Alstom: from traction transformer to electric locomotive

For almost 15 years, Alstom has been operating in Kazakhstan, supplying traction machines to railway workers. Today, it is the only manufacturer of electric locomotives in Central Asia.

Photo: Kazpravda.kz / Igor Burgandinov

Last year, for example, the company produced 40 electric locomotives worth 104.5 billion tenge. Alstom now has 10 production facilities in Kazakhstan in six cities of the country, one of which is located on the outskirts of the capital in Industrial Park No. 1 of the Free Economic Zone (FEZ) ‘Astana - New City’.

- We produce 100 locomotive sections a year,’ Pierre Lutz, industrial director of the capital's electric assembly plant, said. - Of course, we can make more, but at the moment this figure exactly meets the needs of our customer. At the same time, we are able to enter the international market. If there are customers from another country who ask to assemble and supply them with our locomotives KZ-4 and KZ-8, freight and passenger, the plant, of course, will be able to meet their requirements too. The potential of the enterprise is great. In addition to assembling locomotives to order, the plant produces up to 100 traction transformers per year, as well as more than 620 units of traction systems.

It should be noted that earlier the plant supplied 40 locomotives for goods trains to Azerbaijan, and this indicates the high export potential of the company.

- From the technical point of view, we can increase production and enter other markets, but it depends on several factors. Firstly, human resources will be required in order to produce more. The next is, of course, the purchase of materials,’ Pierre Lutz notes.

The company works actively with local suppliers. But there are some materials or components that are not produced in Kazakhstan, and they have to be ordered from other countries, such as France.

According to plans, the plant is already working on projects of electric locomotive assembly for Ukraine and a number of other countries.

- Our enterprise is a universal one, capable of producing different types of electric locomotives. We can also produce components for other types of locomotives and other producing countries. We can produce the same transformers for export,’ said Yeldar Hasenov, Head of Production at Alstom-Kazakhstan.

More than 700 people work at Alstom's facility in the capital, 98 per cent of them Kazakhs. In total, since 2018, according to the head, Alstom has invested about 218 thousand euros in community projects, training local staff.

Last year, the plant received the Paryz award in the category ‘Best Enterprise in the field of labour protection’, and now it has entered the list of the best employers according to Top Employer.

Source: https://kazpravda.kz/n/alstom-ot-tyagovogo-transformatora-do-elektrovoza/