Kabdolov Artur Saypollaevich

- Artur Saypollaevich, how do you evaluate the current development of mechanical engineering in Kazakhstan? What key events over the past 5 years, in your opinion, have had the most significant impact on the industry in Kazakhstan.

I assess the current state of mechanical engineering as a state of expectation. Expectation of business from the government and the government. Each of them is waiting for the first step from the other. Unfortunately, the understanding of these expectations does not coincide. Our machine building industry is fully focused on domestic consumption, and not on voluntary consumption, when the main package of orders is formed not by the free market, but by purchases of entities under state control. Understanding that this is not the most reliable buyer, the machine builders' business has stopped at the least risky type of production - assembly production. It is being improved, it is being pulled up to the generally accepted standards, it is being improved qualitatively, auxiliary productions are being created around, but there is no further development. And this is the ceiling in the development of mechanical engineering today. There is a certain level of distrust between manufacturers and buyers. This is also affected by some events that have occurred in recent years. It is in my understanding:

• implementation of offteak contracts by Samruk;
• review of the methodology for calculating the share of Kazakhstani content and methodology of ST-KZ;
• devaluation of the national currency. And inconsistency and lack of transparency in the decisions taken does not contribute to the level of trust between them and the industry development.

- In your opinion, under the influence of what trends is the development of mechanical engineering in the world at present? What trends will have the greatest impact on the domestic mechanical engineering in the next 10-15 years?

The main trend in the development of mechanical engineering is the reduction of human participation in the process of production and design of mechanical engineering products, strengthening of environmental requirements and cooperation, but only in terms of civil products. In the production of dual-purpose products, on the contrary, is characterized by a trend to increase the use of man in the design and manufacture and the trend to reduce the level of cooperation, the transition to a "natural economy".

Of the many trends that will affect the Kazakhstani engineering industry, I would single out both global and domestic trends and not directly related to mechanical engineering.

The main trend is cooperation, it is the requirement of manufacturers to meet their standards. The second trend is the toughening of requirements to copyright compliance. The third trend is the strengthening of requirements to environmental standards. The fourth trend is related to the market, and this is the deterioration of trade relations with neighbors, which will have a very negative impact. Under the pressure of such trends, I can assume that the engineering industry in the country will develop as a branch network of foreign companies, owners of technology. The main form of production will be assembly or production of the first conversion or "dirty" products.

- In your opinion, what technologies, to a greater extent, will influence the development of the domestic machine-building in the nearest future? How will the industry change with the introduction of these technologies?

Technology with the use of artificial intelligence, 3D-printing on an industrial scale, technology for remote production control. I expect the greatest technological progress in mining engineering. And this is not due to the arrival of the newest technologies, but to the fact that now the technologies used are very much behind and any innovation, even 20 years ago, can give a leap.

- Artur Saypollaevich, tell us, what is the lack of specialists today that most severely hinders the development of your company and the industry as a whole? What is the reason for the absence of these specialists?

Shortage of mechanical engineers in the following specializations: engineering technology, technology transfer, project management. We need them with work experience. The time of narrow specialists is gone, they are needed only in companies - owners of technologies. We need universal engineers. The lack of such specialists in sufficient numbers is a consequence of wrong, "short" planning of mechanical engineering development.

- In your opinion, what new professions may appear in the engineering industry in the next 10-15 years, and which will lose their relevance or transform in the future? Which competencies will be most in demand?

There will be no new professions as such. There will be professions with additional competences. Universality, without reference to the subsector, will be in demand. Only such specialists will be able to find the synergy of technologies in the subbranches and, consequently, will be cheaper products. For the assembly machine building, these specialists are most in demand.