< Previouswww.mepmiddleeast.com 20 MEP Middle East | September 2019 China State Construction En- gineering Corporation (CSCEC) recently improved its ranking on the Fortune Global 500 Companies list. And mirroring the fi rm’s global achieve- ments, the Middle East branch continues to go from strength to strength, with revenues over the last year hitting $169million. Future growth is predicted, and estimates put CSCEC ME’s projected revenue at $180m; with 57% already secured. While business interests stretch across the GCC, notably in Saudi Arabia, CSCEC ME identifi es Dubai as its primary base of operations. Recent projects include the likes of Five JVC, Hameni JVC, OIA Residence, Dubai Silicon Park (Smart City) Phase 1 – plus the ongoing Dubai Opera Plot B4 development – while the Dubai Creek Harbour Tower project was high- lighted as a development of vast potential in the coming 12 months. CSCEC ME employs 323 full-time engineers across its sites, and they can expect to undergo project management training in 2019, building on last year’s engineering BIM training rolled out as part of the company’s future proofi ng campaign. Corporate social responsibility initiatives introduced last year featured the introduction of a workers’ welfare management system. Building on that for 2019, CSCEC ME is planning to launch Iftar events in labour camps, as well as wider education programmes. When asked what dispute avoidance and resolution mecha- nisms CSCEC ME had in place for 2019, Zhu Jiancho, vice president, and Chen Qingguang, general manager, said: “Better risk and assessment and background checks during the tendering phase. “Foster[ing] the commercial team [and] better project management and record keeping. [Also] build a stronger domestic legal team.” These initiatives have been carefully considered to build on similar improved assessments and background screen- ings during the tendering phase rolled out by CSCEC ME in 2018. Wary of future challenges that could potentially be thrown up by the industry, Jiancho and Qingguang said that CSCEC ME is paying close attention to the fi nalisation of variations and claims with clients. CHEN QINGGUANG / ZHU JIANCHO GENERAL MANAGER / VICE PRESIDENT 17 NUMBER OF Y EA RS IN THE COMPA N Y 17 NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EAST CHINA STATE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING CORPOR ATION MIDDLE EAST CHwww.mepmiddleeast.com 22 MEP Middle East | September 2019 Projects concerning Expo 2020 and Etihad Rail represent signifi - cant opportunities for Al Futtaim Engineering over the next year. The company, which reported revenue totals of $300million for the last fi nancial year, is already very familiar with the Expo site, having made a signifi cant contribution to the Expo Mobility Thematic District as part of a $68m contract covering MEP, ELV, fi refi ghting systems, and solar PV works. Other notable projects include work on the Jebel Ali Metro Depot expansion and a fi t out operation worth $21million for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. It is a robust approach to minimising risk that has put Al-Futtaim on a strong footing heading into 2020. The company values its projected revenue in the current fi scal year at $290m, and there is room for growth, with 90% of this fi gure already secured. Sound leadership across departments has allowed Al-Futtaim to concentrate on generating new business. Dispute avoidance costs came in at less than $500,000 in 2018, and managing director Murali Serpakkam puts that down to “strong contract commercial practice, engagement at senior level with the developer/main contractor, selective bidding, and tender approval process for client/main contractor selection”. Less cash spent on contract disputes means more funds available for training, and last year Al-Futtaim set aside $500,000 to fi nance a skill accreditation programme for site operatives. At the time of writing Al-Futtaim has some 230 engineers on its books, working across a backlog of projects valued at $250m. Serpakkam said: “The programme helps operatives to upskill through on the job training. They then undergo formal testing to validate the skills learned. “Upon successful completion, the operatives are assigned new roles at new compensation.” That commitment to staff is set to continue in 2020, with competency training for design engineers in air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, and life safety scheduled for implementa- tion in the coming months. A self-delivered training programme using content developed in-house, contributing to a total of 800 training hours, is also planned. MURALI SERPAKKAM AL-FUT TAIM ENGINEERING MANAGING DIRECTOR 7 NUMBER OF YEARS IN ROLE 21 NUMBER OF Y EA RS IN THE COMPA N Y 21 NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EASTUnder the stewardship of managing director Ashraf Samy Botros, Al Shafar United (ASU) is predicted to grow its revenues from $218million to $245m in the current fi scal year; healthy growth by any standard. A greater adoption of technology has helped fuel this positive forecasting. In 2018, the fi rm noted the importance of applying off-site MEP pre-fabrication into its projects. Botros explained that this helped Al Shafar United achieve a reduction in labour costs and waste materials, as well as offering improved safety procedures, reducing installation costs, and improving the overall quality of work. For 2019, ASU has adopted a private/public Cloud strategy, and is utilising Big Data to make better use of statistics on potential customer projects, competitors, and predictive modeling of past performance indicators. Botros told MEP Middle East: “Edge Computing/Private ASU Cloud is used to secure and ensure service management and access speed for our most crucial intellectual property, including ERP, BIM, and Project. “We’re leveraging all the benefi ts of Public Cloud for Offi ce365 and collaborate both internally as well as with external customers and suppliers. “We’re using Big Data to compile and analyse information on potential customer projects, competitors and predictive modeling of past perfor- mance indicators, resulting in future bid wins.” Botros believes that ASU is uniquely positioned to continuously im- prove processes and effi ciency up and down the supply chain through intelligent automation. He explained: “Since much of our supply chain falls under the parent ASU Group, we have greater insight into their operations that allows us to create synergies via ERP and custom applications, resulting in many cost and time effi ciencies.” Botros went to say that ASU is ready for any test the industry can produce, and that client satisfaction remains top of the agenda at all levels of operation. He added: “In the peak of our success, we keep improving to welcome new sectors in the construction business that will open new opportuni- ties and create a competitive advantage in a unique form only ASU can deliver, ensuring high value to its clients. “The construction sector encounters new challenges every year. ASU faces these challenges and transforms them into opportunities to grow as a company and to prosper in the market, and is always committed to being on top of the construction market. “Regardless of the challenges faced by ASU, our top concern is our high quality of work and the client’s satisfaction.” ASHRAF SAMY BOTROS AL SHAFAR UNITED MANAGING DIRECTOR 12 NUMBER OF YEARS IN ROLE 30 30 NUMBER OF Y EA RS IN THE COMPA N Y 33 33 NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EAST September 2019 | MEP Middle East 23 www.mepmiddleeast.com24 MEP Middle East | September 2019 www.mepmiddleeast.comwww.mepmiddleeast.com 24 MEP Middle East | September 2019 BK Gulf may have been tight-lipped about revenue fi gures current and past when completing our extensive Top 25 Contractors survey, but the fi rm had no problem shouting about some of its upcoming projects. Sports Society Shopping Centre, Lake View Hotel, Bright Start Building, Yas Arena, and E15 Building are among the headline devel- opments BK Gulf has landed contracts with in recent times, building on already completed projects such as Container Terminal 4 and the Dubai Mall Fashion Avenue extension. General manager Basheer Massad was also far from shy when talking up the training initiatives being put into place across the organisation. “BK Gulf utilises an in-house training centre, which provides hands-on training for technicians, as well as classroom training for engineers and managers,” he said. “This aims to develop in-house skills to achieve the highest interna- tional standards in the fi eld of MEP building services through inter- nal and external training. “BK Gulf’s health and safety training initiative is based on interna- tionally recognised standards, [and] the company became accredited for delivering NBOSH and IOSH training.” This investment in staff is married to plans to further harness the power of total robotic stations, laser scanning, and drone sur- vey technology to separate BK Gulf from the crowd and take a pre- emptive step into the digital frontier that is fast approaching over the horizon. Add to this the fact that Massad outlined off-site fabricated end-to-end solutions as the fi rm’s biggest opportunity in the next 12 months, and it is clear to see that BK Gulf is positioning itself to be a central market fi gure when digitalisation takes a fi rm grip in the region. The fi rm also pays due attention to its corporate social res- ponsibility, a movement that is receiving more and