Steve Jordan talks to Guillaume Rochman from French materials supplier Sofrapack to see if the moving industry is finally catching the sustainability bug.
Sofrapack, 
the French materials supplier headed by Guillaume Rochman, has reached its 20th year in business. It’s been something of a rocky road for a company that was breaking new ground in moving materials and sustainability but, 20 years on, Guillaume feels he must be doing a few things right.
The idea came to him after he finished business school. His father had a cousin un the USA who was selling high-strength corrugated containers to replace wooden cased or crates. They were being sold to protect items such as pianos, motor cycles, sculptures or fine artworks. “I thought he was crazy at first,” said Guillaume. “I couldn’t see how it could work.” So he made the trek to the US to find out himself.
When he saw the product for himself, he was convinced of its value. This was particularly as the ISPM 15 (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15) had just been introduced which required all timber packaging to be either heat or chemical treated to prevent unwanted pests from spreading across borders. Guillaume saw that there was an obvious opportunity.
“I saw that we could manufacture an eco-friendly product for the moving industry that didn’t need ISPM 15 treatment,” he said. “My difficulty was to prove that it was strong enough, which was hard at the beginning.”
But perseverance paid off for Guillaume and, after a short time he had three of the biggest moving companies in the world buying from him ...
Photo: Guillaume Rochman.