Business Focus Magazine BFM 92

Issue No.92

LK BENNETT

Reinvention with a focus on circularity while retaining heritage.

TECO 2030

Intensive development of hydrogen fuel for the shipping industry.

SPECIAL FEATURE: WATER SECURITY

X SHORE

SIMPLY ELECTRIC Exclusive interview with CEO Jenny Keisu on luxury electric speedboats and the mission to revolutionise the maritime industry.

AMEA Power LLC | The Power of Partnership | First E&P | Gas-based Future Maersk Supply Service | In Safe Hands | KBR | Greener Ammonia Technology FELB | Bridging East & West | Smithstown Light Engineering | Making It New

GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD Keeping homes and businesses hydrated.

FEATURE YOUR BUSINESS With a global readership of over 290,000, Business Focus Magazine is the perfect platform to place your business in front of our Senior Executive level audience.

CONTACT SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR:

TREVOR GRETSINGER | t.gretsinger@ceomediagroup.com

EDITOR’S NOTE

PROJECT MANAGERS ANDREW BOURKE a.bourke@ceomediagroup.com DEAN BROWN d.brown@ceomediagroup.com CHRIS CONWAY c.conway@ceomediagroup.com RHYS COUSINS r.cousins@ceomediagroup.com DAVID GARNER d.garner@ceomediagroup.com TIMOTHY GARWOOD t.garwood@ceomediagroup.com JOHN HOLLIMAN j.holliman@ceomediagroup.com MAX HUTCHINGS m.hutchings@ceomediagroup.com LEE PHOENIX l.phoenix@ceomediagroup.com DAVID TAVERNOR d.tavernor@ceomediagroup.com HAYDEN TURNER h.turner@ceomediagroup.com RASH UDDIN r.uddin@ceomediagroup.com

DESIGN SCOTT ANDREWS design@ceomediagroup.com ADRIANA STROIA artwork@ceomediagroup.com

ACCOUNTS MIKE ASHER accounts@ceomediagroup.com

PRODUCTION KAMILA KAJTOCH production@ceomediagroup.com

EDITORIAL CHRIS FARNELL cfarnell@ceomediagroup.com JIM HUNTER editor@ceomediagroup.com

SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR TREVOR GRETSINGER t.gretsinger@ceomediagroup.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS, PRESS RELEASES AND GENERAL ENQUIRIES: info@ceomediagroup.com

The content of this magazine is copyright of CEO Media Group.

Redistribution or reproduction of any content is prohibited. © Copyright 2021 CEO Media Group.

FOCUS ON

WATER Water makes up 70% of the Earth’s surface and 60% of you. It is clearly essential, and yet often when we are discussing our environmental impact, water takes a back seat. This month, not long after the conclusion of the COP26 talks, we take a look at water security and sustainability, as seen through the eyes of several businesses we have talked to for this issue. Ghana Water Company Limited tells us about the importance of strong investment in infrastructure, as well as in granting companies the leeway they need to make improvements.

Salamander Pumps talks about the critical difference even small improvements in people’s homes can make, and Titan Enterprise explains the growing importance of efficiency and keeping track of water usage.

W

e are also talking with other companies that are doing their bit for the environment. Swedish Plastics Recycling tells us about historic achievements.

McGowans Print show us the growing role of sustainability in the packaging industry.

Energy companies such as AMEA Togo Solar, Suntech Solar Power SA, and Teco 2030 talk about their role in the green revolution, while KBR tells us about the future of green ammonia.

While climate change might be the biggest challenge facing us right now, it is not the only one.

In the face of the continuing crisis around supply chains worldwide, we have been talking to Contract Transport Service, Export Trading Group and Maersk Supply Service. This issue we have also spoken with people working on the infrastructure supporting the supply chains, such as Far East Land Bridge and Christchurch Airport.

All the companies featuring in this issue face challenges, some of them industry-wide, some of them unique, but they are all finding ways to adapt and rise to those challenges.

ON THE COVER

X-SHORE Go to page 176.

Issue No.92

LK BENNETT

SPECIAL FEATURE:

Reinvention with a focus on circularity while retaining heritage.

WATER SECURITY

TECO 2030

Intensive development of hydrogen fuel for the shipping industry.

X SHORE

SIMPLY ELECTRIC Exclusive interview with CEO Jenny Keisu on luxury electric speedboats and the mission to revolutionise the maritime industry.

AMEA Power LLC | The Power of Partnership | First E&P | Gas-based Future Maersk Supply Service | In Safe Hands | KBR | Greener Ammonia Technology FELB | Bridging East & West | Smithstown Light Engineering | Making It New

GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD Keeping homes and businesses hydrated.

EDITOR’S NOTE | 3

8

IN THIS ISSUE

8

13

16

32

38

EVENT

Middle East Trucks & Heavy Machinery Show, 7th-9th December 2021 - Festival Arena, Festival City, Dubai, UAE. First of its kind in the Middle East, opportunity for local and international businesses to promote their products & technologies.

NEWS

Water Security Water, Water Everywhere

16

LEADING ARTICLE

Ghana Water Company Ltd Water for Homes and Businesses

AUTOMOTIVE

Marangoni Machinery Getting the Grip

AVIATION

Christchurch Airport Carbon Zero Airport

38

42

48

Alkhorayef Group Family Values, Corporate Standards

CONSTRUCTION

Anderson Group Built to Order

54

Boutique Modern Manufacturing Homes

58

Esteyco Energised to Build a Better World

64

4 | CONTENTS

CONGLOMERATE

ENERGY & UTILITIES

Amea Power LLC The Power of Partnership

72

Salamander Pumps Under Pressure

78

Suntech Power South Africa Wholly South African Solar

82

Swedish Plastics Recycling Countdown to Zero

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

102

ISSUE NO. 92

144

148

118

154

164

170 176 88

96 102

110 118

124

TECO 2030 The Engine of Tomorrow

ENGINEERING

182

Titan Enterprise Going Against the Flow

METALS

thyssenkrupp Materials UK Materials as Services

OIL & GAS

First E & P Gas-Based Future

RETAIL

LK Bennett Affordable Luxury That Lasts

SHIPPING, PORT & MARINE Maersk Supply Service In Safe Hands X Shore Simply Electric

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

Contract Transport Services The Green Way Forward

KBR Greener Ammonia Technology

186

ETG Logistics Supporting African Farms

Smithstown Light Engineering Making It New

192

Far East Land Bridge Bridging East and West

HEALTHCARE, HOTEL & LEISURE Cape Biopharms Homegrown Pharmaceuticals

176

MediGuide Not Just an Opinion

MANUFACTURING

Lenzing For a Green Future

130

McGowans Print The Paper-Cutting Edge

138

Thomas Instrumentation Instrumental to Success

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CONTENTS | 5

Find your way out of a complex operating model.

Let’s talk.

Operations Strategy | Digital | Cultural Engineering

Global io

- integrated operations experts.

globalio.com

EVENT OF THE MONTH

WHERE: FESTIVAL ARENA, FESTIVAL CITY, DUBAI, UAE WHEN: 7TH- 9TH DECEMBER 2021

MIDDLE EAST TRUCKS & HEAVY MACHINERY SHOW

8 | EVENT OF THE MONTH

EVENT OF THE MONTH

M

iddle East Trucks & Heavy Machinery Show presents a first of its kind opportunity for local and international businesses to display, introduce and promote their products and technologies to the market as well as potential buyers.

This is your chance to inspire, educate and inform over 1000 leading representatives from across the region during one of the most exciting times.

www.methm-show.com

EVENT OF THE MONTH | 9

lead wıth the leader Today, Internet is in our pockets; our virtual and real worlds are coming together. LTE offers you great potential to deliver a superior mobile broadband experience to your customers, but the stakes are high. Success in LTE means getting to market quickly, with services that offer subscribers more than what they have today, as cost efficiently as possible. With 60 live commercial LTE networks on all continents and about 50% of all smartphone traffic on LTE running through our networks, we have what it takes to support you.

ericsson.com/unplug

WATER SECURITY

IT MIGHT NOT HIT THE HEADLINES IN THE SAME WAY AS CARBON EMISSIONS, BUT WATER SECURITY IS AN ESSENTIAL FRONT IN THE FIGHT FOR SUSTAINABILITY.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE The big news last month was the COP26 conference, the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, held at the SEC Centre in Glasgow throughout the start of November. The conference saw world leaders discussing climate change, carbon emissions, and alternative energy sources, but there was also discussion around a far less wellpublicised aspect of sustainabilitywater security.

I

ndeed, the conference saw the launch of a coalition of nations and non-state actors, including cities, regions, and states, called the Reducing Water Footprint Coalition.

This coalition will lay out commitments on accelerating research into how to reduce water consumption, and the actions that can be taken across the water system to replenish and improve the resilience of supplies. The conference has

also seen the announcement of a Resilient Water Accelerator, which aims to improve water security in 30 of the world’s most affected locations by 2030.

However, a recurring message throughout the COP26 event is that combatting pollution is a project that will require the strengths of both the public and private sectors. International non-profit CDP has disclosed the development of the first

NEWS | 13

WATER SECURITY

water risk reporting framework for financial institutions, which will be issued to 700 of the world’s largest publicly listed firms next spring.

At the same time, the Race to Zero campaign has announced that over one in five of the world’s water companies, by revenue, are now signed up to its campaign. Signatories pledge to halve their emissions by 2030, reaching net-zero by 2050 by the latest.

BUILD A FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE

But while a sustainable future for the water sector is clearly essential, many companies are working against steep practical challenges.

Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL), profiled in this magazine, has been seeing growing revenues and strong improvement in its facilities as it has shifted to becoming a limited liability company.

However, it also faces legacy issues from ageing infrastructure and lack of investment.

“We are dealing with challenges such as weak infrastructure due to lack of investment, running pipelines over 50 years old, low efficiencies, and increasing leakages,” explains Dr Clifford Braimah, Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Ltd. “We have challenges not because we don’t know what to do but because on the ground circumstances haven’t allowed us to do it.”

14 | NEWS

Indeed, before establishing a carbon-neutral water supply is a possibility, effectively utilising the water supply at all can be a challenge. GWCL supplies water not just to residential households, but also the businesses across the country, and meeting the conflicting needs of both groups of customers requires careful management.

This can mean implementing innovative solutions, such as distributing and storing water for commercial services during the downtime on the residential supply network.

“Between 10 pm and 4 am everyone is sleeping. So, if you have limited resources of water, you can store that during the night, and then at 5 am you turn on the domestic supply and the industry will have also provided more tariffs with the same volume,” Braimah tells us.

THE BATTLE FOR EFFICIENCY

While water infrastructure might be the front line in the fight for water security, it is not the only place that the fight is being won. Improved methods of pumping, transporting, and measuring water, increasing efficiency, and bringing down wastage, will prove to be critical.

Titan Enterprises’ flowmeters have been used to measure and control the flow of a variety of liquids, and while they have been around for a while, awareness is growing at what a critical role they can play.

“The whole flowmeter market was £5 billion globally last year, and it is set to go up at 6% a year for the next ten years, across the board,” Trevor Forster, founder of Titan Enterprises tells us later in this issue. “The control of small flows has become more critical for managing waste. Even if you have a large chemical plant, you still have small flows to worry about. I think it’s been driven by the general search for more efficiency and more control.

The global market expects it.”

THE HOME FRONT

Of course, one area where it is possible to make huge efficiencies in terms of saving water is within our own homes, but it is an area an awful lot of consumers are ignorant about.

In this issue we profile Salamander Pumps, who manufacture water boosting and pressure boosting products like shower pumps, pressure boosters and accumulators.

Their products boost shower pressure in a gravity-fed system, the traditional hot and cold-water tank system, or a mains pressure system, even boosting the mains pressure to the whole house.

“THE WHOLE FLOWMETER MARKET WAS £5 BILLION GLOBALLY LAST YEAR, AND IT IS SET TO GO UP AT 6% A YEAR FOR THE NEXT TEN YEARS, ACROSS THE BOARD.”

WATER SECURITY

It is not hard to see how this helps with water efficiency, but householders often do not even realise there is a fault to fix.

“The biggest challenge going forward is educating the general public, creating awareness around water pressure,” says Dale Robertson, Salamander Pumps’ Managing Director. “We did a survey a few years ago and found a lot of people had low water pressure - people just accept when you turn the tap on that’s it. They don’t think ‘Is it good? Is it bad?

Can it be better?’ 48% of them didn’t realise that there was a solution to their problem, they just accept it takes ten or fifteen minutes to fill a bath or that you can’t do anything else while someone else is in the shower.”

These changes can make a small difference, but eventually, lots of small differences add up.

At the same time, it is important that the companies doing this work have the freedom to innovate and invest to build greater water security.

“THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE GOING FORWARD IS EDUCATING THE GENERAL PUBLIC, CREATING AWARENESS AROUND WATER PRESSURE.” As Braimah tells us, “In the past, in Ghana and other developing companies, water performs well if not for political interference. To make the company strong we need to work with the public through explanation, selling ourselves on a commercial level that people have come to understand.

Someone is supposed to be accountable, so to achieve that water companies need a free hand to do what they need to do.

I’ve been given a free hand to operate Ghana Water Company Ltd and bring about progress.

We have the freedom to take positions and push for positive change.”

NEWS | 15

GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD

GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD IS SHOWING HOW, WHEN GIVEN THE FREEDOM TO ACT, IT CAN KEEP HOMES AND BUSINESSES HYDRATED.

WATER FOR HOMES AND BUSINESSES PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOHN HOLLIMAN

Ghana Water Company is a limited liability company, 100% owned by the country’s government. Originally founded as a corporation in 1965, in 1999 Ghana Water Company became registered as a limited liability company as part of Ghana’s economic recovery efforts.

S

erving approximately 15 operational regions across Ghana through its 100 operational districts, Ghana Water Company has been set up to provide potable water to every part of Ghana.

The company services a vital role, not only in providing water to citizens but also to Ghana’s businesses.

“We have two kinds of water providers, Ghana Water Company Ltd, and then there’s Community Water for the smaller towns. Most industries depend on us because they’re based in the urban centres of Ghana,” explains Dr Clifford Braimah, Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Ltd. “Our uniqueness is in the stability of our supply. It is all undertaken by the company. We extract the water from the raw source, treat it, transmit it and distribute it. These

16X | LEADING FEATURE

are separate business units and you can have different businesses handling each step, but we combined all three activities.”

WITHOUT LIMITS

As a limited liability company, Ghana Water Company Ltd remains wholly owned by the government, which owns 100% of its shares, but the way it does business has changed forever.

“Ghana Water Company Ltd is a very old company,” Braimah says. “This meant that shifting from being a corporation to a limited company was a challenge. We still had all the same structures and the same human beings in place. So, we were running a limited liability company with the mentality of a government subsidised corporation.”

Dr Clifford Braimah, Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Ltd.

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GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD

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LEADING FEATURE | 17 X

aeciworld.com +27 (0)11 971-0400

ONE AECI, FOR A BETTER WORLD

BETTER WATER

Provide access to clean water and improve conservation “AECI aims to resolve the significant challenges in water and food security by being the catalyst in the transformation to a thriving African ecosystem.”

Dean Mulqueeny AECI EXECUTIVE • • • • • • •

Potable Water Treatment - Coagulation and Flocculation Modular Potable Water Treatment Plants Sewage Water Treatment Capabilities Waste Water Treatment Final Effluent Disinfection Alternative Water Source Treatment Capabilities Mobile Testing Laboratory Capabilities

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BETTER WATER WITH AECI WATER AECI WATER provides integrated water and process treatment solutions for a diverse range of applications, including Public Water and Industrial Water. AECI WATER engages with their Customers to develop sustainable, safe solutions to ensure continuous improvement, asset integrity, process efficiency and ultimately improvement in product quality.

AECI WATER embraces the AECI core Sustainability Goals by extracting value and enhancing environmental and societal benefits by working with Industry to re-use their waste water streams and minimize potable water usage.

In Africa, where water scarcity is an ongoing challenge, AECI WATER is collaborating with Ghana Water, in the Public Water space where the management and treatment of potable and sewage water is core.

In terms of potable water treatment, AECI WATER manufactures and supplies a wide range of coagulants and flocculants for solids separation. This includes their locally produced and approved (NSF/ANSI/CAN60) SUDFLOC® range and intercompany produced SENFLOCTM range of products. AECI WATER sales (consultants) are trained in the art of product selection and tailor each treatment program to meet specific water quality needs. Some of the latest water treatment technologies include polymer technology that has been used in various countries over the years providing critical cost savings to end users.

Current successful polymer application in collaboration with Ghana Water is happening at the following sites: Barekese plant; Owabi; Odasu and Konongo plants. AECI WATER is looking forward to ongoing collaboration in line with Ghana Water protocols.

AECI Water offers free-standing, containerised plants and medium-sized engineered plants, as well as custom-engineered plants. These treatment plants offer flow rates of between 1m3/h and 10m3/h up to 6m3/h and 120m3/h for containerized plants. Medium-sized engineered plants are designed to specification, usually with flow rates of 10m3/h to 250m3/h.

Pilot plants provide the opportunity to optimize chemical dosing and equipment sizing to ensure the most cost effective OPEX and CAPEX solutions. Optimization of treatment regimens minimizes plant outfall and waste water and ensures quality required can be delivered

Fredsad Enterprise Ltd. Plumbing materials • Domestic & hydro products

Advanced oxidation is required in today’s deteriorating raw water quality.

On-site Chlorine Dioxide generation technology is made safer and more efficient and offers a convenient treatment solution to the water industry.

AECI WATER provides a locally manufactured unit that has been proven to reduce operational costs by up to 33%.

Sludge handling is often the single largest cost in many wastewater plants and the AECI WATER range of polymers (liquid and powder flocculants) have been specifically developed to optimize sludge dewatering operations. Our locally produced cationic emulsion polymer has already added significant value to a number of waste water applications. Our AECI WATER “plug-andplay” sewage water treatment solutions including sludge dewatering and containerised sewage plants are capable of handling and treating sewage generated by up to 400 people at 150 liters per capita per day.

To ensure AECI WATER customers get the maximum return on their investments, AECI WATER offers a Manage, Operate and Maintain (MOM) programme. Among the many benefits are: Cost reduction, Improved Asset Performance and Risk Reduction “AECI WATER, part of ONE AECI FOR A BETTER WORLD, aims to resolve the significant challenges in water and food security by being the catalyst in the transformation to a thriving African ecosystem.” Says AECI EXECUTIVE Dean Mulqueeny. www.aeciworld.com

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

+233 244 284 575 fredsad76@gmail.com Near Fidelity Bank, Arena-Accra, Accra, Ghana, South Africa

LEADING FEATURE | 19

GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD

20 | LEADING FEATURE

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GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD

Changing that mindset over the last twenty years has been an enormous undertaking.

“We worked to provide accountability and transparency, which has become the hallmark of our approach,” Braimah says.

“If staff can see the numbers we churn out they see the losses and appreciate the better this company does, the more we all benefit. And that’s the direction we took. The

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

justification for salary increases is connected to our activity and accomplishments. Through that, they started thinking there was a way around our problems. So, revenues have been increasing and we’ve seen very good levels of improvement,” Braimah says.

While the shift to becoming a limited liability has been a challenge, it is far from the only challenge Ghana Water Company Ltd faces.

“WE WORKED TO PROVIDE ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY, WHICH HAS BECOME THE HALLMARK OF OUR APPROACH.” LEADING FEATURE | 21

Water Works

w w w. d e ny s . c o m

DENYS Denys is an independent Belgian construction group employing 1800 people worldwide. Our growth model is based on three pillars: diversification, innovation and internationalization.

We don’t innovate in one speciality, but as a total business in several disciplines: water, energy, mobility, infrastructure, restoration, civil engineering, special techniques and other specialized building techniques. In each of those complementary areas of expertise we have confirmed our position as a niche player and shown ourselves to be a global reference with high added value. Together all these disciplines form a total business, the Denys Group, a preferred partner for the most complex building projects and infrastructure work. Our well-considered decision to diversify was without a doubt the primary motor for our growth.

In order to provide maximum space for that diversified growth, we have been working steadily on expanding internationally.

The world is our building site. We want to use our pioneering knowledge and get involved as widely as possible. For example, by supporting promising growth economies with crucial infrastructure projects.

Or by helping people in the poorest parts of the world to gain access to basic services. That doesn’t mean we blindly go after

every opportunity. Our expansion is stable and sustainable, and deeply rooted in years of experience and technical competences.

The sound quality-driven approach that we have carefully built up on our home turf remains our trademark abroad. A sound approach that we combine with the flexibility and fast decision-making that ambitious growth economies expect. That approach has clearly paid off. Today we have a firm foothold in Europe, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. We are busy exploring markets such as Asia, Central and South America and Canada. Our people have developed a good eye for interesting projects that can result in a solid base in new regions.

In addition, we are not shy of forming constructive partnerships in public-private ventures, where the responsibility of the contractor is much greater. Denys has also been active for decades in the private market as a benchmark for reliability.

But the biggest success factor behind our growth is the enthusiasm and creativity of our personnel. At Denys we love a challenge; it’s in our blood. Tell us your dream, and we’ll send you a team of enthusiastic engineers to make it come true. We don’t deliver demoralizing explanations about technical restrictions, budget consequences and planning problems. If you can dream it, we can do it. We’d be proud to show you a selection of these dreams.

Take a look at our website www.denys.com

“We are dealing with challenges such as weak infrastructure due to lack of investment, running pipelines over 50 years old, low efficiencies, and increasing leakages,” Braimah points out. We have challenges not because we don’t know what to do but because on the ground circumstances haven’t allowed us to do it.”

As well as transforming from a Corporation to a Limited company, Ghana Water Company Ltd has also seen its role evolve from simply supplying water to tracing where it goes as it is distributed. The company needs to determine how much water volume goes into any area so that it can identify and reduce losses. Some of these challenges include weak infrastructure, which can lead to Ghana Water Company Ltd

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LEADING FEATURE | 23

GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD

receiving low tariffs because the water meter that determines that tariff won’t take into account lost water.

Braimah has pushed hard to improve that situation.

“We tried in 2018 to go beyond our limits, to spend a lot more into improving infrastructure,” he recalls. “That was a risk I took because we wanted to move the company forward. A lot of new pipe lays have been carried out. If you look at 20182019 the improvement is high.

We brought in new vehicles, as many as we can bring in, and our people have benefited directly. With that motivation, we’re on track now to do a lot more.”

This has been made possible thanks to the superb team that Ghana Water Company Ltd has built. With 5,100 members of staff and excellent relationships with local academic establishments, bringing in people with the right

24 | LEADING FEATURE

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GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD

“TO MAKE THE COMPANY STRONG WE NEED TO WORK WITH THE PUBLIC THROUGH EXPLANATION, SELLING OURSELVES ON A COMMERCIAL LEVEL THAT PEOPLE HAVE COME TO UNDERSTAND.”

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LEADING FEATURE | 25

www.intermerceng.com

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Tesano Business Center- Accra P.O. Box 9429, KIA Accra – Ghana

+233 302 237698 / 910616

info@intermercgh.com

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DPS PIPES AND PLASTICS LIMITED “DPS Pipes And Plastics Limited was established in 2015 after extensive research into the Ghanaian and greater West African technical pipe market. Having vast previous knowledge and experience in plastic manufacturing, DPS set out to serve the West African market with Reasonably Priced, Superior Quality and Durable uPVC and HDPE pipes, while providing complete expertise and technical support to customers.

DPS boasts a state of the art production facility located on the Spintex road, in Accra, with modern machinery that produces superior output.

The proof of our commitment to quality can be atributed to the rigorous testing- that our pipes go through- so as to ensure strict adherence to standards. The company is currently ISO 9001:2015, 14001:2015 and 45001:2018 Certified. The company has grown rapidly in its few years of existence due to its exceedingly talented, knowledgeable, and competent management and workforce.

DPS constantly invests in research and development so as to be one of the best in the industry. The company is constantly focused on expanding its product range. DPS also supports customers in pioneering new solutions.

OUR VISION To be the industry’s preferred and trusted supplier of quality piping solutions.

OUR MISSION To position our business to supply a comprehensive range of plastic piping solutions to the Construction, Agriculture, Mining and Industrial Market sectors through out West Africa.” www.dpspipes.com

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LEADING FEATURE | 27

GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD

qualifications has not been a problem. When it comes to skills, however, the company works to develop its own practical skills pool.

“When it comes to practical skills we retrain people, give them direction,” Braimah says.

“Where there are knowledge gaps we try to find a way of filling them in with external trainers. We’re introducing staff to the new business direction and the attitudes we want. From March we started visiting each district and it is making a huge difference with our lower-level staff.”

FREEDOM TO GROW

Having undergone a period of transformation and investment, Braimah is thrilled for the next phase of the Ghana Water Company Ltd story.

28 | LEADING FEATURE

INTERPLAST Interplast, a limited liability company, was incorporated in Ghana in 1970 in consultation with the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation to provide high quality unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (UPVC) pipes. Over the years Interplast expanded into High Density Polyethylene pipes (HDPE), Incor large and small diameter pipes, PPR pipes which are used by the Water, Drainage and Sewage companies, Mining Companies, Manufacturing and Construction Companies.

Interplast is not only involved in the manufacturing of pipes, but also produces UPVC Windows and Doors re-enforced with galvanized steel, IR Clip, Warning and Barrier Mesh, Garden Hose, Isorange, Trunking, Terrazzo Divider Strip, PVC ceiling panels and now Ingreen, an Automatic Irrigation System.

Interplast’s staff strength is over 700. The staff of Interplast is fully committed to providing a high quality product through the state of the art technology supporting the product development, manufacturing processes and delivery. Interplast employees are among the best in the industry. This has been achieved through internal workshops and sponsoring of employees for training programme.

Our state of the art factory located on the Spintex road, plot number 109 is equipped with technically advanced extrusion machinery available today to meet demands on short term notice from 12mm to 1200mm outside diameter.

To ensure that we meet our value of quality products and services to our customers, Interplast has established strong, contractual relationships with our suppliers, customers and transporters.

Interplast is certified by TUV Rheinland ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 version of quality management systems; operates and dictates all operational processes and procedures. www.interplast.com

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LEADING FEATURE | X ®

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“WE TRIED TO MAXIMISE THE LITTLE THAT WE HAD TO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE. WE RECENTLY GOT APPROVAL FOR A CONCEPT TO TAKE WATER FROM THE DOMESTIC PIPELINES TO THE INDUSTRIAL ONES.” 30 | LEADING FEATURE

“The future is bright. I’m excited to be part of it,” he says. “We tried to maximise the little that we had to make a huge difference. We recently got approval for a concept to take water from the domestic pipelines to the industrial ones.”

The plan is that the domestic water supply Ghana Water Company Ltd provides is not actually being fully utilised around the clock. Braimah argues that the industrial water supply can be distributed and stored during that downtime.

“Between 10 pm and 4 am everyone is sleeping. So, if you have limited resources of water you can store that during the night, and then at 5 am you turn on the domestic supply and the industry will have also provided more tariffs with the same volume,” Braimah explains.

Ideas like this are part of Ghana Water Company Ltd’s drive to take advantage of its independence and push for new opportunities.

