< PreviousE quipment rental and aftersales agreements nowadays include comprehensive documentation with detailed plans for machine usage, maintenance and repair. Customers are becoming more aware about equipment downtime risks, and so they want to know the maintenance history of machines and the preventive maintenance plan in advance before fi nalising their rental suppliers. UAE-based O.rentals, the rental and leasing arm of Al Shirawi Enterprises which has the largest fl eet of material handling equipment in the UAE and crawler cranes available for global rental is responding to these demands with a proactive approach to asset management. O.rentals ensures the maximum uptime for their customers by following manufacturer recommendations to a tee for their fl eet and using remote fl eet monitoring for predictive maintenance. Rajesh Ramdas, service manager, O.rentals, explains: “Customers are now selective about rental equipment, and their expectations of quality and service are the same as when they buy new machines. In order to deliver on our promise of maximum uptime, we do not compromise on the quality of parts, accessories and service. We supply only genuine spare parts and lubricants, irrespective of the equipment application. One of our largest customer segments is the cold storage industry where we need lubricants that can withstand temperatures as low as –25°C. We often import these lubricants because locally available alternatives do not match the OEM specifi cations. By following manufacturer recommendations strictly, we are able to focus on market adaptation. Certain parts may underperform the manufacturer’s expectations due to local environmental and working conditions. Our market expertise enables us to understand these specifi c conditions and off er customised preventive maintenance plans.” The margins on rental charges will always be limited due to the price sensitivity of the rental market. That’s why ROI expectations should be in line with the asset lifecycle and not short-term gains, according to Rajesh. “Compromising on maintenance costs just to increase margins is never a good idea. This will eventually increase the costs of breakdown and repairs. As owners of our rental equipment, we know the lifecycles of our diff erent equipment, and we budget maintenance and repair costs accordingly. We also have a plan to replace every equipment at the end of its lifecycle. These costs by themselves would appear high, but by 20 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESwww.plantmachineryvehicles.comOCTOBER 2021 RENTAL EQUIPMENT FROM PREVENTIVE TO PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE: HOW O.RENTALS ENSURES MAXIMUM UPTIMEbudgeting for them early, we don’t have to deal with unexpected machine failures or breakdowns in the long run,” he says. Rajesh points out that a machine breakdown should be avoided at all costs because the downtime aff ects other jobsite operations and the unexpected costs could easily spiral out of control. “There’s no argument when you realise that cost of breakdown failure is three times that of preventive maintenance and repair. We’ve been able to verify this while analysing our own historical data to understand how we could manage our high maintenance costs. So we apply this principle to all our projects. Our recently completed global crane rental project in Mexico required eight crawler cranes, but it was diffi cult to import hydraulic parts in Mexico. We ensured that we had the full support of Liebherr in Mexico for supply of parts so that we wouldn’t face equipment breakdown,” says Rajesh. O.rentals boasts a well-trained team of technical support and service professionals with extensive experience in the Middle East. This combined with advanced fl eet management systems for cranes and forklifts is enabling the company off er better customer service. O.rentals uses a modifi ed Liebherr telematics system to monitor its crawler cranes, and analyses the data using the Splunk machine learning software. For forklifts, the company uses an in-house developed fl eet management system named Fleetwave. “Big data and predictive analytics are the game changers in equipment maintenance. We supply crawler cranes with our own operators, technicians and parts as a package deal. This ensures that the equipment is always in good hands. To plan maintenance and repairs during off -peak hours and replace machines without disruption to jobsite operations, we need to rely on machine and jobsite data for advance planning. With regard to material handling equipment, our customers have their own operators. Nevertheless, we monitor every machine in real time and track the operator behaviour to determine ways to reduce wear and tear of parts and recommend training for the operator. We also maintain workshops and stock spare parts and lubricants at all major customer sites. We are among the few rental companies to have a large fl eet of traction batteries and in-house battery regenerators. We