EME Outlook - issue 42

AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. | NSPCC

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MEGGER

Setting the standard in electrical test and measurement globally

BECKERWARKOP

Safety first in Poland’s transformative mining space

STATICUS

The Innovators of Façade Manufacturing ALEKSANDER RAJCH of the Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA), examines the organisation today ahead of an industry-defining decade

Issue 42

VISION EYE INSTITUTE | ANGLISS ASIA

DANGOTE CAMEROON | COMSOL

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Issue 90

PW MINING Contract mining, civil engineering and construction services across West Africa

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Issue 50

GE-SHEN CORPORATION

HAMILTONJET Developing the latest boat systems for the global market

Supplying product solutions for panindustry customers

TREVALI MINING

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Issue 42

MEGGER

w w w. n o r t h a m e r i c a o u t l o o k m a g . c o m

Industry-leading freight forwarding and supply chain solutions

NAVAJO EXPRESS

Safety first in Poland’s transformative mining space

Behind a worldclass provider of transportation services

Supplying high-quality products, equipment, services, and expertise across the oil and gas sector

EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL

DNI GROUP

EMPOWERING

Championing regional integration

SOCIAL

EOS DEFENCE SYSTEMS

STATICUS

NICHOLAS WRIGLEY, CEO of Winch Energy, reveals the challenges of producing robust, cost-effective engineering solutions for the off-grid electricity market

Brett Fletcher, CEO at Ravenswood Gold, discusses his company’s vision of becoming the largest gold mine in Queensland, Australia

ALEKSANDER RAJCH of the Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA), examines the organisation today ahead of an industry-defining decade

MISHA LOBBAN-CLARKE, Executive Director of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry, discusses the current state of industry across the island

robust, cost-effective engineering solutions for the off-grid electricity market NICHOLAS WRIGLEY, CEO of Winch Energy, reveals the challenges of producing

vision of becoming the largest gold mine in Queensland, Australia Brett Fletcher, CEO at Ravenswood Gold, discusses his company’s

examines the organisation today ahead of an industry-defining decade ALEKSANDER RAJCH of the Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA),

Commerce & Industry, discusses the current state of industry across the island MISHA LOBBAN-CLARKE, Executive Director of the Barbados Chamber of

SOCIAL

SYSTEMS EOS DEFENCE

The Innovators of Façade Manufacturing

INNOVATION

EMPOWERING

The Innovators of Façade Manufacturing

Providing high-quality defence systems internationally

INNOVATION

STATICUS

Providing high-quality defence systems internationally

regional integration Championing

COUNCIL BUSINESS AFRICAN EAST

DNI GROUP

space base-metals mining communities in the partners and Working alongside

oil and gas sector and expertise across the products, equipment, services, Supplying high-quality

Tell us your story, and we’ll tell the world.

services transportation class provider of Behind a world-

space transformative mining Safety first in Poland’s

MINING BECKER

MINING TREVALI

across West Africa construction services civil engineering and Contract mining,

PW MINING

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Issue 04

AVRIO LOGISTICS

Setting the standard in electrical test and measurement globally

BECKER MINING

Working alongside partners and communities in the base-metals mining space

APPDIRECT | ENGLOBAL | VOLTAGRID

AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. | NSPCC

Issue 90

global market boat systems for the Developing the latest

HAMILTONJET

w w w. a p a c o u t l o o k m a g . c o m

industry customers solutions for panSupplying product

CORPORATION GE-SHEN Issue 50

measurement globally in electrical test and Setting the standard

LOGISTICS AVRIO

MEGGER

w w w. e m e o u t l o o k m a g . c o m

EXPRESS NAVAJO

solutions and supply chain freight forwarding Industry-leading

Issue 42

w w w. n o r t h a m e r i c a o u t l o o k m a g . c o m

Africa Outlook, APAC Outlook, EME Outlook and North America Outlook are digital and print publications aimed at boardroom and hands-on decision-makers, reaching an audience of more than 800,000 people around the world; spanning the full range of industrial sectors.

DANGOTE CAMEROON | COMSOL

VISION EYE INSTITUTE | ANGLISS ASIA

AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. | NSPCC

APPDIRECT | ENGLOBAL | VOLTAGRID

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Issue 04

WELCOME

Shaking The Space

EDITORIAL Senior Editor: Sean Galea-Pace sean.galea-pace@outlookpublishing.com Editor: Marcus Kääpä marcus.kaapa@outlookpublishing.com Junior Editor: Phoebe Harper phoebe.harper@outlookpublishing.com PRODUCTION

In today’s landscape, there are two buzzwords at the top of executives’ agendas: innovation and sustainability.

Production Director: Stephen Giles steve.giles@outlookpublishing.com Senior Designer: Devon Collins devon.collins@outlookpublishing.com Junior Designer: Matt Loudwell matt.loudwell@outlookpublishing.com Production Assistant: Courtney Solomon courtney.solomon@outlookpublishing.com Social Media Manager: Dan Nash dan.nash@outlookpublishing.com BUSINESS Chief Executive Officer: Ben Weaver ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com Sales Director: Nick Norris nick.norris@outlookpublishing.com Managing Director: James Mitchell james.mitchell@outlookpublishing.com Commercial Director: Joshua Mann joshua.mann@outlookpublishing.com HEADS OF PROJECTS Callam Waller callam.waller@outlookpublishing.com Eddie Clinton eddie.clinton@outlookpublishing.com Thomas Arnold thomas.arnold@outlookpublishing.com TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Vivek Valmiki vivek.valmiki@outlookpublishing.com SALES MANAGERS Sales & Partnerships Manager: Donovan Smith donovan.smith@outlookpublishing.com Ryan Gray ryan.gray@outlookpublishing.com PROJECT MANAGERS Matthew Taylor matthew.taylor@outlookpublishing.com Nicholas Kernan nicholas.kernan@outlookpublishing.com Sam Love sam.love@outlookpublishing.com ADMINISTRATION Finance Director: Suzanne Welsh suzanne.welsh@outlookpublishing.com Office Manager: Daniel George daniel.george@outlookpublishing.com CONTACT EME Outlook 69-75 Thorpe Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 1UA, United Kingdom.

Sales: +44 (0) 1603 363 631 Editorial: +44 (0) 1603 363 654 SUBSCRIPTIONS Tel: +44 (0) 1603 363 654 sean.galea-pace@outlookpublishing.com www.emeoutlookmag.com Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/emeoutlook Follow us on Twitter: @eme_outlook

Without innovation, you run the risk of stagnating.

You remain motionless in a world which is ever changing and, as the past 18 months have demonstrated, this cannot happen if you want to achieve sustained success.