“In the past, in Ghana and other developing companies,

BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

GHANA WATER COMPANY LTD

water performs well if not for political interference. To make the company strong we need to work with the public through explanation, selling ourselves on a commercial level that people have come to understand,” Braimah insists.

“Someone is supposed to be accountable, so to achieve that water companies need a free hand to do what they

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need to do. I’ve been given a free hand to operate Ghana Water Company Ltd and bring about progress. We have the freedom to take positions and push for positive change. I want to prove that given the right opportunity the company can be run profitably and efficiently. By next year we’ll have set the company on a new trajectory.”

“WE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO TAKE POSITIONS & PUSH FOR POSITIVE CHANGE. I WANT TO PROVE THAT GIVEN THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY THE COMPANY CAN BE RUN PROFITABLY AND EFFICIENTLY.”

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MARANGONI MACHINERY

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MARANGONI MACHINERY

MARANGONI MACHINERY IS THE LEAD MANUFACTURER OF TIRE BUILDING MACHINERY, & CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OTHER MANUFACTURERS CANNOT.

GETTING A GRIP PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

Marangoni Machinery is the undisputed worldwide leader in the development and production of large tire building machines.

Founded 60 years ago in the North of Italy, it has always strived to serve its customers in the best possible way.

T

he largest tire manufacturers in the world come to us,” says Riccardo Mastronardi, CEO of Marangoni Machinery.

Despite being an industry leader, Mastronardi is the first to say that sometimes Marangoni might not be its customers’ first choice.

“If they know what they need they could decide to go to someone cheaper and use more standard/basic machines,” he tells us. “But if they don’t know what they need they come to us. We can find solutions for their complex needs.

We are known and valued for our engineering and innovation capabilities.

Customers come to us for solutions to complex problems and we’re the only ones able and willing to tackle such complicated challenges.”

SOLVING THE PROBLEMS NOBODY ELSE CAN Riccardo Mastronardi, CEO of Marangoni Machinery.

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To succeed with this kind of approach Marangoni must continually maintain its

technological advantage by attracting and retaining the best-talented people.

“We can develop and execute the right industrialised solution to satisfy our customers’ most demanding needs. They come to us for our solutions,” Mastronardi says. “On top of that our customers know our people are always ready to support them, wherever they are and whenever they need our help. Our availability is a key selling point unique in our industry. More than customers and suppliers I’d describe our relationship as partners.”

Marangoni Machinery has crafted a virtuous circle- perhaps appropriately for a company making tire building machines.

The company’s reputation means customers bring it the most interesting challenges.

Being given the most interesting challenges means the company is an attractive prospect for the best engineers.

“To attract and retain the best people, we need to make sure that the job we propose to them

AUTOMOTIVE | 33

www.daema-automations.com Email: info@daema-automations.com Tel: +39 (0)303 583 359

Giving power to your projects Design, production and certification of industrial electrical automation systems

Attentive research in the latest technological solutions makes Daema an industry leader in industrial automation. The main industries we serve are those of standard / special machine tools, hot/cold forming presses, laminating, packaging, assembly, robotic systems, etc.

Daema automations offers “custom made solutions” according to our customer’s specific needs. Providing services in electrical design, software/hardware development, run-off testing, electrical cabinet and machine wiring, product certifications and installation according to CE, UL, CSA standards. Leading efficient and competitive solutions to offer a turnkey product that fully respects the expectations of the customer and end user.

AN ITALIAN STORY

The Italian manufacturer of Forming Presses (Masks or Molds) for the foaming of polyuretane.

Our Forming Machines are used to produce: • Refrigerated Cabinets • Blast Chilled Cabinets • Chilled Counters • Refrigerated Wall Displays (Murals) • Refrigerated Tables • Showcases • and other items for the refrigeration sector Galato’s expertise in commercial refrigeration is the result of extensive experience in the field of production systems, and this is why our solutions are:

efficient, flexible, reliable, innovative

T: +39 049 9200149 • E: info@galato.it

www.galato.it

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MARANGONI MACHINERY

is attractive and rewarding,” Mastronardi says. “If we can offer one of the best jobs in the sector we can attract and retain the best people. We are lucky that the products we develop are attractive to true engineers because the solutions are challenging to find and every time there is something new to discover and test. It’s diversified and never repetitive.”

While the challenges are a powerful incentive, they are not the only ones.

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“Of course, this isn’t enough without a competitive proposition package and a vibrant and stimulating working environment and growth prospects,” Mastronardi tells us.

With this team on board, Marangoni Machinery has navigated a wide array of challenges.

“Each company needs to face multiple challenges to be successful for so many years, and we are no exception.

Marangoni Machinery has faced

AUTOMOTIVE | 35

MARANGONI MACHINERY

many challenges- technological, financial and people related,” Mastronardi acknowledges.

“All these challenges and the awareness to overcome them have strengthened us and our confidence in our capabilities and assets.”

These challenges make the most of the talent pool Marangoni has to draw from.

“Every customer has different needs,” Mastronardi tells us.

“Every machine, every project is unique. Most of the time when we develop a new project, we introduce some form of technological innovation.”

A recent example Mastronardi points to is that in the last few years the company developed a new kind of drum for tire building machines.

“It is a very innovative drum, which is able to produce different sizes of tires at different diameters, so you don’t have to change the drum to change the diameter of the tire,” Mastronardi explains. “It is made of a different material from the standard ones. We use carbon fibre, which at the beginning was something

36 | AUTOMOTIVE

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MARANGONI MACHINERY

even our customers did not trust. Can a carbon fibre drum be as reliable as a traditional steel drum? This was what our customers asked us.”

Marangoni Machinery was able to convince its customers that this was the case. It has also introduced innovations that can change the way tire manufacturers work.

“We worked to automate the machines to be controlled and managed by a single person who is not even in the same location as the machine,” Mastronardi recalls. “Our latest machines can be controlled by an engineer who could be thousands of kilometres away from the machine itself very easily, controlling it through cameras and a very userfriendly, detailed user interface.”

The uniting theme behind these projects is just how different each one is.

“Every user interface, every solution is different from the previous one,” Mastronardi says.

However, one challenge that every project faces is that each of Marangoni’s projects is a new machine, a prototype, in effect, but its customers need that prototype to be as reliable as something that just rolled off a production line.

“Our biggest challenge for the foreseeable future is to develop and industrialise tailormade innovative machines with the same reliability as standard ones because this is what our customers want and need from us,” Mastronardi says. “This is

quite a challenge! We have no catalogue; every machine is a kind of prototype with all the problems connected to tailormade machines with innovative technological solutions. But the customer needs it delivered as standard.”

To achieve this, there is no better solution than simply having talented people on board to carry out the project.

“If you do not have the right people, you can forget about it. Our people are smart, and experienced, resilient, and selfconfident,” Mastronardi says. “If you manage to attract and retain those kinds of people, you have a chance to succeed and overcome the most complicated challenges.”

Mastronardi believes his people are ready for anythingand that they will have to be.

“The future is changing faster and faster and we all must be ready to perceive well in advance possible changes and breakthroughs and react accordingly,” he says. “We must avoid the typical mistake which is for companies to try to protect their own business model despite evidence it won’t work anymore. So, I can say we will keep investing in our knowledge and our people to be always ready to change when needed. What we can and must do is be a company that is very flexible, very agile and to be such a company we need the right people. The key is to create an environment where talented people love to stay and work.”

“TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN THE BEST PEOPLE, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE JOB WE PROPOSE TO THEM IS ATTRACTIVE AND REWARDING.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

AUTOMOTIVE | 37

CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT

LAST NOVEMBER CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT, THE SECOND LARGEST AIRPORT IN NEW ZEALAND, BECAME THE FIRST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD TO REACH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF AIRPORT CARBON REDUCTION BEST PRACTICE.

CARBON ZERO AIRPORT PROJECT MANAGED BY: LEE PHOENIX

Christchurch Airport (CIAL) is likely to stay at the forefront of the global effort to achieve zero carbon emissions by or before 2050. To date, the airport has achieved an 85% reduction in all direct emissions from its activities since its 2015 baseline year. Further plans are in hand to impact the next stage – purchased electricity – and to influence emission reductions in its supply chain.

38 | AVIATION

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CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT

T

he airport boasts many unique features - it is located in the middle of the South Island, 10 minutes from Christchurch City Centre by car or 15 minutes by bicycle.

The South Island is known for its beautiful, sometimes quite rugged natural environment, which, until the recent pandemic, drew millions of global tourists and leisure travellers. As the gateway to Antarctica, the airport is an important travel hub for US, Italian, Australian and NZ Antarctic crews and scientists.

The airport also hosted NASA’s SOFIA aircraft each winter until the pandemic.

“I believe we have a unique approach to operating an airport – our base criterion is whether what we are doing is good for people, the planet and prosperity. We want to create genuine and enduring

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change that will have a lasting positive impact for environmental and intergenerational wellbeing,” says Claire Waghorn, Sustainability Transition Leader.

“This recognition of being able to create multiple types of value, as opposed to being purely profit-driven, is unique, which is not to say the airport isn’t also profitable. Despite Covid-19, Christchurch Airport was able to retain all its staff, as well as generate a $38 million profit for its shareholders in FY21.”

SAILING THOUGH THE HARD TIMES

Despite the idyllic setting, the airport’s development over the years has not been without its challenges. In February 2011, Christchurch had a 6.2 magnitude earthquake which devastated 70% of the city.

“This has been a long recovery for the city, reshaping Christchurch Airport as a company, including our finances, and diversifying the airport’s portfolio,” says Ms Waghorn, adding this hard work in a way helped to prepare the airport company for the pandemic, which - in contrast to many airports around the world - has not scarred Christchurch Airport too deeply.

“The diversification which limited our dependency on leisure tourists served us well through the pandemic, in which New Zealand’s closed border elimination strategy has meant we’ve had incredible freedom comparative to much of the world. We had no access to the international leisure tourist market, but our domestic travel skyrocketed.”

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CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT

The past 18 months have also been a good opportunity to look inwards for improvement opportunities, in particular with regard to reduced emissions.

“We have actually done some of our best work given the circumstances and have started to look at plans that could be implemented without requiring huge capital costs. Over those months, we started to introduce sustainable procurement guidelines and green building standards,” says Claire Waghorn.

THE MAORI CONCEPT

With a background in politics, where climate change has not necessarily been a priority topic, she admits working for Christchurch International has been a rewarding experience.

“I’ve moved to a company that is really ambitious on the implementation side – eager to take responsibility for climate

40 | AVIATION

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CHRISTCHURCH AIRPORT

impact, and to go beyond that, to really demonstrate leadership in the transition towards a zeroemissions future.”

She points out these plans have huge support from all employees across the company up to board level. “It is a real culture. The company works really hard to retain talent, and invests well in developing staff –making sure we are collectively feeding into the vision and values so what we do is reflective of the whole of the company mission.”

“Our approach to sustainability is centred on the Maori concept of kaitiakitanga (responsibility, care and guardianship of the land). We learn so much from an indigenous matauranga Maori approach – firstly, not seeing our environment as being separate from us, a category distinct from people or prosperity, but rather we are part of a whole interconnected, interdependent environmental system. We are lucky to have this wonderful environment around us and it is our duty to protect it for future generations.”

While the science-based targets were set to reduce the Scope 1 emissions by 85% by 2035, the airport achieved that in 2021. This was the result of multiple emission-reduction projects undertaken over several years, but primarily impacted by the introduction of the ground source heat pump system.

This meant the airport could heat and cool its terminal using a heat exchange system, utilising the ambient temperature of the aquifer beneath us. “This is an amazingly innovative technology, that has saved us 1000 t CO2 per annum, and reduced our operating and maintenance costs by $500,000 per year. It’s a great example of doing the right thing environmentally also being great commercially.”

She points out that the airport is now working on a similar large scale reduction in its Scope 2 emissions - purchased electricity from the national grid. This will be New Zealand’s largest solar farm , onsite at Christchurch International Airport. Ultimately, the goal is to invest in measures to help suppliers, customers and the wider economy to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gases.

“With our ‘open source sustainability’, we are supporting the decarbonisation of aviation overall. We share everything we have learned with airport peers and interested businesses, providing coaching and mentoring, openly sharing our plans globally without corporate secrecy. Together, we can all make a difference.”

RACE TOWARDS ZERO

In 2006, Christchurch Airport was the first in the world to measure and independently audit its carbon footprint. The airport then developed a Green Transition Plan, including all the projects that were needed to get to net zero.

“In November 2020, we became the first airport in the world to be recognised for reaching the highest standard of carbon reduction best practice, known as Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 4.

We are committed to reducing our own direct emissions ahead of science-based targets, in order to keep the increase in global temperatures within 1.5 degrees,” says Claire Waghorn.

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AVIATION | 41

ALKHORAYEF GROUP

WE LEARN HOW THIS FAMILY-OWNED CONGLOMERATE IS REMAINING ADAPTABLE AND UP TO DATE IN A RAPIDLY SHIFTING ECONOMY.

FAMILY VALUES, CORPORATE STANDARDS PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID TAVERNOR

The Alkhorayef Group is a family business. Family business brings to mind images of small, mom & pop operations, but the Alkhorayef Group is far from that.

Instead, it is a conglomerate of companies founded in 1957. Operating across a range of countries and business sectors, the Group is present in the oil and gas field producing oil pumps, and in the commercial field representing international brands such as Yamaha, Linde, Kalmar, Hangcha, Volvo Penta, John Deere, Zodiac and others.

W

e also have an array of pumping solutions where we sell pumping machines, water and power,” explains Abdullah Alkhorayef, CEO of Commercial Division. “It’s a contracting business for the infrastructure sector. We have industries that manufacture centre pivot irrigation systems, generators, western turbine pumps and gear motors. We also have our holding company taking care of real estate development and different types of investments.”

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Indeed, while the entire Group is familyowned and operated, professionalism and good corporate governance are the watchwords of the company.

“We are a family company that is aware of corporate governance and the proper constitution of the company,” Alkhorayef says. “Since the 1980s we did comprehensive work on the company’s authority matrix and governance across all our companies from a financial, accounting and succession point of view. It is

ALKHORAYEF GROUP

WE MANUFACTURE

QUALITY SINCE

1946

ICONIC DIVE GEAR FROM ITALY Cressi’s legacy of innovation began in 1939 with Egidio and Nanni Cressi who shared a passion for the sea. By 1946 thanks to the popularity of their designs they founded the Cressi company in Genoa, Italy. Today, although Cressi is a worldwide leader in watersports manufacturing, it’s still wholly owned by the Cressi family, and the commitment to innovation is still in the company’s DNA. Innovations continue, the results today are the same, the best made products in the world.

#SHARE YOUREXPERIENCE FOLLOW US:

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ALKHORAYEF GROUP

about professionality, not family members. They compete with other peers for CEO positions or any other position in the company like everybody else.

We have been a professional family business for a very long time, depending on systems and procedures rather than the people itself.”

The size of the conglomerate means it is present in a range of industries, but some things remain true in every aspect of the business.

“It’s very simple. We are selling solutions and providing our customers with top aftersales services. We consider ourselves partners with our customers,” Alkhorayef tells us. “In most of our projects, we have long-lasting relationships with customers.

For example, we work with a large agricultural company in Saudi Arabia. We provide them with a unique training program for employees. Instead of us doing their services we train mechanics and technicians and open our diagnostic tools up to them. We make their life easier, not by making them dependent on us, but by allowing them to depend on their own team.

This is one of the unique ways that we work. We also have a lot of service contracts for preventative maintenance.”

BIG ENOUGH TO ADAPT

The size and variety of industries Alkhorayef Group operate in means its eggs are never in one basket, and the Group can adapt and rebalance the business depending on market circumstances. For a long time, the Group was concentrated in the agricultural sector, but when the government established laws ending the production of wheat in Saudi Arabia the Group diversified into different business sectors.

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This sort of flexibility keeps the business successful while also allowing the Group to reflect government strategy on a national level.

“We work to reflect the vision of Saudi Arabia within the company,” Alkhorayef says. “For instance, now with localisation of production, the government is trying to have more and more products manufactured within Saudi Arabia. It is something we’re seriously talking about. We are looking at production lines, robotic systems, and leveraging the government

ambition to drive recruitment in Saudi Arabia. In our Research and Development divisions, we are looking at localising our procurement for some of our potential products that can be sold in the Saudi market.

We’re keeping everyone busy, especially with facilities around Jeddah, and we’re looking at things that can be sold in the future.”

The Alkhorayef Group pays close attention to what is going on in the economy so that it is able to adapt to fit the market environments it is working within.

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ALKHORAYEF GROUP

“Moving forward the sectors we work in depend on commodities prices, oil prices obviously affect us, and then the purchasing power of the government affects our ability to develop infrastructure projects,” Alkhorayef says.

The good governance that is core to the way Alkhorayef Group works is on display here, with each person being held responsible for ensuring the success and smooth running of their own sector of the Group.

“Everybody in their own sector is responsible for the future of day-to-day operations, along with the board who decide how to take care of the future of the company as a whole,” Alkhorayef says. “Back in the 1980s we realised we needed to enter new business sectors, so every sector has its own board and faces its own challenges in how to move forward in their domain. Diversification helps.”

Of course, this approach depends on having the right people in the right places within the company, and Human Resources are a key element of the Group’s success.

“On a group level, we have our corporate HR department that carries out acquisition, training, and recruiting. They take care of the high-level strategy approach for the company when it comes to budget controls, systems, and day-to-day operations with employees,” Alkhorayef says.

“We have our own recruiting department that knows exactly what we need, and they help us directly recruit or work through recruiting agencies to find the best calibre candidates on the market. They also support the CEO of the Group, comparing the salaries we offer with the competition, making sure employees’ satisfaction

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ALKHORAYEF GROUP

levels are high. Then we also invest more in a plug-and-play strategy which means we can take on newcomers sooner than before by giving them a proper induction programme.”

The Group continues to adapt to changes in the market by upgrading its technology and procedures.

“The company is going through a major digitalisation project. It is the future, taking care of the business in every respect, leveraging the data we have gathered throughout our businesses,” Alkhorayef tells us. “We’re taking a very holistic approach. Through our development department, we’re testing different ideas related to the Vision 2030 project, including renewable power, looking at our existing portfolios and challenging the future of these projects and how they will be perceived.”

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ANDERSON GROUP

ANDERSON GROUP HAS MADE A SPLASH IN THE UK HOUSE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR BY LISTENING TO ITS CLIENTS AND LOOKING AFTER ITS STAFF.

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ANDERSON GROUP

The Anderson Group was founded

by Chairman Mark Anderson 34 years ago, with CEO Andrew Jay joining 17 years ago and from the start, the company had a strong philosophy when it came to how it interacted with its people.

PROJECT MANAGED BY: LEE PHOENIX BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

J

ointly what we wanted to do was always put people front and centre, treating them as we want to be treated,” Jay recalls.

“We wanted to create a business that treated its people well. Because when we started in the industry we were not treated well on site.

Often, we were seen as a commodity, rather than people and individuals who might have something valuable to add.

Anything I say about the business is prefaced by how brilliant our brilliant people are. That is us, that sets the tone for what we’re doing.”

The Anderson Group is a multidisciplinary contracting and development business. Its contracting work has been put to use by external clients among all the UK’s biggest national housebuilders.

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System Method Building Ltd

Steve Murphy & Karl Pickering, owners of System Method Building Ltd take great pride in supporting Anderson Construction in the provision of quality brickwork on a growing umber of their projects.

Havin orked with Andersons r �any ��rs they are keen to ntmue thei�xcellent ing relation hip. �

ne­ or� on,ri �

For more information: Phone: +44 (0)1376 585 808 Online: www.smbbuilding.co.uk Email: info@smbbuilding.co.uk

ANDERSON GROUP

Established for over 25 years, Rudd Decorators are proud to be a trusted supplier for Anderson Group.

Group.

Based in Colchester, Essex, the company is a leading specialist in painting and decorating, spanning thousands of new-build homes each year across East Anglia and Essex.

T: 0845 094 16 17 ■ E: office@darudd.co.uk

www.dalerudd.co.uk

It boasts a development pipeline that includes 2,800 new homes, has contracts valued to a total of £85 million and has secured 2.65 million square feet of developments.

“We don’t work for major contractors, we work for the big housebuilders directly, Hopkins, Vistry, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey, Crest, all those notable high street names in terms of housebuilders,” Jay points out. “The contracting business also contracts for our own development business, a small house builder that builds 200 new homes a year. The two businesses sit absolutely alongside each other. It is mutually beneficial, and our people do not feel they work for one sector or the other. We’re not Anderson Construction or Anderson Developments, we’re just Anderson.”

“WE ARE VERY CONSCIOUS THAT OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE HOUSEBUILDERS WE WORK FOR ARE HUGELY IMPORTANT.” Most of the time both sides of the business work in tandem, securing opportunities for the business as a whole. Anderson Group attracts that business and keeps clients coming back because it prioritises listening to its customers.

“I always say to people, I have two ears and one mouth for a reason,” Jay says. I like to listen more than I talk. From the beginning, I work closely with clients to understand what they require. Understanding what our clients’ needs are, and having access to our depths of experience, means what the client thinks they need initially might not be what is best for them. But we will listen and talk and work to come up with suitable solutions.”

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ANDERSON GROUP

Jay describes Anderson Group’s USP as listening and providing a solution-focussed outlook.

“We start with ‘What do you want to achieve?’ and work back,” he says. “That is equally applicable to a developer that needs a road put in from point A to B, to a first-time buyer trying to get on the housing ladder, to looking for an extra bedroom, or downsizing. We want to know what are you looking for?

What support do you have?

What do you know about the area?”

A LINK IN THE CHAIN

While Anderson Group has a proud track record behind it, its journey has not been without its challenges.

Like many businesses in the UK, it has faced issues around the supply chain.

“Our biggest challenges now are around supply chain,” Jay tells us. “We’re only as strong as our weakest link, so we have strong communications links with our suppliers.”

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ANDERSON GROUP

This means working with suppliers to define what is achievable, rather than setting arbitrary growth targets.

Jay warns, “You can be a victim of your own success. We don’t take on work for the sake of it.”

This forward-looking approach to work means Anderson Group can always achieve what it says it will.

“Somebody might have to need something done by a particular time, we research if it is possible and engage with the supply chain,” Jay says.

“It might be the client’s first expectation isn’t achievable but a negotiated agreement on what is achievable can be made. We plan and forecast for everything we undertake.”

PEOPLE FRONT AND CENTRE

All of this is carried out successfully thanks to Anderson’s strong team, and its investment in those people.

“We’re taking on many apprentices, we’re an accredited training provider. People can leave school at 16 and liaise with us and the Colchester Institute,” Jay points out.

While the search for fresh talent is ongoing, Anderson also values its established team members.

“We are huge believers in developing our own team and in that regard, we have 67 people that worked for us for over ten years,” Jay says.

“Many have worked for us since the company was founded, their grown children are now in the business. We are building up a good reputation for ourselves as an employer.

The actual expectations of many employees from their employers are low - they just want to be treated fairly. We do not call health and safety ‘health and safety’, it is ‘systems delivery’ because it is not separate from the main thrust of our work. It improves the way the business operates when built into the actual task. Forward planning leads to health and safety automatically, alongside better quality.”

These relationships extend beyond the company and through its supply chain.

“We have deeply valued relationships with clients,” says Jay. “We are very conscious that our relationships with the housebuilders we work for are hugely important.”

It is an approach that has seen Anderson Group grow continuously year-on-year (with the notable exceptions of the 2008 crunch and the interruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic).

That growth has always been, and Jay insists it will remain, completely organic.

“We’re not acquiring other business,” he says.

Indeed, Anderson Group already seems to have everything it needs.

“OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES NOW ARE AROUND SUPPLY CHAIN. WE’RE ONLY AS STRONG AS OUR WEAKEST LINK, SO WE HAVE STRONG COMMUNICATIONS LINKS WITH OUR SUPPLIERS.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

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BOUTIQUE MODERN

WE LEARN HOW BOUTIQUE MODERN IS HELPING TO BUILD COMMUNITIES WITH MODULAR HOUSING.

MANUFACTURING

HOMES PROJECT MANAGED BY: CHRIS CONWAY

Boutique Modern is a modular manufacturer and design and build contractor that provides low-cost, affordable housing for local authorities and housing associations.

W

e have a very effective build system. We have a locally focussed business model, and our scale is probably our USP,” says Lucas Shone, Projects Director at Boutique Modern.

“We have a factory capable of up to 200 homes per year, and we work on local sites with local authorities. We work hard to have a social impact on the local community and spend a lot of time working closely with our customers to deliver their specific needs. Our business model is to provide quality homes as well as quality local employment and training for young people, and people who may have faced barriers to work in the past, or people who want a career in a growing industry and are looking for an entry-level role”.

Talking with Boutique Modern it is clear that the company takes its responsibilities to those communities very seriously. The build system the company offers is designed so that Boutique Modern can offer construction that suits the individual needs of its clients and their sites.

54 | CONSTRUCTION

Dick Shone, Managing Director of the firm explains “We specialise in smaller local sites and nonstrategic plots like garage sites.

We’re good at getting those sites into use, developing them economically, and building something in our factory we can put on that site to maximise the potential of that site.”

This is part of the reason that Boutique Modern is able to work well with local authorities who typically have a land-bank of small sites which are difficult to bring forward economically.

AHEAD OF THE TIMES

“We’ve built up a track record for delivering quality on difficult sites over the years and we’ve been successful in securing a suite of accreditations to appeal to and unlock those more established institutions, many of whom are now clients of ours” Lucas Shone explains.

Many in the industry would consider this ‘organic’ route a counter-intuitive approach, with other modular housing manufacturers opting for investing heavily upfront in product development before seeking out practical projects.

BOUTIQUE MODERN

BOUTIQUE MODERN

“We have highly financed competitors who spent a lot of time in R&D, building their houses and systems digitally before launching manufacture at scale” Dick Shone points out. “Before we got into our stride with local authorities we built 170 houses, mainly for private individuals and through different projects.

We’ve developed an excellent build system, and that has come from experience.”

Of course, real houses have one very important advantage over computer-simulated ones.

“If someone’s been living in a house for seven, eight, nine years you learn a lot about that house, and we’ve had people in our houses for ten years now,” Dick Shone says. “When we’re building for local authorities we know the

challenges that will emerge three, five- and seven-years in.”

BUILDING HOMES

Boutique Modern have not been the only ones to profit from the business. There has never been more of a need for affordable housing, and BM make it clear that they want their work to benefit the communities they work within.

This is why Boutique Modern is proud to be the first, and currently only, B-Corporation certified manufacturer in the UK. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest global standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

 SHEET MATERIALS

 AGGREGATES

 TIMBER

 INSULATION

 BRICKS | BLOCKS

 COMPOSITE DECKING

 LANDSCAPING PRODUCTS and much more...

Chandlers House, Daveys Lane, Lewes, BN7 2BQ 01273 471188 lewes@chandlersbs.co.uk

Build on our reputation… www.chandlersbs.co.uk

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“It includes how we interact with workers, the environment, our customers, right down to the quality of our employment contracts and how we manage the materials we use” Lucas Shone tells us. “It includes how we vet customers, the carbon output of our houses during manufacturing and while our buildings are in use, and how we invest in local organisations and employment. It’s a big body of work. We’re really proud to be the first one.”

