Artur R. PAMIN
International Market Expansion | Business Unit Building | Central Asia | Industrial B2B | BDaaS | ∴
30. Oktober 2026
Over the past weeks, AETEK has been present across five important industrial trade fairs: MiningMetals Central Asia, KIOGE and PowerExpo in Almaty, MiningMetals Uzbekistan in Tashkent, and Chillventa in Nuremberg.
Different countries, different industries, different perspectives — but together they have given us a much clearer picture of where industrial development in Central Asia is heading and where European technology can realistically become part of it.
Across these events, we were able to conduct dozens of substantial conversations with manufacturers, engineering companies, industrial customers, local partners and decisionmakers.
More importantly, these discussions provided something that market reports alone cannot deliver first-hand insight into priorities, current projects, changing expectations, technology needs and the practical realities behind investment announcements.
And several tendencies are becoming increasingly clear. Central Asia is moving further away from the image of a region defined mainly by raw materials and equipment imports. Mining, metallurgy, oil and gas, power generation and infrastructure remain core sectors, but the discussion around them is changing. There is increasing focus on processing, localization, technology transfer, energy efficiency, service capability and long-term industrial cooperation.
Customers increasingly ask not only whether a supplier can deliver equipment, but whether the technology can be supported locally, whether spare parts and service can be secured, whether engineering questions can be solved quickly and whether the supplier is prepared to remain engaged beyond the first project.
At the same time, international competition is clearly intensifying. European companies are present, but so are suppliers and investors from China, South Korea, Türkiye, the Middle East and other regions. Many of them are no longer approaching Central Asia simply as an export destination. They are building relationships, local structures, service capabilities, production partnerships and long-term positions. For European industrial companies, this makes the market both more attractive and more demanding.
A strong product is still essential. But technology alone is becoming less sufficient. This is where our visit to Chillventa in Nuremberg added another important perspective. While the exhibitions in Almaty and Tashkent allowed us to look closely at the developing demand side of Central Asian industry, Chillventa provided a direct view into the European technology side — industrial refrigeration, cooling systems, energy efficiency, heat pumps, automation, controls and increasingly sophisticated technical solutions for industrial applications.
This combination is particularly valuable. On one side, we see where Central Asian industries are investing, which projects are emerging and what technical problems need to be solved. On the other side, we meet European manufacturers developing technologies that may be able to address exactly these requirements. The real business-development task lies in connecting the two:
Demand does not automatically find the right technology. Technology does not automatically find the right market.
Someone must understand both sides well enough to identify where a genuine commercial fit exists. This is how we see the role of AETEK.
A trade fair can open a door. A conversation can reveal an opportunity. A technology can solve a problem. But sustainable business begins only when someone continues the work afterwards, qualifying the demand, identifying the real decision structure, understanding the technical fit, coordinating commercial questions and building the relationships required to move an opportunity forward.
For us, the coming months will therefore not simply be about generating more contacts.
The focus is increasingly on converting the intelligence gathered across Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the European technology landscape into structured business-development activity. We will continue to deepen our understanding of industrial demand, identify where European technologies have a realistic fit, strengthen our regional network and develop selected opportunities together with manufacturers and local industrial partners.
The past weeks have also confirmed something else that is important for our longer-term perspective: Central Asia cannot be understood through one industry, one country or one event.
The more closely we look, the more these markets, technologies and industrial sectors become interconnected. And this is why our work combines market intelligence with business development. Not simply observing where investment is announced but understanding what follows from it. Not simply identifying companies but understanding where real demand is developing. Not simply presenting technology but identifying where it can create value. And, not simply creating contacts, but developing commercial pathways.
The past weeks have given us valuable new information, stronger relationships and a much clearer view of where the next opportunities may emerge. Now the important part begins. Turning these insights into business.
That will be one of AETEK’s central tasks over the coming months.
Europe ↔ Central Asia
From Market Potential To Business.