And the topic of sustainability is equally as hot. In years gone by, a greener approach was regarded as a ‘nice to have’ but wasn’t anywhere near the forefront of decision-making. But, in 2021, that mentality has shifted on its head as the ethos behind being more environmentally friendly is embraced.

Which is a nice segue to introduce our cover feature – Staticus. As one of the largest façade engineering contractors in Northern Europe, the company displays a drive to constantly innovate and implement sustainable business practices. “In Scandinavia, we are definitely a market leader,” comments Aušra Vankevičiūtė, CEO at Staticus. “We have a very strong focus towards energy efficient solutions, and I must say that Scandinavia is a true leader in implementing these requirements.”

Elsewhere in the magazine, Leszek Zyrek, Deputy Chairman of Engineering and Development at Becker-Warkop, discusses the digital transformation of Poland’s mining space while prioritising a safetyfirst approach. “As environmental protection has become increasingly important, the demand for electric and battery solutions has increased,” explains Zyrek. “For the last seven years since we implemented our first battery transport system, we have constantly developed our technology to get the best result from the solutions we offer.”

Also, be sure to check out our feature with Jim Fairbairn, CEO of Megger, who tells us all about his company’s COVID-19 strategy and how Megger has continued to grow despite the disruption, pointing to his staff as a key reason for growth. “Our people play for the jersey, and I’ve seen employees show a real passion for doing the best they can for the company,” he says. “I believe we have a brand that has been built up with all the things that customers want – a brand with strong values that actually means something.”

And before you go, read our exclusive reports with M+S Hydraulic, NSPCC, The Polish Alternative Fuels Association, Kunooz Oman, One Works, RelyOn Nutec, SOCEP and more!

Enjoy the issue!

Sean Galea-Pace Senior Editor, Outlook Publishing EME Outlook issue 42 | 3

CONTENTS

8

16

10 14

REGULARS

6 NEWS

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Around Europe and the Middle East in seven stories

18 The Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA)

8 EXPERT EYE

Examining the advent of electromobility in Poland

Evaluating the rise of digital contract signatures

BUSINESS INSIGHTS

10 CONSTRUCTION Redefining Urban Space Architecture challenging the norm for a sustainable future

14 SUPPLY CHAIN The Evolution of Procurement An insight into the transformation of the procurement function

TOPICAL FOCUS

16 TECHNOLOGY Cashier-Less Convenience UK expansion continues for Amazon Fresh

18 4 | EME Outlook issue 42

194 THE FINAL WORD How is technology helping to transform your industry?

EME OUTLOOK MAGAZINE

F E AT U R E S

30 SHOWCASING LEADING COMPANIES

SUPPLY CHAIN

134 Al Rashed International Shipping Co. Setting the Course for Kuwait

Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world

CONSTRUCTION

32 Staticus The Face of Future Urbanisation The future of façade engineering

48 One Works Maximising Value in Design Sustainable architecture in expert Italian design

56 SLA Ecological Architecture Building with technical expertise, science and ecology

62 Grimshaw Architecture’s Enduring Spirit Creating lasting and sustainable architectural projects worldwide

Leading Kuwait’s maritime industry

80 MANUFACTURING

80 M+S Hydraulic From Bulgaria to the World Expert hydraulic manufacturing in Bulgaria and beyond

86 Megger Resilience in the Face of Crisis A leader in electrical test and measurement globally for over 130 years

98 PetrolValves Innovative, Transformative Manufacturing

144 SOCEP Redefining Trade in the Black Sea Behind one of Romania’s leading port operators

152 Truckoman Middle Eastern Oil Logistics Delivering equipment and solutions in Oman

TECHNOLOGY

158 RelyOn Nutec Taking Safety Digital A global partner in end-to-end safety solutions

The evolution of Italian manufacturing

102 Hamilton Jet Propelling into the Future Developing and manufacturing the latest boat systems for the global market

158

MINING

116 Becker-Warkop Evolutionary Technology Transformation

62 68 Integrated Healthcare Design Building Baltic and Nordic Healthcare

A leading producer of mining equipment and devices in Poland

124 Kunooz Oman Mining in Oman Mining gypsum in Oman

Facilitating the engineering, procurement and construction industries

Facilitating EV charging solutions across Europe

170 NSPCC Shielding the Vulnerable Safeguarding children across the digital realm

ENERGY & UTILITIES

180 CIS GAZ Energising Romania

Delivering building and digital designs for the Baltic and Nordic healthcare sector

74 Chemie-Tech Maintaining Industry

166 EVBox Euro Electrification

The family-run oil and gas company geared for expansion

124

186 Lahti Energy Nordic Energy Sustainable district heating in Finland

EME Outlook issue 42 | 5

NEWS Around Europe & the Middle East in seven stories…

TECHNOLOGY

Amazon to equip Finland with delivery robot technology

ECONOMY

RESTRICTIONS SET TO END IN ENGLAND UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has announced that the majority of the remaining COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted from 19th July.

Johnson will make masks voluntary and put an end to one metre social distancing and QR code sign-ins at restaurants. “If we don’t go ahead now when we’ve clearly done so much with the vaccination programme to break the link then when would we go ahead?”

he commented. While infections are still expected to rise, it is hoped that deaths will be limited by vaccinations.

With ‘Freedom Day’ initially planned for 21st June, rising cases meant that the fourth and final stage of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown in England was delayed by a month in a bid to allow more vaccinations to take place.

TH E e-commerce giant, Amazon, has confirmed plans to develop automated delivery robot technology in Finland.

Set to be based in Helsinki, the USbased conglomerate is setting up a new ‘Development Centre’ to support Amazon Scout, which is a fully electric autonomous delivery robot that is being tested in four US locations. 24 engineers will be based at the Amazon Scout Development Centre in Helsinki initially, with Amazon confirming they will be focused on research and development.

Amazon announced that the key aims will be to develop 3D software that simulates the complexity of real life and will ensure that Scout can navigate safely while making deliveries. “The Amazon Scout team in Helsinki will grow over time,” the company stated.

“We’re now hiring engineers who are at the forefront of robotics and autonomous systems technology.”

TRANSPORT

Saudi Arabia set to invest $133 billion in travel industry SAU D I Arabia is set to invest around $133.3 billion in airports, sea ports, rail and other infrastructure by the end of the decade in order to make the Kingdom a global transportation and logistics hub, according to the country’s transport minister.

As the Kingdom begins to diversify away from oil amidst the ongoing 6 | EME Outlook issue 42

Saudi Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pushing economic diversification to wean Saudi Arabia off oil revenues and create new jobs.