“We believe in things being measurable in order to improve them,” Lucas Shone says. “We’re keen on any data capture we can get throughout the company.

Once we have the data, we can audit and measure our performance against targets and improve as a company.

We’re measuring as much as we can; output performance, waste, employee and customer satisfaction, everything. Schemes like B-Corp are great because they’re verifying everything and calling ‘bullshit’ if we aren’t doing what we say. It’s very easy to say ‘We’re looking at reducing carbon’. What we do is walking the walk. We show what we’re measuring, how we’re measuring it, what our current measures are, and our agreed targets for reduction.”

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BOUTIQUE MODERN

It is an attitude borne not of the construction industry, but the manufacturing industry which Dick Shone hails from.

“I come from manufacturing rather than construction, and I thought modular construction was a great opportunity to apply manufacturing principles to house building, In my previous career I worked with IKEA on product development and I was knocked out by their approach to materiality, manufacturing and cost. I’ve tried to apply that to housing.”

This hunger for improving and refining the house construction process still drives the company today.

“We’re getting better and better, improving the quality

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of everything we’re doing in design, construction and manufacturing” Lucas Shone says. “We have an ambitious, fully organic growth plan.

Really it’s a case of scaling the existing business model. We’re manufacturing to solve the shortage on a local scale.”

However far the company grows, however, Lucas is clear the company will not stray from its roots.

“It’s important to us that the company always delivers on its promises on employment and the environment, particularly in places like Newhaven where we currently are” Lucas Shone says. “We’re maximising that impact and duplicating it as we expand.”

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ESTEYCO

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ESTEYCO

ESTEYCO, AN INDEPENDENT CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE CONSULTING FIRM, IS INCREASING ITS FOOTPRINT IN TODAY’S MOST TALKED-ABOUT SECTOR - RENEWABLES.

ENERGISED

TO BUILD A BETTER WORLD PROJECT MANAGED BY: TIMOTHY GARWOOD

The Spanish company Esteyco, established in 1970 in Madrid, has grown into a solid, independent, flexible and truly multi-disciplinary organisation handling a vast variety of infrastructure and energy projects worldwide.

Ramón López Mendizabal, Director of Energy Division, ESTEYCO.

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I

n recent years, the focus on renewable energy sources has grown, and Esteyco has been able to capitalise on its sound reputation to become a significant player on the global stage, making use of its wide range of services the company provides, from the very beginning of construction to full operation of a facility.

Today, Esteyco is an international reference point in the wind-energy sector. The company has participated in more than 450 wind farm projects with more than 50 GW of installed power in over 30 countries, from Morocco and France to Saudi Arabia, India and China.

Ramón López Mendizábal, Director of the Energy Division, describes the scope of the company’s operations: “We have a truly global reach. We have three offices in Spain and local presence in five countries - Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. Right now, we are in the process of opening a branch in Texas, US.”

“We have been involved in highly specific, very demanding projects, as well as more traditional assignments, comprising hundreds of wind farms, including the largest facilities in the world.

Although we are a mediumsized company, we have been chosen for these international projects because of our extensive know-how, expertise and wide-ranging experience.”

FLAGSHIP PROJECTS

The list of projects that Esteyco has completed over the last five decades is extensive. Ramón López Mendizábal highlights two that stand out and provide a good demonstration of the company’s capability.

The first is the Elisa Project implemented in the Canary Islands a few years ago, the result of an eight-year development and demonstration process led by Esteyco, and supported by R&D institutions as well as the EU’s 2020 Horizon Programme.

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DOIS a Dois A is a company with a technical framework of more than 50 years of experience in Civil Construction. A reference on the market, its performance is marked by entrepreneurship, competence, innovation and sustainable responsibility.

Founded under the name Unicon, it was acquired by the engineers Flávio Azevedo, Sérgio Azevedo and Antônio Oliveira who brought the immense technical background of the Azevedo Group, with more than half a century of experience in the Construction Industry.

From the design to the execution of its works, the company prioritizes quality and sustainability. It has a strong presence in prefabricated works and construction of infrastructure for windfarms, a segment in which it holds approximately 25% of the Brazilian market share.

Dois A was the first company to build precast and elevated foundations for wind turbines in Latin America. This foundation technology, patented

by Esteyco, in addition to reducing concrete volumes, allowed the hub to gain height by 6 meters. This provides an increase in power generation, maximizing the energy yield. A major milestone for Latin American engineering.

The company is certified to the highest standards of Safety, Quality and Environment, with a qualified and trained team to meet the criteria required by our clients. Along with all this, Dois A has a Great Place To Work (GPTW) Certification, which is the most definitive “employerof-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience – specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. www.doisa.com

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It was the first self-installing bottom fixed off-shore wind turbine in southern Europe and the first one worldwide to be commissioned completely independently of costly heavylift vessels.

The ELISA technology, developed by Esteyco, is a ground-breaking concept for offshore wind substructures that comprises a Gravity Base Foundation (GBS) configured to act as a buoyant platform which integrates an auto lift telescopic tower, both made of concrete, together with the complete wind turbine. Each complete unit can be fully assembled onshore, conventionally towed to the site, and installed with no need for large ships or marine cranes, bringing about considerable cost savings and a reduced risk of delays.

“The ELISA technology not only reduces costs compared to current technologies, but also reduces risk and environmental impact, increasing significantly the local content,” Mr López Mendizábal points out.

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ESTEYCO

“This award-winning technology has been applied in on-shore projects and has allowed us to achieve the tallest self-supporting wind tower in the world, with 170 m hub height and supporting a 3.6 MW – 155 m rotor diameter turbine, another ground-breaking project implemented recently in the Henan province in Central China.”

He explains that the solution is based on using heavy-lift strand jacks always placed at 40-50 m height, reusing them to lift one tower section after the other.

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Such recoverable jacks lifting each level is supported by the one below, which also helps to guide the lifting section as it rises, in a self-installing procedure patented by Esteyco, in which the tower itself is the only supporting structure required.

“These projects demonstrate well what is our differentiator

compared with similar companies.

We are a civil engineering company that tries to develop product engineering, something that is not that common in our field. We have our own, proprietary products, such as precast foundations and special offshore solutions. This is what makes us unique,” says Ramón López Mendizábal.

“THE RAPIDLY CHANGING ENERGY SECTOR DEFINITELY PRESENTS THE BIGGEST POTENTIAL FOR US.” CONSTRUCTION | 61

ESTEYCO

“WE HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS A PARTNER FOR INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS FOR OUR EXTENSIVE KNOW-HOW, EXPERTISE AND WIDE-RANGING EXPERIENCE.”

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ESTEYCO

THE WORLD STAGE

“Our responsibility is not limited to providing outstanding engineering work; with our projects, we help create a better world.

Our commitment is very clear - in 1991 Esteyco established a foundation aimed at creating and spreading architectural and engineering knowledge to do just that: help society on a continuous basis to enhance and to change the world for the better.”

Mr López Mendizábal acknowledges that to be part of international cooperation projects is one of the company’s targets for the future. “From time to time, we partner with local NGO’s that cross our path; this is also our way of trying to contribute to the betterment of society.”

Being a globally active, independent entity with limited resources in a world of large players brings its own challenges, he admits. Still, these have been handled well and have not hindered Esteyco from planning to make use of opportunities emerging in the energy sector in other parts of the world.

“The rapidly changing energy sector definitely presents the biggest potential for us, and we aim to be involved not only in current but also in new forms of energy. We expect to develop our own products for on- and off-shore applications to make the world greener.”

“Geographically speaking, when it comes to new markets our eyes are on Asia, a region that has not been exploited to the full by Esteyco.

Engineering travels very well – together with the people in local markets we can employ it to the benefit of all.”

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CONSTRUCTION | 63

AMEA POWER LLC

AMEA POWER IS SHOWING WHAT CAN BE DONE WITH A PERFECTLY EXECUTED PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.

THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP PROJECT MANAGED BY: JOHN HOLLIMAN

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AMEA POWER LLC

AMEA Power, a Dubaiheadquartered renewable energy company, is currently present in the Middle East and Africa. The company has two operational assets in Jordan, a 50MW solar project and a 50MW wind project, and one in Togo, a 50MW solar project. Furthermore, it is also currently exploring opportunities in emerging Asia. The company’s main focus remains in Africa, covering the whole continent from west to east and north to south.

T

oday, more than 80% of AMEA Power’s portfolio is based in Africa. The company is active in 15 countries with projects at different stages of development in each of them, including three operational assets with a cumulative capacity of 150MW. Furthermore, the company has a pipeline of 1,850MW solar and wind projects in advanced stage development, awaiting financial close. As well as 1,000MW solar and wind projects in early stage development.

In the last couple of months alone, AMEA Power has commissioned 3 projects, in

Jordan and Togo, and has started construction on a 26MW solar project in Burkina Faso.

The company has managed to achieve these great milestones, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amongst the project in late-stage development, the company has solar projects in countries such as Morocco, Ivory Coast and Mali, the company has revealed. Furthermore, it is also in late-stage development on a wind project in Kenya, as well as a wind project in Ethiopia. In addition, it is also developing solar and wind projects in Uganda.

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AMEA POWER LLC

The company’s two biggest projects are in Egypt, a 500 MW solar plant and a 500 MW wind project. Once completed, the wind project in Egypt will be the largest in Africa on one site.

In Africa, AMEA Power are in advanced stage development in north, west and east, it is also now looking at new opportunities in southern Africa, the company has expressed.

AMEA Power has a team of more than 60 people, based in the headquarters in Dubai and across regional hubs, and more than 30 nationalities represented in the offices.

The team has a range of different backgrounds including origination, technical, project finance, legal and development, so it is really a multidisciplinary team, working with external advisors where relevant.

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“AMEA Power has worked hard to establish very strong relationships with the local communities in the countries in which we are present.

We form partnerships with all stakeholders, including the local communities.

Furthermore, we have adopted environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles, which remains at the heart of our business, “ Hussain Al Nowais – Chairman.

The company work closely with local communities and are engaged in CSR in all the countries where it is present, including in Togo.

In Togo, it has invested in healthcare, education, clean energy and skills development for the local community. It has built a clinic for curative and preventive services to

the members of the local community. Furthermore it has constructed and equipped 3 primary schools and renovated 4 additional schools. It has also installed water pumps and electrified the 7 schools with solar power. Furthermore it has provided an internship program for university students across Togo, at the project site during construction. As a response to the lockdown due to COVID-19, AMEA Power has also provided essential food and hygiene products to the local communities in the countries in which the company is present.

As the company has expressed, “This is a priceless feeling when you develop a solar project such as our project in Togo that is providing power to approximately 160,000 households, as well

ENERGY & UTILITIES | 67

PHOTO CREDITS: SYLIVE LEMOINE / ROT

BANK SUPPORT TO TOGO FOR THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF POWER PLANTS IN LOMÉ AND BLITTA AND CREATION OF AN INDUSTRIAL ESTATE AT ADÉTIKOPÈ

380 MW of additional capacity to improve the electrification rate and energy supply in the region

18 million tCO2 avoided through financing.

Substantial reduction of the housing housing estimated at 800,000 new dwellings required per year in the year in the WAEMU

12,700 km of roads set up to facilitate travel

12,170 hectares of land developed to produce allow the production of 170,300 tonnes of rice of rice per year

87,700 m3/day of additional drinking water produced on average

PUBLI - INFORMATION

The West African Development Bank (BOAD) is a public international institution based in Lomé, the capital city of Togo, since 1973. Its purpose is to promote the balanced development of its member countries and foster economic integration in West Africa. BOAD supports development efforts of member countries and their private sectors. In this regard, its funding is consistent with the development strategies and plans in place and is specifically intended for priority sectors, including: (i) economic infrastructure development or improvement (roads, ports and airports, energy, telecommunications, irrigation facilities and hydroagricultural equipment), (ii) agriculture and rural development, (iii) human capital, (iv) support to the financial sector. In all these sectors, private initiatives are widely promoted with a view to boosting the industrial fabric and SMEs as growth drivers.

In line with its objectives, the Bank has recently supported the implementation of major projects aimed at reviving the Togolese economy. To facilitate the attainment of the country's goal for 60% access to electricity by 2022, two power projects were funded, including the construction of KEKELI POWER, a combined cycle power plant (gas and thermal) in Lomé and a solar PV power plant at Blitta. The KEKELI POWER project, with a capacity of 65 MW, funded in March 2019 to the tune of XOF25 billion, is expected to increase coverage of power requirements of the country's interconnected grid by generating 545 GWh yearly. It will create 247 jobs for youths and women as well as an added-value of nearly XOF9.6 billion.

The Blitta project, with a capacity of 50 MWp, funded to the tune of XOF12 billion, seeks to reinforce the country's interconnected grid with an additional power generation of 95 GWh per annum.

It is expected that this power plant will provide 158,333 additional households with access to electricity, create 533 jobs and generate XOF4 billion in added-value, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 5,780 tons of CO2eq. avoided. This flagship project reflects BOAD's strategy for greening its funding by supporting the Togolese government's ambition to raise to 50% the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. Moreso, in a bid to further boosting industrial activity, Togo was granted XOF20 billion for the creation and operation of an industrial and logistic park.

This infrastructure covering an area of 132 hectares at Adétikopé, is operated by Plateform Industrial Adétikopé (PIA) SAS. This is an innovative and integrative growth area, designed to attract investors in order to develop industrial and multi-sectoral activities, including the production and processing of agricultural and mining products, and to increase the country's logistic capacity. It will therefore contribute to increased cargo handling capacity through i) increased container and cargo handling capacity by 150,000 TEU and ii) development of 11-hectare parking area for heavy trucks likely to accommodate up to 500 trucks.

Over 12,500 jobs will be created, particularly for young people and women.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that through its support to these three (3) major projects, BOAD shows its willingness to contribute to the structural transformation process of the Togolese economy, as outlined in the 20182022 national development plan and supplemented by the government roadmap for 2020-2025. BOAD’s ambition, as stated in its 3rd strategic plan for 2021-2025 (Plan Djoliba), is to increase support to all country initiatives that contribute to the creation of added-values, productive jobs and resilience to climate change. Let us look forward to more projects in Togo and across the entire WAEMU sub-region.

Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement 68, avenue de la libération • B.P : 1172 Lomé TOGO Tél.: +228 22 21 59 06 / +228 22 21 42 44 Fax : +228 22 21 52 67 / +228 22 21 72 69 E-mail : boadsiege@boad.org / infos@boad.org Site : www.boad.org

JINKOSOLAR JinkoSolar has supplied PV solar modules of the Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed 50MW solar park in Blitta, Togo. This project is the country’s first utility-scale renewable energy project to be developed by an Independent Power Producer (IPP) which lays the floor for this model that is heavily needed in West Africa to provide electricity access and stability for millions of consumers.

JinkoSolar high-power modules were supplied in a record time as this project showed why Photovoltaic projects are preferable for fast needed electrification projects around Africa. The project was implemented, commissioned in less than a year, to supply power to over 150,000 Togolese households.

The climate conditions in Blita, Togo are special as it is the case around many cities in west Africa. The combination of heat and humidity is enough to push modules to the extreme limits of their reliability, and this is why JinkoSolar was an ideal candidate. With over 15 years of experience and over 70GW of supplied modules globally by the end of 2020, Jinko is known to provide the highest quality of PV modules with extreme reliability characteristics. The giant modules supplier was identified as a top performer for every single year by the Product Quality Program (PQP) by PVEL making it only one of two suppliers to achieve such an honor worldwide.

This project aligns with Jinko’s environmental plans as it will save over 1 million tons of CO2 emissions over the course of its lifetime. JinkoSolar was the first solar company to join the RE100 and EP100 green initiatives. As part of its commitment, JinkoSolar pledged to power its factories and global operations with 100% renewable energy sources by 2025. www.jinkosolar.com

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as being able to support the local communities with key initiatives.”

“At AMEA Power, we are working in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals across all our project portfolio in order to promote deforestationfree supply chains and reforestation projects as well as to prevent escalation on biodiversity and climate crisis,” Vito Saluto – Head ESG.

AN INDUSTRY BENCHMARK

Emblematic of AMEA Power’s approach is the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Photovoltaic Power Plant.

This project has become a reference point for the market.

No similar large scale utility project in Africa has been delivered in 18 months. Indeed, for a project like this the expected delivery time is often more like five or ten years.

Developers often drop projects in these countries not because access to financing is challenging however, mainly because

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AMEA POWER LLC

development takes too much time. AMEA Power has developed its Togo project in exactly 18 months from the time it signed the power purchase agreement. The company met the government of Togo in February 2019 where they discussed the possibility of investing in a solar project in the country. A year later, in February 2020, AMEA Power launched the construction of the first renewable energy project developed by an independent power producer in the country.

The construction of the solar photovoltaic plant took place during the period of 2020 – 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has been a very challenging year, factories were shutting down and boarders were being closed, but the project was still developed in rectord time, thanks to AMEA Power’s ability to deliver quickly to international standards but also because of the company’s collaboration with a client, the Government of Togo, who was up to expectations.

The Mohamed Bin Zayed PV Plant represents how much can be achieved when a publicprivate partnership is done right.

This project is unique because it is the perfect example of a publicprivate-partnership collaboration, with a clear legal framework. As part of the country’s $8 billion national development plan, it aims to reach universal access to electricity by 2030. It is very ambitious, but the country has a clear legal framework to work within. Most importantly the country has put a skilled and committed implementation unit in place.

There are many different stakeholders involved including, The Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry

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AMEA POWER LLC

of Environment, and the Ministry of Land which all had input into the project.

AMEA Power had to follow up with various public stakeholder to ensure things were moving quickly. On the private side, AMEA Power delivered a unique willingness to present a large-scale utility project on its balance sheets. The company really need to trust the country’s government and its own ability to raise the financing very quickly. AMEA Power took that bet, it was a successful bet and that allowed the company to deliver the project in a recordbreaking time period.

AMEA Power worked handin-hand with the Government of Togo, they were willing and able to move fast, the company has expressed. This was key in order to achieve a succesful public-private partnership.

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT

AMEA Power, for all that it has achieved, is still a young

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company at only five years old, with its projects so far taking over only the last couple of years.

For AMEA Power, the sky is the limit . The company has a clear target on what it would like to achieve across Africa, Middle East and Asia. AMEA Power has several projects that will start construction over the next year.

It has a young, experienced team dedicated to delivering the renewable energy projects across the company’s target markets.

AMEA Power has even been approached by other governments, looking to learn how they did it in Togo.

“What we achieved in Togo, can also be implemented in other countries as well,” the company has stated “But you cannot expect to reach that goal without having a clear regulatory framework in the country. It is important that the private and public secotor truly work together as partners.”

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SALAMANDER PUMPS

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SALAMANDER PUMPS

SALAMANDER PUMPS IS OFFERING A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM MANY CUSTOMERS DON’T REALISE CAN BE SOLVED.

UNDER

PRESSURE PROJECT MANAGED BY: LEE PHOENIX

Based in Sunderland, Salamander Pumps is a British manufacturer of water boosting products. Last year the company enjoyed a turnover of £16 million, it employs a team of 80 people and forms part of the Davidson Holdings Group.

W

e manufacture water boosting and pressure boosting products like shower pumps, pressure boosters and accumulators,” says Dale Robertson, Salamander Pumps’ Managing Director. “We sell products that boost shower pressure in a gravity-fed system, the traditional hot and cold-water tank system, or a mains pressure system. We also do products that boost the mains pressure to the whole house.”

DISTINCTLY BRITISH

Salamander Pumps’ Managing Director, Dale Robertson with the new Head of Customer Experience & Marketing, Claire Thompson.

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It is an exciting time for Salamander Pumps, as its offering is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation.

“We have completely overhauled our product range after taking feedback from installers and homeowners to understand what they want,” Robertson says. “We really focussed on their needs over the last few years.”

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SALAMANDER PUMPS

Salamander Pumps has completely overhauled its product range. Pictured: the new MainsBooster range, which features 11 different products.

One thing all these products have in common is that they are British-made, using locally sourced materials and components wherever possible.

“We are a UK manufacturer, and that’s always been relevant but it is becoming more and more relevant now,” Robertson tells us.

“We’ve great, longstanding relationships with our customers and likewise with our suppliers. One of the key things is we really do show passion in our business. In everything we do we put the customer first. We’ve got some of the most compact and quiet and reliable pumps on the market.”

Drinking water is our planet's most vital resource.

Neoperl products are often found in use wherever water flows.

They shape the water stream, regulate its flow rate, filter it, protect it and distribute it to help conserve water resources.

Aerators

Flow Regulators

Check Valves

Hoses

Enigma Business Park, Sparrowhawk Close, Malvern WR14 1GH Tel: 01684 564869 info@neoperl.co.uk www.neoperl.com

74 | ENERGY & UTILITIES

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SALAMANDER PUMPS

Of course, one of the reasons locally based businesses and supply chains are sought-after now is that the last couple of years have shown the vulnerabilities of long-distance, just-in-time supply chains.

“It’s no surprise that over the last couple of years Covid has been a challenge. Everyone’s had to face that,” Robertson says. “It’s emphasised how important our supply chain is and how important it is to be responsive and adaptable. By being a local agile manufacturer we’ve buffered our customers from component supply chain issues.”

As well as businesses across a range of sectors appreciating the importance of locally-based supply chains, there is another Covid-driven sea change that is affecting every industry.

“One thing that’s underlying all that is the shift to digital.

More and more people are expecting a level of servicedriven through that online shopping experience,” Robertson points out.

“Customers expect to be able to engage and communicate with companies right back to the manufacturer through digital means. We’ve dealt with that through a new initiative that will provide a digital offering. Of course, Covid has accelerated that.”

While every industry is dealing with challenges around the supply chain and digitalisation, Salamander Pumps also faces a unique challenge within its own market sector. It is hard enough to get a product recognised on the marketplace, but that is even more difficult when most customers don’t even realise your solution exists.

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“The biggest challenge going forward is educating the general public, creating awareness around water pressure, Robertson admits.

“We did a survey a few years ago and found a lot of people had low water pressure people just accept when you turn the tap on that’s it. They don’t think ‘Is it good? Is it bad? Can it be better?’ 48% of them didn’t realise that there was a solution to their problem, they just accept it takes ten or fifteen minutes to fill a bath or that you can’t do anything else while someone else is in the shower.”

Salamander Pumps has been working hard to educate consumers and spread awareness of its products and the problems that they can solve.

It is clear as we talk with Robertson that he believes strongly in the British manufacturing sector and his company’s mission to improve water pressure.

“We’re passionate about UK manufacturing. Our main market is the UK and the Republic of Ireland. We have a fantastic opportunity here with boosting mains water,” he points out.

“Most people don’t realise

The Salamander Pumps factory is based in Sunderland, UK.

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SALAMANDER PUMPS

The CT50 Xtra is believed to be the biggest selling shower pump in the UK.

they have low pressure and we have great products for that.

One thing we’ve got to focus on is the customer journey.

What we’ve done is pulled all our external touchpoints, our technical support team, our sales and marketing teams and our external training team and service guys out on the road, and gone through their approach to ensure the focus is on the customer.”

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LONG-TERM CAREER PROSPECTS

“WE’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT UK MANUFACTURING. OUR MAIN MARKET IS THE UK & THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND. WE HAVE A FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY HERE WITH BOOSTING MAINS WATER.”

None of this would be possible without Salamander Pumps’ superior staff. It is clear talking with Robertson how important people are to the business, and that each recruitment is a long-term commitment for the company.

“We’ve got a fairly low turnover of staff with people who’ve been here for years. But we also do a lot of work with apprentices,” Robertson says.

“We work with local universities to bring graduates in marketing,

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SALAMANDER PUMPS

engineering and design into the business. One of the key things we do is invest in our people with training and development through coaching and giving people a progression path through the business.”

The level of commitment Salamander Pumps puts into its staff may seem unusual in an age where the “job for life” is almost a mythical concept.

“It’s almost commonplace now for people to move jobs every three or four years, but we invest and promote our people through a set career path,” Robertson says. “A great example of that is at the moment we have just promoted our marketing manager, Claire, and she’s sitting on the board meetings and is on the journey to be a director at Salamander within ten years. She’s worked through the business with the

career objective of being a board director. We’ve brought in apprentices who are now design engineers on our research and development team.”

The point, Robertson says, is not just that Salamander invests in its people, but that it gets to know them.

“We have a fantastic culture and great internal relationships.

I know it’s a cliché, but we have that family feeling,” he says proudly. “I know everyone’s name on the shop floor, and that type of culture helps build loyalty and helps keep our staff turnover low as well.”

Robertson himself is relatively new to Salamander Pumps, having only joined the business in March, but listening to him talk, you can already tell he is filled with admiration for the company.

“It’s been growing for several years and continues to grow.

My background is very much in product development and that’s where our focus is right now,” Robertson says. “We have a strong roadmap, a strong research and development team, and we’re introducing more product management.

Throughout all of this, we’re putting the customer first.”

HomeBoost is one of the quietest pumps on the market, having been awarded the Quiet Mark.

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ENERGY & UTILITIES | 77

SUNTECH POWER SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE SOLAR ENERGY SECTOR, AND SUNTECH IS THE DEEPLY SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANY THAT IS LEADING THE CHANGE

WHOLLY SOUTH AFRICAN SOLAR PROJECT MANAGED BY: ANDREW BOURKE

Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd (“Suntech”) was founded in 2001, becoming the most famous photovoltaic manufacturer in the world with a commitment to the research, development and production of crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, something it has worked at for 20 years. The company makes sales across more than 100 countries and regions around the world, with its cumulative historical shipments exceeding 25 GW.

S

untech Solar Power South Africa Pty Ltd (“Suntech Power South Africa”) is an incorporated joint venture between Suntech and a 100% South African black-owned special purpose vehicle. The joint-venture is fully compliant with South Africa’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) legislation.

Suntech Power South Africa was formed in 2014 to satisfy the South African demand regarding renewable power while satisfying local content and local employment requirements. Despite being an offshoot of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of PV

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modules, South Africa is a core part of the company’s identity.

“We are an African business with South African ownership, co-owned by Chinese partners and we’re driving this business in the interests of South Africa,” says Muneeb Gambeno, CEO of Suntech Power South Africa. “We’re aware of the market and social challenges, unemployment and poverty, and our business philosophy is turning those challenges around by being responsible business neighbours. We are part-owned

by Black South Africans, and disadvantaged South Africans, retaining value in the country and its people.”

SUNTECH POWER SOUTH AFRICA

SUNTECH POWER SOUTH AFRICA

A SOLAR SUCCESS STORY

And well it should as South Africa have proven to be a global success for the solar power industry.

“South Africa’s renewable energy program is one of the world’s success stories,” Gambeno tells us. “It kicked off in 2009, and if you look at the local industry, there are government-led programs that are more successful than many others around the globe, particularly in the developing world. China and the USA are on renewable energy journeys, but we were ground-breaking. Our procurement and the successful implementation of our projects have seen an uptick in the availability of renewable energy being supplied into our national grid.”

“WE ARE AN AFRICAN BUSINESS WITH SOUTH AFRICAN OWNERSHIP, CO-OWNED BY CHINESE PARTNERS AND WE’RE DRIVING THIS BUSINESS IN THE INTERESTS OF SOUTH AFRICA.” South Africa’s government has seen this success and is investing further to build on it, and Suntech Power intends to be at the forefront of that investment.