supply battery packs with battery monitoring systems to track their usage and health, which helps us determine when they need to be serviced or replaced,” says Rajesh. Machine and jobsite data also helping O.rentals optimise its inventory. Every time a machine returns from a jobsite, it is inspected and repaired before its next job. By having full visibility of the machine utilisation and maintenance history, O.rentals is able to stock parts before the machine arrives, which reduces the turnaround time for the next job. “Although the pandemic increased the lead times of certain parts temporarily, we have maintained a fi ll rate of 92%, which is among the best levels in our industry,” he adds. O.rentals is developing a mobile app to off er it asset maintenance services and enable customers to track the entire maintenance plans for all their equipment. “In the rental business, preventive measures are never enough. To maximise uptime, we analyse machine data and fi eld service reports constantly to identify potential causes of machine failure and take corrective action. This means we need to use all the technologies and tools at our disposal to ensure that our customers can focus entirely on their core businesses,” says Rajesh. 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Building on decades of experience and expertise, we fully integrate electrification and digital systems from the mine to the port. Which ultimately lowers your environmental impact and operating costs, while raising your productivity. From planning to implementation, you can trust ABB to help change the current. For your mine as well as the world around it. Let’s write the future of mining. Together. new.abb.com/mining/eminePOWER LIST 25 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESOCTOBER 2021www.plantmachineryvehicles.com AL MASAOOD POWER DIVISION (AL MASAOOD GROUP) A l Masaood Power Division has es- tablished a long-standing reputation within the power industry in the UAE ince 1972 and has developed expertise in marine propulsion and power generation systems, representing the brands MTU, Le- roy Somer and Volvo Penta in the UAE and Bahrain and providing the highest standards of sales and after sales services. Its vast list of clients include the UAE government depart- ments, civil defence, armed forces, oil and gas companies, and private owners, through to in- dustrial and commercial organisations. The division’s facilities include a main workshop in Abu Dhabi Industrial City, two branches in Dubai Maritime City, Dubai, one branch in Bahrain at Al Hidd Industrial Area, and one branch in Sharjah, in addition to mo- bile workshops. The training centre also pres- ent on site includes three classrooms, 13 train- ing engines and three simulators. Earlier this year, Al Masaood Power Divi- sion and Nidec Leroy-Somer joined forces to establish a one-stop service workshop in the Gulf region and provide aftersales support for alternators that are manufactured under the Leroy-Somer and Kato Engineering brands. The new agreement is an expansion to the existing partnership of both parties, combin- ing their eff orts and expertise to address the growing demand for world-class aftersales support platforms within the regional elec- trifi cation market. Under the partnership, Al Masaood Power and Nidec Leroy-Somer will jointly have progressive in-house service ca- pabilities as its diff erentiating factor to off er superior services in diagnostics, repair and overhauls. These include spare parts and ret- rofi tting of alternators on-site or in the repair and overhaul workshop. Rasso Jorg Bartenschlager, general man- ager, Al Masaood Power Division, estimates demand for mission critical as well as sustain- able energy solutions like microgrids, waste to energy and alternative fuel and storage solu- tions to increase in 2022. "Rental equipment, in particular, power generation products, will become another added value stream to our business. With in- vestments adding sustainable and effi cient products, Al Masood can make a change to the environment. We also have the opportunity to expand maintenance, repair and overhaul of electric motors and alternator activities to Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman," he says. Rasso comments on how digital transfor- Rasso Jörg Bartenschlager, general manager, Al Masaood Power Division mation is helping future proof the business. "Digital transformation is vital to future proof business activities. Therefore, Al Masaood, took the opportunity during the pandemic to give extra attention, and implemented 'Project Tajdeed'. This project's primary focus is to en- hance processes and procedures, to eliminate non value adding activities and to digitize the complete workfl ow," he says. Al Masaood is a privately held and highly di- versifi ed Group based in Abu Dhabi. Its com- panies and partnerships span activities and expertise in 18 diff erent market segments. Its primary goal is growth through a