Precast concrete plant in Kazakhstan has produced high quality precast concrete elements for the last twelve months

The Kazakh company, Uy Kurylys, has produced concrete slabs, sandwich elements, interior walls, lift shaft elements and stairs on a universal Weckenmann circulation plant in Aktobe since mid-2016. Their products will contribute to solving the great need for housing in the Central Asian republic.

With an area of approximately 2.7 million square kilometres, Kazakhstan is easily seven times larger than Germany. With 17.7 million inhabitants, the country has a relatively low population density of 7 inhabitants per square kilometre. For comparison: 231 people live on one square kilometre in Germany. This Central Asian presidential republic is located between Russia to the north, Mongolia and China to the east and Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to the south. Kazakhstan is Germany's most important trading partner in Central Asia. Governed by president Nursultan Nasarbajew, the country is among the so-called group of successful transformation states. Kazakhstan has large oil reserves but wishes to significantly diversify and modernize the economy as part of the Kazakhstan 2050 strategy announced by the president. The goal is membership of the group of the world's 30 most developed countries.

Despite the very low population density in comparison to Germany, Kazakhstan, like many emerging economies, considers itself faced with the challenge of meeting the enormous housing need with good, but affordable housing, for its population as quickly as possible. "The cities, in particular, are growing very quickly in Kazakhstan", said managing director Hermann Weckenmann. "Without precast concrete component technology, affordable housing cannot be created in a short time."

Weckenmann builds a second plant in Kazakhstan

Weckenmann, the Swabian machinery and plant manufacturer, had already successfully put one of Kazakhstan’s largest precast concrete plants into operation for the GLB company in Astana in early 2016. Weckenmann’s second large plant, the precast concrete plant in Aktobe (formerly Aktyubinsk) — Kazakhstan’s fifth-largest city — was formally inaugurated by governor Berdylbek Spaparbaev on 30 August 2016. The precast concrete company, Uy Kurylys, has produced concrete slabs, sandwich elements, interior walls, lift shaft elements and stairs there since mid-2016.

103 new jobs in the precast concrete plant

This large Weckenmann circulation plant was designed in close cooperation with the Kazakh partners, built in Dormettingen and assembled on-site in Aktobe by Weckenmann specialists and put into operation in only 26 weeks. The plant includes 44 pallets that are used to produce high-quality precast concrete elements with thicknesses from 80 to 400 mm. With the new plant, Uy Kurylys has created 103 jobs for motivated employees who are proud to be able to contribute to the alleviation of the housing problem in their region with their work.

50,000 square metres of housing can be built in 12 months with precast concrete elements from the new plant. This is the equivalent of 10 nine-storey apartment buildings. The Uy Kurylys company expects that the assembly time of a residential project can be reduced from twelve to six months with precast concrete elements from the new Weckenmann plant.

“The significance of the role assigned to the new plant in the West Kazakhstan region can be seen in the fact that governor Saparbaev performed the opening on 30 August; Kazakh Constitution Day”, explains Hermann Weckenmann. “Only properties that have importance for the entire country can be inaugurated on this national high holiday.”

By the way, it is 4,100 kilometres from Dormettingen to Aktobe: not exactly a skip and jump for the 460 tons of steel parts in this plant. Nevertheless, the project participants at Uy Kurylys and Weckenmann emphasise the close, constructive cooperation. And they are delighted that not only apartments, but day care centres, schools, hospitals and other social facilities can be built in future with the precast concrete elements from the new circulation plant.