We talk to Wojciech Korczynski, director general of the Polish company VERSUS GAS, who expressed the intention to enter with force in the market for natural gas vehicles (NGV) of South American countries with the aim of becoming one of its main actors.

What are the main products developed by VERSUS?

   There are two different sectors in our company:

a) The plant that deals with R&D and production of Electronic Control Unit. Here we produce Electronic Control Unit that is the most strategic part of our KIT. There are several types of ECU VERSUS Kit already present in the market.

b) The plant that deals with a production of mechanical components like “VR” line of the reducers as well as FH02 NGV/LPG Injectors with its core products: VR-L, VR-L SUPER, VR-C reducers and FH02 injectors.

What are the distinguishing features of the Electronic Control Unit VERSUS M210 which was bringing into market on April 2011?

   The most basic advantage of this ECU type is that all the latest development and options for EUR4 and EUR5 engines has been applied into this ECU type. Moreover in spite of still developing SMD technology we managed to put this technology into smaller ECU box, that is much more suitable to be installed into the car. Even due to this resizing the functionality of the ECU M210 type is still identical to our core product – ECU v. 2,10 with two 24 PINS plugs.

   Finally, the market’s response after an introduction of this type of the ECU has surpassed our expectations. This only shows that downsizing in the area of micro-controller applications is just the right strategy for the future. During a few last months we have already seen our big opportunities in the sector of small size ECU. As a result we have already introduced to the market even smaller size of the controller: “MINI” version. Initial feedback from the installers allow us to look into the future of such equipment in really bright colors.

What are the main markets for the products of the company?

   There are many markets around the world that we are already present in with our products, when main markets are: European and Asian countries. Apart from these countries we are present with our products in Australia and North America as well, where we are starting with some pilotage CNG programs. Our target for two incoming years is to open successfully markets of South American countries. Several steps to reach this target has already been taken and some initial results has already been obtained. The most important part of this task is to clearly recognize the requirements of our potential business partners to meet all of their expectations both from trade/commercial as well as technical level.

How is your business to business (B2B) service?

   The quality of the service as per our international sales policy is one of the most important part of our business. This target can be met only when VERSUSGAS as an organization can clearly recognize the expectations of our B2B partners. Main part of our ISO9001:2008 system is focused on that.

   We are also the first company from Poland which has already obtained ISO 15500:9;2001 certifications for VR-C regulator as well as CNC production line. In fact the certificates itself are not our core targets, however with them we can only underline that we are approaching an business partners’ oriented direction and are ready to meet their most sophisticated expectations.

How is the Polish market of compressed natural gas? Are there public policies that encourage its use?

   Polish alternative fuel market is still one of the biggest in the world, with almost 2,5 millions of cars already converted. Basically the biggest difference from most of the countries around the world is that in Poland LPG fuel is much more popular than CNG. With almost 6000 of LPG filling stations already working in Poland we are the absolute leader among European Union countries taking into consideration their quantity. Compressed Natural Gas is still the fuel that exist mostly in the biggest cities in Poland only. Due to this factor it is much more convenient for users to apply in their car LPG instead of CNG. However there are still several cities in Poland with their CNG filling station that have some city buses converted with CNG as a pilotage program to see economical results from this conversion. As per our estimations CNG conversions for private cars shall grow in Poland as well in the closest future provided by there will be enough infrastructure of CNG filling stations in Poland.

What are the upcoming trends in the area of Sequential Injection Systems for CNG vehicles? Is the company working on a new development?

   I deeply believe that our company is approaching right direction toward the latest technology in automotive business. Digital applications with Electronic Control Units is still one of the fastest developing market that requires day by day investigation to be ready with still improving technology. As far as our best knowledge is concerned this is going to be a bright future for our company, that intend to pay special attention to R&D job in the area of Electronic Control Unit development. Taking into consideration NGV/LPG market’s forecast we are definitely approaching the right direction.

   All of those steps shall place our company among the biggest players of NGV sector, especially in South American countries that are our core target for the closest future.