“The end of next month preferred bidders are being announced in round five of the

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Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme.

Our Minister of Energy has announced that we will see procurement being rolled out until 2030 to meet global obligations to decarbonise and create renewable energy-based power plants while reducing the reliance on coal,” Gambeno says.

These achievements do not come without challenges, particularly with Suntech Power South Africa’s commitment to localisation.

“The challenge now is localisation, particularly around our government’s requirements for greater local participation in as far as ownership is concerned and in terms of creating opportunities in the local value chain,” Gambeno points out. “In the photovoltaic space, we’ve got a definite lack of manufacturing capacity. We have imported solar PV modules with limited local content, and our government says we need a greater volume of manufacturing in-country, while China is offering high volumes of high quality, cheaper PV manufacturing and supply.”

While localising manufacturing is obviously ideal, Gambeno points to economic realities that mean South Africa can sometimes be best served through imports while using South African-made sub-components, at least for the time being.

“We ask if we want to compete with China, or whether it makes more sense to import modules and impute local content by leveraging the opportunities which are available in South Africa, such as the procurement of aluminium frames and other competitively priced sub-components,” Gambeno explains. “In Suntech Power South Africa we are alive to our obligation to support local job creation but at the same time supply modules which are

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SUNTECH POWER SOUTH AFRICA

of sufficient quality at a price which supports Independent Power Producers to supply cheap, clean energy to South Africans.”

One local resource Suntech Power has no trouble finding is talent. The company is led by people who grew up in impoverished communities of Cape Town, South Africa, and more than anything they want their work to create opportunities for more South Africans.

“We have a leadership team of four people. We all grew up in South Africa. Our attitude was we’d set up a business to truly give back to the next generation while extending an opportunity to people who found themselves in positions like ours,” Gambeno says. “We focus on recruiting previously disadvantaged South Africans, particularly women. Our

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agenda is to run our company in a profitable but socially responsible manner and empower people concomitant to the profit we make.”

For the immediate future that empowerment is going to look like building increased South African ownership within the company while growing its customer base.

“We want to bring our people out of the current employment crisis,” Gambeno explains. “Our unemployment rate is north of 40%. Most people do not get access to formal employment opportunities, that’s why we’re going out there and finding the right talent and bringing them into our company.”

The goal, for Gambeno and his leadership team, as well as Suntech Power South Africa as a whole, is not just to create a strong company.

“We not only want to be sustainable, but to be an example for others, showing what can be done when you approach business in an honest and collaborative manner,” Gambeno says.

It is clear from what Suntech Power has achieved so far, that the example it is setting is a good one.

“OUR ATTITUDE WAS WE’D SET UP A BUSINESS TO TRULY GIVE BACK TO THE NEXT GENERATION WHILE EXTENDING AN OPPORTUNITY TO PEOPLE WHO FOUND THEMSELVES IN POSITIONS LIKE OURS.” ENERGY & UTILITIES | 81

SWEDISH PLASTIC RECYCLING

SWEDISH PLASTIC RECYCLING’S SITE ZERO PROJECT WILL SET A NEW BAR FOR PLASTIC RECYCLING THE WORLD OVER.

COUNTDOWN TO ZERO PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

Swedish Plastic Recycling, or Svensk Plaståtervinning as it is known at home, provides Sweden with a nationwide system for the collection and recycling of plastic packaging. The service, which the company offers to companies with an extended producer responsibility, is carried out through Europe’s largest and most efficient plant for the recycling of plastic packaging. This plant alone has enough capacity to handle the packaging waste of every household in Sweden.

T

he recycling firm is owned by Plastbranschens Informationsråd, Dagligleverantörernas Förbund, Svensk Handel and Svensk Dagligvaruhandel, and in turn owns FTI (Förpacknings- och tidningsinsamlingen) together with four other materials companiesMetallkretsen, Pressretur, Returkartong och Svensk Glasåtervinning). From its head office and recycling plant in Motala, the company’s 35 employees are play a critical role in Sweden’s national recycling infrastructure.

But it is about to take the next step.

Swedish Plastic Recycling has just invested the equivalent of US$116 million into a new recycling plant, known simply as “Site Zero”. When it is complete and operational, Site Zero will be the world’s largest plastic recycling facility.

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The new site will use the most advanced recycling technologies and have the capacity to recycle any plastic used in Sweden. What is more, this plant will be run entirely using renewable energy, achieving the ultimate sustainability dreama completely circular plastic economy for the entire country.

Construction on the project, which will be based in Motala, is expected to conclude in 2023.

Site Zero will be an expansion of Swedish Plastic Recycling’s existing plant, which has already been dubbed the “most efficient on Earth”.

“We are doubling our capacity and will be able to handle 200,000 tons of plastic packaging per year. This creates the conditions needed for receiving and eventually recycling all plastic packaging from Swedish households,”

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SWEDISH PLASTIC RECYCLING

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THE PLASTIC RECYCLING FACILITY “SITE ZERO“ IN MOTALA, SWEDEN.

THE TURNKEY SOLUTION FROM GERMANY FOR A BETTER ENVIRONMENT.

35 SORTING & TREATMENT PLANTS FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF WASTE.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION & RECYCLING FOR MORE THAN 35 YEARS.

WITH MORE THAN 480 PLANTS WORLDWIDE.

Sutco® RecyclingTechnik GmbH a Britanniahütte 14 a 51469 Bergisch Gladbach a Germany a www.sutco.de

MAXIMUM WASTE COMPACTION

SUCCESSFULLY IMPLEMENTED IN “SITE ZERO“ UNOTECH® BALING PRESSES

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UNOTECH®. INNOVATION DRIVEN BY EXPERIENCE.

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SUTCO® RECYCLINGTECHNIK GMBH With more than 480 reference plants worldwide, Sutco RecyclingTechnik GmbH is one of the largest international manufacturers of sorting and treatment plants for the recycling industry. For more than 35 years, the plant manufacturer has been involved in the development, production, assembly, commissioning, after-sales, and maintenance of sorting and treatment plants for various types of waste with the central aim of further increasing the recycling rate.

Together with its six subsidiaries, Sutco has successfully established itself worldwide. Experienced employees and state-of-the-art production facilities realize a wide range of differentiated recycling solutions on this basis.

With the order to build the second plant “Site Zero” in Motala, Sweden, Sutco will realize the largest and most modern plastics recycling facility in the world. Together with the Norwegian engineering firm Mepex Consult and the customer Svensk Plaståtervinning (Swedish Plastic Recycling), the plant manufacturer developed the concept for “Site Zero” over a period of about 10 months, a recycling facility that doubles the current annual capacity with 200,000 tonnes of plastic packaging per year.

SWEDISH PLASTIC RECYCLING

Mattias Philipsson, CEO of Swedish Plastic Recycling said of the plant. “The investment creates the prerequisites needed for making Sweden a world leader in plastic recycling.

Being able to do it together with our producer customers and owners, who consist of large parts of the Swedish business community, is very inspiring.”

Back in 2017, Sutco RecyclingTechnik GmbH designed and built Motala-I, at the time one of the most efficient and modern plastic recycling facilities in Europe. With the next-generation technology, “Site Zero” will now follow and thus, in all likelihood, the world’s most modern plastic recycling facility. With “Site Zero”, all plastic packaging that accumulates in Swedish households can be accepted and returned to the circular economy in the future. In addition, “Site Zero” will be completely climate-neutral and produce no emissions. www.sutco.de

UNOTECH® GMBH Since 2007, the baler manufacturer unoTech® GmbH has been developing, building and distributing high-performance machines for maximum compaction of a wide range of materials worldwide. The baling presses are tailored to the different target markets and specific requirements of its international clients.

The fully automatic unoTech® balers for compacting waste materials such as paper, cardboard, plastics, household waste or tin cans work with pressing forces in a segment of 400 to 2,300 kN and thus achieve volume reductions of up to 95%.

Thanks to this maximum material compression, loading weights can be increased by up to 20%.

Edged, durable and highly compressed - these properties form the economic basis for space-saving stockpiling, fast goods handling and cost-effective transport of recyclable materials in the recycling industry.

For the construction of the largest and most modern plastics recycling plant “Site Zero” in Motala, Sweden, unoTech® has again received an order for the delivery of channel baling presses, with which the 200,000 to of plastic packaging produced annually are compressed to the maximum and pressed into optimally transportable bales.

Two unoTech® channel balers of the UPAFLEX® 150 V4/H5 series have already been in use at the “Motala-I” sorting plant since 2018. With pressing forces of 1,500 kN, the presses - one with PET-wire and one with steel-wire tying system - manage bale weights of up to 800 kg of mixed plastic.

With the use of the unoTech® balers, the customer Swedish Plastic Recycling is a significant step closer to its goal of processing all packaging waste generated in Swedish households with “Site Zero”. www.unotech.de

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ZERO HOUR

The goal of Site Zero is to double Swedish Plastic Recycling’s capacity using cutting edge technology and eventually triple the number of plastics the plant receives and recycles. As ambitious as it seems, Site Zero has set its sites no lower than recycling 100% of Sweden’s plastic waste. It is a capability that no other recycling facility in the world can boast.

Site Zero’s facilities will be able to take packages made up of multiple or composite plastic materials, separate them out and either chemically recycle them, or use them to create new composite products.

Swedish Plastic Recycling is also laying the groundwork to wash and granulate the plastic at the next stage of the plant’s development. The goal is for this capability to be in place

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SWEDISH PLASTIC RECYCLING

by 2025, truly establishing Sweden as a cyclical plastic economy.

More than that, Swedish Plastic Recycling is going to use renewable energy sources and carbon capture storage to ensure that Site Zero is a completely climate-neutral, zero-emission recycling plant, even generating its own energy through solar panels on the building’s large flat roof.

The site itself will cover approximately 60,000 square metres at the Motala Business Park and will have a receiving capacity of 200,000 tonnes of plastic packaging per year, including all kinds of plastic packaging generated by Swedish households.

The facility’s stage of the art technology will enable fully automated processes, with 60 Near Infra-Red (NIR) sensors, roughly 5 kilometres of conveyor belt, and eventually fully washing and granulation capabilities.

A COMPLETE PLASTIC SOLUTION

Swedish Plastic Recycling’s current facility processes four types of plastic. When Site Zero’s construction is completed, it will have the sorting capacity for 12 types of plastic. These include polypropylene (PP), HDPE, LDPE, PET tray, PET bottles (both coloured and transparent), PP film, EPS, PS, PVC, two grades of Polyolefin mix, metal and non-plastic waste.

Its agglomeration output will include chemical recycling, composite products, and energy recovery with CCS.

Anything left after the sorting process, however small, will be separated out and sent to chemical recycling or will become part of new composite products.

Swedish Plastic Recycling has stated that absolutely no packaging will go to incineration.

“There is today no other facility in the world that has that capability,” Philipsson has said. “We are also preparing for washing and granulation of the plastic in phase two, which is planned for 2025. Then our entire plastic flow in Sweden can become circular.”

In the rare instances that there are types of plastic or other materials that cannot be recycled by Site Zeros’ facilities, they will be sent to a carbon capture storage facility to prevent the carbon emissions produced during incineration from entering the atmosphere.

Site Zero represents a total investment, from 2019 to 2023, of 1 billion SEK on Swedish Plastic Recycling’s behalf, combined with 180 million SEK in financing from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) through the climate investment aid programme known as Klimatklivet.

It is an investment that will set the stage for Sweden to become a world leader in plastic recycling, as well as an example for other nations to follow. More than that, however, what is inspiring about Swedish Plastic Recycling is that it has achieved this working together with its producer customers and owners, including a large part of the Swedish business community.

“WE ARE DOUBLING OUR CAPACITY AND WILL BE ABLE TO HANDLE 200,000 TONS OF PLASTIC PACKAGING PER YEAR.” 86 | ENERGY & UTILITIES

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SWEDISH PLASTIC RECYCLING

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TECO 2030

HYDROGEN AS A FUEL IS A MUCH-TALKED-ABOUT SUBJECT IN TODAY’S SUSTAINABILITYFOCUSED WORLD AND THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE NORWEGIAN COMPANY TECO 2030.

THE ENGINE OF TOMORROW PROJECT MANAGED BY: RHYS COUSINS

Shipping accounts for 90% of global trade and roughly 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Global shipping volumes are expected to continue to grow. At the same time, the world urgently needs to reduce emissions and other environmental impacts.

N

orwegian TECO 2030 is set to tackle one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time: How to reduce emissions from growing global shipping volumes. “The shipping industry can move towards zero emissions by implementing new technologies, with hydrogen fuel cells as the ultimate solution,” says CEO Tore Enger, the company founder.

FOR GREENER SHIPPING

Founded in 2019, the company has its roots in TECO Maritime Group, a group that has provided technology and repair services to the global shipping industry since 1994. What was the first impetus driving its green development?

“In 2014-2016 we saw a change coming to the maritime industry and decided we wanted to be part of that, to be involved in making the world a better place for generations to come. We have people around us, systems around us as well

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as clients who are on the same wavelength and from that moment some five years ago, we have never looked back, only forward,” says Tore Enger.

TECO 2030, consisting of personnel and partners with strong R&D capabilities and maritime experience, aims to become a leading provider of green maritime technology, by developing and delivering solutions for a cleaner global environment.

The company is currently presenting its Future Funnel to the market; an exhaust gas cleaning system for ships that reduces the amount of sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), black carbon (BC) and particles (PM) in the ship exhaust. It is also delivering different ballast water treatment systems that are designed and produced by BIO-UV Group and DESMI Ocean Guard.

TECO 2030 is working on developing carbon capture and storage solutions for ships, which will separate the CO 2

from the ships’ exhaust gases and store it in liquid form until the ship reaches port.

These solutions will reduce the environmental and climate impacts of ships running on fossil fuels.

However, the company’s biggest focus is on developing hydrogen fuel cells, a breakthrough technology for the shipping industry.

HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

Tore Enger explains, in quite simple terms, that the company is developing the engine of tomorrow, fuelled by green hydrogen - the engine that is expected to be applied in hundreds of thousands of floating vessels as well as in heavy industry in the next decades, within the switch from fossil fuels to climate-friendly hydrogen on the way to completely emissionsfree operation.

“The thing is, even in 2050 almost 50% of all fuels will probably stillcome from fossil sources. The transition is not going to be accomplished in a few years, this is a major change impacting development for many years to come. A change that is, quite frankly, unavoidable.”

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TECO 2030

Tore Enger, CEO, TECO 2030 ASA.

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CHART INDUSTRIES “CHART IS PROUD TO WORK ALONGSIDE TECO 2030 AND OTHERS CREATING OUR SHARED GOAL OF ADVANCING LNG AND HYDROGEN AS KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO A LOWER CARBON, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE.” Jill Evanko, President & CEO, Chart Industries.

At the cornerstone of our business is a portfolio of specialty products. It is the integration of these products to deliver highly engineered solutions in the liquid gas supply chain that makes Chart unique.

We are a key player in the development of small-scale LNG bringing power to off-grid locations and providing an alternative transport fuel for trucks, ships and even railway locomotives. Through our deep cryogenic expertise and proven track record Chart is pioneering hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels. We also have our own proprietary Cryogenic Carbon Capture™ (CCC) technology that eliminates >98% of the CO2, together with Nox, Sox and other pollutants, from exhaust gases.

In the maritime sector Chart has supplied LNG fueling systems for vessels of all sizes including Francisco, the world’s fastest ferry. We provided our first shore to ship bunkering station in 2003 and continue to design and build the infrastructure for increased numbers of natural gas fueled ships on global waterways. Simultaneously our hydrogen technology is fundamental in powering the shipping industry towards zero emissions.

Chart has engineering and manufacturing across the United States, Europe, China and India and we provide global support throughout the product lifecycle.

We celebrate our diversity and are committed to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Learn more: www.Chartindustries.com

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TECO 2030

With the TECO 2030 Marine Fuel Cell, ships can sail emissions-free either on the whole journey or on shorter distances, such as when sailing into and out of ports.

TECO 2030’s planned combined fuel cell factory and innovation center in Narvik will become Norway’s first large-scale production of hydrogen fuel cells.

“THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY CAN MOVE TOWARDS ZERO EMISSIONS BY IMPLEMENTING NEW TECHNOLOGIES, WITH HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS AS THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION.” The TECO 2030 marine fuel cell is the first fuel cell system in the world that is specifically designed for use onboard ships and in other heavy-duty applications. Tore Enger points out that TECO 2030 is the only fuel cell developer which is not coming from the automotive or transport industry but is focused solely on marine and heavy industry use.

TECO 2030 has received an “Approval in Principle” (AiP) by DNV, one of the world’s leading classification and certification

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TECO 2030

bodies, for its Marine Fuel Cell System and its Fuel Cell Module FCM400, confirming that these are safe to use onboard ships.

Tore Enger reflects that many clients are very much interested in the development that TECO 2030 undertakes. “The plan is to launch a small-scale production of our new engine at the end of 2022, with the first semi-automated production line in 2023. We should be able to supply the marine and heavy industries with fuel cells with a combined capacity of up to 400 MW by 2025, and of up to 1.2 GW by 2030.

By exchanging one or more of their engines with a TECO 2030 Marine Fuel Cell, ships can switch from fossil fuels to hydrogen and reduce their emissions to zero.

MOVING A MOUNTAIN

The company recently reached a significant milestone when it entered into a long lease agreement for a production facility and innovation centre in Narvik in northern Norway. Over the next ten years, TECO 2030 expects total investments in the plant in Narvik to amount to up to NOK 1 billion. During that period, up to 500 new jobs may be created in Narvik within the development, pilot production and full-scale production.

The TECO 2030 Future Funnel is a next-generation exhaust gas cleaning system for ships that has been developed to enable ships to comply with upcoming and stricter environmental regulations.

Tore Enger, giving Tina Bru, who was then Norway’s Minister of Petroleum & Energy, a tour around the TECO 2030 Innovation Center in Narvik. From left to right: Tore Enger, Lars Sigurd Eide (director of Futurum), Narvik’s Major Rune Edvardsen & Tina Bru.

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“The agreement is sustainability at its best, as we are not going to build anything new but will re-use an existing building of outstanding quality and much suited for our purposes.

Narvik is a great location from a logistics point of view, with an ice-free harbour all year round.”

“The facility will also significantly contribute to economic growth in northern Norway, supporting the local community, with new jobs and new opportunities. Narvik’s university is also very keen on working with us on this very interesting development. So,

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TECO 2030

TECO 2030 will produce hydrogen fuel cells here, at the TECO 2030 Innovation Center in Narvik in northern Norway.

TECO 2030 is developing solutions that will capture CO₂ in the ship exhaust and store it until the ship reaches port together with the American technology company Chart Industries.

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altogether, we can literally move the mountain towards a more sustainable future.”

And the move has started - Denmark’s Everfuel has recently signed a deal with TECO 2030 for the delivery of green hydrogen to fuel TECO 2030’s fuel cells and fuel cellbased power generators.

As part of the agreement, the companies will develop solutions enabling Everfuel to distribute and deliver green hydrogen to sites where TECO 2030’s hydrogen fuel cell power generators are located, or to ships, vehicles, or equipment with TECO 2030’s fuel cell technology installed, to enable the operators to reduce their climate footprint by switching to emissions-free fuel cell generators.

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TECO 2030

AT THE FOREFRONT

TECO 2030 aims to contribute to the green transition in the maritime sector by delivering technology that helps ships to reduce their environmental and climate impacts.

The new technology is being developed in cooperation with the Austrian powertrain technology company AVL, a forerunner in hydrogen application development, which will also contribute to the planning and establishment of the combined factory and innovation centre in Narvik, set to become the country’s first large-scale production of hydrogen fuel cells.

The project is progressing as planned, says Tore Enger.

“The challenge is not what we are doing or going to do, the biggest challenge is that the whole supply chain is moving in a new direction. There are a lot of initiatives all over the world and the pace of changes towards better sustainability and a greener world is accelerating, as politicians around the world seem to agree that we all have to mitigate the climate change.”

“We have been an active participant in this development with our solutions, be it for the global sulphur cap that came in force in 2020 or the ballast water convention. So far, we have received enormous interest from the marine industry - a very conservative sector reluctant to actively take any new steps, but even this is slowly changing.

Shipowners and operators have become aware that everyone now has to do their bit to make an impact for years to come.”

“THE PLAN IS TO LAUNCH A SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION OF OUR NEW ENGINE AT THE END OF 2022, WITH THE FIRST SEMI-AUTOMATED PRODUCTION LINE IN 2023.”

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Interest was high when TECO 2030 invited to an open meeting at its new innovation center and fuel cell factory in Narvik in northern Norway in August 2021.

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KBR

KBR IS DRIVING GLOBAL ENERGY TRANSITION INITIATIVES THROUGH ITS GREEN AND BLUE AMMONIA TECHNOLOGIES.

GREENER AMMONIA TECHNOLOGY PROJECT MANAGED BY: TREVOR GRETSINGER KBR offers high-end engineering, science and technology solutions to businesses and governments around the world.

T

he firm’s Sustainable Technology Solutions business offers highend advisory, process technologies, engineering, and digitalization solutions to the fertiliser, refining, chemicals and inorganics sectors. KBR boasts an enviable portfolio of intellectual property and patents, developed internally and alongside its partners, with over 60 technologies to offer to the industry.

We could not help but be impressed when we talked to KBR’s President for Technology, Doug Kelly, last year. Since then, the company has continued to go from strength to strength.

“We’ve had a great year, overall. We’ve continued to win projects all over the world and equally impressively across

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all of our business lines,” explains Aman Ahmad, Senior Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development at KBR. “We have won process technology awards in ammonia, refining, petrochemicals, and inorganics for both greenfield and revamps. We have also secured impressive wins in our digitalization and advisory businesses, as we drive greater focus on how to help clients navigate a post-Covid environment.”

Talking with Ahmad, it is clear there is one project, in particular that he is very excited about.

“Energy transition has taken center-stage in our industry as we see companies pivot to establish firstmover advantage. We were thrilled to be awarded the first green ammonia project in Oman,” Ahmad tells us. “There are a lot of announcements around blue and green ammonia at the moment, but this is the

first project slated to come onstream. It’s a testament not just to our superior technology but also our growth in the sustainable technology sector.”

Under the terms of the new contract, KBR will provide technology licencing, engineering, proprietary equipment, catalyst, and commissioning services for a plant that will produce 300 metric tonnes per day of ammonia. It will be an integrated facility that produces green ammonia using solar and wind energy.

“We are honoured to be selected by ACME Group for this ambitious project,” Kelly said when the contract was announced. “Energy transition, driven by green ammonia, is a reality and KBR will play a pivotal role in helping innovative companies like ACME establish early-mover advantages through our industry-leading technology.”

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KBR

Aman Ahmad, Senior Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development at KBR

KBR

“WHAT’S MOST EXCITING IS THAT OUR TECHNOLOGY WAS RECENTLY AWARDED THE FIRST GREEN AMMONIA PROJECT IN OMAN.” PARTNERING PROFIT AND SUSTAINABILITY

The green ammonia project is just another feather in the cap during a year already marked by repeated successes and achievements. This year, KBR has been awarded the first major petrochemical project in Europe for almost two decades, built by PKN ORLEN, where KBR’s technology will be used for the project’s ethylene plant.

This project is an iconic example of KBR’s strengths, as it shows how the company’s technology balances growth with sustainability, even in regions heavily influenced by environmental regulations.

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KBR

“PKN ORLEN has ambitious ESG goals. Using innovative refining and petrochemical integration concepts and technologies, we are helping them achieve portfolio growth and diversification while decarbonizing existing assets,” Ahmad explains. “This is where we excel – partnering profit and sustainability.”

In the sustainability area, KBR has made exciting progress in its plastics recycling technology, in partnership with Mura.

“Doug [Kelly] may have said it was a gamechanger when he spoke to you last time, and he couldn’t have put it better,” Ahmad tells us. “The chemistry embedded in this technology is what sets it apart to attain total circularity at lower energy requirements as has been demonstrated through several studies we have executed this year for clients all over the world.

Recently we have announced awards by Mitsubishi and ORLEN and we see tremendous adoption of this technology in the coming years – it will be a gamechanger!”

That KBR is growing and gaining recognition in these sectors is great for the business, as Ahmad believes sustainable technologies will only be in more demand going forward and it’s a trend, where he sees KBR continue to increase focus.

“In fact, we have been focused on sustainability for the past several years,” he acknowledges. “Our technology portfolio growth has centred around developing, acquiring, or partnering in technologies that we believed would enable decarbonisation.

Our solid alkylation technology and fluidized-bed PDH technology are just two examples, where we are revolutionizing conventional processes towards much higher degrees of safety and sustainability.”

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KBR

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KBR

It is also a trend that Ahmad believes uniquely positions KBR to help its clients in the future.

“Just like digitalisation, implementing decarbonisation and sustainability initiatives requires careful assessment, especially in brownfield assets,” he explains. “By leveraging our domain expertise, we help our clients develop a phased investment plan and score some quick wins through lowcost initiatives such as energy optimisation and integrating assets.”

KBR is asking how it can help customers in the energy transition arena as the world’s largest licensor for ammonia technology.

“Energy transition is redefining the scale of ammonia plants and we see ourselves as leading the industry towards larger capacities,” says Ahmad.

“We have a legacy of pushing the boundaries of scale, derisking higher capacities, bringing our supply-chain along, and above all delivering on our promises. We are already offering a 6,000 MTPD plant – a single-train – and working on

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higher capacities. The demand projections are exponential, and we are ready to scale.”

KBR, Ahmad believes, is uniquely equipped to help, thanks to its integrated business structure.

“Where we are truly unique compared to our peers is our ability to bring everything together under one umbrella,” he says. “From conceptualising the project at the very beginning to digitizing operations, we have the knowledge, experience, and systems in place to deliver smart projects. That is a truly unique value proposition.”

Ahmad puts this down to the hard work KBR put into transforming itself during the Covid crisis.

“Last year, during Covid, when companies were shrinking their capital budgets and the energy sector was in a slump, we carried out a rapid strategic reengineering of our business to adapt to the new status quo,” Ahmad says. “Our agility and resilience during that period have enabled us to align our vision and differentiation with our clients’ objectives moving forward.”

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SMITHSTOWN LIGHT ENGINEERING

SMITHSTOWN LIGHT ENGINEERING IS A CONTRACT MANUFACTURER AT THE FOREFRONT OF MANUFACTURING INNOVATION IN THE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SPACE.

MAKING IT NEW PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID GARNER

In 1974 Brian King founded Smithstown Light Engineering as a machine shop, quickly growing into the design and supply of plastic injection moulds and press tools for the electronics industry. It would later move into contract manufacturing for the medical device sector and in 2011 was taken over by his son, Gerard King. From there it has gained national, and even international recognition.

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e work with all the main medical device OEMs that have representation in Ireland, and we’re now exporting to OEMs mostly in the North American markets,” Gerard King tells us.

The reason that Smithstown has been able to establish and build on relationships with leading suppliers is that it has remained at the forefront of technological innovation in its sector.

“Our investment in people and the latest technologies is what keeps us to the fore,” King says. “We have developed great working relationships with these companies. They trust our name and brand to deliver, which we do. We make agreements at the partner level that are seeing us grown year on year.”

