our twenty sales and distribution divisions. More than our six training centres and three testing centres. More than our leading research institute and resulting fifty-three patents.

The Polyplastic Group does not just produce three hundred thousand tons of products a year: we make your life more comfortable.

Every year. Every day. Always.

Robots and other complex machines can frighten people—especially if they don’t understand them. Unfamiliarity frequently leads to fear, which is why managers must familiarize workers with the benefits of newly installed industrial robots.

Over time, workers will become increasingly comfortable with industrial robots. However, for this to happen, managers must make the benefits of industrial robotics clear to each and every employee. Make sure to point out these benefits explicitly, including assistance with arduous tasks like lifting, and the automation of boring tasks that involve rote repetition. Show employees how industrial robots can make their jobs easier, and demonstrate how their effective use will increase employee productivity at no cost to workers. Remember that it’s vital to emphasize how robotics can benefit your employees—otherwise they may resist the implementation of these helpful machines.

Additionally, workers often express concern that they will lose their jobs because of increasing mechanization. Managers and other corporate stakeholders need to clarify that this will not be the case. Instead, management should offer examples of how industrial robotics implementation will allow employees greater freedom in terms of the duties and jobs available to them. Industrial robots will now perform many basic factory tasks, freeing employees to work on more complex—and interesting—projects. Some employees will also be promoted, since robots cannot perform many higher value tasks.

If robotics introduction is done properly, your workers will embrace their new machine helpers: in some factories workers have even named their robots. Not every worker will adore their robot, but pet names like “Bert” and “Ernie” demonstrate the affection that’s possible between properly introduced human and machine.

Our device, which we have named Meddi, utilizes NLP (Natural Language Processing) and existing Virtual Assistant/AI agent technology to improve the lives of underserved patients (including veterans, seniors, and people with developmental disabilities) in three critical areas. Firstly, patient adherence is a pressing issue within the global healthcare system. Our solution encourages patient adherence via gentle reminders and—in the case of medication—accurate dosing via an integrated, mechanical pill dispenser. Secondly, isolation is also a major issue affecting each of the three previously mentioned groups. We aim to lessen this by creating a virtual assistant that serves as a “friendly companion” who can engage patients in a basic conversation, whether it be social, informational, or instructive. Finally, Meddi is also capable of connecting our users to humans, should they be in need of further assistance. We anticipate that users will seek to contact family, caregivers, healthcare professionals and others, according to their needs. Meddi streamlines this process, making phone calls and naturalistic voice queries accessible to the vast majority of users—regardless of potential sensory or moderate cognitive impairments—and also alerts caregivers to potential emergencies.

Notably, we have designed Meddi specifically with our target populations in mind—rather than attempting to reuse existing technology that may not be suitable for these users. Unfortunately, modern technology design often ignores the needs of “edge case” users and many underserved groups—including veterans, seniors, and people with developmental disabilities. So we've created Meddi to bridge the digital divide between technology and our target users by providing a seamless user experience that utilizes NLP and everyday conversational cues to more easily access and navigate the complexities of the American healthcare system. To our knowledge, no device currently on the market (as of 2018) targets the aforementioned groups, leaving them reliant on mainstream devices that may not have the functionality, privacy or accessibility features needed by these populations. With this in mind, we’ve designed an integrated personal assistant that offers tangible benefits on a physical, emotional and intellectual level, via the daily use of our device, which includes a smart pill dispenser, a friendly conversation agent, and easily accessible information, respectively.

This sample consists of a press release for those involved with the creation and utilization of open-source software. I periodically volunteer as an editor for open-source projects, so I worked with the GNOME Project to rewrite and edit this press release. During my edits, I removed awkward phrasings, deleted many forms of passive tense, and optimized overall clarity. GNOME management did want to keep certain elements of the original, but most of my suggestions were implemented in the final press release.

August 15, 2017

Happy 20th Birthday, GNOME!

ORINDA, CA. Today, the GNOME Project proudly celebrates its 20th Birthday. Founded by Miguel de Icaza and Federico Mena Quintero on August 15, 1999, the GNOME Project is best known for the eponymous GNOME desktop environment. We’ve released 33 stable releases since the initial version of GNOME 1.0. The latest stable release, GNOME 3.26 “Manchester,” is scheduled for release in mid-September. With over 6,000 contributors, and 8 million lines of code for our GNOME desktop environment alone, the GNOME Project continues to thrive in its twentieth year.

Celebrate 20 Years Strong with the GNOME Foundation: visit our 20th Birthday Party page to find a party—or even start your own. Remember to use the hashtag #GNOMEParty when sharing pictures from your GNOME event.

Enjoy a few of the many photographs from the 20th Birthday Party at this year’s GNOME Users And Developers European Conference (GUADEC), where Federico Mena Quintero celebrated his own birthday alongside GNOME.

Happy 20th Birthday, GNOME!

Find out more about the GNOME project's history at http://www.happybirthdaygnome.org.

https://www.gnome.org/news/2017/08/twenty-years-strong/