Rory Harrington to lead development in "hot spot" for energy industry

Global industrial and occupational health specialist Abermed has appointed a regional manager for Western Kazakhstan to lead the company’s expansion into the Caspian region.

Rory Harrington is responsible for establishing a strong market presence for Abermed in Western Kazakhstan.

Rory Harrington - Abermed's regional manager for Western Kazakhstan

As well as putting in place structures and procedures to ensure the sustainability of the business, he will be developing the provision of field clinics and staffing at remote sites.

Last year, Abermed acquired a 65% share in Kazanada, a medical care company in Kazakhstan, providing a platform for internationalisation.

South African-born Rory was previously based in Moscow, where he was employed as Regional Sales and Marketing Manager with International SOS and was responsible for areas including Kazakhstan.

Following a two-year sabbatical, which was spent travelling extensively throughout Asia and Africa and taking up hobbies including photography, painting and writing a novel, he decided to rejoin the medical services industry.

"I am delighted to join Abermed to take up this exciting and challenging post, which is a brand new position. What initially attracted me to Abermed was its successful track record in the North Sea and its reputation as a genuinely honest and ethical company, as well as the dynamic nature of the business and the enormous potential for international growth," said Rory.

"Kazakhstan, specifically Western Kazakhstan, along with West Africa and the Middle East are the three 'hot spots' at the moment for the oil and gas industry and longer term, I see major opportunities for further international expansion.

"The company is very well positioned to grab a significantly larger share of the market over the next few years."

James Miller, Managing Director of Abermed, said: "We are delighted to welcome Rory to the team in Kazakhstan. He brings a wealth of knowledge on both the medical industry and the Caspian, which is a key area for us.

"As well as offering huge growth opportunities, our partnership with Kazanada has already yielded 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 and explore other opportunities in this part of the world."

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.

It was set up in 2005 by General Director Kevin Freake and employs around 120 people in 20 clinics across Kazakhstan.