more oxygen across the region, and strives to foster a community-facing ethos among its employees. “BK Gulf has a comprehensive corporate social res- ponsibility programme which covers a wide range of areas includ- ing environment, employee welfare and the community,” explained Massad. “In 2019 BK Gulf continued [its support of] health screening; Earth Hour; fi re awareness; blood donation; and sports tournaments campaigns.” Massad predicted more success on the horizon for BK Gulf, and outlined the company’s commitment to professionalism as a driving factor that keeps clients returning to employ its services. He added: “BK Gulf remains to be one of the few MEP companies which provides stable and high standards to its client. “This is well known and appreciated by the market, hence its award of MEP Contractor of the Year 2019 by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.” BASHEER MASSAD BK GULF GENERAL MANAGER 2 NUMBER OF Y EA RS IN THE COMPA N Y 20 20 NUMBER OF Y EA RS IN THE COMPA N Y 24 NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EAST September 2019 | MEP Middle East 25 www.mepmiddleeast.com September 2019 | MEP Middle East 25 www.mepmiddleeast.com NUMBER OF YEARS IN ROLE 15 NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE COMPANY 15 Al Shirawi Electrical & Mechanical Engi- neering Company is set to complete work on three projects in 2020. Al Qusais Residential Buildings (R1083) – Package C, Arcadia Secondary School, and Aloft Hotel & Element Ho- tel Apartments Al Raffa are scheduled for handover next year, and follow delivery of works at sites including Huawei Headquar- ters and the MasterCard Offi ce Building in Q4 2018. The fi rm’s contracting services are sup- ported by a modern sheet metal shop with the capability of producing GI, pre-insulated aluminium, square, round, and fi re-rated ductwork. The company takes pride in its ISO 9001 certifi cation, and says it has built up a team of quality and safety inspectors to ensure systems and processes are not only followed, but continuously improved and adapted to match the demands of clients and projects. “With a 2,000-strong workforce, Al Shirawi is geared up to meet the most demanding schedules in quick time,” said a spokes- person. “Working out of a purpose built 160,000sq ft facility with a modern logistics infrastruc- ture, Al Shirawi has the capability to un- dertake mechanical and electrical projects across the globe.” AL SHIR AWI ELECTRICAL & MECHANICAL ENGINEERING COMPANY NUMBER OF YEARS IN ROLE 14 NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE COMPANY 14 NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EAST 40+ Specon is anticipating a green future, and not just in fi nancial terms. Revenues are expected to grow from $117million to $150m for the current fi nancial year, with a backlog valued at $250m. But Specon chiefs are also thinking about the bigger picture, with corporate social responsibility a prominent element in the company’s strategic policies. So much so that plans are in place for ev- ery employee working on site to plant a tree before they down tools and vacate the proj- ect. Dispute resolution costs are also rela- tively low at just $100,000 per year, indicat- ing that best practice reigns supreme among C-suite bosses. However, it doesn’t stop managing direc- tor and CEO Thrasos Thrasyvoulou from keeping a close eye on the blights affl icting the wider industry. He pinpoints risk man- agement and timely collection of receivables as being crucial to preserving growth at Spe- con, and identifi ed Saudi’s NEOM project as being of particular interest. The proposed smart city – complete with robot dinosaurs and an artifi cial moon – would sit alongside other notable develop- ments on the Specon roster, the pick of which is the Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences on Palm Jumeirah. THRASOS THRASYVOULOU SPECON CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR MEDHA SUKTHANKAR GENERAL MANAGERwww.mepmiddleeast.com 28 MEP Middle East | September 2019 NUMBER OF YEARS IN ROLE 33 NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE COMPANY 33 NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EAST 14 revenue of $9.34million for the past 12 months, noting international revenue of $269.92m. Shifting its focus more centrally on the UAE for the coming months, Anel Group’s attention now turns to projects such as the Abu Dhabi International Airport Midfi eld Terminal Building, where it will be engaged as electrical con- tractor, and the Dubai-I Terminal Building, where it has been contracted to complete MEP works. RIDVAN CELIKEL ANEL GROUP FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN Anel Group pays special attention to its relationships with clients to avoid disputes, particularly