PENETRON Goes East to Kazakhstan

The demand for state-of-the-art, crystalline concrete products knows no boundaries: PENETRON inaugurated its first manufacturing facility in Central Asia in Astana, Kazakhstan last month. The new facility will help meet the booming demand for crystalline concrete solutions across Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

“One doesn’t immediately think of Kazakhstan when the topic of crystalline concrete technology comes up,” says Robert Revera, President and CEO of The PENETRON Group. “But it’s the world’s largest landlocked country and a big market for our products. The Astana facility is our second plant opening in the Eurasian region within the last six months!”

The new facility has an annual production capacity of about 10,000 tons of finished product and began production only days after the official opening.

Previously, the PENETRON manufacturing site at Yekaterinburg, Russia, was the sole facility supplying the Eurasian continents. The decision to build a new factory in Astana was made in 2013 during an economic summit between Kazakhstan and Russia. Last month’s opening ceremony featured Kazakhstani government representatives, along with partners and suppliers from both Kazakhstan and Russia.

“PENETRON is a revolutionary material that allows protection of any concrete structure from water and other environmental agents,” said Igor Chernogolov, President of PENETRON Russia. Mr. Chernogolov also pointed out that products from the Astana factory will be shipped to countries across Central Asia.

The Astana facility is only one of the many investment projects of the Samruk Kazyna National Welfare Fund for 2014. As a sovereign wealth fund for Kazakhstan, the Fund is reallocating investments from traditional sectors, such as oil and gas, etc., to developing industries. It is implementing an ambitious development plan for Kazakhstan – along with financial support from the World Bank – that includes initiatives for alternative power plants, petrochemical production plants, construction, mining operations, and development of engineering resources.

“We’ve seen global demand for durability-enhancing solutions grow around the world,” adds Mr. Revera. “That’s why heading east, all the way to Kazakhstan, makes perfect sense.”