FIT TO PRINT

The latest example of this commitment to innovation can be seen in how Smithstown

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is applying the very latest in 3D printing technology to its manufacturing processes.

“We’re printing in both metals and polymers,” King tells us.

“It’s a relatively new technology, developed in the last ten years.

It has not been fully adopted yet by a lot of medium-scale manufacturers like ourselves.

So rather than be threatened by it, we decided to embrace the technology.”

While other businesses in the sector may regard this technology as a potential competitor and replacement for the work that they do, King believes this technology can only be complementary to the business if used well.

“We see definite advantages in support of what we’re doing.

We don’t see it replacing what we’re doing and we’re trying to be first off the block in supporting our customers with this technology,” he says.

Gerard King, Director, Smithstown Light Engineering.

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SMITHSTOWN LIGHT ENGINEERING

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CITIZEN MACHINERY UK Citizen Machinery UK, part of the famous Japanese watch group, supplies OEMs and subcontractors in Ireland as well as throughout Britain with Cincom sliding-head and Miyano fixed-head mill-turn centres. It is the largest supplier of these types of bar-fed lathes into the Irish and British markets. Additionally, the company is a distribution hub for sales of machines in France, Spain, Portugal, the Nordic Countries, the Middle East and Africa and works closely with group subsidiaries in Italy and Germany.

Headquartered in Bushey, Hertfordshire, where there is a Solution Centre for the preparation of customised production cells, Citizen Machinery UK also operates a Turning Centre of Excellence in Brierley Hill. This is the location for preparing high value, often automated installations complete with programs, tooling and accessories, consistent with the increasing demand for Industry 4.0-compliant manufacturing systems.

SMITHSTOWN LIGHT ENGINEERING

“The response has been very positive. We’ve been working with customers at the validation stage in identifying printing requirements for metal and polymers.”

The firm’s Managing Director Edward James said, “In our industry, it is often no longer enough to deliver a so-called turnkey package, which is subject to a lot of interpretation. It can mean simply the supply of a machine, a few cutters and a couple of programs.

“Customers demand more than that these days. They want a fully worked out, end-to-end solution that has been proven off-site before delivery, complete with attachments, peripherals, in-house-written software and perhaps additional automated functions such as cleaning and packaging.

“Projects are frequently demanding in terms of their scope, level of innovation, the process capability to be achieved and return on investment required.”

The CMSolutions centre operating in Bushey is where the particularly complex, high-level installations are managed, from initial consultation through design, configuration, assembly and prove-out to delivery, acceptance and training. The solution can be stand-alone or integrated into a larger manufacturing plant. It may be a pre-existing package or designed specifically at either the customer’s request or at Citizen Machinery UK’s instigation.

In all cases there will be a sound business case for what is delivered. It will be pragmatic, process-optimised and cost-effective, not necessarily the top solution possible, which may be overly expensive and take too long to amortise.

No profile of Citizen Machinery UK can be complete without reference to LFV, the group’s ground-breaking technology introduced five years ago.

An acronym for low frequency vibration, it is chip breaking software built into the lathe control’s operating system, as distinct from being a macro in the program. It allows what would normally be long, stringy swarf tangling around a workpiece and tool to be broken into shorter lengths, the size of which is determined within the program.

Applicable to both Cincom and Miyano machines, it avoids having to remove swarf repeatedly from the machining area. Economy of production is increased, as there are no stoppages for swarf clearance, and the lathe can be left to run unattended. Additionally, LFV oscillation of the tool by tens of microns also allows coolant to penetrate the cut more efficiently, reducing heat and allowing depth of cut to be increased substantially, as well as prolonging cutter life and improving surface finish. www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

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This search for new and advantageous technologies is a constant and ongoing project, King tells us, “We have a constant policy of reinvestment. Most of our machines are no more than five years of age. We’ve got to get faster, more accurate and more cost-competitive, and the only way to do that is to increase automation levels and be upfront with the latest machining technologies as they hit the market.”

As well as new technologies, Smithstown Light Engineering is also not afraid to employ new techniques.

“While a lot of companies in our sector are concentrating on traditional milling and turning, which we’re also good at, we take on higher risk processes that aren’t as commonplace to give a very wide service offering,” King says. “Heat treatment, with a wide array of grinding disciplines, and 3D printing, really that’s what’s separating us from the crowd

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SMITHSTOWN LIGHT ENGINEERING

“With regards to a lot of what we do with printing, grinding and machining, we are using new, very fast linear drive type machines. We’re trying to reduce the endpiece price to the customer and that’s what the customer likes to see yearly cost reductions and a company that’s going about providing those reductions,” King says.

“You have to embrace it as a mindset.”

and it’s important that we continue in that direction. New technologies will always be investigated to see if they can give us that edge.”

It is a quality borne out of the company’s origins in injection mould manufacture.

“We came out of injection mould and press tool manufacturing, so there’s a very high skill set in the design of these precision tools,” King says. “We’re working with exotic materials at a micron level, and those skills have been transferred into these precise medical device services that we offer. We are working on implants and delivery devices for neurovascular medication.

We go against the grain, where other manufacturing companies aren’t comfortable in providing services in those areas, we see that we can leverage value.”

For King, this investment is not just about shiny new technology for its own sake, but about what benefits can be passed on to the customer.

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Wishing Smithstown Light Engineering Continued Success Formed in 1975, Hard Metal has developed a unique understanding of the needs of the Irish Engineering Industry.

Throughout our history we have promoted and developed high quality brands, working directly with our customers and suppliers to bring the latest cutting and grinding technologies to our market.

Our project teams have extensive experience in the application of cutting tools and abrasives, working on customer projects large and small to ensure maximum productivity.

With locations in in Bray, Co. Wicklow and Shannon, Co. Clare, we support our engineering manufacturing client base throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland.

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+353-1-2862466

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shannon@hardmetal.ie

Swiss Steel is a leading global producer of special long steel, responsible for a renowned quality Stainless steel which prides itself on unrivalled machinability for peace of mind.

UGIMA X outperforms all other Stainless Steels on the market by not only increasing speeds and feeds but by ensuring better chip breakability and longer tool life.

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Tel: +44 (0)121 3773400 www.swisssteel-international.co.uk

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SMITHSTOWN LIGHT ENGINEERING

This is even more crucial because between labour, energy and component costs, manufacturing has been a challenging sector lately, however, the medical devices sector, in particular, comes with certain advantages.

“Medical devices are a good sector to be in but they’re increasingly taking a more automotive type approach in their sourcing. It’s putting a lot of cost pressure on the supplier base of which we’re a part,” King says. “To that end, we’ve also opened a facility in Poland for specific machining tasks such as 5-axis machining and mill-turning. This facility is in support of our two Shannon facilities, to try and spread the cost pressure across multiple jurisdictions. Companies of our size will need to start looking at attractive lower-cost destinations for specific tasks that give an overall reduced package cost to customers.”

FINDING CRAFTSMANSHIP

While new technologies can be a valuable tool, King is the first to acknowledge that you also need skilled staff to operate that technology, and this can be a challenge.

“Skilled labour within Europe is a problem. Attracting and retaining people to machining is a challenge,” King admits.

“It’s not insurmountable but a challenge. Then we have rising energy and labour costs, all of these inputs make it a challenge to stay competitive in this part of the world.”

King is willing to look wherever necessary to find people with the skills and attributes Smithstown Light Engineering needs.

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SMITHSTOWN LIGHT ENGINEERING

“We’re looking in multiple regions across the EU and nonEU for our skilled labour. We constantly have a pipeline of people under assessment for positions within the business,” he says.

That talent is drawn to Smithstown Light Engineering thanks to the appealing culture the company has nurtured over the years.

“The culture of our business is a big selling point. We have a lot of people who have been here for over 30 years. It’s quite a progressive environment but not a very authoritarian environment, we have a very flat structure,” King explains. “I

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still know the names of all the people in the business, which is becoming more difficult, but that sense of being a slightly smaller business is attractive.”

As well as being a pleasant working environment, Smithstown Light Engineering offers new recruits an engaging array of challenges.

“We offer the chance to work with the latest technologies in machining and a wide diversity in what we do. If you work with us, you could be doing anything from laser cutting, milling, or 3D printing on any given day,” King says. “We use a broad range of technologies within the business.”

With a pipeline of new talent, new technology and new projects, the future is looking bright for the company.

“We’re on a very large growth trajectory. We doubled in size over the last three years”, King says. “There are a lot of projects in the pipeline, so we have the potential to double turnover again over the next three to five years. We are primed for that. We’ve made capital investments, purchased an additional ten acres of land next to our facility, everything is in place to facilitate that growth.”

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CAPE BIO PHARMS

THROUGH ITS PLANT-BASED PROTEIN HARVESTING SYSTEMS, CAPE BIO PHARMS IS HOPING TO REDUCE AFRICA’S DEPENDENCE ON IMPORT PHARMACEUTICALS.

HOMEGROWN PHARMACEUTICALS PROJECT MANAGED BY: HAYDEN TURNER

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CAPE BIO PHARMS

Cape Bio Pharms is a spin-off of the University of Cape Town’s Biopharming Research Unit having spent over two decades expressing proteins in a relative of the tobacco plant. Belinda and Tamlyn Shaw, a mother and daughter team, realised the disruptive nature of this expression platform as a perfect solution to contributing to biosecurity for Africa

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e took this technology and commercialised it.

We raised some grant funding and investor funding and started building the facility in 2018,” explains founder and CEO, Belinda Shaw. “We used the method to produce a number of research reagents, antibodies and antigens, that are used in labs around the world every single day. Antibodies are the work-horses of drug discovery, so an economical and secure supply is critical for researchers.”

Cape Bio Pharms use a plant-based system to produce proteins very rapidly. It is a technique that allows for proteins to be swapped out and changed easily, leading to short delivery times and improved speed-tomarket times for new products.

“When we started production and building up our product pipeline, by December 2019 we had 30 different variants,” Shaw recalls. “Then Covid came and tipped everything upside down.

We recognised the significance

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The University of Cape Town is ranked top African university by several global rankings. Its teaching hospital, Groote Schuur, is where Professor Chris Barnard performed the first heart transplant and where Allan Cormack started his work that led to the development of the CAT scan.

Impact Through Innovation

A wide variety of technologies are available for commercialization ranging from novel anti-cancer therapeutics and theranostics, human and animal vaccines, diagnostics, medical devices, algal biotechnologies, biopolymers, catalytic processes, power optimization for utility grids and green energy applications, through to data security applications. Explore them at uct.portals.in-part.com or scan the QR code below.

Research Contracts & Innovation (RC&I) acts as the liaison between the University of Cape Town’s research community and industry with regards to intellectual property, commercialisation and business development activities. Numerous technologies from the university laboratories have been transferred to industry both locally in South Africa and internationally.

Whilst growing a diversified South African economy that is globally competitive, especially by fostering small business development and creating local jobs, partnerships are sought with market leaders who have the capacity, experience and resources to bring products to international markets; and drive Impact Through Innovation.

FRANCOIS OOSTHUIZEN Innovation Commercialisation Manager e | Francois.Oosthuizen@uct.ac.za t | +27 (0)21 650 1867

SABERI MARAIS Innovation Commercialisation Manager e | Saberi.Marais@uct.ac.za t | +27 (0)21 650 1746

INNOVATION RECEPTION e | innovation@uct.ac.za t | +27 (0)21 650 4015

www.rci.uct.ac.za

TECHNOLOGY PORTAL

UCT SURFS CAPE TOWN’S INNOVATION SWELL When it comes to the establishment of South African start-ups, the Western Cape seems to be leading the charge. Research conducted in 2015 shows that 59% of all local start-up companies are located in this province, while other reports have shown that ‘Silicone Cape’ – as Cape Town is quickly becoming known – is home to between 700 and 1,200 active tech start-ups, favoured by local venture capital (VC).

The emerging medical devices sector has seen significant growth over the last decade and includes a substantial proportion of spin-off companies from the University of Cape Town (UCT). Among others, these ventures include the development of polymer heart valves (Strait Access Technologies), dual modality mammography (CapeRay Medical), diagnostics (Antrum Biotech), auto-injectors and child-friendly asthma pumps (Impulse Biomedical) and a host of diagnostic reagents (Cape Bio Pharms).

In what may be a first in Africa, UCT has created an ‘Evergreen’ Fund to invest in its own spin-off companies, along the lines of what has been done by universities in Europe, the UK and the USA. This was borne out of an urgent need for early-stage funding that was missing in the local deep tech space.

In another first for Africa, the University Technology Fund (UTF), established by the SA SME Fund with UCT as a special partner, focuses on the early-stage gap, creating a bridge between universities and VC investors. Started in 2020, it has already invested in several university companies with the strategic goal of demonstrating the investability of this new South African asset class.

Department of Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande stated in January 2021, that “the demand for an effective national COVID-19 vaccination plan, and the threat of future pandemics, has thrust the country’s ability to

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develop and manufacture vaccines locally into the spotlight”.

From a university perspective, we are ready – it is the absorptive capacity of local industry that needs to be developed along with the innovation funding path.

At UCT, Prof Anna-Lise Williamson’s group in virology created several potential HIV-vaccines for the African strain, two of which went into clinical trials. In the interim, their work has turned to animal vaccines, which cost less to bring to market, have more local industry players and fewer regulatory hurdles. The often zoonotic vaccines, make them relevant for human use as well.

Abroad, start-ups valued above $1 billion are dubbed ‘unicorns’. We suggest coining the term ‘Quagga’ – an extinct sub-species of the Zebra – for billionRand South African start-ups. Cape Bio Pharms is well on its way to becoming a Quagga.

Another emerging Quagga in the UCT stable is Strait Access Technologies, which is developing polymer heart valves that can be deployed without the need for advanced imaging and cardiology teams. They have one device through first-in-man trials and others are progressing well. It employs 65 people, mostly engineers.

UCT has created 12 spin-off companies since 2015 and with an expanded technology transfer team and access to different levels of seed funding more companies are coming on-line. www.rci.uct.ac.za

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SEPARATIONS is a laboratory, biopharmaceutical process & laboratory automation specialist company.

The SEPARATIONS vision lies in making South African and sub-Saharan African scientists, researchers, manufacturers & laboratory technicians more successful by: • Supplying spectacular products • Providing spectacular technical support • Delivering spectacular commercial services The Biopharmtechniques division provides products & services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetics, veterinary and vaccine manufacturing facilities streamlining your workflows in these areas.

Filtration technology and bioprocessing together form the core of the division.

Biopharmtechniques will assist you in optimising your bioproduction processes from lab to pilot to manufacturing scale and can provide all the necessary tools for testing your products - always ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements together with unmatched service, support, and expertise.

E: biopharma@separations.co.za | T: +27 (0) 11 919 1000

www.separations.co.za

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CAPE BIO PHARMS

of the virus early on and sourced the appropriate sequences in the early days, producing the necessary proteins to meet the demand for reagents. We then secured a substantial grant from FIND - the Foundation for Innovative & New Diagnostics that enabled us to expand our facility’s production capacity from around 80mg a week to over 20,000 mg a month in production.”

Cape Bio Pharms has produced a wide variety of proteins to combat Covid-19 and now has developed a suite of proteins for a neutralising antibody test kit – one that can test if your vaccine has worked. The company is now expanding its pipeline beyond Covid into critical reagents for the diagnosis of many other infectious diseases, particularly in Africa.

The company is creating proteins to help combat Ebola, Malaria, HIV that have been neglected in the rush to fight coronavirus.

“ANTIBODIES ARE THE WORKHORSES OF DRUG DISCOVERY, SO AN ECONOMICAL AND SECURE SUPPLY IS CRITICAL FOR RESEARCHERS.”

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PUTTING THE “PLANT” IN PHARMACEUTICAL PLANT

But across all these sectors, Cape Bio Pharms has a competitive edge in the form of its protein expression platform. But as Shaw points out, Cape Bio Pharms’ objective is not to replace the existing expression platforms such as mammalian cell culture system, yeast, bacterial or in eggs, but to complement it with an alternative that is best suited to low and middle-income countries.

“We regard it as a disruptive platform,” Shaw says. “Our USP is using a plant-based platform that offers cheaper locally made proteins, that can achieve a speed-to-market of literally weeks as opposed to months.

Plants can also produce very complex protein constructs making them a versatile and flexible system. Our main focus is that 80% of proteins in Africa are imported. We have very little local manufacturing capacity, and that’s where our platform offers a unique opportunity to ensure biosecurity for Africa and develop protein manufacturing security.”

This platform offers a high speed to market, a low cost, and offers the flexibility to swap out proteins quickly, letting Cape Bio Pharms react to changes in demand a lot faster than traditional systems. The key benefit of the platform is that it does not use any animals or animal products, eliminating the risk of the transfer of animal pathogens which is critical when entering the therapeutic or vaccine space.

BUT HOW DOES THIS PLATFORM WORK?

“The plant itself is a distant cousin of the tobacco plant, called Nicotiana benthamiana.

It has a very low immune response so we can infiltrate it with a bacterium without it putting up much resistance, and in the bacteria, we can put any gene to code for any protein we want to produce,” Shaw explains. “The gene (protein) is transformed into (embedded in) the bacteria, which is then infiltrated into the leaves of thousands of these plants.

We produce over 8,000 plants a week. The Cape Bio Pharms’ Leadership team.

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plant reads the inserted genes and continues to produce the corresponding protein, which they do naturally anyway. It takes anywhere between three and six days for the plant to produce substantial amounts of our protein. Within a week we can decide what gene (protein) to put into the plants, so that is the beauty of a plant-based system. Once we have the proteins ready, we can decide what to produce according to the needs of the market. It is perfectly suited to responding quickly to regional epidemics or global pandemics” Building an equivalent cell culture-based platform can take four or five years, cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and the result can be difficult to scale up with long lead times for new products, but none of this is an issue with the plant-based approach.

“In our grow rooms we recruit unskilled workers and train them in how to look after the plants, learn about hydroponics and environmental controls to ensure we have the really healthy plants. We also have over 15 scientists and as a woman-owned biotech company we like to give women first dibs at joining our team. We have a wonderful team being trained in various aspects of our work straight out of university.”

Shaw emphasises that the vision for Cape Bio Pharms is about more than just fighting the pandemic.

“It’s not just about Covid,” she says. “Covid just shows us the need. We’ve low levels of vaccination on the continent, where northern continents can vaccinate their own population several times over. It’s critical that we develop our own capability.”

It is not enough to simply build that capability, however.

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CAPE BIO PHARMS

Cape Bio Pharms also needs to fight for access to the market itself.

“We’re a start-up with a relatively unknown expression platform in a regulated industry where five or six players control 80% of the market,” Shaw points out. “We’re not interested in playing in the same market as the established producers. We have flexibility which means small runs are as cheap to do as large ones. We are able to operate in the margins, and I think the plant-based platform is critically suited for that. What is important to realise is that these large traditional stainlesssteel plants may be regarded as ‘best practice’, but they really are of no use to Africa. They are not here simply because they are too expensive. But we are and we can make a real difference, not only to produce

critical proteins but to build capacity and skills so we can begin shifting the volume of imports and replacing with our own Africa-made proteins”.

The company is continuing to research and develop new products, including diagnostics for the veterinary market, exploring orally delivered veterinary vaccines, and helping to build the African pharmaceutical sector.

But Shaw is also setting her sights further afield.

“Vaccine’s manufacturing capability is essential in Africa.

The fact that in June 2021, only about 1,4% of the population in Africa was vaccinated is shocking. We do not need to be in the queue. We want to be self-sufficient,” Shaw points out. “Once we come into our own, I can foresee us exporting instead.”

“VACCINE’S MANUFACTURING CAPABILITY IS ESSENTIAL IN AFRICA. THE FACT THAT IN JUNE 2021, ONLY ABOUT 1,4% OF THE POPULATION IN AFRICA WAS VACCINATED IS SHOCKING. WE DO NOT NEED TO BE IN THE QUEUE. WE WANT TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

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MEDIGUIDE

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MEDIGUIDE

MEDIGUIDE OFFERS PATIENTS NOT JUST A MEDICAL SECOND OPINION, BUT ACCESS TO AN INTERNATIONAL POOL OF MEDICAL EXPERTISE.

NOT JUST AN OPINION PROJECT MANAGED BY: ANDREW BOURKE

MediGuide was founded over 20 years ago to offer patients in the United States a second medical opinion. However, since then the company has gradually expanded, and now operates with customers in 58 countries across the world, from Korea to Australia, from Australia to Argentina, from Argentina to Europe and back again, with many countries in between.

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e have offered medical second opinions exclusively but have expanded our service offering to include a concierge service that assists people who want to go overseas for treatment. We make introductions to support people who need assistance with travel, admission to the right medical centres and so on,” explains Paul Vermeulen, MediGuide’s CEO. MediGuide also developed an insurance program that covers all expenses, medical and travel, when members need to go overseas for medical treatment. “We have also developed a digital health arm which is providing additional health solutions for insurance companies. We are providing telemedicine platforms and are developing preventative healthcare programs.”

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The phrase “medical second opinion” conjures up a specific image - namely, going to another doctor and asking for their opinion. However, this idea could not be further away from the service MediGuide actually provides.

“From a qualitative perspective we’re not providing a second opinion delivered by one doctor that happens to be in a different country, many of our competitors do a doctor-to-doctor comparison,” Vermeulen points out. “If a doctor assumes you’re suffering from, say a complicated cancer case, your doctor in the UK will have access to the same sources as the doctor in the US, so the added value in doing that isn’t great.”

MediGuide takes its customers’ records and has their medical records examined by a multidisciplinary research team who are experts in the condition they are suffering from. Patients can choose from three world-leading medical centres specialized in the appropriate field.

“If you’re suffering from colon cancer that is different from lung cancer. Our World Leading Medical Centers are

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T: +84 2473 099990 (Ext 117) M: +84 976653951 E: mkt@insmart.com.vn

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sales@medinyx.com

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INSMART JSC

MEDIGUIDE

Insmart JSC (an affiliate of Sumitomo Corporation) - we are the leading Third-Party Administrator or Managed Care Provider in Vietnam since 2010, specializing in healthcare claims administration service for the insurance industry, managing and ensuring individuals and corporate alike are accorded with a seamless health experience and comprehensive claim administration. Our key areas of expertise are: • • • • • •

Third-Party Administrator (TPA) or Healthcare Claims Administrator Corporate Employee Health Benefits Administrator (EBA) Health & Wellness Administrator (HWA) Chronic Disease Management Program (CDMP) Pharma Benefit Management (PBM) Tele-health/Medical Concierge

For the past 10 years, we continuously strive to evolve and bring new dimensions to healthcare administration service, towards a client-centric theme in a sustainable and engaging environment for all stakeholders, as appropriately stated in our company’s motto “Your Partner in Service Excellence”.

With Insmart innovation and data insights, it facilitates a better and efficient healthcare delivery model focusing on value-based and affordability.

As MediGuide’s exclusive distributor and TPA for one of its core MSO products in Vietnam, Insmart’s vision is to ensure MSO is available to all and empower Insured with the knowledge of disease and treatment protocol available to provide them with a peace of mind.

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MEDINYX TECHNOLOGIES MedinyX Technologies, has a strong focus with expertise in the Insurance industry with a focus on MedTech and FinTech. The pandemic has only accelerated a need for digitization across the board in multiple market segments. The challenge is to get the “right technology partner” to ensure the vision and expectations are matched with knowledge and execution. Mediguide is a great example on how it partnered up with MedinyX in a phase wise manner to globalize and digitize its entire business process within the second medical opinion market segment as well as the influx of telehealth around the globe. We at MedinyX feel very proud and honored where we have been able to be a part of this huge success story. But the success is an outcome of collaboration and knowhow by all sides.

If you seek a technology partner and you are business within the Insurance or Financial world that seeks to grow your business or transform it with technology playing a specific and important role in your day to day operations then we highly recommend that you get in touch with us. Our areas of expertise are a combination of many factors and we equally seek valuable and meaningful partnerships, where both sides are able to cultivate and bring about a positive impact. www.medinyx.com

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putting multidisciplinary teams together that will examine the case. It won’t be one oncologist talking to another oncologist, it’s oncologists, neurologists, immunologists, an array of specialists linked to your current state of health,” Vermeulen says. “After you have gone through a treatment you might still need some assistance, and we’re there for that. We are looking at you as a patient more holistically than our competitors, and we try to get as close as possible to the scientific cutting edge because we use research teams that can be found in the university hospitals such as King College’s in the UK, Harvard in the US, Seoul National University Hospital in Korea, and in Germany we use Heidelberg University, to name only a few.

The hospitals we work with are often linked to advanced university research centres.”

In choosing facilities to work with, MediGuide focuses on each institution’s speciality areas.

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MEDIGUIDE

“We have a university in Germany we only use for eyesight problems,” Vermeulen explains.

“They have a very good heart research facility there as well, but the money they invest in heart research doesn’t outpace facilities we use elsewhere. In terms of eyesight problems, however, they are the best.

So, we work them there. We are looking at what is being researched on the floor, following publications, and finding teams that are stretching the edge of the cutting edge of the science, making developments that we can see happening in medicine and technology. Research is going at an extremely high pace, and we need to keep up with that.”

MEDICAL FRATERNITY

The biggest challenge MediGuide regularly faces, according to Vermeulen, is that a lot of people still do not understand exactly what the company does.

“Some think we’ll send them to get another biopsy or MRI, but we don’t do that, and the patients don’t want it. We engage a panel of doctors to look at the results that have already been taken.”

Vermeulen also notes that patients could be worried their doctors will be cross at them for using MediGuide.

“We don’t compete with local doctors, we work with them to find the best cure for their patient,” Vermeulen insists. “In 90% of the cases that we do where something changes, a change of diagnosis only happens in around 5% of cases. We do not see regional differences here. In around 15% of cases, we see ways that surgery can be avoided, which helps the patient but also the insurance company in most instances. Surgery should always be the last thing on the

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MEDIGUIDE

list unless it is necessary, but very often it turns out it can be avoided. In the remaining 70% of cases, the medical second opinion recommends changes in the treatment protocol that can be small, like suggesting chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy instead of radiotherapy followed by chemo. It’s not always dramatic, but it has an effect, medically and on the coping process for the patients.”

A GOOD PROGNOSIS

From this core service, MediGuide is building out into a compelling offering. The company offers telemedicine and preventative healthcare alongside its concierge service.

Telemedicine, naturally, has become a hot button issue over the last two years.

“We started a project around telemedicine in 2018, well before Covid, but Covid has accelerated its development,” Vermeulen tells us. “We notice most insurance companies are keen on offering a telemedicine platform that only their insurer can use, but it takes enormous time to establish that and comes with all sorts of liability. So, we said to our tech partners, why don’t we develop the platform for them?”

MediGuide can now offer insurance companies a localized, white-label telemedicine platform that can be established in approximately three weeks, rather than the estimated three years of development that would be required in-house.

“Rather than it costing a couple of million $’s, you get it for free with a per-member subscription fee,” Vermeulen says.

Meanwhile, MediGuide’s preventative healthcare program can offer recommendations such as lifestyle improvements, or when to see a doctor.

“This is one of the first additional products we’ve launched on the digital platform, which is going to be used for multiple different types of applications going forward,” says Vermeulen.

