Texol Group, a logistics and industrial company, has opened Atyrau wagon factory, in Kazakhstan, where it has also presented the first three domestic freight cars which will be sent for certification and pilot testing.
The event was attended by Azamat Panbayev, Chairman of the Industry Committee under the Ministry of Industry and Construction, and Marat Murziyev, Deputy Akim of Atyrau Region, partners of the factory.
Currently, the production area of the rolling stock manufacturing plant is 17,000 square meters and when entirely developed, it will have an area of up 62,000 square metres. The plant has a capacity for 6,000 railcars per year.
The plant will be able to manufacture oil, gasoline and gas tank cars, 40-foot and 80-foot container flatcars, gondola cars and boxcars, as well as accessories for car production.
In addition to the main production facility, the company is building component workshops and is designing a foundry for the production of medium and small car castings.
Texol Group is now working on commissioning its own model of articulated container flatcars, model 13-6741, with bogies of 25,000 tonnes (tractive force). Production of tank cars, including LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) models, will be launched as early as next year.
Total investments will amount to over KZT 160 billion (USD 355.7 million). The company’s primary investments have already totalled about USD 170 million (over KZT 79 billion).
The rolling stock manufacturing facility is expected to be completed in 2027.
Production will be fully based on materials produced in the country, in particular steel structures which will be supplied by Qarmet Metallurgical Plant in Temirtau, Karaganda Region, bearings, from Brenco, located in Stepnogorsk, Akmola Region, wheelset discs and axles which would be delivered by Prommashkomplekt plant specialising in the production of turnouts and railway wheels located in Ekıbastūz, Pavlodar Region, and other locally produced accessories and equipment.
Furthermore, the launch of the in-house production of small and medium-sized castings will enable Texol to completely avoid import dependence, except for some minor components, the company says.
After the presentation of its new products, Atyrau wagon factory signed letters of intent with key partners such as Trans Wagon Group, Soyuzkontakt-Trans, PTC Holding LLP and Istkomtrans.
The wagon factory has a staff of over 3,000 employees, with 70 specialists working at the production site. By the end of this year, the company will have 180 specialists and by 2027, specialists will be permanently employed. In March 2023, Texol signed a memorandum with technical colleges in Atyrau. Under the memorandum, the parties develop and negotiate a project to train professionals required by the enterprise as part of the dual training system.
“The plant is the result of the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s priority to improve country’s investment climate. More than 1000 joint and foreign enterprises are established and working in our region. There are 150 large, medium and small businesses in the field of mechanical engineering. It is gratifying that along with large projects in the field of processing of petrochemical products in the region, the engineering business has also begun to acquire such a scale. I would like to note that we will provide comprehensive support to production,” the Deputy Akim of Atyrau Region said.
The company produces wagons and tank cars to transport oil and gas and develops a wagon manufacturing cluster that includes all the needed infrastructure for repair and maintenance services.The products may be exported to Europe and the Baltic countries.
Kazakhstan’s rolling stock is expected to decrease by 54,000 units in the next 10 years and manufacturing new vehicles is essential to meet transport and quality demands.
“Taking into account the growth potential of the freight rolling stock in Central Asia, we need to work properly to cover the old wagons with new products and, as a result, is the need for an additional fleet of wagons. Thus, we have a good opportunity to develop domestic production,” Shota Abkhazava, Head of Texol Group of Companies, said.
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