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CENTENNIAL A N N I V E R S A R Y MARKS A CONTINUED ONE - STOP SERVICE
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M+W Group recently celebrated 100 years of providing technology-related construction solutions for international clients Writer Emily Jarvis Project Manager James Mitchell
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+W Group is the leading global engineering, construction and project management company in the fields of advanced technology facilities, life science and chemicals, energy and environment technologies and high tech infrastructure. From concept development to turnkey services, the company manages projects of all sizes ensuring rapid realisation, high quality standards and cost-effective completion. With its competence to link process and automation technologies and complex facilities to integrated solutions, M+W Group primarily focuses on leading companies in the fields of electronics, photovoltaics, life science, chemicals, energy, automotive, security, iT and telecoms, as well as research institutes and universities. 2012 was an excellent year for the company, generating an order intake of €3.58billion and a revenue stream of €2.38billion, in addition to celebrating its 100th anniversary; growing from a small outlet in Germany, into a major international player. M+W Thailand are a significant player in M+W Group. They are a major global international company providing a full range of consultancy services; from project inception through to concept design, site selection detail design, specialised processed designs, construction management, testing and commissioning. Asia Outlook spoke to the current Operations Manager for M+W Thailand, Brian Doyle.
“The true M+W way”
Over the last two years, M+W Group have re-focussed the Thailand sector of the business, moving from a more localised trade towards targeting international clients in what Doyle calls the “true M+W way.” Generally, Doyle has found that these clients will have a specialised engineering and construction requirement as he
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MIAC AUTOMATION
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iAC Automation is a prominent supplier of complete industrial automation solutions. These include the production of electrical control panels and switchboards, the development of software for control and monitoring systems and the development of PC software for industrial iT applications. At MiAC Automation we understand your needs, and know that automation helps to secure the long term perspective of your investments in new process equipment. All over the world increasingly stringent requirements for safety and traceability, makes automation one of the most important part of your process. MiAC Automation supplies well documented and fully functional automation systems, based on open standards and accessible platforms.
We have the solutions and answers to specialist construction, which other construction companies do not have”
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explains: “We have moved back into Thailand and have seen a significant growth in our revenue, specifically from American and European clients. We are beginning to feel the benefits of these investments from last 18 months at present.” M+W Thailand pride themselves on being a specialist provider in the high tech industry as Doyle highlights: “We provide our customers with a one-stop solution from concept design, right through to testing and commissioning.” More often than not, the company finds that when it comes to specialised design construction requirements, they fit the bill better than their competitors: “This is where M+W step in, because we have the solutions and answers to specialist construction, which other construction companies do not have.”
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Realizing the need of a reliable panel and automation supplier in South East Asia, we have our own production of control panels, produced according to iEC 60439-1 and iEC 60 204-1 standard, under supervision of people trained and educated in Denmark. Generating improvement, MiAC Automation is a company in constant development. We seek to be one of the market leaders in industrial automation solutions and to live up to our customers’ natural demand for technological innovation and solutions that generate active improvements in the industrial processes. M.i.A.C Automation Co., Ltd. 82/2 Moo 4 Soi Watsantikham Nongplalai Banglamung Chonburi 20150, Thailand Tel: +66 (0)3 817 0718 Fax: +66 (0)3 817 0717 Managing Director Henrik Janssen: hja@miac-automation.com Technical Director Soren Holm: shc@miac-automation.com
www.miac-automation.com
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industry-wide Challenges
in the last year, the company have been most successful in making this transition to developing an international client base by securing and implementing profitable projects. “Over the last 12 months, we have been developing a more competitive service for our clients,” cites Doyle. As a consequence of this, the M+W Thailand subsidiary have been able to continue to grow their Thailand operations, increasing their staff levels in this country by 40% over the last year. The Group as a whole currently boasts an impressive 7500 employees worldwide. Recently, there has been an industry-wide challenge affecting construction business operations in Thailand, which is a consequence of a
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We want all of our employees and others working on our projects to go home safely every day”
series of political tensions. “The result of this is that foreign investors are more reluctant to give the go-ahead on projects. However, we would like to stress that we are not seeing people withdraw their investments, business with these clients is just slowing down,” Doyle emphasises. it is a known fact that the construction industry is suffering from a shortage of skilled labour and staff, with an aging demographic and the lack of a younger workforce to take their place. “it is getting harder and harder to find engineers in particular that have a good qualification,” says Doyle. “Most of our labour is made up of local domestic labour. A problem for us is that all contractors in Thailand look for labour in the same area, which makes it more difficult
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for everyone in the market to source good quality labour.”
