Rockwell Automation announced it has extended its successful partnership with AB Market to serve Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. AB Market is a value-add distributor in Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork™ ecosystem that currently serves Türkiye and will set up a legal entity in the two new regions.
“The extension of our partnership aims to bring the Rockwell Automation vision of the Connected Enterprise to those countries, to guide them along their digitalization journeys,” said Sebastien Grau, regional sales vice president, Middle East, Türkiye, and Africa. “AB Market already has an extensive network of engineering partners in Türkiye, so this partnership will be extended to these territories to serve OEMs and industrial manufacturers.”
The partnership extension will also benefit from the close cultural ties between Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Türkiye, with countries with similar values, languages, and business mindsets.
“AB Market is our largest distributor in the region and a very strong partner, which has the critical mass to invest in other countries,” said Ediz Eren, country sales director, Turkiye. “They will recruit staff locally, creating strong support and an added value proposition for our partners and customers there.”
There is significant growth in the process industries of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, with investment coming into the region from overseas to manufacture products locally. This growth will require modern automation products and services to ensure it operates efficiently and competes with imports. Rockwell Automation and AB Market want to ensure that they can support their international customers investing in these countries and create new opportunities for global and local organizations investing in the region.
The digitalization of industry that has recently taken place in Türkiye has been improving the efficiency of manufacturing in the country. That model will be replicated in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, supported by products and services from Rockwell Automation. The machine builders in the region are focused on increasing their capabilities to differentiate themselves. Rather than build the cheapest machine, they want to equip their machines with the latest technology to compete with European and American machine builders.
“Over the past couple of years, there has been a clear evolution in Türkiye,” said Gökhan Bozdag, General Manager of AB Market. “A few years ago, a Turkish OEM or machine builder would not have been able to compete on the premium market with a German manufacturer. We are now seeing a clear evolution in the quality and capabilities of machine builders in Türkiye and Azerbaijan and the complexity they can incorporate into their machines; this is something that Rockwell Automation can support.”