Saudi Arabia’s aim is to put its capital, Riyadh, in line with the United Arab Emirates, the region’s business, trade and tourism hub. Saudi Arabia has a drive to increase the number of international aviation routes from 99 to over 250 while also tripling the total annual passenger traffic from 103 million in 2019 to 330 million by 2030.

AUTOMOTIVE

Porsche, Rimac to form hypercar company T H E Germany-based automotive manufacturer Porsche and Rimac, the Croatian electric performance automaker, have confirmed a joint venture that leverages Volkswagen’s high-performance Bugatti brand.

The new project called BugattiRimac is anticipated to be formed as a hypercar manufacturer during

the fourth quarter of 2021. Rimac is set to have a 55 percent stake in the joint venture, while Porsche holds a 45 percent stake in the company.

Bugatti’s shares will subsequently be transferred from Volkswagen, which owns both Porsche and Bugatti, to Porsche and Rimac.

“We are combining Bugatti’s strong expertise in the hypercar business with Rimac’s tremendous innovative strength in the highly promising field of electric mobility,” commented Oliver Blume, CEO at Porsche.

H E A LT H C A R E

ISRAEL DECLARES DECREASE IN PFIZER VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS I S R A E L has reported a reduction in the effectiveness of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in preventing infections and symptomatic illness, however, confirmed the vaccine remained highly effective in stopping serious illness.

With the decline coinciding with the spread of the Delta variant and end of social distancing restrictions in Israel, it was revealed that vaccine effectiveness in stopping both infection and symptomatic illness decreased to 64 percent since 6th June, according to the Health Ministry.

ECONOMY

GERMANY OPENS ITS DOORS TO THE UK IMAGE BY SMNT - OWN WORK, CC BY-SA 4.0

AUTOMOTIVE

Nissan confirms plans to build $1.4 billion EV hub NISSAN has announced its intention to develop a $1.4 billion Electric Vehicle Hub and create the world’s first EV manufacturing ecosystem which is to be based in Sunderland, England.

In a significant boost to the UK’s EV plans, the Japanese manufacturer is introducing the project, called Nissan EV36Zero, along with Envision AESC, a battery technology firm and Sunderland City Council.

Having manufactured in Sunderland for 35 years, Nissan confirmed that around 1,650 new jobs would be created at the hub. “This project

Nissan Leaf IMAGE BY VAUXFORD - OWN WORK, CC BY-SA 4.0

comes as part of Nissan’s pioneering efforts to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the entire lifecycle of our products,” said Makoto Uchida, Nissan President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our comprehensive approach includes not only the development and production of EVs, but also the use of on-board batteries as energy storage and their reuse for secondary purposes.”

G E R M A N Y has lifted a COVIDrelated travel ban on travellers from the UK. It has been announced that visitors from the UK, Portugal, Russia, India and Nepal who are fully vaccinated will not be required to quarantine when they arrive in the country.

However, it was confirmed that non-vaccinated people will still be required to quarantine for up to 10 days upon arrival in Germany, with the option to end quarantine early with a negative test on the fifth day.

Until now, the five countries have been classed as ‘virus variant areas’ due to the spread of the Delta and Delta Plus variants, which were first identified in India. The announcement will be regarded as a welcome boost to the German economy.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 7

EXPERT EYE

From Paper to Platform COVID-19 has changed many aspects of our work and lives. Looking to the digital transformation of signatures, we turn to Matt Gibbons, Regional Vice President at DocuSign, and compare the old ways to the new Written by: Matt Gibbons, Regional Vice President at DocuSign

L

ast year, the pandemic forced businesses to re-evaluate their strategic plans overnight and facilitate new ways of working. With employees moving away from their offices and working from home full time, many organisations decided to invest in technology that helped them remain productive.

One capability that became critical during lockdown was the ability to sign and manage contracts remotely.

Agreements are the backbone of business. Without them, deals can’t be made, products ordered or people hired – in effect, there can 8 | EME Outlook issue 42

be no progress at all. And with a large proportion of British people working without access to printers and scanners, the need for a digital agreement solution was greater than ever.

At DocuSign, we saw this demand first-hand, with a significant increase in the number of people signing contracts with DocuSign eSignature.

It prompted us to look further into the impact of remote working on agreements. We surveyed 1,000 UK office workers to understand how they prepared, signed and managed their agreements in 2020. The results not

only matched what we were seeing as a business, but it also revealed some new insights about what the future of work could look like.

The Result The key finding we uncovered was about the way people signed agreements. In 2020, 79 percent of respondents signed an agreement electronically, with 55 percent doing so on a computer and 24 percent using a mobile device. Whereas only 18 percent signed an agreement using pen and paper.

This trend proved particularly true

were signed. Unsurprisingly, we found that 42 percent of respondents signed an agreement in their home office, compared to just 30 percent in a normal office.

But perhaps more interestingly were the number of people who signed agreements on the go. Seven percent had signed a contract on public transport despite overall reductions in travel across the board and 10 percent said that they had completed an agreement while waiting for an appointment. With remote working blurring the lines between our professional and personal lives, these findings show the ability of British people to fit work around their day – and the power of technology as an enabler.

Offr

for Twining Enterprise, a UK charity supporting people with mental health problems to find and sustain work. Traditionally, the Twining team would need both its clients looking for a job to print off and complete the onboarding document prior to physically handing it over to one of the offices. Due to COVID-19, this timeconsuming and error-prone process was no longer possible.

With the charity members working remotely to respond to the elevated mental health and employment needs of many vulnerable people at this time, a new process had to be found.

This came in the form of DocuSign eSignature, which enabled them to digitise their process from end to end. As a result, this helped clients start on their programmes quickly, remotely and safely and work through their assessments to find and retain employment.

There were other trends uncovered as part of the research related to the different locations in which contracts

Being able to sign agreements anywhere and everywhere has been particularly important for Offr, a fast-growing property-tech business.

The real estate industry has faced some of the harshest disruption in the pandemic. Alongside rapidly changing guidelines around house viewings, the industry grappled with significant lulls, followed by sudden peaks of interest and extensive backlogs. For companies like Offr, efficiency is everything. They are often working with hundreds of vendors, prospects and solicitors at the same time and being able to rely on a simple, secure solution is fundamental. For example, a real estate company has used Offr to launch its property to the market.

Thanks to eSignature, the agency and buyer have exchanged digital contracts within only a week making the process faster and safer during the pandemic than its physical equivalent.