when it comes to payment of contracts. Founder and chairman Rıdvan Çelikel says Anel aims to have “sustainable rela- tions with its customers” and aspires to complete its tasks properly in accordance with project specifi cations and engineer- ing standards. He added: “Also, sustainable long-term relation establishment is targeted with our suppliers and subcontractors. “Keeping ‘projects will be completed but the commercial relations established remain’ in mind, Anel aims to avoid disputes by seeking amicable settlement between the parties involved for any matter.” The group has reported domestic NUMBER OF YEARS IN CURRENT ROLE 7 NUMBER OF YEARS IN THE COMPANY 9 NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EAST 6 AE Arma-Elektropanc has identifi ed the Dubai Hills Mall project as its biggest op- portunity for the coming year, but notes that variations to the order could present signifi - cant challenges down the road. Nevertheless, CEO Burak Kizilhan can be bullish about the outlook for his fi rm, having already secured 50% of the $263.4million projected revenue for the current year – which is almost on par with fi nal reported revenue fi gures for 2018 ($267.6m). Projects including Dubai World Centre Airport Jabelali, Abu Dhabi Marina City, and Maqtoum Hospital represent an im- pressive portfolio for the Turkish-owned fi rm. Alongside Dubai Hills Mall, AE Arma- Elektropanc is also delivering MEP works at a fi ve-star hotel in Dubai for WOW Invest- ments Ltd. And to adapt to evolutions in technology and advances in smart working, Kizilhan has rubberstamped a series of staff training pro- grammes to stay ahead of competitors. A special consideration was paid to BIM training in 2018, while programmes sched- uled for the coming 12 months focus more closely on energy saving measures, design optimisation, and the utilisation of eco-friendly systems and products. BURAK KIZILHAN AE ARMA-ELEKTROPANC CEO33 33 14 September 2019 | MEP Middle East 29 www.mepmiddleeast.com “A company is only as good as its personnel,” is the message from Al Tasnim Group. And with a workforce comprising thousands of highly-trained staff – and 34,000-plus employees in total – it is clear that the Oman-based fi rm gives high priority to the development of individuals on its roster. A particular focus is given to the Omanisation of employees, in-line with the Sultanate’s wider strategy for fostering homegrown talent, and some 4,500 nationals have been employed across the group as part of its in-country value ethos. Further to this, the group is committed to the development of small and medium-sized enterprise partners through a mentoring programme, and works with 100 such fi rms. Moreover, Al Tasnim also owns a purpose-built craft Training & Assessment Centre in Gujarat, India, to ensure continuous improvement in the quality of its labour force. Billed as the most reputed all service group in Oman’s construction industry, the group boasts assets over 55 locations, and has to date signed, sealed, and delivered on more than 500 projects. Indeed, one objective for the company is to “meet ever greater chal- lenges and leave a long lasting mark of excellence on the skyline and the infrastructure of the Sultanate of Oman.” Recently completed developments on the quest to leaving that lasting mark include the City Centre Sohar Mall (Majid Al Futtaim), MOD Air Base (Ministry of Defence), commercial and residential building at Ghala (Al Fardhan Properties), and the headquarters for Omantel (Omran). It is safe to say the forward pipeline is in good health too, with Al Tasnim reporting contracts to deliver air conditioning systems, power distribution, plumbing, drainage, dialysis, RO, medical gas, RDU and fi re fi ghting systems at no less than four health care facilities – namely Suwaiq, Khasab, Salalah, and RCA Hospitals – in the next 12 months. All four projects have been commissioned by the Ministry of Health in Oman. Farrokh Jimmy Masani, director of operations and procurement, said: “We have a strong operational presence in the region within the con- struction industry and are proud by our steady growth of 15% year-on- year for our MEP Division. “Our team has the experience to cater to all sectors; residential, commercial, industrial, hospitals, hotels, as well as LEED-certifi ed projects. “Al Tasnim Group is large enough to meet all of your construction needs under one roof but still very cost effective and an easily approach- able company.” Al Tasnim reports robust HSE and quality management systems and is accredited to ISO 9001:2015, 14001:2015 and 18001:2007. FARROKH JIMMY MASANI AL TASNIM GROUP (AL TURKI) DIRECTOR OPERATIONS & PROCUREMENT 3 NUMBER OF Y EA RS IN THE COMPA N Y 3 NUMBER OF YEARS WORKING IN THE MIDDLE EAST 7 9 6 T Next >