deep under- standing of its marketplace, the quality of its products and services and an uncompromis- ing quest for customer satisfaction. From its early foundations as a small trading house some 50 years ago, Al Masaood has become one of the largest integrated industrial, com- mercial and service organisations in the Mid- dle East. The Al Masaood Company holds Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce registration number one.POWER LIST 26 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESOCTOBER 2021www.plantmachineryvehicles.com SWAIDAN TRADING (AL NABOODAH GROUP) S waidan Trading, a company of the Al Naboodah Group (ANG), oversees the commercial vehicles and heavy equip- ment (CVHE) divisions with a business model that off ers pluralistic mobility solutions in the passenger and logistics industry. Swaidan Trading’s product portfolio encompasses a range of logistics solutions from vans to cus- tomised buses, and a comprehensive range of commercial vehicles and heavy equipment. Championing the trend towards cleaner mobility, the CVHE division has supplied Dotto electric trains and Marshell electric carts for the Expo 2020 Dubai, aligning with strict sustainability requirements relevant to the themes of the event. Despite a challeng- ing year for the sector, their proactive busi- ness development saw the CVHE division celebrate several fi rsts, launching Zhongtong Buses, Ashok Leyland’s Gazl minibuses and Falcon super buses, while signing a lucrative contract providing Al Gazl Transport with 80 Ashok Leyland buses. Supporting the mobility of the local economy, they delivered Tatra off - road trucks to various market segments, Oryx from Ashok Leyland, all-wheel drive buses for oilfi eld applications, and Ashok Leyland buses for airside operations at DXB. Their customer- centric focus saw them earn the Best Service Partner Award from WABCO. Fortifying market leadership and supply chain competency, this year brought new launches from the Group's Auto Allied divi- sion including entering the industrial bat- teries segment representing brands Okaya and Microtex, in addition to their impressive automotive battery line up of Hyundai, Ceil from Exide India and Volta. A customer cen- tric culture led retail operations to inaugurate a Goodyear Autocare service centre conve- niently located at Ibn Battuta Mall, off ering optimised services for customers under a ‘shop while you change your tyres’ model. Their lubricant partners Gulf Oil intro- duced Gulf Express quick oil change centres across the UAE, off ering a service-oriented one-stop concept. So far, they have opened more than ten such centres in the UAE with plans to open more in the coming months. Most recently, they celebrated a distribution partnership with major Japanese tyre brand, Sumitomo to represent their complete range of consumer and commercial tyres. Swaidan Saeed Juma Al Naboodah, manag- ing director, Al Naboodah Group Enterprises, says: “We’ve embraced the evolving post-pan- demic landscape, seeking opportunities to diversify our off ering in a way that adds value to consumers through increased choice via our product off ering and connecting global brands to local markets. People are thinking about how they can optimise their time, and this past year they have shifted their priori- ties, preferring competitive solutions to every- day challenges. Our new retail centres cater to that demand, and we plan to continue launch- ing new outlets that serve the market better. Our growth in the sustainability segment is also forecast to expand as more business con- sumers demand greener solutions.” “ We are seeking opportunities to diversify our off erings in a way that adds value to consumers through increased choice via our product off ering and connecting global brands to local markets” Swaidan Saeed Juma Al Naboodah Swaidan Saeed Juma Al Naboodah, managing director, Al Naboodah Group Enterprises.POWER LIST 27 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESOCTOBER 2021www.plantmachineryvehicles.com GERMAN GULF ENTERPRISES (BUKHATIR GROUP) G erman Gulf Enterprises (GGE) pro- vides engineering solutions and equipment for the construction in- dustry, with a product portfolio that includes Putzmeister concrete equipment, Doosan construction equipment, Atlas truck-mount- ed cranes, Probst handling equipment, Lieb- herr concrete equipment, AGG generators and Skyboom aerial work platforms. GGE's UAE-wide branch network includes full multi-brand workshop facilities, parts warehouses and an extensive construction equipment and plant hire fl eet. GGE is also one of the largest hydraulic solutions providers, with globally-renowned partners such as Bosch Rexroth, Danfoss, Hagglunds, Hydac and Aventics. To help customers maintain equipment fl eet productivity, GGE ensures fully-equipped workshops and a stock of aftermarket brands such as Mobil Lubricants, Luchs Batteries, US Batteries, Donaldson Filters and Power Tools from Bosch and Milwaukee. GGE’s Welding & Cutting division provides a range of engineering solutions and consum- ables supplies from brands such as Kemppi, KANOO CRANES (KANOO GROUP) K anoo Cranes represents Jaso Tower Cranes, SMIE anti-collision systems, Maeda mini cranes, Spierings mobile tower cranes, and Alba material hoists and mast climbing work platforms in the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait. According to Ahmad Wraikat, regional manager, Kanoo Cranes, demand for new cranes will continue to grow in Abu Dhabi, driven by infrastructure projects. The rest of the UAE will continue to be a steady rental market through 2020. “We expect an increase in demand for Jaso tower cranes continuing through Q1 2022 in Saudi Arabia as contractors seek to upgrade their fl eets," says Ahmad. This year Jaso expanded introduced fl at top cranes, the J200.10 and J200.12 models, with load capacities of 10 tonne and 12 tonne, re- spectively, and maximum reach of 67.5 metres. "There’s more propensity to purchase than rent in the Saudi Arabia, and the project du- rations tend to be long. Therefore, contrac- tors are more willing to invest in new models to future-proof their business and bid for the increasing number of projects in Saudi Arabia. Mark Johnson, general manager, German Gulf Enterprises. Ahmad Wraikat, regional manager, Kanoo Cranes. Hypertherm, Messer, Kemper, Tag Pipe, Last- ek and Abicor Binzel. Recently, GGE refurbished its workshop in Abu Dhabi and its warehouse in Dubai which houses its parts distribution centre. Sup- ply chain competency has helped GGE fulfi l orders throughout the pandemic. Through eff ective inventory management, GGE has managed to deliver Putzmeister concrete pumps from stock despite factory lead times stretching up to six months, compared to the usual lead time of 3–4 months. “We estimate demand as accurately as pos- sible by spending more time with customers to understand their changing requirements while also investing in the best inventory management systems. This helps us stay ahead of their needs and ensure we have equipment and parts in stock, especially tak- ing into account the disruptions to the global supply chain,” says Mark Johnson, general manager, German Gulf Enterprises. GGE is also expanding into new industry segments such as facilities management with industrial and cleaning solutions from VLX, Truvox, and Canicas. We hope to bring the new Jaso J200 fl at top model to the region by the end of this year. Jaso tower cranes conform to the highest design and performance standards which provide un- matched life and duty cycle. The quality of the crane structure, lifting performance, easy of erection, dismantling and maintenance, fuel effi ciency, and machine uptime make Jaso an attractive proposition for crane contractors in the region," says Ahmad. Kanoo Cranes will be introducing upgraded models of the Maeda mini cranes to have at least fi ve models available in this region. “The demand for Maeda mini cranes has been overwhelming in the UAE. There's huge potential for Maeda and Spierings cranes in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. We're also re- ceiving interest from the UAE and KSA for Alba mast climbers and hoists," says Ahmad. With ease in travel restrictions, Kanoo Cranes plans to open showrooms and yards in Saudi Arabia to off er Maeda, Spierings, and Alba eqipment, as well as expand its presence in Oman. The company is also in negotiations with at least three international brands for distribution rights in fi ve GCC markets. POWER LIST 28 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESOCTOBER 2021www.plantmachineryvehicles.com MINERAL CIRCLES BEARINGS M ineral Circles Bearings (MCB) has established itself as a leading pro- vider of automotive and industrial maintenance, repair, and operations, repre- senting aftermarket products from brands NTN, SNR, MBS, ILJIN, KBC, Musashi, MCB, SKF in the Middle East and Africa. Hassanein Alwan, managing director, Min- eral Circles Bearings, explains how the com- pany is future proofi ng its business by building a more resilient supply chain and preparing for change, proactively. “Responding to market conditions and fo- cusing on competition alone are not enough to stay ahead of the curve. To avoid obsoles- cence, it’s important to always keep track of future trends and prepare in advance. This has helped us expand our business during adverse market conditions and emerge stronger after every crisis. We consider ourselves a market catalyst that enables international brands to penetrate the Middle East and Africa mar- kets which are vastly diff erent in the way they operate. So, we specialise in market adaption with regard to local regulations, documenta- tion, product customisation, delivery, and payments,” says Hassanein. As part of its business strategy, MCB creates ten-year plans with a roadmap for expansion considering all future market and technology trends aff ecting its business. “The last time we undertook an expansion project