Ukrainian company wants to reach Swedish customers - now their gun safes are certified

The Ukrainian company, which has won several awards at home for its bank vaults, safes and gun safes, saw great potential in the Swedish market. But in order to add Sweden as its 55th export market, Paritet-K first had to prove that it complied with Swedish regulations.

We'll tell you how the company got there, but first let's go back to a market survey that marked the beginning of Paritet-K's Swedish story. Export Manager Evgen Dronov lists some of the findings about Sweden that the company picked up.

– Through our research we found out that almost three per cent of the Swedish population has a hunting licence, which strongly suggests that Sweden is an interesting market for us. Also the fact that its inhabitants have a comparatively high average income and that it is common practice to store insured and theft-prone possessions in safes, says Mr Dronov.

Certified according to Swedish safety standards

During the research phase, the company also found out about the national legislation for gun safes. In order to sell gun safes in Sweden, the products must be approved according to the SSF 3492 standard. A gun safe approved to SSF 3492 is protected against burglary by a thick special plate and a lock that cannot be manipulated.

With this information, Paritet-K contacted all the accredited certification bodies in Sweden. After careful comparison, Partitet-K chose RISE. The fact that RISE is an internationally recognised player had an impact, says Evgen Dronov. Their in-house laboratory testing capabilities was also a great advantage.

– Everything went very smoothly. RISE were both friendly and professional. The process was very similar to the one we went through to get the certificate in Germany. The biggest challenge we faced was that due to the war, RISE could not go to our production facility in Ukraine and make a physical visit, says Evgen Dronov and continues:

– Instead, RISE managed to conduct the audit via video. The inspection itself was not different than others, as we are ISO-certified in quality management and undergo annual inspections of our production facility.

In search of partnerships

Companies like Paritet-K plays an important role in driving innovation, creating jobs and contributing to the reconstruction of Ukraine. This was a key consideration when RISE took on the certification assignment.

– The picture that emerged was of a well-organised, multi-award-winning company that was already certified by Polish and German certification bodies. We felt that this was enough for us to make a digital visit rather than a physical one. We wanted to help this Ukrainian company and not pull the rug out from under a serious player that needed certification to sell its products in Sweden,' says Nima Azarmehr, certification engineer at RISE:

– Paritet-K was an ideal customer for us in many ways. They responded quickly and sent additional information that made the process easier. I hope that we will soon be able to visit the company and meet them in person.

With the SSF 3492 approval in hand, the door to the Swedish market has been opened for Paritet-K. Now the work of building important partnerships has begun.

– At the moment we only sell to retailers, so our ideal customers are Swedish wholesalers of safety cabinets. Hunting shops are also an important group of partners. It is too early to analyse the results of our presence on the Swedish market, but it looks like it will increase our turnover and create positive economic results for our country,' says Evgen Dronov.