For Offr, speed has been one of the biggest benefits of electronic signatures. Manual agreements would historically take an average of three weeks to be completed, whereas with DocuSign eSignature, this rapidly reduced, with 70 percent of contracts

completed in under one hour. Offr was able to use DocuSign to complete Ireland’s first fully digital and remote investment transaction, a fundraising round of three million euros.

The Years Ahead We often get asked what the future of agreements will look like. Will people hark back to the days of pen and paper, or will they stick with digital solutions for good? When we ask our customers this question, they firmly say the latter. Once businesses experience the benefits of electronic signatures themselves, they don’t go back to manual processes. And as we look ahead, we know that flexibility will become even more integral for modern workforces. These findings show that people need to work in a way that can mould around their personal lives, and they need the technology to make this possible. Ultimately, the businesses who are able to adapt to the needs of their employees and customers in this way will be the ones who win out in the future of work.

ABOUT THE EXPERT Matt Gibbons, Regional Vice President at DocuSign Matt Gibbons is the Regional Vice President of EMEA at DocuSign. Some of his main responsibilities include developing the EMEA’s growth strategy plans and initiatives as well as building and overseeing a world class team, which focuses on both new and existing customer relationships.

Prior to joining DocuSign in 2013, Gibbons worked at Quest Software and Trinity Mirror Digital Recruitment as an Account Manager.

He graduated from the University of Brighton with a BSC in Product Design and Technology and he currently lives in Hertfordshire.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 9

ENTROPIC

REDEFINING URBAN SPACE Combining the community and environment, Entropic exists as an architectural practice promoting urban ecology. We speak to Geoffrey Eberle, co-founder of the company, to learn more Writer: Marcus Kääpä

10 | EME Outlook issue 42

O

perating predominantly across northern Europe and the Middle Eastern markets, Entropic exists as a practice that works on the urban architectural stage.

Entropic is committed towards reimagining the built environment with a focus towards liveability, contemporary challenges, and architectural

CONSTRUCTION

innovation, with its multi-disciplinary team consisting of architects, urbanists and engineers. Entropic’s Barcelona studio works within both the local and global markets, and the firm believes that engaging the urban challenges of one city can help inspire new solutions for others.

“We are a small office but collaborate with many companies,” Geoffrey

Eberle, co-founder of Entropic, begins.

“Typically, clients and collaborators work with us for projects that require something unique, or have a strong vision, but are yet to be formulated into a coherent and exciting design.

“For some, our best value is unlocking potential investors for a large-scale project that needs an extra push, for others it is helping to deliver

a dream home, intrinsically linked to a client’s lifestyle and philosophy.”

Entropic works on a variety of building typologies, maintaining the firm’s diverse, fresh and innovative drive towards architecture. Moving from project to project, Entropic combines its collective knowledge and experience to better its future work.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 11

ENTROPIC

EME Outlook: How did you come to work in architecture?

Geoffrey Eberle: “Growing up in the UK as a child, a lot of my time was spent building and designing castles which I would defend from endless hordes of invading armies. It wasn’t until I was much older, that I perhaps naively found that I could develop my passions for city design into a career in architecture, albeit with less conflict and more people oriented.

The great aspect I would find with designing, was an endless opportunity to incorporate subjects which fascinate me. The dynamism of the architecture profession offers something for anyone, and the endless complexities of designing and building is highly invigorating.

“My first major job was for a small company called Ja-Ja Copenhagen, who specialised in the Danish architectural market. Later, I would work for the world-renowned office, BIG, for five years who were armed with a more global market. I was given the opportunity to design and lead projects, and I felt more alive than ever before.

“I then moved to the Netherlands, since I was excited to become involved in the Dutch market. I co-founded a small company called BOLD, however, wished to work in a warmer climate and so founded Entropic alongside my partner Magdalena Mroz.

Together, we aimed to bring Danish elegance, Dutch innovation, and Spanish passion to complex architecture projects.”

12 | EME Outlook issue 42

Bergen Innovation City project

“Our mission is to unlock freedom and activity through design innovation,” Eberle tells us. “Much of our cities today are based on outdated presuppositions on what a building or city should be and should do, rather than examining the challenges and opportunities that our changing world is facing.

“Our cities have previously been a reflection of how cultures have operated economically, socially and culturally, but the speed in which our world has changed, with the digital revolution, changing temperatures, rising sea levels and soon the advent of automated vehicles, many cities are faced with either forced ad-hoc transformation, or due to inadaptability, gradual decline.

There are many current issues that need addressing, and instead of thinking about design as a fulfilment of expectations or a basic aesthetic endeavour, Entropic looks for where to re-challenge norms, find the potential space where others have

‘Entropic’s Bergen Innovation City project reimagined what a new technologically oriented Norwegian district could be for both the inhabitants and the city at large’

CONSTRUCTION

not and bringing new optimism to our built environment.”

This progressive and environmentally focused mission is reflected in the company’s many projects; the Nature Gate exemplifies this, as Eberle explains. “Entropic’s ‘The Nature Gate’ was an experiment project into how we could organise a kindergarten and library compactly on a sensitive site in rural Poland. Several aspects stand out; rather than placing the playground on the ground floor, children have the entire roof space for recreation.

“This move offered not only the chance to create the coolest play space in the city, but also to prevent intervention and damage to the existing forest. We then created a gateway between the buildings to the forest creating exciting internal spaces forming a sloped gymnasium and an auditorium. The project is entirely designed in wood, radically reducing the carbon footprint, whilst effortlessly merging into the forest behind.”

The Floating Gardens project is a

storm surge protective infrastructural response in Vejle, Denmark, that safeguards the city from rising sea levels, whilst providing a series of public gardens activating the city’s waterfront.

The rising seawater level challenges Vejle’s existing harbour edges. By the late evening, storms that could raise sea levels to elevations of up to two and a half metres will disable the entire port area and parts of downtown with flooding. Entropic’s vision proposes the landscaping solution made of inland and floating islands designed to secure the coast to an elevation of three metres. Since the project is completely conceived to be floating, the water edge condition, ideal for jumping in and out of the water, is maintained consistently, regardless of sea-level height.

On top of this, Entropic’s Bergen Innovation City project reimagined what a new technologically oriented Norwegian district could be for both the inhabitants and the city at large.

“We imagined a highly sustainable

timber city where streets would be carved by the flows of a natural stream and green spaces would be maximised,” Eberle says. “The city would feature a bridge accompanied by unique public spaces in the centre of the river for citizens to enjoy Bergen’s incredible sunsets over the sea.

“Each building celebrates a unique theme, such as facades that allow the public to climb to the top to enjoy views over the city, to residential apartment blocks with urban farming allotments, and a renovated factory into a flexible co-work village.”