Outside of the digital realm, MediGuide offers a medical concierge service in a slightly different way compared to its competitors.

“Medical tourism is on the rise but there are a lot of sharks in that pool. Agents can get kickbacks from hospitals.

We work the opposite way,” Vermeulen explains. “We take the patient or the insurance company’s side, avoiding any additional expenses and negotiating upfront their expenses in the hospital. As an example: we negotiate upfront that an EU hospital will not charge a Russian patient more than a French or German patient.

We bring the cost back down to local insurance company costs and have deals with hospitals around the world.”

With a wealth of knowledge to draw from, and the connections and relationships to leverage that, MediGuide ensures it always has its patients’ back.

“IT WON’T BE ONE ONCOLOGIST TALKING TO ANOTHER ONCOLOGIST, IT’S NEUROLOGISTS, UROLOGISTS, IMMUNOLOGISTS, AN ARRAY OF SPECIALISTS LINKED TO YOUR CURRENT STATE OF HEALTH.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

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LENZING GROUP

LENZING GROUP, THE GLOBAL FIBRE MANUFACTURER, HAS PUT NATURE AT THE CORE OF ITS BUSINESS. THIS IS ALSO THE BASIS OF ITS UK PLANT IN GRIMSBY.

FOR A GREEN FUTURE PROJECT MANAGED BY: MAX HUTCHINGS

Established over a hundred years ago, Lenzing is an international group with its headquarters in Lenzing, Austria, and production sites in all major markets. The company produces wood-based viscose fibres, modal fibres, lyocell fibres and filament yarn, which are used in the textile industry - in clothing, home textiles and technical textiles - as well as in the nonwovens industry.

L

enzing has been a global technological pioneer in the ecologically responsible and profitable production of cellulose fibre for decades, with a focus on eco-friendly, innovative and top-quality products and services.

Today, the company is by far the world’s most soughtafter partner when it comes to high-quality speciality fibres which include TENCEL™ Lyocell fibres, TENCEL™ Modal fibres and VEOCEL™ fibres. By 2024, more than 75% of the Group’s revenue is expected to come from speciality fibres.

Nature is the source of the Group’s business, so it is not surprising that sustainability and environmental focus are key values of its operations.

The group’s sustainable production of botanic fibres, derived from renewable sources and processed with unique resource-conserving

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technologies, is the strategic focus of Lenzing’s core business and remains the centrepiece of its recently defined sCore TEN strategy.

“The Group vision is to achieve carbon-neutrality by 2050, and to half emissions by 2030,” says Phil Munson, Director of Operations of Lenzing’s UK business based in Grimsby. The plant has been part of the Lenzing Group since 2004 when the Austrian manufacturer decided to move into Lyocell production, which is the UK’s company core business.

UNIQUE POSITION

Mr Munson explains that the Grimsby factory has a special position within the Group: “We are a speciality fibre manufacturer making premium end products that go into unique applications. Some of the fibres we make in Grimsby are not made anywhere else in the world.”

One of the brand names for the Lyocell fibres is TENCEL™, a brand that was brought into the Lenzing Group through the acquisition of the Grimsby factory and has been developed using the Group’s expertise and customer base.

Being sustainable, the brand is an important part of the Groups’ future.

“We also have a big interest in technical nonwovens that go into filtration media, medical and pharmaceutical goods. These are really challenging but interesting and profitable markets. We are set to broaden the range of unique products, continuing to push towards the high-end specialities.”

The Grimsby factory was commissioned in 1998 and currently employs 240 people which includes some long-term contractors who are based on its site. Mr Munson points out that today some 30% of the volume is generated by the nonwoven business which however accounts for about 50% of the actual turnover.

Phil Munson, Director of Operations TENCEL®, Lenzing Group.

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Supporting Lenzing with Mechanical, Piping, Electrical, Instrumentation services from our UK offices across the country.

Our Humber Facility workshops are able to provide fabrication and testing facilities across all disciplines.

Client Requirements

www.jacobs.com

Tel: 01652 288800

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JACOBS “Jacobs have been the Alliance contractor for Lenzing Fibres, Grimsby since 1998 supplying safety conscious, competent and experience Project Engineers, Maintenance Supervisors and tradesmen of all trades to assist the Lenzing Engineering Department during their week to week, R&M maintenance and capital project activities. During this time they have contributed to the plant availability by completing work as requested within priority timescales, providing 24 hour cover at short notice during unplanned plant downtime and supplying 100+ tradesmen for three day R&M’s.”

Desmond Wright, Lenzing Engineering Manager.

Jacobs Field Services are proud to have supported Lenzing Fibres through this period and the collaborative relationship we have with them has been demonstrated through the length of service we have with them.

With our vast multi-sector experience in this type of CAPEX and maintenance support work, we have added value with our plant knowledge and process efficiencies. We are continuously forging long term relationships with the Lenzing Engineering staff to achieve a collaborative approach to their ongoing maintenance, reliability & efficiencies on site.

Our designers have offered a Construction led approach with our onsite resource teams to supply drawing packages which were tailored for the requirements of numerous CAPEX installations and future maintenance needs only.

In our current working relationship with Lenzing we regularly carry out over 300 live tasks annually and these ranges from £500 up to £500K projects.

Our annual revenue comes from 50% Maintenance works 35% Project works and 15% from annual shutdowns. www.jacobs.com

■ Insulation ■ Civil Works ■ Painting ■ Sheeting ■ ■ Asbestos Survey ■ Bulk Sampling Services ■ T: +44 (0) 1469 574 959 ■ E: nigel@nc-ss.co.uk

www.ncsiteservices.company

SR ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS LIMITED Is a local independent Electrical Wholesaler based in Grimsby and Louth, employing local people with expert knowledge and a friendly service, backed up with all the market leading brands.

Suppliers to the trade and Petrochemical Industry we pride ourselves on customer service. We understand our customers need a fast and efficient service with competitive prices and the ability to get the product to site when they need it. We have a comprehensive stock holding across both our locations that is relevant to our customers’ needs and we can enable your business to run efficiently by offering a daily delivery service for stocked items. For items outside of our profile we have contract arrangements with nationwide courier companies who guarantee next day deliveries from anywhere within the UK mainland. Operating from modern premises in both Grimsby and Louth, our customers can expect quality branded products at competitive prices from the industry leading electrical manufacturers.

Our customer base includes the following sectors: Electrical Contractors & Engineers, Industrial Companies, Facilities Management, Local Authorities, Power Generation, Utilities, Construction, Panel Builders, Oil & Petrochemical, Food Industries, Hotels/Leisure, Retail, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Heating & Ventilation, Security and more recently Renewables.

Please contact a member of our sales team:Grimsby: sales@srelectrical.co.uk or Louth: louthsales@srelectrical.co.uk to discuss your requirements.

SR Electrical Wholesalers Ltd Unit 7, Estate Road No.5, Cherry Tree Business Park Grimsby, Lincs, DN31 2TX, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1472 252270 Email: sales@srelelctrical.co.uk www.srelectrical.co.uk

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LENZING GROUP

REDUCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

“We strive to be the most saleable as well as the highest quality fabric producer. We do not have the ambition to be the highest volume producer as there are a lot of cheaper companies that do not necessarily operate on a sustainable platform and we do not wish to compete against them. Sustainability is a key topic for us.”

The company is currently investing £20 million to build a new, state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant at its site in Grimsby, due to be commissioned in 2023.

The investment is part of the company’s plans to significantly reduce waste-water emissions.

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Once completed, Lenzing will have biological wastewater treatment plants that meet the best available techniques (BAT) quality standard at all its production sites. The plant design, which will employ a new technology developed as part of a research project, is fully aligned with the UK regulator and supported by the local authorities.

“It is really important to recognise that this is the single biggest investment in the plant since it was built. The process itself is already very sustainable, but the investment reflects the decision to push even harder against the sustainability targets we have,” says Mr Munson.

Responsible water use is one of the core elements of Lenzing’s sustainability

strategy and is largely executed by using water efficiently in manufacturing and employing state-of-the-art water treatment technologies.

“In the initial stage, emissions will be further reduced by 65% of the current loading, followed by an overall 90% reduction, which puts us in the top five or ten per cent of industries in the world.”

STRONG FUTURE

Although Mr Munson admits that the impact of the pandemic was enormous, the factory never closed down during the lockdowns as its product went into the medical and hygiene sectors, and was critically needed at the height of the pandemic.

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LENZING GROUP

Overall, Lenzing has managed to handle the challenge of last year’s collapsing markets as well as the current, and continuing, supply chain disruptions, with policies in place to mitigate any negative consequences.

One of the company’s core strengths has been its human resources. Mr Munson who has been at the plant since it was designed and built, points out that many of the workers have been employed in the business for many years. The company has a robust apprenticeship scheme in place, as well as internships, as preparing future talent to ensure the continuation of knowledge is an important part of the company strategy.

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The volatility of global markets has not stopped the group from continuing its investment plans. At the moment, Lenzing is building a Lyocell plant in Thailand to serve Asian markets, an investment worth EUR 400 mn, and further plants are expected to be built in selected locations over the next ten years. In addition, the current capacities are being increased, and this will hopefully also be the case for the Grimsby factory in due course, says Mr Munson.

“It’s been really rewarding to watch the company from the days it was built to becoming one of the most profitable businesses within the Lenzing Group. It is good to be part of building a strong future for the site.”

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MCGOWANS PRINT

WE LEARN HOW MCGOWANS PRINT IS MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE IRISH MARKET, AND THE RAPIDLY EVOLVING 21ST-CENTURY PRINT INDUSTRY.

THE PAPER -CUTTING EDGE PROJECT MANAGED BY: CHRIS CONWAY

Whether you are looking to print a handful of business cards or a few thousand flyers, McGowans Print is there for you.

This digital print company is ready to take on orders large and small alike, serving businesses of all sizes. It will print to any size as well, from compliment slips to building wraps. In fact, with the range of services and products McGowans Print can provide, it makes sense that Managing Director Mal McGowan sees his company as far more than just a print provider.

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W

e’re a digital print company but I’d call us a communications company,” he reflects. “We offer turnkey solutions to customers, taking them from the initial design to a finished product. We work in every facet of print, from business cards to a building wrap and everything in between.”

The assertion that McGowans is a communication company is supported by ju8st how much technology and innovation goes on within the company.

“We embrace the latest and best technology before most people in the market,”

McGowan says. “We’re the first or second to market with the best in innovative technology across all our products.”

McGowans can do this thanks to the close collaborative relationships it has built with manufacturers.

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ANTALIS

Antalis, Europe’s leading distributor of paper, packaging solutions and visual communication products, is on a mission to empower companies to make the transition to more sustainable options through knowledge and understanding.

Responsible Sourcing - developing responsible end-to-end supply chain management.

A Green Star SystemTM – making it easy to identify sustainable products including recycled content and recyclability at end of life.

Carbon Offsetting - all material purchased from Antalis can be carbon offset, with some ranges already supplied as fully carbon balanced.

Waste Management Support – Antalis works alongside a leading waste services provider to help businesses understand and manage the challenges around recycling.

Sustainable Products – a wide eco-portfolio of substrates offering high levels of performance: • Creative papers and boards – Industry leading fine papers that include 100% recycled grades. The entire creative papers portfolio from Antalis is supplied fully carbon balanced.

• Graphic and carton boards – Wide range of sustainable and innovative heavy weight boards for packaging, stationary, cartons, cards, covers and more.

• Recycled products – Nautilus and Cyclus are premium uncoated papers made from 100% recycled fibres, perfect for corporate communications that reflect a commitment to the environment.

• Large format media - Antalis offer eco-responsible alternatives for most indoor and outdoor visual communication applications with the same high level of performance.

So, whatever your print, packaging or display project requirements, Antalis is here to support you and your business move to a more sustainable future. Find out more at www.antalis.ie

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“We work closely with a lot of the manufacturers, and we often decide to purchase a machine before it is fully manufactured, while it is still being developed.

The Landa technology we just installed is the result of an agreement we made in 2010 that has just come to fruition.”

While this might seem like a risky approach, the trust McGowans and its suppliers have built makes this possible.

“We show an interest and get involved with the manufacturer,” McGowan says. “When you believe in technology and are involved on that level the decision to purchase is quite easy.”

“WHEN YOU BELIEVE IN TECHNOLOGY AND ARE INVOLVED ON THAT LEVEL THE DECISION TO PURCHASE IS QUITE EASY.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

MCGOWANS PRINT

PRINT FOR THE FUTURE

Part of that pressure to innovate comes from the fact that print is a business that comes under strong pricing pressures.

“Print is an unusual business insofar that it is the end of a long food chain and there’s a perception in the marketplace that it should commoditise and get cheaper every year,” McGowan points. “Price pressure can be alleviated somewhat by new technology and being able to do things quicker, smarter and better. However, of late there’s been a lot of pressure on raw materials such as paper and board. The demand for that has increased quite a lot in 2021.”

Part of the reason for the growth in demand is the rise in interest in sustainability across the board, leading to cardboard and fibre-based alternatives replacing plastics in a wide array of sectors. It is an area McGowan Print itself is active in.

“Sustainability is huge for us and a growing concern for customers. So, we are trying to substitute plastic with fibrebased raw materials,” McGowan says. “We also think online activity has created a high demand for corrugated board driven by Amazon and other major e-commerce players.”

Despite the important role the print industry plays in sustainability and communication, McGowan is the first to admit recruiting fresh young talent can be a challenge.

“In the print industry, the perception of young people is it’s an old industry. It can be hard to attract young people and young graduates, so it is up to companies like us to educate young people,” McGowan says. “We show them that print is a modern industry with cutting edge technology that can offer a good career path. We work closely with colleges here

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in Ireland, encouraging people to get involved in the print industry.”

Indeed, looking to the future McGowan foresees the industry having to evolve a great deal to serve a changing marketplace.

“The lines between online and print will blur somewhat, and I feel that print companies will become technology companies that happen to produce print,” McGowan says. “Innovation and technology are the key features. The print will always exist but the key for the future is technology and innovation and

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personalisation where the runs get shorter and shorter to serve more specific needs.”

It’s a future that McGowans Print is ideally suited for.

“We were never a traditional print company,” McGowan tells us. “Our company started with the introduction of the Apple Mac into design studios. We were always technology-led, with no traditional print experience, which was an advantage that let us embrace digital technology from day one.

We’ve been printing digitally since 1995.”

“WE WERE ALWAYS TECHNOLOGY-LED, WITH NO TRADITIONAL PRINT EXPERIENCE, WHICH WAS AN ADVANTAGE THAT LET US EMBRACE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY FROM DAY ONE.”

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MCGOWANS PRINT

During Covid, McGowans Print decided to purchase the Landa B1 digital press and a new laser cutter, an investment of over 5 million euros.

“The Landa, in conjunction with the laser cutter, will change print in Ireland forever,” McGowan assures us. “The Landa prints on substrates from 80 grams and up to 800 micrometres in resolution. It prints close to the speeds of traditional lithographic printing in B1 format, prints in seven colours, and gives us 96% of Pantone accuracy. It does away with the need for spot colour for packaging and commercial print applications.”

These tools aren’t just powerful, they are versatile, and as McGowan points out,

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McGowans Print will need that versatility to remain competitive.

“To get a feeling of the company, Ireland has a population of approximately five million people. It’s not like a larger economy like the UK or US where you can specialise in one product,” McGowan says.

“We do point-of-sale, cardboard boxes, pharmaceutical packaging, and magazines.

Digital technology allows us to be able to offer a turnkey solution for virtually every print application in Ireland, as well as exporting cardboard display units into the UK and Europe.”

With these capabilities, McGowans Print will continue to lead the industry, and help shape what it looks like in the future.

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THOMAS INSTRUMENTATION

THOMAS INSTRUMENTATION OFFERS A COMPLETE ELECTRONICS ONE-STOP SHOP, ADAPTING TO WHATEVER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE THROWN AT IT.

INSTRUMENTAL TO SUCCESS PROJECT MANAGED BY: LEE PHOENIX

From simple electronics to complex embedded control systems, Thomas Instrumentation has been designing and manufacturing the full range of electronics products for as long as it has been in business. This family-owned and operated firm, with its small, highly trained staff, has been offering a competitive edge to its customers for nearly half a century.

T

he company was established by Thomas Gluyas who studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan and gained experience through the university at their Willow Run Labs and Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii facilities. After leaving the university, Thomas Gluyas designed, tested, and installed some of the first programmable logic controllers for a small company in Michigan. While working there, he noticed a need for other speciality electronics which lead him to start his own business.

Thomas Instrumentation was founded in 1971 as a one-stop shop for anyone in need of custom electronic controllers.

One side of the business offers electrical engineering, PCB layout, and software development services, while the other provides high-quality electronic manufacturing services from prototype to large volume orders. Customers

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select individual services or an all-in-one approach. Thomas Instrumentation is defined by end-to-end service, excellent customer service, superior quality, and the kind of experience that can only come from servicing such a wide array of industries.

“We have all of our services under one roof.

For most customers, electronics are like magic that makes their product work,” says Cassandra Gluyas, CEO of Thomas Instrumentation.

“It can be hard for them to communicate their project specifications when talking to the design team. Most providers do not have everything in one place, so the customer must reiterate these requirements to many different companies. It’s a headache and a drain on time and resources.”

Cassandra Gluyas, CEO of Thomas Instrumentation.

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THOMAS INSTRUMENTATION

THOMAS INSTRUMENTATION

Surface Mount (SMT) components are optically inspected from 8 different angles to ensure product conformity to specifications.

This is a problem that Thomas Instrumentation can overcome not only because it has all the necessary skills and equipment in house, but also because the people with those skills and tools are in constant communication with each other.

“With us, you tell us your needs once and we coordinate all the requirements between our design, software and manufacturing teams,” Gluyas says. “Tell us what you need and we handle all other aspects of the project making your life easier.”

WORKING WITH WHAT THEY HAVE

This year is a special one for Thomas Instrumentation, marking 50 years since the company was founded. It is a good time to look back at how far the business has come, and the challenges it has had to work through to get here.

“We have seen a lot of challenges over those 50 years, with labour shortages and the pandemic among the most recent, but our biggest challenge has probably been the current component shortage,” Gluyas

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Our Electrical Engineers use state of the art equipment to design new electronics, reverse engineer legacy products, and diagnose circuitry issues.

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THOMAS INSTRUMENTATION

admits. “It is affecting all industries making it difficult to design and manufacture electronics.”

The semiconductor shortage has been felt across nearly every industry, even ones that do not use electronic circuits in their components will depend on sectors that do. Fortunately, Thomas Instrumentation’s vertically integrated set-up has meant it is uniquely capable of navigating these challenges.

“We’ve been able to protect our current customers because of the kind of company we are,” Gluyas points out. “Our on-site engineers can provide instant recommendations for replacement parts or redesign the product for a different component altogether. Our purchasing department has component supplier information which tells us what parts are available or have shorter lead times so we can tailor new designs to those parts.”

The company has also invested heavily in making sure it has the right tools and equipment available. Gluyas tells us, “We’ve really invested in our equipment. We have top of the line manufacturing equipment on-site capable of handling all size components. It gives us the flexibility to offer services for almost any project. We also have brand new X-ray inspection and automated optical inspection to drive home the quality aspect of the business. Our focus is always on high quality, high-reliability solutions.”

GOING THE EXTRA MILE

As well as a facility well stocked with the very latest technology, Gluyas puts Thomas Instrumentation’s ability to adapt to these challenges down to two key elements, its flexibility and the combined expertise of its team.

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THOMAS INSTRUMENTATION

TI’s production testing service includes the development of custom Test Stands and Test Software that our technicians use to verify every product passes a functionality test before leaving our facility.

“We’ve been lucky to find great employees who’ve been with us for years. They go the extra mile to the best of their ability, no matter what is happening in the world,” she says. “We’ve thrived through the challenges.”

For Gluyas, the key to putting that team together lies not in qualifications or an impressive CV, but the personality of potential recruits.

“We hire based more on their character than skill set,” she says.

“We find it is more important to find traits like carefulness, interest in learning, and dedication, than solely what skills they can currently provide us. With the right mindset, anyone can be taught the job. While we do invest in our staff, the most important thing is not to treat them like staff.

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TI designed and manufactured this industrial controller for high accuracy weight sensing & motor control with CAN, Ethernet, & USB communication.

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THOMAS INSTRUMENTATION

Users are impressed with the superior responsiveness, high brightness, and custom graphics of our TS18 Touch Screens. The TS18 is available in 4.3”, 5”, & 7” display sizes with built-in CAN, Ethernet, & USB functionality.

We treat them like family, value them as individuals, offer on the job training and reimbursement for education courses. We compensate them well.”

Moving forward, Gluyas wants to achieve more of the same, building Thomas Instrumentation’s capacity to do what it does, while looking to see how it can do more.

“In the future, I’d like to grow our capacity so we can add more production lines to the manufacturing side of the business,” Gluyas says. “We also want to expand our design services to include mechanical engineering.

As electrical engineers, we often interface with mechanical devices, so we would like the resources to take on that side of projects too.

We want to expand the idea of being a one-stop-shop for total projects.”

As the company expands its capacity and its offering, it will continue to be a valuable ally for its customers.

With over 40 years of experience, TI produces high quality, high reliability design schematics and layouts that are custom tailored for each product.

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TITAN ENTERPRISES LTD

MINI TURBINES AND FLOWMETERS ARE ESSENTIAL MEASUREMENT DEVICES ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF SECTORS, AND TITAN ENTERPRISES CONTINUES TO EXPAND TO SERVE THEM ALL.

GOING AGAINST THE FLOW PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

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TITAN ENTERPRISES LTD

Trevor Forster, Managing Director of Titan Enterprises, started out as draughtsman, later becoming a chief engineer for flowmeter development firm Litre Meter, making high-quality mini turbines.

I

took the job because the firm worked five doors away from my house, so I thought I’d be able to leave late and get home early. It didn’t work out that way,” Forster jokes.

Forster did well within the company, but after a while, he grew curious about an idea for a new venture.

“I could see the potential for another area of products altogether, in mini turbines and flowmeters for electronics,” he recalls. “I believed washing machines would have mini turbines in them before long, so I left Litre Meter and established a new business.

We set out to manufacture good quality low-cost mini turbines that would fit into the expanding white goods market.”

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Things didn’t go exactly as planned - while Forster’s prediction that mini turbine flow meters would become essential washing machine components was correct, it turned out he was a little ahead of the curve.

However, Forster’s business soon found a niche for itself providing to the OEM market.

The reasons for Titan Enterprises’ success are many.

“Obviously quality is high up there,” Forster tells us. “We’re also flexible and willing to get involved from the development stage, for runs as small as only 500 or 1,000 pieces, and price that in accordingly.”

Back in the early days of the business, Titan Enterprises’ tagline was “Doing things a little differently and a little better”, and it is a testament the company has stuck to.

“A few times we’ve been told ‘You can’t do that!’, and we’ve just done it anyway. The way we work with customers from research, development, through

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to production has enabled us to solve a lot of OEM application issues,” Forster recalls.

“Through that process, we’ve helped customers decrease their assembly times, improve efficiency, and provide extra functionality.”

One example of Titan Enterprises’ method bearing fruit was its work for a customer manufacturing cooling systems.

The third world countries the products were being exported to often had poor water quality, damaging the meters. Titan Enterprises was able to solve that by developing an ultrasonic flowmeter that could operate accurately and reliably even with contaminated water.

“Our USP is our flexibility, adaptability and ability to work with customers,” Forster tells us. “We have a great range of standard products, but 70% of our sales are from OEM customers.

Spending six months working with the customer to solve a problem to get a long-term OEM solution, gives us stability and future where we know we will be manufacturing say 4,000 meters a year for the next ten years. I don’t think many companies do that.”

THE AGE OF THE FLOWMETER

It is a model that is working well for Titan Enterprises.

Flowmeters and low-cost mini turbines are becoming much sought-after components, driven by the growing demand for sustainability, reliability and repeatability.

“The whole flowmeter market was £5 billion globally last year, and it is set to go up at 6% a year for the next ten years, across the board,” Forster tells us. “The control of small flows has become more critical for managing waste.

Even if you have a large chemical plant, you still have small flows to worry about. I think it’s been driven by the general search

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for more efficiency and more precision control. The global market expects it.”

The applications are widespread, as Forster points out, “You can buy a turbine flowmeter for your coffee machine for less than a £1, and if you only want it to last 400 hours it’s perfect, it’ll do the job. However, if you’re cooling water in a medical process, longterm efficiency and reliability are integral, so a robust turbine flow meter is more appropriate. In the agricultural machinery sector, we have five OEMs for agriculture equipment, from fogging storage silos with a fungicide to injecting small amounts of fertiliser/ insecticide into individual seeds.

That detail of control is giving people the best products, driven by businesses with the desire for productivity, maximum efficiency and a lack of waste.”

Of course, serving such a wide range of markets brings its own challenges.

“Because our market is so diverse, ensuring we are promoting ourselves sufficiently across the sectors can be challenging. From companies making beer in Canada, to medical equipment in Europe and mining in South America or Africa.

We also serve the offshore sector where we see a large number of our high-pressure oval gear flow meters go to oil rigs,” Forster says.

“However, our wide customer and geographic base have made the last couple of years not as painful as it could have been.”

How does Titan Enterprises succeed in marketing to such wildly different sectors simultaneously?

“It’s challenging certainly!”

Forster laughs. “We deliver targeted campaigns to each market depending on the flowmeter product and application we want to focus on at the time.

We also like to write case studies with our customers to promote

new and exciting applications where our flowmeters are integral to the process. We have a decent spend on SEO to ensure we are maximising our digital presence too. This is a key component of our overall marketing strategy, as is writing technical articles to support the industry. We have recently published wiring tutorial videos to help customers install their flow meters to help prevent simple mistakes that cost customers time and money.

Having recently brought our marketing in-house means we are able to deliver a more responsive and focused strategy involving all parts of the business.”

High performance ultrasonic flowmeter for measuring low flows.

VALUED TALENT

Aside from marketing, Forster points to recruitment as the biggest challenge.

“Getting good quality staff has always been difficult. It’s the sort of company where people need to work together and be prepared to step up and work outside their ‘job description’ to do what’s necessary. If something needs packing, I will do the packing.

Flexibility is what we do and we require that of our employees,” Forster says. “Our first job advert said ‘Intelligent, dextrous, articulate, numerate assembly worker’. Only one lady applied

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TITAN ENTERPRISES LTD

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“OUR UPS IS OUR FLEXIBILITY, ADAPTABILITY AND ABILITY TO WORK WITH CUSTOMERS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR APPLICATIONS AND FIND WORKABLE SOLUTIONS.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

and said, ‘I had to look up one of the words’ and we thought ‘You’ll do’! She stayed with us until she retired, and her son works with us now as a subcontractor.”

Today Titan Enterprises uses employment agencies to source their assembly staff, recruiting personnel on short-term contracts, then signing them on for longer if they prove to be a good fit for the company.

“That’s worked well for us and we’ve just taken on our latest production staff member in exactly this way. This method keeps our staff turnover low and recruitment costs to a minimum which is great for customers and our continuity.” Forster says.

Titan Enterprises has a good, committed staff, an excellent work ethic, and a strong market position. To Forster, it is a good place to further build from.

