Abermed, the industrial and occupational health specialist, has acquired a 65% share in Kazanada, a medical care company in Kazakhstan.
Abermed, the industrial and occupational health specialist, has acquired a 65% share in Kazanada, a medical care company in Kazakhstan.
The acquisition will provide a platform for Abermed's expansion into Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea region, as well as exploring other business opportunities in the former Soviet Union.
Kazanada provides private pre-hospital medical services and clinics, with a considerable amount of its work coming from the coal and uranium mining industries, as well as oil and gas extraction and refining.
The company has 120 employees in 20 clinics across Kazakhstan, with plans for expansion into the western section of the country.
It was set up in 2005 by Canadian Kevin Freake, who will continue as general director. Freake approached Abermed because of its expertise in providing medical and health services to the oil and gas industry, including telemedicine and repatriation services in remote areas.
The partnership will see specialists from Abermed training staff in Kazakhstan.
Abermed is headquartered in Aberdeen, with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dyce, Dundee, Inverness, Teesside, Great Yarmouth and Norwich.
Donald MacKenzie, commercial director at Abermed, said: "This is a significant move for us and a key step towards further internationalisation. With a large percentage of our existing business coming from the North Sea, the Caspian Sea is one of the priority areas for us but without local contacts that may have proved to be very difficult.
"Working with Kazanada will have clear benefits for us both - giving us the chance to share our skills and expertise with the local employees in Kazakhstan while offering us a base to grow Abermed as a business in the Caspian and explore other opportunities in this region of the world - China is just two hours away from the eastern side of Kazakhstan."
Freake said Abermed's experience in providing occupational health services to the industry made it a particularly attractive prospect.
"I went looking for partners and my first thought was the North Sea, so with its experience, Abermed was the obvious choice.
"As a developing country, Kazakhstan is the most progressive of the 15 republics that made up the Soviet Union. I have lived there for seven years and it is a great country with wonderful people, a young population and enormous potential for development and growth."
Freake originally went to work in Kazakhstan as a medical care practitioner for an oil company and went on to set up Kazanada, taking the name from Kazakhstan and Canada, his native country.
Its primary work is with a coal mine which employs 7000 people, drilling companies, oil field services and an oil refinery, with an additional office in the financial capital of Kyzylorda.