Continuing its progressive architectural works into this relatively fresh decade, Entropic is currently exploring the potential of developing unique bespoke façade elements with 3D printing. The company’s goal is to bring ecological potential to standard building systems in order to give rise to cities which are greener, more protective for endangered species, and promote a promisingly sustainable future for urban areas.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 13

DELOITTE

THE EVOLUTION OF PROCUREMENT Ryan Flynn, Principal at Deloitte Consulting, discusses the findings in the Deloitte Global 2021 Chief Procurement Officer Survey and his thoughts on procurement in a post-COVID world Writer: Sean Galea-Pace

G

one are the days of procurement being seen as some back-office department away from all the action.

Today, it sits at the fore and dominates executives’ thoughts. And it’s had to be. In truth, procurement was already on the cusp of transformation, COVID just acted as an enabler.

Witnessing this acceleration first-hand is Ryan Flynn, Principal at Deloitte Consulting. An industry expert 14 | EME Outlook issue 42

with over 14 years of experience helping global companies improve their sourcing and procurement efficiency and effectiveness, it’s safe to say Flynn has his finger on the pulse.

“The space was certainly challenging at first, however, the pandemic elevated procurement as a function,” says Flynn. “When COVID19 hit, executives were suddenly turning to procurement for answers on what the impact would be on supply and for thoughts on how to offset costs to mitigate the revenue impact on the lack of demand.”

Indeed, the supply chain was at the forefront of COVID-19 disruption and those who were dependant on China in the early phases of the pandemic were some of the hardest hit. As a result, the importance of rethinking supply chain and procurement approaches to be battle-ready for any further unprecedented disruption is vital.

“What worked before won’t definitely work again,” explains Flynn.

“Today, it’s about building resiliency in the supply chain, and I think procurement is at the forefront of that. I think there has been a welcome acceleration over the past few years and a drive because of the pandemic in terms of delivering more value to the organisation. There’s a lot more value that procurement can bring to companies and firms are increasingly starting to realise that.”

As part of his work, Flynn helped contribute to the Deloitte Global 2021 Chief Procurement Officer Survey.

Since 2011, the survey has been providing exclusive insights into the key challenges and opportunities shaping the future of procurement.

Now in its 10th year, the survey’s insights have helped members of the C-suite, procurement leaders, business partners, suppliers and supporting technology providers in

SUPPLY CHAIN furthering their ambition, strategies and performance.

“The survey has always been about checking the current state of the procurement community and executives, it’s not necessarily a benchmarking exercise,” says Flynn. “It’s intended to look into what the priorities of procurement organisations are and how they see their function moving forward. It’s about exploring what they are trying to do in terms of their strategies and how successful they have been, as well as finding out the challenges they have faced.”

In this year’s survey, the two biggest priorities for CPOs are operational efficiency and reducing costs. In terms of operational efficiency, Flynn points out two main areas.

“Firstly, building flexible but collaborative operating models and enabling these operating models through data analytics and digital solutions is key,” says Flynn.

“We’re seeing companies that are very focused on building flexibility into how they operate and offering more of an on-demand view in terms of bringing in expertise. We’re also seeing more businesses driving efficiency into how procurement operates and in how purchasing happens. There’s a greater focus on not only internal collaboration but also working with the supply base and the importance of developing a deeper relationship with key suppliers.”

The other key area for CPOs is through the reduction of costs. On the back of the disruption of COVID, companies were focused on how they could match the reduction in revenue with decreased costs.

“We are seeing a bit of a shift in terms of not just focusing on the supply side of cost

production but also on the demand side,” explains Flynn. “This will also be a challenge moving forward because the supply side is very constricted. It’s a change from a traditional focus on the supply side and price towards a broader focus on how we solve that

ENHANCING RISK MANAGEMENT 67.9 percent

demand side of the equation now. As a lot of industries emerge from this, the focus is very much on top-line growth which will mean that it will be harder to control demand.”

Moving forward, Flynn believes the procurement space will transition from the traditional focus on cost reduction.

“If you look closely enough, this shift was already starting to happen, but it has been accelerated by some of the ways the pandemic exposed the lack of visibility many organisations have in their supply chains,” he discusses. “We are seeing more of our clients that are focused on how they improve their multi-tier supply chains and are becoming more proactive with spotting and managing risks.

“It is also important to put the right types of strategic contingency plans because if something unforeseen does happen, there’s a Plan B in place and an alternative source of supply.

I think we will see procurement organisations focus on becoming more agile to help companies drive that innovation.”

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 67.6 percent

You can check out Deloitte’s Global 2021 Chief Procurement Officer Survey here!

TOP CPO PRIORITIES DRIVING OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY 78 percent REDUCING COSTS 76.4 percent DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION 76.1 percent INNOVATION 72.9 percent INTRODUCING NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 69.2 percent

EME Outlook issue 42 | 15

TOPICAL FOCUS

CASHIER-LESS CONVENIENCE I

magine doing your food shop, bagging up your groceries as you go, and simply leaving the shop without having to approach a till, or interact with anyone. Rather than what may commonly be construed as shoplifting, the ‘just walk out’ means of shopping is actually the latest business pursuit from Amazon.

As of 16th June, Amazon officially opened their Amazon Fresh Camden premises. The Camden store represents the sixth physical retail store to be opened across London by the US commerce giant. After 16 | EME Outlook issue 42

Following the launch of the sixth London Amazon Fresh store, we take a look at the till-less shopping phenomenon Writer: Phoebe Harper the unveiling of the Amazon Fresh Ealing branch back in March - the first store to be opened outside of the US - Amazon has gone on to expand its physical footprint across the British capital, launching stores in quick succession in Wembley Park, Chalk

Farm, Canary Wharf, White City, and of course Camden.

The pace at which the stores opened translates to one shop opening every 19 days, which would eventuate in a total of 16 Amazon Fresh stores opening within the year across the London landscape, if this rate continues as the company look to expand across the Greater London area.

The shops offer a full range of products and groceries, including ownbrand food and drink products from UK suppliers with perishables such as milk and eggs all at competitive prices.

TECHNOLOGY

AMAZON FRESH - HOW DOES IT WORK? 1. USE Amazon App to enter – Visitors to the stores must first download the Amazon App, access a ‘Fresh Code’, then scan the QR code at the gates to enter.

2. CHOOSE what you like – Select the items that you want to buy, bagging them up as you shop in either your own bag, or an Amazon one available in store. All products will automatically be added to your bill.