“We want to consolidate our place in the market. We have a good position and a product range we are proud of. Only one or two players globally are where we are and as far as I can tell they don’t offer the flexibility that we do,” he says. “We will look at projects and rather than try to sell anything upfront, work closely with our customers to see if we have a solution first. It means we may go down a rabbit hole or two but most of the time it works out because I won’t take on a problem unless I believe we can solve it. It means we spend a lot on Research and Development, but the industry does not stand still and investing in R&D is paramount to us staying ahead of the game and taking advantage of the latest technologies. Our R&D spend is 20% of our turnover where the norm is 8-10%.”

It is that extra investment and ongoing high R&D spending that will see Titan Enterprises at the vanguard of their sector for years to come.

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THYSSENKRUPP MATERIALS UK

THYSSENKRUPP MATERIALS UK

TODAY, THYSSENKRUPP MATERIALS UK IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A MATERIALS PROVIDER - THE COMPANY HAS EVOLVED INTO AN ENABLER OF ITS CUSTOMERS’ IMPROVEMENTS.

MATERIALS AS A SERVICE PROJECT MANAGED BY: DEAN BROWN

The company thyssenkrupp Materials Services, present in over 40 countries – with around 480 locations, is a longestablished, leading material supplier, providing a vast range of metal products in different grades, shapes and sizes. In addition, the organisation provides a range of metal-related services such as plate and bar cutting, coil processing, as well as fabrications, supply chain and logistics management.

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he group’s British business, thyssenkrupp Materials UK, has undergone some significant changes under the management of COO Billy Kingsbury, who has implemented a change in company strategy over the last 12 months.

Reflecting on the company’s current focus, Billy Kingsbury says: “Two or three years ago, I would have described us a materials distributor, thyssenkrupp Materials Services being the largest player in the western world in this sector.

Today, however, although material distribution remains a very important part of our business, our focus is moving forward within the strategic further development that we call ‘Materials as a Service’. This is, in principle, about working with our customers and partners to provide solutions addressing any issues within their supply chain.”

He explains that as market conditions change, with an increasing focus on digitalisation, and customers outsourcing more complex tasks to suppliers, thyssenkrupp Materials UK can apply its supply chain expertise and industry knowledge to better meet customers’ more comprehensive demands, as opposed to ensuring just material supply.

CONSOLIDATED EXPERTISE

thyssenkrupp Materials UK has seven locations in the UK and is in a unique position in terms of the capability contained within one company in the UK market to be able to provide offerings in line with ‘Materials as a Service’. “Basically, our services range from raw material supply, to managing the whole supply chain for the customers, to the production of semi-finished and finished products that are delivered to them,” says Billy Kingsbury.

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AU TO M AT I O N I S OUR FUTURE New at IMA Schelling: With the saw-robot combination of the Precision business unit from IMA Schelling, small and large batches can be processed. The robot takes over tasks from feeding, labelling and parts handling to the disposal and separation of scraps. Manual work with the panel saw is still possible at any time.

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150 | METAL & MACHINERY

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THYSSENKRUPP MATERIALS UK

To this end, the company has undergone a significant restructuring under his management: two of the company’s previously separate businesses thyssenkrupp Materials UK and thyssenkrupp Aerospace UK have been merged into a single business unit thyssenkrupp Materials UK. “The aerospace industry was hit more than any other sector by the global pandemic.

Bringing these two businesses together enabled us to leverage some of our expertise both from the logistics point of view as well as in terms of technical skills.

The combination has made our company a much stronger business now, providing a wide range of services, unrivalled in the sector. We can say today that the move was a major success story.”

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Billy Kingsbury, COO, thyssenkrupp Materials UK.

The merger has opened the way to new projects such as a partnership with a specialist hybrid balcony provider, for the manufacturing and supply of lightweight, carbon-neutral, MMC, bolt-on balconies.

In October 2020, the company opened a stateof-the-art factory, an investment worth £4 million, in the West Midlands region where the new product was launched, the only product in the market to offer 88% carbon savings versus traditional balconies.

This partnership became possible due to thyssenkrupp’s in-house engineering expertise and technology investments integrated into the new fabrication facility, advancing the Material as a Service strategy.

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THYSSENKRUPP MATERIALS UK

Billy Kingsbury points out that sustainability was one of the key aspects of the investment in the new factory. “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do.

We made the strategic decision to build a paperless factory.

This has been achieved through digitally-led stock management and drawings production, as well as real-time product traceability, all of which gives us an important competitive advantage in manufacturing.”

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“SUSTAINABILITY IS AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO. WE MADE THE STRATEGIC DECISION TO BUILD A PAPERLESS FACTORY.”

STAYING STRONG

Materials as a Service may alleviate some of the challenges customers are facing in the wake of the global pandemic, Billy Kingsbury points out.

“There is no way of avoiding the volatility in the material supply chain at the moment, but what we can do is to ensure that our customers are well informed, that we are working with them to secure the capacity that they need, and with thyssenkrupp

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THYSSENKRUPP MATERIALS UK

Materials UK being one of the largest players in the market, we can make sure that we reserve a lot of capacity with the mills as required.”

“We can use digital forecasting tools or our supply chain expertise to link the right customer with the right mill provider in terms of managing their demand moving forward.

At the group level, our global presence is a clear advantage – we have sources around the world and can manage the raw material flows that are vital for various branches of industry in the most efficient and sustainable ways.”

He affirms that the company is ready to face the future and ready to move up the value chain. An increased focus will be on an area where

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thyssenkrupp is relatively new to the market but which offers big opportunities in the future – additive manufacturing, in particular with metal powders.

“With the rapid growth of metal additive manufacturing, our advanced metal powders are matched to the different machine types and the underlying processes.

This sector offers real opportunities and we are talking with customers to find out where we can best position ourselves.”

On a more general level, thyssenkrupp Materials UK will continue to play its irreplaceable role as an intermediary between production and manufacturers, and with the Materials as a Service strategy, ultimately aim to deliver efficiency and sustainability improvements.

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FIRST E & P

WE RETURN TO TALK WITH FIRST E & P ABOUT HOW IT IS GIVING BACK TO NIGERIA & PREPARING TO TRANSFORM AHEAD OF THE ENERGY TRANSITION.

GAS-BASED FUTURE 154 | OIL & GAS

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FIRST E & P

FIRST Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Ltd (FIRST E&P) has established itself over the last decade as a deeply technical, commercial, and entrepreneurial business set to offer full delivery capabilities throughout the entire upstream oil and gas value chain.

PROJECT MANAGED BY: TREVOR GRETSINGER BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

S

ince it was established in 2011 the company’s strategic goal has been to be the most admired independent exploration and production company while contributing to the wellbeing of Nigerians.

On the tenth anniversary of its establishment, it has just come through the other side of an extremely eventful year.

“It has been hectic for us, as it has for the whole of

the industry,” admits Cees Uijlenhoed, CFO of FIRST E&P. “I think we can now look back on a very successful last 12 months. The most important development is that we are now at 3.7 million man-hours with no Lost time incident on our project and the company.”

3.7 million hours is a major achievement by any standard but achieving that during the Covid19 pandemic is astounding.

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LEADING OIL & GAS SERVICING COMPANY Global Spectrum Energy Services Plc (GSESPLC) is a Leading Oil & Gas Servicing Company that has been active and delivering performance excellence to the Oil & Gas Industry in the West Africa region for over a decade.

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Core Services: Supply of various types of Vessels - Security Patrol Vessels, Anchor Handling Tug, Platform Supply Vessels, Accommodation Barges, Flotels, Rigs, etc Supply of Rigs & Drilling Support Service Offshore Marine Support & Port Services Subsea Construction & Installation Pipeline Construction & Maintenance

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FIRST E & P

Cees Uijlenhoed, CFO of FIRST E&P.

parcel onto the market every 15 days. In total, 8 million barrels have been produced to date, generating over USD 500 million in revenue for Nigeria, which is totally incremental for the country. The company has also developed its own crude oil blend, which has a special significance to Cees.

“Another major achievement is the crude oil, CJ Blend, named after my son, Cees Junior” Cees explains. “We started with a trial marketing period, our first cargo was sold at a discount to Dated Brent of $2.31, and we’re now selling at a premium. It is evidence of the quality of the crude. So, it has been an eventful last 12 months but very satisfying.”

3.7 MILLION MAN-HOUR ACHIEVEMENTS

However, FIRST E & P’s proudest achievement remains that landmark 3.7 million safe work hours. This is not a result you can achieve through luck alone, as Cees points out.

“The COVID19 protocols in place have proven to be very robust for staff contractors and sub-contractors, so that is a major achievement,” Cees tells us. “We have delivered first oil on our major project at the Anyala West Field at the end of October last year which, is in my estimate the only major oil and gas project to achieve that during COVID. It demonstrates that Nigeria, despite its reputation, is a place where you can do business.”

FIRST E&P sold its first cargo in January 2021 and is scheduled to sell another

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FIRST E & P

“A lot of it is managed through the procedures developed for workplace safety. At the end of the day, safety is in the behaviour and hearts and minds of the people,” he says. “For a simple example, if people don’t want to hold a handrail when they go downstairs, you can put as many stickers as you like on the wall and, they won’t do it.

But if they believe it’s the right thing to do, they will. We spent a lot of time talking about safety as a way of living. We had a safety campaign earlier in the year sponsored by me where we say safety doesn’t stop at the gate. Safety extends 24/7 into your house and personal environment.”

As well as safety, FIRST E & P also prioritises sustainability, something not many people associate with the crude oil sector.

“Sustainability is obviously an issue in a resource-depleting industry. Almost by definition, you’re not sustainable. So where does sustainability come into it?” Cees asks. “Part of our vision is to benefit the wellbeing of Nigerians. Three of the most basic needs of a community are potable water, medical care, and education.”

FIRST E&P takes to heart the old saying about “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach him to fish, and you’ll have fed him for a lifetime”.

“I THINK WE CAN NOW LOOK BACK ON A VERY SUCCESSFUL LAST 12 MONTHS. THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT IS THAT WE ARE NOW AT 3.7 MILLION MAN-HOURS WITH NO LOST TIME INCIDENT ON OUR PROJECT AND THE COMPANY.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

“Traditionally other companies would drill a borehole for a community, it produced potable water, and the company would leave. One way or another, the pump will break because the pump won’t work for ten years, so the community is now upset with the company because the community feels the company has the responsibility to keep the water flowing. That is not

OIL & GAS | 159

Pivot GIS Congratulates First E&P on the Anyala Project

PIVOT-GIS Limited, PES Plaza, 101 Jubril Martins Street, Off Ajose Adeogun, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria Email: info@pivotgis.com // www.pivotgis.com

WITH PIVOT GIS LIMITED, GREAT SERVICE DELIVERY IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK PIVOT-GIS Limited is a subsidiary of Pivot Energy Services (PES) Group established in 2004. We provide engineering, procurement, construction (EPC), operations and maintenance (O & M) services to the Nigerian energy sector and performed excellent work at a fair and equitable price.

We have developed years of technical and managerial expertise to support projects and operations across the entire oil and gas value chain in the country for many companies including Chevron, Shell, Addax, Exxon Mobil, and FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited (FIRST E&P).

The services provided include the full range of EPC and specialist areas such as Laser scanning, modelling, historic as installed conditions specifically useful for brownfield development. These services can be provided in our facilities or yours whether you are onshore or offshore. Specialist services embrace diverse subjects of: • Engineering

• Testing

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• Through life support

• Independent confirmation of Mechanical Completion status and RFSU (Ready for start Up) leading to energising of systems.

We provide the finest technical capabilities, access to the company’s international strategic partnerships. After years of executing projects for top International Oil Companies (IOCs), you can rely on us to get the job done perfectly every single time. Speak to PIVOT-GIS and let us see how we can work together. www.pivotgis.com

160 | OIL & GAS

info@pivotgis.com

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FIRST E & P

“PART OF OUR VISION IS TO BENEFIT THE WELLBEING OF NIGERIANS. THREE OF THE MOST BASIC NEEDS OF A COMMUNITY ARE POTABLE WATER, MEDICAL CARE, AND EDUCATION.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

a sustainable model,” Cees explains. “ Our sustainability model involves developing our social interventions in a participatory way with our communities by ensuring the maintenance of the constructed infrastructure is planned into the implementation and having community representation working closely with the construction company. These representatives are also trained by the construction company on how to maintain the infrastructure.

FIRST E&P has also been engaged in plastic recycling and community clean-up schemes, partnering with NGOs and local youth. We have adopted two beaches for the next two years to clean and recycle plastic waste from the beaches. The beach adoption project also includes capacity building on waste recycling and employment creation for women and youth in these coastal communities boarding the beaches.

Education is another sector where the company will invest to aid local education because we believe it contributes significantly to breaking the cycle of poverty.

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FIRST E & P

“In our communities, the classroom ratio is one teacher to ten classrooms (or 193 children). Working with the local development group, we have reduced the ratio to one teacher to five classrooms.

In addition, we have also collaborated with a university to provide refresher training to primary and secondary school teachers from our communities.

Still, on education, we started our scholarship scheme this year with eight students.

This involves providing full scholarships to underprivileged students who live in the communities and placing them in a first-class boarding school in Lagos – a city in Nigeria.

So, we took eight students and put them in a first-class boarding school here in Lagos,” Cees says. “When they

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FIRST E & P

graduate out of the first year, we’ll put eight more in and continue that process to reach a total of 64 students over time.

We’re supporting each of these children, and the impact is just phenomenal. I’m a mentor to one of the children, and we welcomed them to Lagos four weeks ago. For the first time, they travelled in an aeroplane, saw a smartphone, played games on a tablet. My son CJ was excited to show Goodluck

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“SO, OUR NEXT PROJECT IS AROUND GAS, AND DEVELOPING THAT GAS BUSINESS AND DELIVERING GAS FROM OFFSHORE TO THE DOMESTIC MARKET. A LARGE PART OF OUR FUTURE WILL BE GAS-BASED.”

(my mentee) the workings of a smartphone. The children have been in a boarding school for four weeks now. The transformation in the children is tremendous already.”

“When we first met them four weeks ago, most of them could barely look up at you and appeared quiet and reserved,” Cees recalls. “Today, they are acting as any teenager would.

They are more confident and assertive, and you can readily see a great improvement in their social skills. It’s so exciting to see how these children developed themselves in only four weeks.

That’s where sustainability and empowerment enter our business.”

Cees also expects the company to undergo a more fundamental transformation in aid of sustainability.

“We’re moving away from traditional oil company practices here in Nigeria which, for a long time, have not developed since the 1980s,” he says. “It is very exciting as a company to be able to limit your emissions by importing and applying these new technologies. We’re moving into the gas space, the ESG space, and shaping the agenda for Nigeria.”

The key point, Cees points out, is that in much of Africa, the energy transition looks very different from how it does in other parts of the world.

“For us, the transition isn’t going to hydrogen or solar or wind energy. For us, the energy transition is in the first instance from firewood and charcoal to gas,” he explains. “So, our next project is around gas, and developing that gas business and delivering gas from offshore to the domestic market. A large part of our future will be gasbased.”

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LK BENNETT

LK BENNETT, THE BRITISH AFFORDABLE LUXURY BRAND, HAS REINVENTED ITS BUSINESS WITH A FOCUS ON CIRCULARITY WHILE RETAINING ITS HERITAGE.

AFFORDABLE LUXURY THAT LASTS PROJECT MANAGED BY: RHYS COUSINS

LK Bennett (LKB) has been famous for offering stylish women’s fashion and clothing that lasts. The company, established some 30 years ago, went through a difficult period when the business went into administration in 2019 and some of its High Street stores were closed.

T

hat, however, was not the end of the traditional British company. The chain was bought by a Chinese investor who appointed Darren Topp as CEO of the revived company, to move the brand forward.

“The new owners have been very keen to keep, and reinforce the business heritage,” says Darren, adding that LK Bennett has always been an affordable luxury brand, and the notion of ‘a bit of Bond Street on the High Street’ has remained very much the company’s motto.

THE CONSCIOUS APPROACH

“Our heritage has been about quality and Britishness, about quirky prints and good materials, style rather than plain fashion, and this is also the premise the business will continue to be based on. We are

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the opposite of the throw-away fashion concept; our products are made to last. Longevity is our USP.” Darren affirms that the company is working hard for this to continue. “There are very few accessible luxury clothing players in the UK market, so we occupy a unique space between the top of the High Street and the truly luxury brands.”

The company has recently reinforced the design team and given them more creative leeway; the benefits of this approach are now starting to be seen. Since April this year when the Covid-19 restrictions eased, LKB’s performance has been much stronger than forecast.

“The history and heritage of the brand are two aspects that we want to reinforce and to invest into. This has certainly been our focus over the last two

years, alongside developing our digital business,” affirms Darren.

While the company has always championed slow fashion, with a dedication to ‘wear-forever’ quality, craftsmanship and style, LKB now increasingly wants to ensure that those objectives are achieved through ethical, responsible, and sustainable practices. The company has launched LKB Conscious, with sustainability at its core – from raw materials and suppliers to packaging with the aim to lower the company’s environmental impact.

LK BORROWED

The move from a throughaway culture and an increased focus not only on longevity but also on sustainability and the circular economy have been the driver of another venture that the company has started.

In the summer, LKB announced the launch of an online service called LK Borrowed. For a monthly subscription of £79 consumers are able to create a wish list of products in order of preference

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LK BENNETT

Kar pelle Ltd fashion development, sourcing & manufacturing

As a leading manufacturer of high-quality ladieswear trading for over 35 years, we are extremely proud to have supplied LK Bennett for 16 of those.

We wish continued success to LK Bennett and we look forward to maintaining our partnership for many years to come.

T: +44 (0) 161 203 2400 ■ E: info@karpelle.co.uk

www.karpelle.co.uk

Darren Topp, CEO, LK Bennett.

International Tradebest Ltd is a dynamic high fashion trading company in HK that serves fashion houses in European markets, our aims at providing quality fashionable products on a low cost basis.

Tel: (+852) 2314 3089 Email: info@tradebest.com.hk

166 | FMCG

www.tradebest.com.hk

and will receive the top two available items in their size per week. Items can be kept for up to one month. A customer can rent two items for a whole month, or swap up to eight items. Those who want to keep their rented products will be able to purchase them at a reduced price.

Darren says: “Renting clothes is a more sustainable way of shopping as a lot of women buy outfits or dresses to wear only a few times or even once for

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LK BENNETT

shipping distances are short, and the recyclability of all materials used, be it plastics, wool or leather is a top consideration for the designer team.

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE BRAND

Darren Topp says that the brand, in its new form, is absolutely committed to growth, planning to increase its High Street presence in the coming years.

“We do believe in having a store portfolio in addition to being a digital-first business, as is required these days.”

a special event, then keeping them in their wardrobes never to be worn again. Under our scheme, you can borrow an outfit within the subscription, wear it and send it back to us.

We will professionally dry clean the outfit, make sure that is it in perfect condition before someone else can use it again.”

He claims that since its launch a few months ago, the service has had a fabulous response, especially as environmental consciousness and the awareness of circularity have further increased during the pandemic.

The rental service, however, is only one of the ways the company is looking at minimising its carbon footprint. With suppliers based predominantly in Europe,

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LK BENNETT

“We believe in the brand and in the future of the High Street, and to contributing to its much-needed regeneration.

In doing so, we need to be as creative and as innovative as possible, as we have an environmental responsibility to future generations.”

Being a low-volume highquality business, these principles are already embedded in the company’s DNA. And in an increasingly sustainabilityconscious world, they appeal to a growing number of consumers, and not only in Britain. Today, about one-third of LKB’s sales are generated outside the UK and that proportion is set to grow.

“We do have an international focus, and ‘Britishness’ sells well in certain markets from China and the Middle East to Europe.

We believe that in the near future about 50% of our sales will come from abroad. That said, we are also committed to growth in the UK market. With this in mind, we keep investing in the future of the company, both in its people and its systems and processes.

LKB is here to stay.”

“WE BELIEVE IN THE BRAND & IN THE FUTURE OF THE HIGH STREET, AND TO CONTRIBUTING TO ITS MUCHNEEDED REGENERATION. IN DOING SO, WE NEED TO BE AS CREATIVE AND AS INNOVATIVE AS POSSIBLE, AS WE HAVE AN ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY TO FUTURE GENERATIONS.” 168 | FMCG

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LK BENNETT

MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE

MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE HAS RECENTLY WON ITS LARGEST EVER PROJECT, MOVING FROM PROVIDING MARINE SERVICES TO MORE COMPLEX PROJECTS.

IN SAFE HANDS PROJECT MANAGED BY: TIMOTHY GARWOOD

Maersk Supply Service is a leading provider of global offshore marine services and integrated solutions for the energy sector worldwide.

With a fleet of 40 vessels, Maersk Supply Service brings more than 50 year’s hands-on marine experience in performing complex operations at sea. The company is a subsidiary of A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S, and employs around 1100 offshore and 220 onshore staff.

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MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE

S

ince 2017, Maersk Supply Service has expanded its offerings to become a solutions provider, specialised in towing, mooring and installation of large floating structures, which is an integral part of the maritime expertise needed for both offshore wind, and oil and gas markets.

“The company has always been recognised and valued for its fleet and its operation in the subsea construction and field development for the oil and gas sector,” says Rafael Thome, Managing Director for Maersk Supply Service in Latin America. “But we are now moving from being a vessel provider to securing integrating engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) work, bringing higher added value to customers.”

Based in Brazil, he affirms that Latin America is one of the regions to be watched in postCovid market development. It is here that the company has recently achieved an important milestone.

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THE LARGEST PROJECT

In June, Maersk Supply Service secured a major project contract for the Libra Consortium in Brazil concerning the pre-lay of the mooring system for a newbuild FPSO in Brazil. The EPCI project will be implemented over 2021 and 2022.

“This is one of the biggest projects of its kind to be awarded this year, and we are very proud to have won it.

With this contract, we will be ramping up our activities in Brazil significantly and will be further developing our office in Rio de Janeiro. We look forward to enhancing our solutions capabilities in the Brazilian market,” says Rafael Thome.

He explains that the company is using the capability of its centre of excellence in

“THE COMPANY HAS ALWAYS BEEN RECOGNISED AND VALUED FOR ITS FLEET AND ITS OPERATION IN THE SUBSEA CONSTRUCTION AND FIELD DEVELOPMENT FOR THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR.”

MOORING CHAINS & ACCESSORIES

Aberdeen, where its expertise comes from, and its competence is now being mirrored in Brazil.

The company has hired over 20 new people for this project and is set to develop a second centre of excellence for solution projects.

This will be a regional centre, intended to provide expertise not only to Latin America but also to other regions such as Africa, where subsea projects have a similar profile.

“While the core business will remain, we are moving towards being a full provider. What

we are offering now is really bringing extra added value to clients, and we are looking at projects that are either too specific and too large for simple vessel providers,” says Rafael Thome.

BUILDING A TRACK RECORD

This approach has been working very well, he explains, and new opportunities are emerging as the jobs are getting larger and more complex.

The Mero 2 project has not been the only achievement

JIANGSU ASIAN STAR ANCHOR CHAIN CO., LTD. Jiangsu Asian Star Anchor Chain Co.,Ltd. (AsAc) is a specialized manufacturer of anchor chains and offshore mooring chains. With its head quarter located in Jingjiang, Jiangsu Province, AsAc has about 1,900 employees and its subdidiaries, Asian Star (Zhengjiang) Mooring Chain Co.,Ltd. Asian Star (Maanshan) High Strength Chain Co.,Ltd. With 60% of its products are exported to over 50 countries and regions around the world, AsAc has developed as the largest producer with long term cooperation with oil companies (CNOOC, Petrobras, Shell, ExxonMobil and so on) and EPC companies (Maersk, SBM, Bluewater & More).

AsAc is concentrated on heathy, safety and environment, keep to cooperate with renewable energy industries and provided mooring chain & connectors to Wind turbine projects.

AsAc provided 208mm chains which is the largest chains all over the world. AsAc also delivered the world’s first R6 chain & accessories at the beginning of 2021 with both DNV and CCS cert. All with full satisfaction.

AsAc is the most reliable manufacturer of mooring chain and accessories, AsAc works with you to face challenges and to provide more reliable mooring equipment.

Max capacity: 240mm Approval certificates: ABS / BV / CCS / DNVGL / LR / NK / RINA / RMRS www.asac.cn

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MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE

in 2021. Just recently, Maersk Supply Services has proudly announced another success: In September, the company was awarded a contract by the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO), for Phase 2 of a mooring system maintenance project on the Kome-Kribi 1 Floating Storage & Offloading unit off the coast of Cameroon, west Africa. This adds to Maersk Supply Service’s solutions trackrecord in mooring management, following the Mero 2 contract in June 2021.

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The project involves replacing two link arms on a yoke mooring system on the KomeKribi 1 Marine Terminal and follows Phase 1, during which Maersk Supply Service carried out the design, engineering, procurement and installation of a temporary redundancy system.

The contract comprises of full project management and engineering and the two-month offshore operations, which are scheduled to commence in Q4 2022.

“THE INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS WE PROVIDE AIM TO SIMPLIFY OFFSHORE OPERATIONS AND TO REDUCE COST & RISK FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.” SHIPPING, PORT & MARINE | 173

MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE

“The integrated solutions we provide aim to simplify offshore operations and to reduce cost and risk for our customers.

Our teams are really the core of our success. By combining the flexibility of a versatile fleet with our technical and project management expertise, Maersk Supply Service is able to deliver solutions that meet complex project needs,” says Mr Thome.

GREEN WAY FORWARD

Speaking about general market development in 2021, he reflects that the market already seems to be picking up in the wake of the pandemic, specifically in the big investment locations such as South America and Africa.

If the trend were to continue, the company would be more than willing to invest in expanding the fleet.

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MAERSK SUPPLY SERVICE

The investment will reflect the company’s green policy, affirms Mr Thome, saying that Maersk Supply Service is committed to decarbonising its fleet and is focused on energy efficiency and ocean health.

With the ambitious target of reducing its carbon intensity by 50% across its fleet in 2030, the company has now taken the next step in its decarbonisation journey and ordered a battery pack for one of its M-class vessels, with plans to install the battery in early 2022. The company has also expanded into renewable industries such as floating wind, and ocean cleaning.

“There are currently two growing renewables segments that Maersk Supply Services is working on,” says Mr Thome.

“The installation of offshore

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floating wind turbines, requiring its own kind of solution; and testing offshore charging buoys to reduce vessel emissions, potentially displacing a significant amount of marine fuel with green electricity. Both has the potential to become large business areas for Maersk Supply Service.”

He points out that with most companies focused on reducing costs and handling the consequences of the crisis in oil and gas as well as of the pandemic, the current challenge is to have a clear understanding of the way forward.

“There are a lot of opportunities emerging and we really need to stay focused.

Our two pillars of success are our vessels and our expertise, and these assets will carry us into the future.”

“THERE ARE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES EMERGING AND WE REALLY NEED TO STAY FOCUSED. OUR TWO PILLARS OF SUCCESS ARE OUR VESSELS AND OUR EXPERTISE, AND THESE ASSETS WILL CARRY US INTO THE FUTURE.”

