Composites Lounge News
By Ilkay Özkisaoglu | #Composites360onTour
When most business leaders think about Azerbaijan, energy often
comes to mind first. Yet during my recent visit to Sumgayit
Industrial Park, I encountered a different story: one of
industrial diversification, advanced manufacturing, export
competitiveness, and a growing ecosystem designed to attract
foreign direct investment (FDI).
Ilkay Özkisaoglu, Safety First at Assan STP
And yes, before entering the production halls, safety came
first.
Wearing a hard hat and safety vest while filming inside the
facilities was more than a video/photo opportunity. It served as
a reminder that serious manufacturing is built on serious
operational standards. Whether producing construction panels,
architectural glass, or industrial packaging, workplace safety is
part of the foundation upon which sustainable industrial growth
is built.
The İZİA Model: Building More Than an Industrial
Park
Sumgayit Industrial Park is managed under the framework of
Azerbaijan's Economic Zones Development Agency (İZİA), an
institution tasked with creating the conditions necessary for
industrial growth and investment attraction.
Established in 2011, Sumgayit Industrial Park has evolved into
the largest industrial park in the South Caucasus. Today, 39
resident companies operate within the park. More than AZN 5.7
billion has been invested, creating over 6,000 permanent jobs and
generating significant non-oil sector exports under the "Made in
Azerbaijan" brand.
What makes the model interesting for investors is not only the
availability of industrial land. Residents gain access to
ready-to-use infrastructure, including utilities, transportation
connections, fiber-optic communications, and investment
incentives designed to accelerate industrial development.
For international manufacturers, this significantly reduces the
time and capital required to establish operations.
Assan STP: Industrial Construction Meets Export
Potential
Foto Assan STP
Our first stop was Assan STP, a joint venture producing insulated
sandwich panels used in industrial and commercial
construction.
Tevfik Denemec (Sales Director Exhibitions, Artkim), Ilkay
Özkisaoglu (owner IMBEO), Baris Okyay (Assan STP Panel Country
Director), and Ahmet Güler (Owner Artkim Group) inspecting
Composites Panel Mfg. at Sumgayit Industrial Park (Foto:Resad
Residl)
At first glance, a sandwich panel may appear simple. In reality,
it is a sophisticated composite system combining steel facings
with insulating core materials to achieve thermal efficiency,
structural performance, and fire-resistant properties.
What struck me during the visit was how closely the company is
aligned with regional infrastructure growth. Industrial
buildings, logistics centers, factories, airports, and
warehousing facilities all require precisely these kinds of
solutions.
Moving the needle left to right: Ilkay Özkisaoglu (Composites
Lounge), Emil Hasanov (Sales Director Assan STP) and Ahmet Güler
(owner Artkim Group) (Foto: Resad Residli)
For investors looking at industrial construction materials,
Azerbaijan offers an attractive combination of growing regional
demand, competitive production conditions, and access to markets
stretching from the Caucasus to Central Asia.
Watch an Assan STP Trailer about innovation here:
Abspielen
Assan STP Trailer
Azerfloat: Transforming Raw Materials Into High-Value
Products
Floatglass Production rollers made from Advanced Materials at
Azerfloat (Foto Private)
The second stop demonstrated another dimension of industrial
diversification.
Azerfloat is Azerbaijan's first float glass manufacturer and has
established itself as a supplier of architectural and industrial
glass products under the "Karabakh Glass" brand.
Furnaces for Glass Production at full capacity. Never has to run
empty. If you know, you know (Foto Private)
The facility operates with advanced production technologies and
produces glass for both domestic use and export markets. Today,
Azerfloat products reach customers across Europe and serve global
brands including IKEA, Bosch, Miele, Vestel, and Beko. The
company produces extra-clear, laminated, tempered, and tinted
glass products while continuously expanding its international
footprint.
For foreign investors, Azerfloat represents an important
lesson:
Industrial competitiveness is no longer defined by geography
alone. It is defined by the ability to integrate high-quality
manufacturing, modern technology, and international supply
chains.
Azerbaijan's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia
creates opportunities to serve multiple markets from a single
production base.
Baku Karton: The Hidden Champion of Industrial Supply
Chains
If glass represents visibility, packaging represents
necessity.
Every product manufactured, transported, stored, and exported
requires packaging.
At Baku Karton, we saw how cardboard and packaging production has
become an essential component of the broader industrial ecosystem
developing inside Sumgayit Industrial Park.
The facility utilizes modern manufacturing technologies to
produce cardboard and packaging solutions for domestic and export
customers. Particularly interesting is the company's long-term
focus on integrating recycling capabilities and local raw
material utilization into future development phases.
As sustainability requirements continue to increase across global
supply chains, packaging manufacturers capable of combining
production efficiency with circular economy principles are
becoming increasingly valuable industrial assets.
Why These Industries Are Ideal FDI
Candidates
Looking across all three companies, a common pattern
emerges.