3. JUST Walk Out – A receipt will be emailed to you after leaving the store and your Amazon account will be charged.

The company’s new private label brand, ‘by Amazon’ entails Amazon’s food offering within the store, from British sourced meat to freshly prepared ‘on-the-go’ food.

Amazon Fresh also offers products from UK supermarkets such as Morrisons, who already have existing ties with the company.

A trailblazing initiative offering a contactless shopping experience, which has gained more pertinence than ever in the context of the pandemic, Amazon Fresh is the first convenience store in the UK to offer Just Walk Out Technology.

Leveraging the same technological advances applied in self-driving cars, the software behind Just Walk Out uses computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning artificial

intelligence techniques to monitor shoppers. For many experts, this latest convergence of retail and technology represents something of a watershed moment.

Inside the premises, hundreds of cameras and depth-sensors are used to oversee what customers place in their bags whilst shopping, with much of this technology being installed in the store’s ceiling.

Although a highly advanced, somewhat futuristic vision of what the physical shopping experience may come to resemble, many UK shoppers have commented on the dystopian experience of the extreme surveillance within the stores.

Since no facial recognition is used, it is the individual barcode scanned via the Amazon App on entering the store that registers the individual identity of the shopper. Nevertheless, civil liberties groups have critiqued the personal data footprints that will be amassed through the stores and the intense tracking of shoppers’ habits.

The technology behind Amazon Fresh was originally pioneered in Amazon’s US stores, which were first opened to the public back in 2018.

The technology is sophisticated enough to register when an item has been returned to the shelf if shoppers change their mind, so much so, that the US firm are confident that there is zero need for shoppers to doublecheck their virtual receipts after shopping.

Indeed, Amazon in general have been widely commended for the seamless, friction free experience that the stores provide, compared to other retailers, such as Marks & Spencer, whose contactless shopping experiences require customers to use a ‘scan-and-pay’ app. It is possible that this latest milestone from Amazon may also encourage other online businesses enter the bricks and mortar space.

The stores offer paramount convenience due to the absence of till queues and the irksome bother of ‘unidentified items in the bagging area’ so typically experienced at selfservice checkouts. With other major supermarkets now also trialling the concept of ‘checkout-free’ shopping, could this be the future of retail?

EME Outlook issue 42 | 17

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

SPOTLIGHT ON E-MOBILITY IN POLAND Poland is a major player within Europe’s E-Mobility landscape, yet sector challenges prevail, including the implementation of infrastructure, and incentivising the e-generation

P

Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Krisha Canlas

oland’s transport sector is in transition.

Although still a nascent industry, the advent of E-Mobility and the role of hydrogen technologies across Europe is gathering momentum, as evidenced by ever-growing fleets of electric vehicles (EV’s) and charging stations that are reflective of the shifting transport landscape.

Poland itself may still be considered a developing market, particularly when compared with other European players like Germany, France or Scandinavian countries. As such, a big challenge for the industry can be the lack of alignment between advanced markets and the infrastructure of hosting

18 | EME Outlook issue 42

countries, primarily a distinct imbalance between the amount of EVs and available charging stations.

In terms of public transport, Poland hosts Europe’s largest producer of electric buses and recipient of the ’Global E-Mobility Leader 2020’ award, Solaris.

Poland is also becoming an important market for the entire value chain of E-mobility. The market hosts an entire supply chain and manufacturing industry of lithium-ion batteries, from the creation of batteries, through component production, all the way to recycling facilities. The LG Energy Solution site in south-west Poland is the biggest facility in the world, with a target potential of 100 GWh and

an investment value of €3.1 billion, out of which €95 million are from public financial support.

A key focus for progress is the dissemination of knowledge around E-Mobility and its unrealised potential on Europe’s journey to carbon neutrality.

This will be instrumental in dispelling public hesitancy around the acceptance of low-emission transport. Within Poland itself, this is a significant challenge where there is an abundance of cheap, imported ICE vehicles readily available. This only contributes to the consumption of fossil fuels and air pollution levels that the country already struggles with, whilst complicating the sector’s development.

To support this growth, the introduction of more stringent legislation on behalf of local governments and public administration will also hasten progress, as evidenced by the 2018 Act on Electromobility and Alternative Fuels.

E-Mobilty Acronyms Debunked • EV – Electric Vehicle • PHEV – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles • BEV – Battery Electric Vehicle • ICE – Internal Combustion Engine – Traditional engine system fuelled by liquids derived from fossil fuels • V2X – Vehicle-to-Everything – The advanced vehicular technology whereby vehicles can communicate with surrounding traffic and infrastructure through wireless signals

INTRODUCTION

THE POLISH ALTERNATIVE FUELS ASSOCIATION (PSPA)

EME Outlook issue 42 | 19

Green Cell promises an energetic future Every era has its symbols, but one company endeavours to make the battery a symbol of today. Green Cell wants to make the world more sustainable in terms of energy use and consumption. Green Cell invites you to the south of Poland to find out how.

Established in Krakow in 2013, Green Cell is a brand of products related to charging and storing energy. After having worked in the computer service industry, Paweł Ochyński, noticed a significant lack of battery replacements. Customers were also displeased by this their laptops could still be working if they only had easier access to new batteries. Paweł decided to not only provide the batteries, but also ensure they were more efficient than factory products whilst also giving a second life to mobile devices.

The founder of Green Cell also wanted to change the approach of customers to battery-powered devices whilst also extending the life cycle of products. Green Cell quickly took the next steps and began producing power adapters, chargers, cables, power banks and other accessories for smartphones, tablets or laptops. Soon the company smoothly transitioned to more advanced solutions – UPS devices, photovoltaics and EV chargers. Recently, Green Cell has become even more involved in electromobility projects.

Green Cell became one of the fastest growing businesses in Europe within just a few years, accroding to the Financial Times, with reach spanning over 60 countries. With a workforce of more than 250 people, Green Cell’s mission becomes obvious by looking at its source.

ECOLOGY IN A CITY FULL OF SMOG The city of Krakow is reputed as a worldwide tourist destination. But behind the charming and artistic facade of the picturesque Old Town, is Krakow’s longtime struggle with air pollution. Today, the situation has improved significantly as residents are gradually replacing het sources and more modern trams and hybrid buses appear throughout the city. This is just one example of how we can implement the ecological revolution that the world needs – and Green Cell want to take an active part in it.

“People want this change and are much more aware of the environmental impact of energy production. I think that with electric cars and photovoltaics it will be easier to broaden this ‘green energy’ revolution. Transport can be greener with all kinds of EV’s and hydrogen ships. Now electronics is all about longer lifespan of products and better recycling,” explains Pawel Ochynski, CEO of Green Cell.