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X SHORE

X SHORE

X SHORE, THE DESIGNER AND PRODUCER OF LUXURY ELECTRIC SPEEDBOATS, IS ON A MISSION TO REVOLUTIONISE THE MARITIME INDUSTRY WITH THE POWER OF SILENCE.

SIMPLY ELECTRIC PROJECT MANAGED BY: CHRIS CONWAY

X Shore, the forerunner in electric boating, is a young company but aiming high. Trademarked as X Shore globally in 1996 by one of Sweden’s best-known entrepreneurs, Konrad Bergström, it was only ten years later that the core business of the current company took shape, and the first working prototype of an electric boat was created.

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Then, two years ago, Jenny Keisu joined the company as CEO and took the business to new heights. “I joined a large project and built a company out of it,” she says, noting that when she took over from Konrad in October 2019, the business was still in a design stage.

She affirms that sustainability has always been close to her heart. With a background in law, Jenny Keisu was a cofounder and partner of Summa Equity, a private equity firm that invests in companies in line with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.

“With Summa Equity we were pushing the whole industry towards sustainable operations. Eventually, the company was up and running and I felt I should focus my time and effort elsewhere, somewhere I could make a huge impact again, demonstrating that sustainability is the only way forward. When I met Konrad, I could clearly see that I could build a company out of

his most amazing vision. And here are we, two years on, with a company that has gone through truly steep growth and is set to maintain that pace of development.”

THE BOAT

So, what is so special about X Shore’s boat, which has already won multiple design awards including the prestigious German Innovation Award and is sold out before it is even produced?

Jenny Keisu emphasises that X Shore is founded on three pillars; design, sustainability and technology. “There are other electric boats on the market but they come with oldfashioned batteries, plastics and are not necessarily made in a sustainable manner.”

“We have a holistic perspective and three key objectives were clear from the beginning - first, to design a boat that fully blends in with nature, that means no emissions, no bright colours, no disturbance for wildlife; second, use sustainable materials based on the reuse, recycle, biodegradable principles with a high focus on

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Marine • Automotive • Aerospace • Industrial & Infrastructure

High Performance Products

We provide a complete package from start to finish: ∙ 3D Modelling ∙ Design and engineering ∙ 5 axis CNC-machining for patterns and fixtures ∙ Composites Press molding of all SMC, BMC & thermoplastic materials ∙ Pre-preg in and out of autoclave ∙ Vacuum Infusion with all resin systems ∙ Wet lay-up

Aston Harald Composite AB Östra Hamnen 26, 475 42 HÖNÖ, Sweden Tel: +46 31 96 86 00

∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙

Oven Post curing 5 axis CNC-trimming Conveyorized Cutting for kitting of pre-preg & dry fibres Paint and Polishing Full traceability from start to finish Quality Control Mapaz ERP

Email: info@astonharald.com

www.astonharaldcomposite.com

ASTON HARALD COMPOSITE AB

X SHORE

MODEL IT, MOLD IT, MAKE IT In 2013, Aston Harald AB acquired the design & production rights of the high-performance carbon fibre racing catamaran the M32. In a brand-new, custom built facility Aston Harald Composite began building M32s and a quality production system was built up around the boat.

We have since applied this quality system to other industries and the company has evolved into the multifaceted facility it is today.

Our vision is straight forward; to progressively and sustainably advance the use of Aston Harald Composite solutions in our target areas by: Being innovative in our design and production methods, pushing the boundaries of what and how we can manufacture.Continuously researching and investing in new materials and manufacturing techniques. Staying price competitive.Striving to be the best at what we do.

The members of our expert team have been hand picked from a number of different industries.

They can take an existing idea or design and move it from the drawing board to delivery exactly as the customer imagined or to shape the concept of the product from the very beginning, whether it be big or small, custom one-off or serial production.

The company is set up to be flexible to all our customers needs.

OUR PROCESS: • Evaluation of conceptual design.

• Engineering, dimensioning and any necessary design changes made.

• Review of desired materials & if needs be, carry out testing & evaluation.

• Tooling design and manufacturing.

• Production preparation & planning.

• All capabilities available in-house for a quick response.

• Quality control throughout the whole project.

PRODUCTION FACILITIES:

• 2700 m² Open plan production floor

modularity and third, to make the boat in a sustainable manner - no chemicals, no plastics. In summary, sustainability is in our DNA, it is the core of what we do.”

The outcome of this approach is the Eelex 8000, an electric boat sometimes called ‘the Tesla of the sea’. From its 100% electric motor to the low-impact materials the boat is built with, the Eelex 8000 is the embodiment of a more sustainable maritime tradition, with a minimal carbon footprint.

The hull can be made out of flax fibre, recycled materials, and the deck is covered in cork that is superior in function and sustainability.

The boat is smart – in addition to a 24-inch display touchscreen, the software captures 150 data points every second, allowing for real-time analytics of battery and engine performance, including temperature, humidity, pressure, the craft’s location and its system status.

The Eelex 8000, now in series production, is the company’s first boat to be commercialised and is now available on three continents. In just two years, X Shore is already pushing the industry, as Jenny Keisu envisaged, ready to scale up.

• 11 x 2m Autoclave capable of curing at 170°C and 8bar.

• 130 Ton composite press, 800 x 600mm press table. Heated top and bottom

plates upto 250°C for curing SMC,BMC type materials and infrared heating and delivery shuttle tor thermoplastic materials upto 400°C.

• 5 axis CNC-milling machine 2,5 x 1,5 x 1,2m capable of machining aluminium, tooling block type materials. Also set up for full composite trimming.

The composites press is opening up a whole new world to us. Up until now we have mainly focused on structural and finished structures, the outer shell or substrates with a very high demand on quality. With the press we can achieve both but on smaller components. By using our innovative hybrid structural core solution, It allows us to also look at the inside of things where high strength, light weight and volumes with tight tolerances are required. Repeatability is the key here. We can save time and money by replacing what is typically machined from metal and with cure times as quick as 30 seconds mass production is possible. www.astonharaldcomposite.com

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X SHORE

NEW FACTORY

In April 2021, X Shore announced a €15 million round of funding with the aim of building a second factory to enable increased production of its flagship model. At the new site in Nyköping, south of Stockholm, the plan is to build a sustainable and modern boat-manufacturing facility with significantly reduced industrial emissions and a more automated production line. The new facility will have a production capacity of 400 boats per year.

“The factory that we are now setting up will soon be the most modern and the most sustainable leisure boat factory in the world, demonstrating that we can make boats more costefficiently and more quickly than anyone else in a sustainable manner. Basically, showing how

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“WE WANT TO CHANGE THE WAY BOATING IS DONE. WE ARE DRIVING THE FUTURE OF SMART BOATS, DEDICATED TO BEING PART OF THE TRANSITION TOWARDS A GREENER WORLD.”

boating should be done in the future,” says Jenny Keisu.

The new factory space measures 15,000 m2 and will employ around 100 new staff when production begins towards the end of the year. It will provide much-needed space to allow X Shore to include a complete assembly line and to manufacture composite parts itself.

“We are now selling more boats that we can produce and the new factory will help us meet this increased demand,” says Jenny Keisu, affirming that even the current supply chain disruptions have not impacted the company’s performance and its plans.

DRIVING THE FUTURE

“We have an amazing supply chain management team, so while we face the same

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challenges as everyone else, we don’t have any particular issue with delayed supplies. On balance, the Covid-19 pandemic has not had a detrimental effect on the business. During the lockdowns, everything moved online and we are really, really good online,” she says.

The company has been described as the Number One electric boat online, but what is more remarkable, as Number Two of all brands globally. “The shift to online has played to our advantage, and the focus on sustainability further increased during the pandemic.”

Jenny Keisu affirms that the company growth rate, skyrocketing over the last two years, is set to continue. “From one employee 2 years ago, we are a now a company of 80, to be increased to 200 next year.

The development mirrors the demand and it looks like we are going to experience steep development for the coming years.”

“We are the largest player, we are years ahead of others but the demand is so big that there is room for everyone,” she reflects, emphasising that what has been achieved in such a short space of time would not have been possible without the company’s dedicated staff.

“I have the best team you can think of. We attract this best talent because we are a purpose-driven company. We want to change the way boating is done. We are driving the future of smart boats, dedicated to being part of the transition towards a greener world.”

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CONTRACT TRANSPORT SERVICES

WISCONSIN-BASED CONTRACT TRANSPORT SERVICES IS A FORWARD-THINKING LOGISTICS COMPANY ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF INNOVATION, WITH SUSTAINABILITY AT THE HEART OF ITS OPERATIONS.

THE GREEN WAY FORWARD PROJECT MANAGED BY: TIMOTHY GARWOOD

Contract Transport Services (CTS), which began in 1985 as a single-truck operation doing cartage work for paper mills in Wisconsin’s Green Bay area has come a long way. Today the company is a leader in Midwest regional transportation services, with a fleet of over 150 trucks, providing exceptional, reliable transportation along with dedicated yard management in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan.

T

he company has grown substantially under the management of Curt Reitz, the company President.

He says: “Our drivers are our key strength. We value them greatly, reward them accordingly and provide consistent support so that they get home to their families every night. We have launched numerous staff incentives and do what we can to make sure that our drivers are treated well and get the respect they deserve.”

Curt, a former military veteran, is passionate about making sure his drivers are treated well by customers, something that is, by far, not to be taken for granted. He has made it a mission to provide assistance to his fellow former military peers to give them security, good jobs and meaningful existence in their new life.

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“Our employees are continually acknowledged for doing their jobs well. Our truck driving professionals are held to high standards, and that means our customers can count on extraordinary service each and every time. We set out to exceed expectations, and that is what keeps us strong. Clearly, our drivers are a key aspect of this achievement.”

GREEN TRUCKING INITIATIVE

In recent years, CTS has often been featured in the press with regard to its focus on green operations - an important and much-talked-about factor in the heavy-duty vehicle segment.

Curt Reitz says: “When customers choose CTS for their transportation needs, they are committing to a company that places high importance on the environment. We’ve partnered with the Environmental Protection

Agency as a SmartWay affiliate to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, curb air pollution, and improve fuel efficiency for sustainability.”

“We’re proud that 100% of our entire fleet runs on compressed natural gas (CNG), which reduces customer costs and has positive impacts on the environment. In 2019, CTS was given the Forward Fleet Award

by Wisconsin Clean Cities, as well as honoured by Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) as a Top Green Fleet of 2019.”

In spring 2020, the company entered into a contract with OPAL Fuels, a producer and distributor of renewable natural gas (RNG) for heavyduty truck fleets, a move that will significantly reduce CTS’s carbon emissions. Under the agreement, OPAL Fuels will sell 15 million gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) of RNG to CTS and has built a station and related infrastructure at CTS’ facility in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“By contracting with OPAL Fuels to internalise our fuelling infrastructure, the new RNG fuel and related infrastructure will save us time, money, and significantly reduce our carbon emissions,” says Curt Reitz.

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CONTRACT TRANSPORT SERVICES

President of CTS, Curt Reitz (left), taking delivery of new CNG Trucks.

CARBON NEGATIVE

The company has also partnered with Hexagon Agility, a business of Hexagon Composites, a leading global provider of clean fuel solutions for commercial vehicles and gas transportation solutions.

Their products transport clean gaseous fuels and enable vehicles to reduce emissions while saving operating costs. Sustainability is a key driver for Hexagon and their assistance to Curt and his business has been extensive over the years.

Reflecting on potential green fuels in the sector, Curt says: “Sustainability is becoming a priority in every sector including transportation, although the focus is primarily on electric.

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CONTRACT TRANSPORT SERVICES

Electric trucks can at best get to carbon neutral. Our trucks run on renewable gas, processed either from landfills, wastewater treatment or farms.

So, our trucks are actually carbon negative. Sadly, the green community is not pushing natural gas. If they really understand green, they would focus on natural gas solutions as that’s the best you can get.”

The fact is that renewable natural gas (RNG) is the single most impactful pathway to reducing harmful emissions from the heavy-duty transportation sector, both immediately and in the future, and it is the world’s only carbon-negative fuel.

Compared to other alternative fuels, natural gas vehicles (NGVs) deliver the most cost-effective NOx and CO2 emissions reductions, and the reductions are even more dramatic when using RNG. RNG, derived from organic waste, offers the lowest carbon intensity solution of any transportation fuel.

SOLID VALUES

Purchasing over 200,000 gallons of CNG each month, CTS is proud to be moving America toward a cleaner tomorrow. “Renewable natural gas is the best alternative fuel option on the market. We are proud to say we can deliver our customers their products safely, efficiently and at the same time sustainably.”

“Unlike electric solutions that are being contemplated for heavy-duty vehicles, RNG is an option available now, not in ten- or fifteen-years’ time, and not when the infrastructure is ready in some distant future. It should get the appreciation it deserves.”

Despite the volatile transportation market and the consequences of the pandemic-

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related restrictions, Curt Reitz stays positive when thinking of the company’s future: “Our strong reputation for exceptional service has created double-digit growth for the past 10 years.”

“At CTS we have solid values and we focus on respectful and

professional interactions. The hard work of our employees has created a good basis for further business growth ahead. And that growth will be achieved by sustainable means. It’s really a simple mindset - take care of your employees and they will take care of the business.”

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ETG LOGISTICS

WE LEARN HOW ETG HAS GROWN OUT OF AFRICA’S AGRICULTURAL SECTOR INTO A GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGER, AND IS USING THAT LEVERAGE TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING AFRICA’S FARMS.

SUPPORTING AFRICAN FARMS

PROJECT MANAGED BY: DAVID TAVERNOR

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ETG LOGISTICS

ETG was established in Kenya in 1967. Their focus was general trade and distribution until the current promoters saw the dire need to support the agriculture sector, and primarily distribution of agriculture to deficit areas. ETG has developed into a global player with a diverse portfolio of expertise across multiple industries, encompassing agricultural inputs, logistics, merchandising and processing, supply chain optimisation, digital transformation and energy.

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ETG LOGISTICS

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ETG LOGISTICS

“ETG ENVISIONS A WORLD WHERE IT TRANSCENDS LIMITATIONS; WHILE POSITIVELY IMPACTING THE LIVES OF ALL ITS PARTNERS.”

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T

he existing supply chain strength nurtured over five decades, supported by the vast infrastructure ETG has acquired to promote trade, resulted in the formation of the ETG Logistics vertical.

The vertical has a presence in more than 20 African countries, with a mission to facilitate trade between Africa & India, China & Middle East.

ETG Logistics (ETGL) thrives upon three unique selling prepositions.

Firstly, ETGL has a wealth of local expertise and indepth knowledge of Africa, accumulated over half a century.

The second is its strong asset base in major African countries, encompassing transportation, warehousing and port-related infrastructure.

Finally, the widespread presence across sub-Saharan Africa, has enabled the group to become a formidable player within the logistical space.

Apart from creating operational reach to 25 countries in Africa, ETG Logistics has set up sales offices in India, China, and Europe.

ETG Logistics strives to overcome the barrier within logistics on the continent. ETG operates in low-Income IDA/ FCS countries and are focused in providing support to smallscale farmers. Through the group’s strategic approach, they are in close proximity to farm-gate.

A two-way trade flow platform supports approximately 1,100,000 smallholder farmers, providing access to quality agricultural inputs and creating an access to market through procurement of product. Through this structure, ETG plays an important role in SSA region from a development impact perspective and as supplier into the global food basket.

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ETG LOGISTICS

At the core of this two-directional model, is ETG Logistics. This structure has been difficult to replicate by the group’s peers.

The synergies between ETG’s verticals covering agricultural inputs, exchange traded commodities, FMCG and a variety of cash crops create a natural risk mitigant, giving the group the agility to explore opportunities in remote areas. This in turn has a huge impact on African communities. Accessibility to quality input led to improved yields and infrastructure such as warehousing and silos in close proximity to farmgate enables farmers to take a “long position”, allowing them to build a position and to sell at best market levels.

The group has spent a significant amount of capital towards establishing processing capacity across Africa, giving jobs to people in remote areas, where opportunity is scarce.

FROM FARM TO PLATE

ETG envisions a world where it transcends limitations; while positively impacting the lives of all its partners. The ETG vision captures the drive that turned a Kenyan company into a pan-African player, enabled to distribute a variety of commodities across the continent, including areas where opportunity is scarce.

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ETG LOGISTICS ALSO OFFERS MECHANISATION AND MOBILITY SOLUTIONS, WITH A WIDE SPECTRUM OF FARM MECHANISATION EQUIPMENT CATERING TO THE NEEDS OF NOT ONLY SMALL HOLDING FARMERS BUT ALSO LARGE COMMERCIAL FARMERS.

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ETG LOGISTICS

By servicing the full supply chain – from quality and affordable agricultural inputs, to processing, to distribution, ETG contributes to the wellbeing of millions of people.

Our passion still lies with the upliftment of African Farmer communities and the group remains fully committed to making a lasting and positive impact across the regions within which we operate. Traditionally in Africa, and this continues to be the case even now, road transport, warehousing and port infrastructure is not up to standards, and challenges related to transportation and infrastructure to carry goods to port locations, and borders are still creating huge obstacles.

ETG has been effectively addressing these challenges, around infrastructure in particular. The company has been building the necessary warehousing infrastructure to fulfil its vision. ETG, today, manages more than 450 warehouses spread across the continent. ETG has also invested in close to 600 trucks that primarily operate across Eastern and Southern Africa.

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ETG logistics believe that their most valuable assets are their people. When it comes to manpower resources, the group has a number of training and development programs.

To embrace the Fourth Industrial revolution, ETGL has invested in technology, with GPS enabled devices and an online transportation platform, called TOL – Transport on Line, that helps to aggregate supply and demand of trucks.

TOL is currently operational in Tanzania.

Apart from providing logistics services, ETG Logistics also offers mechanisation and mobility solutions, with a wide spectrum of farm mechanisation equipment catering to the needs of not only small holding farmers but also large commercial farmers.

The product range includes the recently launched VST Tillers and Tractors range that cover tractors from 13.7 kW to 37.3 kW.

Under this brand, ETGL also has small farm mechanisation implements like power weeders, power reapers and power tillers ranging from 3.7 kW to 11.8 kW. This range is ideally suited for small and emerging farmers where affordable mechanization is a key requirement. For larger, commercial farmers, ETGL will also be offering the Belarus tractor range with engine outputs in the 42 kW to 333 kW range.

Apart from tractor distribution, ETGL offers support to smallholding farmers who cannot afford to buy tractors, with its recently launched online tractor rental platform called ‘Rent-a-Tractor’ in Tanzania and South Africa. This holistic approach to equipping farms, supporting them, and transporting their goods is showing the way towards a truly pan-African agricultural supply chain.

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FAR EAST LAND BRIDGE

FAR EAST LAND BRIDGE REPRESENTS AN AMBITIOUS LOGISTICS PROJECT THAT PROVIDES A VITAL ROUTE FOR CARGO, BUT THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.

BRIDGING

EAST AND WEST PROJECT MANAGED BY: RHYS COUSINS

FELB (Far East Land Bridge) is an internationally active railway operator offering optimal rail logistics in and between Europe, Russia, and Asia along the TransSiberianrailway line. The goal of the logistics company is to sustainably link the European and Asian economies.

S

ince 2007, the company, which has main offices in Vienna and Shanghai, has been continuously developing its portfolio of services, routes, and product groups. From its foundation in 2007, FELB has grown to offer a full suite of logistics services.

FLEXIBILITY IS KEY

“If you are active in the logistics sector, we offer a full range of different services the market is asking for,” says Uwe Leuschner, FELB’s CEO. While these services are an important part of FELB’s offering, the route is also a vital piece of infrastructure, and one Leuschner believes should be protected and invested in.

“Many of my colleagues and I wish that this would be more of an investment market regarding infrastructural investment,” he admits. “Every year we are facing a lot of different challenges. We are working across both the Asian and European markets, facing the challenges on both sides.”

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FELB’s responsibilities include following or monitoring approximately 40,000 businesses, carriers, infrastructural companies, and other operators.

“Our operator activities include organising certain necessary services and following all the logistics trends,” Leuschner says.

These are activities that FELB has been engaged in since it commenced its first pilot shipments in 2007, following a special agreement with its initial Russian partner, TransContainer.

Since then, FELB has grown and purchased over 2,600 containers, with the number of train departures increasing from one a week to six.

It has also established two special train operating centres, its Block-Train Centres (BTC), one in Asia and one in Europe.

All of this is operated by over 100 employees who ensure efficient operations and sale of services.

As an international organisation, FELB manages offices in China and Russia, strategically located along its entire route, to complete the system around the railway connection.

CHANGING TRACKS

But while a lot of the challenges FELB negotiates on a day-today basis are evergreen, some are growing in significance.

“Emission-free transportation is not a new thing, but actually it is a far more pressing challenge today,” Leuschner says.

“Not only is there the shift in container transport to emission-zero, but there is also the pressure to offer services around that business. We need to establish additional services that are only possible via digitalisation and improving networks and cooperation between our partners.”

To address the changing needs of the industry, FELB is engaged in a process of constant listening and improvement.

“Offering borderless solutions and thinking ahead – that are our tasks. We are very interested in improving our services and every year we find areas to build on,” Leuschner points out. “In the last few weeks in our core business and our side businesses, we have been organising fresh terminals with over 10,000 km of track laid. We are constantly looking for emergent solutions, but we ensure that these solutions are always client-centred.”

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FAR EAST LAND BRIDGE

Uwe Leuschner, CEO of Far East Land Bridge

WE ARE THERE. TODAY. TOMORROW. AND THEN! As a hinterland hub, the duisport logistics hub has developed in recent years into a central interface between Europe and all major global destinations.

Whether international, regional, or local – in a solid network such as ours, everything is interconnected. A system that is now proving just how efficient it really is. Even in difficult times – and especially so.

We are the network.

www.duisport.com 4 | CONSTRUCTION

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EUROPE BY RAIL

OUR SERVICES:

■ Forming & forwarding trains within the European freight railway network

■ Organizing dedicated & best logistics solutions ■ Organizing the process of reloading of containers

between different gauges, including documentation

■ Rail & Road last-mile delivery in Central & Eastern Europe ■ Sanitary inspection & customs clearance

Aleja Jana Pawła II 27, 00-867 Warszawa

+48 22 253 53 11

offer@transeastwest.pl

www.transeastwest.pl

DUISPORT - LEADING LOGISTICS HUB IN CENTRAL EUROPE Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport) owns and manages the Port of Duisburg, the world’s largest inland port. With a total throughput of over 110.4 million tons and 4.2 million TEU (2020), the Port of Duisburg is the leading logistics hub for goods handling in Central Europe. As a trimodal logistics hub, duisport combines an excellent geographical position, good location conditions, and comprehensive logistical Know-how.

We are the network - Through a wide variety of logistic services, the Port of Duisburg offers the companies active at the location the best prerequisites for good handling of goods. Eight multimodal container terminals, more than 400 weekly train connections to about 100 direct destinations in Europe and Asia, and extensive warehouse and storage capacities are linked with market- and customer-focused services offered directly on site.

With this approach, the duisport Group can cover a broad service range and operates as a full-service provider. In addition to goods handling (including merchandise in containers, imported coal, iron/steel, mineral oil/ chemicals), these services include relocation management, development of integrated port and logistics concepts, intermodal transport services, contract logistics, and specialized industrial packaging. duisport works together with its partners to develop transcontinental train connections, for example along the New Silk Road between Duisburg and China. The Port of Duisburg is the central hub for freight traffic between Asia and Europe. Thus, today already around 60 trains travel weekly between the Port of Duisburg and almost two dozen destinations, such as Wuhan or Chongqing. The Rhine-Ruhr region has become an increasingly important player in trade between the EU and China. Around 30% of the trade volume between Europa and China handled by freight trains goes via Duisburg.

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Alone over 5,000 direct jobs were created by the logport I revitalization project started in 1998 on the premises of the former steelworks in Duisburg-Rheinhausen. International logistics providers moved in and duisport developed into one of Europe’s most important logistics hubs.

Today, it is the flagship for North-Rhine Westphalia as a logistics location.

Over 50 companies base their operations on the site, including leading logistics companies such as Kühne + Nagel, DB Schenker, DHL, or Yusen Logistics.

Based on the learnings and the success of the logport I project, duisport has developed a further number of former brownfields into modern logistics locations (logport II to V). This has created more than 7,000 additional new jobs. Currently, duisport is working on logport VI, the 40-hectare parcel of a former paper factory in Duisburg-Walsum. This constitutes the second-largest duisport revitalization project after logport I. With its business portfolio, duisport forms the national as well as the international connecting axis between producers and customers connects markets and is the driver for regional and global flows of goods. The company considers itself as a partner of the logistics industry and contributes decisive contributions to the optimization of transport chains. For this, tailor-made concepts and solutions are developed and implemented for a wide variety of customer requirements. The more than 300 logistics-oriented companies that have settled in the Port of Duisburg and that generate a value-add of around EUR 3 billion per year especially benefit from this concept. In total, more than 50,000 jobs in the RhineRuhr region are dependent on the Port. www.duisport.com

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Leuschner emphasises that this client-centred approach is crucial to the business.

“That’s very important because obviously, clients have very strong feelings regarding their cargo,” he insists. “There are a lot of challenges but we are using them to enlarge our service portfolio more and more.”

© duisport

logport I, trimodal logistics hub develped by duisport and flagship for North-Rhine Westphalia as a modern logistics location.

HUMAN CAPITAL

Of course, this process would be impossible without a wealth of talent and dedication on the part of FELB’s staff, a resource that Leuschner values deeply.

“Our success in each market depends on the human part of our capital,” he says. “You need people who know what they are doing, and which tools and IT solutions we’re using. Our IT system is the result of our people applying their combined know-how and knowledge.”

FELB’s team is a multinational one, including staff from 15 different countries. With all these different cultures, backgrounds, and even languages, communication is very important to the business.

“Clear communication lines are critical between staff and between staff and clients,” Leuschner says. “Communication is essential to improving services and understanding the conditions your clients are working under.”

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“THE FUTURE IS OUR FIRST PRIORITY. WE KNOW IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO GO FORWARD AND INVEST AND FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THE MARKET.” BUSINESSFOCUSMAGAZINE.COM

FAR EAST LAND BRIDGE

Leuschner also emphasises how important it is to bring new talent into the company.

“It is important to renew the staff and invite and hire younger people to join us,” he says. “Our longer-term employees can then hand over their experience as well as the international understanding that allows us to operate over such a broad geographic footprint. We learn using video conferences or online communication.

Even years before the pandemic communication has been the basic foundation of our company.”

From that foundation, FELB aims to build a piece of logistics infrastructure that will stand through the ages.

“The future is our first priority,” Leuschner tells us. “We’re planning for 2022, 2023, 2024.

We’re interested in being a part of the modern investment market. We are investing more and more in container transport and improving our IT systems.

We’re looking for environmental solutions and how we can improve over the next few years while serving markets not only in Europe but further afield in markets such as China.”

These improvements include offering CO2 certification for clients so that they can see what emissions are produced for each transported container while also suggesting ways that can be improved. A paperless documentation process is also well underway. Next year FELB will be celebrating its 15th anniversary, and Leuschner sees this as a challenge to go even further than it has already.

“We’re interested in opening communications with corporations and creating or founding new associations on the global stage,” he says. “It’s a big challenge but we know it is our responsibility to go forward and invest and find solutions for the market.”

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