Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the one market in EMM's range where rail from China is usually the right answer rather than an interesting alternative. The crossings at Khorgos and Dostyk put a container from a Chinese factory into Almaty in roughly a fortnight and into Aktobe or Astana not much longer, against six to eight weeks by sea through Russia or the Caspian. We price rail, Caspian via Aktau and sea-plus-transit, and we recommend the one that actually wins. For most consignments here, it is rail.

Oil, metals, grain

The Tengiz, Kashagan and Karachaganak fields and the refining and petrochemical complexes buy wellhead and transfer pumps, control and relief valves, gas compressors, separators and coalescers, plate and shell heat exchangers, generator sets and fabrication plant, with a continuous spares requirement. Mining is world-scale - Kazakhstan is the largest uranium producer on earth, with major copper, zinc, chromium and coal operations - and takes crushing, grinding, flotation, leaching, slurry and dewatering pumps, conveying, thickeners and laboratory equipment. Metallurgy at Temirtau, Pavlodar and Ust-Kamenogorsk buys furnace, rolling, handling and finishing plant. Grain is the other pillar: Kazakhstan is a major wheat exporter and the sector buys cleaning, drying, storage, flour milling, pasta and oilseed crushing equipment. Food processing, construction materials and the industrial parks round it out.

The two things that decide the specification

First, certification. Kazakhstan is in the Eurasian Economic Union, so machinery requires EAC conformity against the applicable technical regulations of the Customs Union, with a declaration or certificate and Russian-language documentation and markings. This is a real gate and we establish the route before manufacturing. Second, cold. Winter temperatures across much of the country fall below minus 30 C and reach minus 40 C in the north, while summers exceed 35 C. We specify winterised packages - cold-rated lubricants and seals, block and crankcase heaters, low-temperature steel grades where relevant, enclosure heating and insulation - because equipment built for a temperate climate will not start in a Kostanay January. Electrical supply is 220 V and 380 V, 50 Hz.

Ask us to price the rail route and tell us the coldest temperature the machine will see. Those two answers shape the whole quotation.