CEO – Cannon Foam Industries

Evolve: Please share something about yourself and a brief overview of Cannon Foam, its achievements and future plans? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: Cannon Foam Industry was founded in 1993 as a private limited company which started functioning effectively in late 1997. It was a major swirl that came into the Foam Industry of Pakistan, the former 6-7 Foam Industries were already in a long run and had laid their foundations back in 60’s. It seemed as we came as a gentle breeze that stirred the leaves, as the former Foam Industries had already captured the utmost consumers. We plunge into Production keeping our motto sublimed and we glued to it that customer satisfaction will be the heart of our values ensuring no compromise on quality and giving the best possible low price to our valued consumers.

Alhamdulillah, with our commitment and perseverance we are triumphant and consider as one of the best Foam Industries of Pakistan. Our dedication paved the way to our success. There is a difference between interest and commitment, when you are interested in doing something; you do it only when it’s convenient, but when you are committed to do something you accept no excuses but only result.

Since our inception we have tried to give the best quality to our consumers. We never tried to create hype through media. We believed in delivering an experience instead of delivering a product. I engraved the obdurate policies to my workers as well that there is no compromise on the quality of our product. Today we are standing with the leading Foam brands of Pakistan. 

Evolve: What is the secret of your organization’s continuous and consistent growth in Pakistan? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: We have weaved our web in every nook and corner of Pakistan. To put in a nutshell, I would say that we are selling from Karachi to KPK. We have worked day and night on our policies because we had a firm belief that we are here to stay. We promoted dealer network over distribution network, which means we ensured our product availability even in the tiniest town to make our brand heard. I have always tied to expand the ancestry of our business. My father relinquished the business to me; I dared to tread into production and Alhamdulillah, we have succeeded in not only running this business competently but also expanding its twigs all over Pakistan. 

Evolve: You must be facing a number of business challenges. How do you address them? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: Pakistan faced immense economic instability from 1996-2006. There was fluctuation in the policies making, undeclared changes were amended in the formation; there was no vivid and unwavering constitution for business industry. Change in custom, on boards’ dignitaries further added insult to injury. But through thick and thin we managed to breathe through a small hole which ultimately proved to be a major indicator of success.

We are progressing gradually as we have tough competition all around us from quality to cost. Life itself is a great challenge, but when one starts a business, he has to learn living with challenges. Particularly, in a country like Pakistan, that is confronting a series of crisis; political crisis, energy crisis, law and order crisis, corruption crisis and above all trust discrepancy, unwieldy taxation policies, inconsistent and incoherent government policies add miseries to the fate of businessmen. All of the challenges to be confronted by Cannon Foam are addressed through mutual consultation and professionals. I believe the competition is of two kinds. One is healthy and other is unhealthy. The former competition leads towards innovation ensuing in advantages to both ends i.e. consumer and you. The later competition leads towards destructive ends, there is no creativity in it. World is changing as it is a perpetual phenomenon. Even in the foam industries we are meeting with day to day challenges and innovation. Western people are revolutionizing the concepts of foams by amalgamating the creativity with technology. 

Evolve: What is the importance of values in sustaining a company? Do values repel change? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: The good values never repel changes. They are the life blood of nations, societies, communities and even companies. The core value etched with the name of Cannon Foam is that for us customer satisfaction is above anything. We emphasize on money back guarantee keeping in our mind our esteemed customer satisfaction. Nobody else (our competitors) in the market is offering that. Our customers are our assets. At Cannon Foam we have inculcated daily motivation and inspiration. Internally our strength lies in our people and their attitude. We encourage them to be truthful and honest in whatever they do. We have a culture of mutual respect. Most of the employees have been working with us since the day one. I consider this my biggest achievement that I managed to glue people with me for decades.

Evolve: How do you prevent mistakes and practice damage control? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: I believe that prevention is better than cure. We started our business with the latest technology of the world. We never compromised on the quality and technology. I think in order to prevent from making mistakes one should do a complete case study to know the pros and cons of things. I never leave things unattended or half way. I ensured my presence in every unit where it is required.

Evolve: How do you look at the foam industry in Pakistan and its current market trends? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: There is a lot of innovation coming in foam market. Pakistan is lacking far behind in knowing the concept of that. We are trying our best to aware the people about latest technology and trends in foams according to the international standards. There are variety of foams available in international market; high density foam, high resilience foam, latex rubber foam, memory foam, closed cell foam, dry fast foam etc.

We are striving hard to bring novelty in Pakistan’s foam industry as well. People usually have a preconceived notion about foam that there is no need replace it. Whereas Europeans don’t use mattress more than 4-5 years due to hygiene concerns.

Evolve: From this generation to next – How have you planned for engaging your next generation? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: I have two sons. They join me at office when they get a break from studies. I am trying to make them learn the marketing strategies. I keep on telling them that if they will work hard and put their soul into their work then no obstacle can stop them in their way to achieve their goals.

Evolve: Is there any personality that has ever impressed you? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: My father is my biggest inspiration. I believe that one father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.

Evolve: What is the recipe to achieve long term success? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: I firmly believe that if you have good intentions you will get good. As you sow so shall you reap. Be clear and transparent with your policies then success will come at your doorstep.

Evolve: Any message for the readers of EVOLVE? 

Muhammad Ibrahim: Pakistan is a great country. The recipe to success in Pakistan is not different from the rest of the world. It is based on the key ingredient of talent, hard work, and learning from international best practices. It is essential to believe that when you have the best tools and people, you will achieve success.