A Competitive Service
As with any business, securing a professional, reliable and well-trained workforce is a key part of being competitive. M+W Thailand like to make their own mark in securing local employees: “We use a mixture of expatriates and local staff, the idea being that we can have the expatriates train the local staff in the M+W way and teach them. We send staff to our centre of excellence in Singapore, where we can provide the relevant training, depending on their role within the company.” in recent years, the company has seen significant growth in the health and beauty, food and beverages
It’s all about the long term; it’s developing not just for today, but for tomorrow, the next year and further down the line”
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and energy and environment sectors. “These sectors have good opportunities for us to offer our M+W expertise, we can leverage our existing international relationships to offer clients complete solutions to what they are looking for,” Doyle comments. Supply chain is always very important to M+W; in terms of securing local partners and subcontractors as Doyle states: “if we don’t have strong relationships with these groups then we won’t be competitive, if we are not competitive we are not going to secure projects.” The company’s global operations help significantly with international procurement in Thailand, where M+W are constantly developing their network of suppliers and local
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TEO HONG SILOM GROUP
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eo Hong Silom Group, established since 1974, celebrating its 40 years of trust, a milestone to be proud of and one made possible due to its solid business foundation built around strong management principles and business ethics. The group consists of 5 business units. 1. Mechanical & Electrical Systems (Supply and install of mechanical and electrical system) 2. Construction Material Solutions (High quality construction material for interior, architectural and engineering projects) 3. information & Communication Technology (One stop supplier of integrated solutions to a customer’s operations) 4. Property Business (Bangna Convention Centre, Oakwood resisdence and The Garden Tower) 5. Special Business (Consist of medical equipment and Noritake tableware) Tel +66 2 312 0045-69 Email m&e@teohong.com
www.teohong.com contractors to get the best quality and keep them competitive. Doyle assured us that before anything else, M+W take safety and quality seriously: “We want all of our employees and others working on our projects to go home safely every day. A high number of the awards that we win are safety and quality related.” Therefore, delivering projects in a safe manner and to a high quality are a key priority and the awards are a demonstration of the fact this value runs right through the company and their ethos.
Future projects
For the year 2014, M+W are looking at working with a number of repeat international clients who are looking at investment opportunities in Thailand. What’s more, they are already in discussions with them about these projects, with a view to be their “one stop solution,” as Doyle emphasises: “in other words, we want to be the
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We want to be the company who provides their design, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning all the way through from start to finish”
company who provides their design, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning all the way through from start to finish.” With a clear target for the next year to focus on projects that Doyle believes will suit M+W’s needs, and the client’s needs simultaneously, the company’s goal is to look at maintaining quality rather than quantity. An ongoing target is to secure quality staff that they can train and secure for the long term, in turn, developing their relationships with local partners and suppliers. “it’s all about the long term; it’s developing not just for today, but for tomorrow, the next year and further down the line,” Doyle affirms “and one of the ways we make this happen is through listening to our customers. We understand what their needs and wants are, and we deliver this in a costeffective and timely manner,” Doyle signs off.
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E n q u i r i es
M&W GROUP
Tel (UK): +44 (0) 1603 559 151
219/39 Asoke Towers
Tel (SA): +27 (0) 21 527 0053
11st Floor, Soi Asoke
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Sukhumvit 21 Rd
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Bangkok 10110 , Thailand
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Tel: +66 2640 8017-21
matt.bone@outlookpublishing.com
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North Khlongtoey, Wattana
Email: infoth@mwgroup.net
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