Paramount Group of South Africa opens new armoured vehicles factory in Kazakhstan 10612153

Defence & Security Industry News - Paramount Group
 
Paramount Group of South Africa opens new armoured vehicles factory in Kazakhstan.
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev visited the new state-of-the-art factory built by Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE) for the production of the world's most advanced armoured vehicles to meet the regional demand for land systems technologies.
     
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev visited the new state-of-the-art factory built by Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE) for the production of the world's most advanced armoured vehicles to meet the regional demand for land systems technologies. The Mbombe 6, an armoured infantry vehicle from South Africa's Paramount Group undergoing winter trials in Kazakhstan. One of the vehicles to be manufactured in Kazakhstan.
     
The visit by the President, who was accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Imangali Tasmagambetov, the Chairman of Paramount Group, Ivor Ichikowitz, and the Chairman of Kazakhstan Engineering, Yerlan Idrissov coincided with the start of production that will see the 15,000m2 factory achieve a capacity of more than 200 vehicles per year and create 150 skilled jobs.
 
 

KPE is the joint venture between Paramount Group, the African-based global defence and aerospace business, and Kazakhstan Engineering Distribution. The establishment of armoured vehicle manufacturing in Kazakhstan follows the technology transfer and local manufacturing model championed by Paramount Group globally, and realized through strategic alliances with governments and strong local partners.

The Founder and Executive Chairman of Paramount Group, Ivor Ichikowitz said: "The Governments of South Africa and Kazakhstan have committed themselves to closer economic and industrial cooperation, through reciprocal visits of the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and this new factory is the first concrete manifestation of our cooperation. We are confident that more will follow. We are privileged to enjoy the support of the President and his Government for this unique collaboration that is already driving a new wave of innovation in defence technologies and attracting interest in other parts of the world."

"As a leading company in the global aerospace and defence industry, Paramount Group partners with countries such as Kazakhstan and co-invests in developing new manufacturing capabilities, transferring technologies, advancing skills development, and creating new products and services through long-term collaborations such as this one. We take pride in the contribution we make in working with Governments to improve security and the protection of their citizens and their sovereign territory.

The factory has started the production of an indigenous version of Paramount Group's iconic armoured combat vehicle, the Marauder. The new winterised variant of the Marauder, called Arlan, was designed and developed following extensive collaboration with the Kazakhstan military and rigorous trials to meet the specific operational requirements of the Kazakhstan military.
     
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev visited the new state-of-the-art factory built by Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE) for the production of the world's most advanced armoured vehicles to meet the regional demand for land systems technologies. Paramount Group Marauder armoured vehicle
     

Chairman of Kazakhstan Engineering, Yerlan Idrissov said: "The KPE factory is designed for complete end-to-end fabrication and the local manufature of finished products. Through this investment we are actively going to create substantial local capability by training young engineers in armoured vehicles manufacturing and other skills.

"We have a total of 70 personnel now and will reach around 120 over coming months. Our intention is for the factory to serve the local and regional markets."

Ichikowitz concluded: "Few countries have created strong economies without a robust defence industrial complex, and globally we are working with governments to reap not only the benefits of increased security and stability, but also the economic growth dividend achieved by a home-grown defence industry."

"Kazakhstan has established an outstanding investor-friendly climate, and together with the high levels of skills and the government's vision of a diversified high tech economy, the country has proven to be an ideal partner for us. There are significant synergies, capabilities and innovation within our partnership and we are very excited by the joint Research and Development (R&D) and production that we are undertaking. "

Kazakhstan Engineering JSC, Paramount Group (SA) and LLC Kazakhstan Engineering Distribution are the participants of the project. Paramount Group is one of the leading designers and manufacturers of armoured vehicles and other land forces systems in the world.