As one of the key players in battery production for EV’s, Poland, and by extension Green Cell, are in the position to make consumer electronics and the automotive industry greener.

FROM FINGER-TYPE BATTERIES TO ELECTRIC CARS Green Cell’s strength are the batteries and accessories that precisely meet the needs of their customers, thereby increasing their independence whilst using their favourite devices for longer. This philosophy guided the brand both at the stage of introducing its own AA batteries for sale, as well as more advanced solutions.

The manufacturer is ready for the era of quickly charged electric cars in our own garages thanks to wallbox chargers. The GC EV PowerBox model has as much as 22 kW of power, which allows you to charge the Tesla Model 3 (72.5 kWh) in just 6.5 hours.

On the other hand, the GC EV PowerCable mobile chargers, with a power of 3.6 kW can be taken on any journey and connected to an ordinary power socket. Type 1 and 2 connectors ensure wide cooperation with various car models, whilst our 6.5 metre cable is ideal for use in generally accessible undergound garages.

In addition, Green Cell has a wide selection of e-bike batteries and chargers, which have become an extremely popular means of transport across Western Europe.

“Right now we are concentrating on energy storage and EV charging for the home. We want to design products that make a difference. It is very important to make a product which is easier to use and smarter with information that is provided by devices,” says Ochynski.

Green Cell wants to create entire ecosystems that will cooperate with renewable energy installations to quickly and efficiently charge electric cars and provide energy to vehicles, e-bikes and scooters.

ADVANTAGE THANKS TO OUR OWN DESIGNS A huge step forward for Green Cell was the creation of its own R&D department, which employs specialists in the field of Industrial Design, electronics, engineers, constructors and testers. The team responsible for Green Cell products has been operating since 2015 and regularly introduces its own ideas to the market.

attractive way. At the same time we consider the environmental and social impact of our designs,” Hojda says.

TIME FOR A WORLD OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY The history of Green Cell shows that every user of a laptop, smartphone or EV needs fresh energy. However, it is equally important that energy comes from green sources, and individual producers operating within the circular economy - a system that minimises the consumption of raw materials and environmental pollution thanks to reuse, refurb and recycling.

“If you want to bring civilization to the next level and create a better world, this is the best option,” adds Paweł Ochyński, who hopes that a circular economy will become the norm on the global market.

“Our role, as designers, starts at the very beginning of the process.

We use empathy and various research tools to understand our clients, discover and define the design challenge and the main goals of the project. The process is iterative, so we don’t stop at the first idea, but rather explore multiple possibilities,” states Piotr Hojda, Head of Design at Green Cell.

Among the projects created in the Green Cell laboratory is the PowerPlay Ultra power bank with a rare 26 800 mAh capacity, equipped with four 128 W ports. It can charge smartphones and laptops efficientlyas a small, but powerful source of energy for mobile devices, whilst also showing the direction of solutions for EV owners.

Green Cell is heading towards minimalist EV chargers that will provide high power and take up minimal space in the trunk or garage.

“Our design principles are clear: we strive to develop the best possible products and services that solve real problems and fulfill the authentic needs of our clients in an efficient, simple, intuitive and visually

The plans of the Polish brand Green Cell are ambitious, with a strategy that entails an annual doubling of revenues, which in 2020 amounted to €47.5 million. In addition, the company strives to become a global brand that will significantly contribute to the construction of a sustainable energy world. There are many indications that Green Cell is on the right track. Soon we will see if batteries can be a symbol of our times, and Poland will become a symbol of batteries and chargers.

+48 12 444 6247 support@greencell.global https://greencell.global EME Outlook issue 42 | 21

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

Interview: The Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA)

INTERVIEW

The Polish Alternative Fuels Association are the unifying, educational voice furthering the potential of low-emission transport across Poland and the CEE region. Chief Expert of the Board, Aleksander Rajch, examines the organisation today, ahead of an industry-defining decade

Aleksander Rajch Chief Expert of the Board, PSPA

EME Outlook (EO): Can you talk us through the origins of PSPA; how it came about, and its initial vision?

Aleksander Rajch (AR): The Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA) is an organisation focused on developing the sustainable, zero and low emission transport in Poland and the CEE Region. The organisation was founded to drive this market, with a particular focus, but not limited to, electromobility. We intend to be the voice of the industry, an entity which supports the development of rational and efficient legislation; supports the business environment through relation and market development; supports Polish companies in achieving their goals on the domestic market and abroad; supports foreign companies in succeeding on the Polish market (in the relevant area), and in the end become a meeting point for all those companies, individuals and institutions that want

22 | EME Outlook issue 42

to foster sustainable transport as a reality in Poland and the region. Since the beginning, our vision was to raise popular awareness regarding the challenges for modern transport, as well to educate the Polish public opinion about what zero and low emission transport is and why it is becoming both a priority and reality. On this basis we want to achieve our goals, becoming a leading entity to build this market in Poland.

EO: Since inception, how has PSPA developed and progressed in terms of its key objectives and the messages it tries to get across?

AR: In a word – dynamically. We started less than five years ago and have already managed to bring together over 140 entities from the entire value chain of E-Mobility and sustainable transport.

THE POLISH ALTERNATIVE FUELS ASSOCIATION (PSPA)

EME Outlook issue 42 | 23

HOT TOPIC:

Benefiting image and profitability at the same time Company cars and their emissions are an ongoing issue and electrification of fleets offers a sustainable and cost-effective solution while strengthening your company image in the process. How can you make eMobility work for your bottom line?

“Advanced car technologies, longer ranges and systematically growing charging infrastructure – what for some might have seemed impossible a few years ago is now our reality and our future” – says Helmut Hoidn, CEO of Alphabet Poland, who spoke with us about how companies can successfully integrate electric vehicles into their fleets.

Do you see eMobility getting more traction lately among companies?

HH: Yes! As technology moves forward, so do our

customers’ goals to reach sustainability targets and enhance company reputation. For the purpose of this interview, we took a closer look at the fleets of our most environmentally conscious corporate clients and their statistics speak for themselves - the share of hybrid and electric cars in their fleets already exceeds 30 percent and other cars are regularly replaced based on increasingly stringent EURO emission standards. However, not only global corporations appreciate the advantages of modern drives in their car parks. Every year, the pro-ecological awareness is growing, and with it also a group of companies determined to systematically reduce the share of combustion vehicles and reduce the overall CO2 emissions of their fleets - whether due to the company's fleet policy, total cost of ownership (TCO) or image-related aspects.

Is it hard to implement eMobility in a company fleet?