was after the 2008 global recession, which led to the relocation of our offi ce and warehousing facilities to our current location in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone. Ten years later, we’re working on our next phase of expansion. It so happens that we’re doing this during an- other economic slowdown, due to the Covid pandemic,” says Hassanein. MCB’s new facility in JAFZA will be fi fty percent larger in size, and the warehouse will have at least twice the current capacity to ac- commodate the projected increase in SKUs from 50,000 to 200,000 in the next fi ve years. The Covid situation reiterated the need for a more resilient supply chain, and prompted MCB to fast-track its digitalisation journey. “We have been on the path of digitalization for the last few years. In 2019, we anticipated a diffi cult year in 2020 based entirely on mar- ket indicators. Of course, we couldn’t antici- pate the pandemic, but having invested in new technologies to boost internal performance and customer engagement, we were prepared to a large extent. Thus, we able to manage our operations remotely and maintain high effi - ciency during the lockdown. While our cus- tomers including engineers and technicians were at home last year, we took the opportu- nity to provide training on bearing installa- tion and lubrication, failure analysis, and so on, which equipped them with more skills and knowledge when they returned to jobsites,” says Hassanein. The next phase of MCB’s digitalisation journey will off er a more streamlined process for customers to discover and order products and communicate with MCB’s sales and tech- nical support staff . “Having been in this business for over 40 years and on the basis of historical data, we’ve learnt to simulate and forecast demand with high accuracy. During 2020, we faced supply chain delays of up to 12 months. Currently, we’re handling orders for 2022 and have ship- ments scheduled for 2023. We’re also seeing purchasing trends shift from a few bulk or- ders to a large number of smaller transactions. Therefore, we need to be able to plan our in- ventory 12–18 months ahead and aim for just in time delivery,” says Hassanein. Bearings, joints, greases, oil seals, chains, tensioners, etc., keep industrial machinery Hassanein Alwan, managing director, Mineral Circles Bearings.POWER LIST 29 PLANT / MACHINERY / VEHICLESOCTOBER 2021www.plantmachineryvehicles.com and vehicles moving, and the quality of these components determine the longevity of rotat- ing machinery. With regard to product devel- opment, the big trends to watch out for in the automotive and industrial segments are elec- tromobility and IoT, according to Hassanein. “Electrical vehicles will eventually become widespread in every mode of transportation, but the pace of adoption will be diff erent across the world. Our market research in the MEA region indicates that the transition to electric vehicles from diesel and gasoline ve- hicles will not happen directly; instead it will happen via hybrid vehicles during the next ten years. We are preparing for the transition, our- selves, and are in constant communication with our suppliers to ensure stock availabil- ity as demand for electric vehicles increases. Meanwhile, we are training our staff about hybrid and electric vehicle parts so that they will be well prepared to serve these markets, which we believe will pick up during 2030–40. If we look beyond 2040, we see autonomous vehicles gaining popularity. Vehicle autonomy will enable higher vehicle utilisation, and the new technologies will require bearings with higher quality and longevity. As market adop- tion of EVs and autonomous vehicles grows, the price and replacement cost of their bear- ings will fall, and that’s when it will become a value proposition,” he explains. “As connectivity among machines increas- es, enabled by the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0, condition monitoring and pre- dictive maintenance will become easier, and we will be able to do them remotely. We are testing automatic grease dispensers that can be programmed to lubricate machine parts without the need for regular site visits by tech- nicians. This is useful especially in remote ar- eas and high altitudes,” he adds. MCB is also expanding its own brand of products to include MCB-branded bearings, greases, CV joints, oil seals and belts to cater to markets that are highly price sensitive and need product adaptation. “In some markets in the Middle East and Africa, machines and vehicles are operated beyond the limits recommended by the OEMs, and customers expect the replacements costs of bearings to be aff ordable. We have en- gineered our MCB-branded bearings and greases specifi cally to withstand such harsh conditions. Bearings and related products will always be our core business. We will focus on products that need specialised technical ser- vices such as lubricants, oil seals, belts, greas- es, and joints,” says Hassanein.Next >