COVER STORY
EnerMech Establishing a Firm Foothold in South Africa Establishing a firm foothold in South Africa is central to Aberdeenheadquartered engineering services group EnerMech’s African growth strategy. Garry Stuart, African regional cranes manager, shares some of the recent developments in the country.
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rom Aberdeen to Azerbaijan Enermech promises to be where ever they are needed. It’s a promise that can only be backed up by having boots on the floor – a philosphy that is engrained in the company ethos. “Building a solid operating infrastructure within a country is integral to how we operate,” explains Garry. “With this in mind the company is continiously building on capacity, increasing the scale and scope of our service offering. In this regard we have extended our line of services extensively in the past few years.”
diversifying into more sectors such as industrial, petrochemicals, renewables and mining.” With an ability to provide a bundle package of services thanks to the various lines of expertise within Enermech, the company has set out on an extensive expansion strategy in South Africa that will not only increase its customer base but also ensure it is adding value to those companies it services.
“Our integrated services approach is one that has worked well in other countries,” says Garry. “Danielskuil in the Northern Cape was our first point of focus. Having already built up a solid base of clients the decision was taken to establish a permanent base.” According to Garry this addresses one of the major challenges of operators in this rural region namely distance. “We identified an opportunity for
With Africa having been identified as a region of growth thanks to its huge strategic importance especially in light of the drop in the oil price and the slower economic growth in many developed markets the South African operations in particular have been in the spotlight. “We have worked across South Africa even though for a long time only having a base in Cape Town,” says Garry. “Growing our footprint and getting more people on the ground across the country became imperative in light of our growth strategy.”
Adding value in the Northern Cape In 2016 the decision was taken to open more bases in South Africa expanding into the market focussing especially on their load testing and inspection as well as maintenance and spare parts offerings. “Across our business we had been engaging closely with clients to get a real understanding of their needs,” he says. “At the same time taking into account that the oil and gas industry remains under pressure we are very focussed on 4
Lifting Africa - Jan / Feb 2017
EnerMech’s Garry Stuart and John Morrison. Load testing in Cape Town Harbour.