Assan STP, Azerfloat, and Baku Karton operate in sectors that
share three characteristics highly attractive to foreign
investors:
1. Regional Demand
Construction materials, architectural glass, and industrial
packaging are required across virtually every developing economy
in the region.
2. Export Scalability
All three sectors allow production to be concentrated in one
location while serving multiple international markets.
3. Sustainable Industrialization
Each company contributes to reducing import dependency while
creating value-added manufacturing capabilities within
Azerbaijan's non-oil economy.
For international investors, this is where the real opportunity
lies.
The story of Sumgayit Industrial Park is not merely about
factories. It is about building industrial ecosystems. When
construction materials, glass manufacturers, packaging producers,
logistics providers, and technology companies operate within the
same ecosystem, competitive advantages begin to compound.
Watch now this episode in 4k on our Youtube Podcast:
A New Manufacturing Story for
Azerbaijan
Listen to our Artkim x IMBEO -
Passionate B2B Partnerships Central Asian strategy here
on Spotify:
Read on our previous newsletter our Building Bridges from
Europe-Türkiye-Azerbaijan and the CAC (Caspian and
Causcasus):
During our #Composites360onTour visit, one observation became
increasingly clear:
Azerbaijan is positioning itself as more than an energy
nation.
It is building a platform for advanced manufacturing.
The combination of strategic location, industrial infrastructure,
investment incentives, export orientation, and a growing skilled
workforce creates conditions that merit serious consideration
from global manufacturers seeking new growth locations.
Media-Player-Fenster
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playlists.
Promotrailer for Eurasian Composites Show 2027
For companies considering expansion into the broader Eurasian
region, Sumgayit Industrial Park offers a compelling case study
of how industrial policy, infrastructure investment, and private
sector entrepreneurship can work together.
And perhaps that is the most important takeaway from this
visit.
The future of manufacturing is not only about what is
produced.
It is about where ecosystems are being built.
Today, one of those ecosystems is growing in Sumgayit.
Special Industry Event Announcement
Meet Composites Lounge in Baku at Turkchem Azerbaijan
2027
As part of our growing engagement with Azerbaijan's industrial
transformation and investment ecosystem, we are pleased to
announce that Composites Lounge plans to participate in
Turkchem Azerbaijan 2027, taking place from 6-8
April 2027 at the Baku Expo Center. [Turkchem
A...nayi Fuarı]
Why This Matters
During our recent coverage across Azerbaijan, one message became
increasingly clear:
The country is actively positioning itself as a regional hub for
manufacturing, logistics, petrochemicals, advanced materials, and
export-oriented industrial investment. Projects and the continued
development of industrial clusters including Sumgait
Industrial Park demonstrate Azerbaijan's ambition to
become a major destination for international business and
production investments. [Turkchem A...nayi
Fuarı]
Against this backdrop, Turkchem Expo Azerbaycan
2027 by Artkim arrives at exactly the right
moment.
Graphic Artkim
Organized under the internationally recognized TURKCHEM
EXPO m brand, the exhibition aims to bring together
manufacturers, suppliers, technology providers, distributors,
investors, and decision-makers from across Eurasia. According to
the organizers, Azerbaijan offers strong regional access across
the Caucasus, the Caspian Basin, Central Asia, Türkiye, and
surrounding markets.
ArtkimVeranstaltungsdiensteİstanbul
Folgen
What to Expect
The exhibition will cover a broad range of sectors,
including:
Petrochemicals
Specialty Chemicals
Organic & Inorganic Chemicals
Paints, Resins & Pigments
Plastics, Polymers & Rubber
Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences
Laboratory & Testing Technologies
Process Equipment & Automation
Agricultural & Construction Chemicals
Packaging Technologies
Logistics & Industrial Services [Turkchem
A...nayi Fuarı]
For the composites industry, this creates a particularly
interesting environment where chemical raw materials, resins,
polymers, additives, process technologies, automation systems,
and manufacturing innovation intersect.
Composites Lounge Coverage
Our team intends to support the event with:
Executive Interviews
LinkedIn Live Sessions
Industry Trend Analysis
Investor Perspectives
Manufacturing & Innovation Stories
International Networking Opportunities
We see Turkchem Azerbaijan not merely as an exhibition, but as a
window into the broader industrial transformation currently
underway across Azerbaijan and the wider Caspian region.
Save the Date
Turkchem Azerbaijan 2027
6-8 April 2027
Baku Expo Center, Azerbaijan
For more information about the exhibition, visit the official
event website: Turkchem Azerbaijan 2027 [Turkchem
A...nayi Fuarı]
All three floorplans (Turkchem 2026, Turkchem Azerbaijan
2027 and Eurasia Composites Show 2027) now open for sales.
Contact our Key Account Manager Serpil Ciftci here on LinkedIn
and reserve your spots in Istanbul and Baku.
YouTube Episode: https://youtu.be/oOz6Qnq9LLE
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