HH: If you don’t have any experience with hybrid and

electric cars it could be a challenge. Luckily all you really need is a comprehensive eMobility solution and that is exactly what Alphabet offers its customers, both in Poland and across Europe.

Back in 2013, we were the pioneers when developing the first holistic eMobility solution for corporate fleets – AlphaElectric. Last year our company put 21,000 EVs and PHEVs on the road, which translates to nearly 5 percent of the market share of all EV/PHEV registrations in Europe – this positions us as a market leader in the sector.

Is it true that car-sharing trend contributed to the EV popularity?

HH: Yes, companies are looking more and more favorably

on electric drives in case of shared cars that perform lower mileages. This category in our fleet is dominated by BMW i3 models, the popularity of which has additionally increased after several hundred of such vehicles were made available as part of the largest in Poland and one of the largest in Europe’s fully electric carsharing scheme under the name of innogy go!

Alphabet Polska financed 250 electric BMW i3s under this project, which was a key element for us in the implementation of the strategy of systematic dissemination of the idea of electromobility in our country.

Alphabet is a BMW Group company – does it mean you only lease BMW cars?

HH: Not at all! Yes, we are a part of BMW Group and as such

we have a very competitive offer on all of Group’s car models, including BMW and MINI, but we are also a multi-make company, which means that we provide all car models available on Polish market (up to 3,5t). Our goal is to always find an optimal vehicle choice for our clients and turn them to EV enthusiasts, just like us!

Interested in introducing modern drives to your fleet?

Contact us! Alphabet Polska Fleet Management:

alphaelectric.pl@alphabet.pl

Alphabet is a global leading provider of Business Mobility.

As such, it enables companies to manage their corporate mobility in an economical and sustainable way. Founded in 1997 as a division of BMW Group, Alphabet has extensive knowledge of international fleet management and leasing. Its comprehensive portfolio includes consulting and funding as well as smart management products and services for company fleets. Alphabet’s Business Mobility solutions are tailor-made to meet specific corporate requirements.

Today, Alphabet manages a portfolio of around 700,000 leased cars and light commercial vehicles of all makes and is ranked fourth in the market worldwide.

What made AlphaElectric so successful and how does it work?

HH: One of our strategic goals is to promote eMobility

solutions for the benefit of the environment. And for that to happen we need to be able to provide a comprehensive solution, that is tailor-made for each customer.

That’s why we have developed the “eMobility-route” with three stages: Consulting, Implementation and Daily Operations - to make sure that the transition always runs smoothly and at a comfortable pace.

First, we check the optimal share of electrifiable vehicles with our electrification potential analysis (EPA), the variations of total cost of ownership (TCO) and the adjustments to the car policy. All scenarios are then analyzed together with the client to choose the best option and finetune the details. At the next step we prepare an appropriate charging plan considering the publicly available infrastructure, workplace and home charging solutions.

Finally, we deliver cars with a wide range of everyday Mobility Services for driver’s support. With that we take away most burdens or uncertainties that customers might have in regards to EV’s and set them to take advantage of the very latest in electromobility.

Helmut Hoidn,

CEO, Alphabet Poland

In Poland, Alphabet also ranks fourth among the largest providers of Car Fleet Management solutions, currently managing a fleet of over 17,000 vehicles. The company started its operations on the Polish market in 2011, along with taking over the structures of ING Car Lease, which had been operating since 2001.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 25

INTERVIEW

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

We represent the automotive, financial, EV charging, infrastructure operators’, energy system operators’ sectors, as well as municipalities and diplomatic institutions which we worked and are still working with. We have implemented assorted media campaigns and projects, including large-scale TCO (total cost of ownership) studies, promotion campaigns, reports, conferences, webinars and major events.

Annually, we organise events dedicated to Polish challenges and for business and municipal stakeholders called the New Mobility Congress, and a globally inclined event, which we co-organise with the National Centre for Climate Change, called the Global E-Mobility Forum, which gathers thousands of participants, with the official representation of numerous states around the world. We are now developing one of the largest social awareness campaigns called Elektromobilni.pl, which is a website-based nationwide communication campaign aimed at bringing the entire Polish society up to speed about the potential of E-Mobility.

Over the course of 2020, we managed to successfully implement over 100 projects, strongly amplifying the discussion about sustainable transport and bringing substantive knowledge and experience to Polish households about what the on-coming transport transition really entails.

EO: What do you find most exciting about working within Poland and CEE’s E-Mobility and hydrogen technology market?

AR: The most exciting element is surely the fact that for Poland, but also the CEE, this market is at an infancy phase, and it is beginning to develop very rapidly. This creates a vast number of opportunities and brings forth a very interesting perspective. We have a great chance of learning from the experiences of the markets that are at a very developed stage in terms of electromobility and new mobility solutions.

As of May 2021, we have a car park of 22,407 EV’s and expect to have nearly 5,000 charging points this year. At the same time, based on our own calculations which are formulated on data collection, market surveys and our own studies, we expect to have over 500,000 EV’s (both BEV and PHEV) by 2025, along with 48,000 charging points. This is to show how fast this sector will expand in just the next four years. We observe the increasing involvement of Polish local authorities and municipalities in the process of implementing low and zero emission vehicles in their fleets. Big enterprises with their

26 | EME Outlook issue 42

E-MOBILITY IN POLAND: FACTS AND FIGURES MAY 2021 • 25,407 – Electric Vehicles (12, 432 BEV’s and 12,975 PHEV’s) • 10,105 - Mopeds and motorcycles • 526 - Electric buses • 966 - Utility and freight EV’s Data from the PSPA and the Polish Automotive Industry Association

own car parks are also becoming more engaged to reduce the numbers of ICE’s and in Poland, approximately 70 percent of vehicles are company owned so this is another great prognostic. These are all sources of excitement, but also create many areas that necessitate much effort for the business community, as well as the experts and public administration. We have ahead of us a lot of work on the appropriate legislation, the public awareness regarding the challenges and why new mobility is not only inevitable, but desirable and can also be widely enjoyed.

EO: On the flip side, what are its biggest challenges?

AR: The challenges are manifold of course – the development of the sustainable transport market is a multi-layered and convoluted process. Firstly, the alignment of the highly developed new mobility markets with the countries that are still catching up, which is the case for Poland in terms of E-Mobility especially. This is an enormous challenge, as the perspective and needs of particular markets differ and moreover, they often develop at different pace,

“...there’s much work to do where all the market participants have a large role to play, while the pace of development is robust”

wherein some markets offer a surplus of EV’s over public charging points and others present the exact reverse. This adds to making benchmarks and roadmaps difficult. Secondly, the local, Polish challenges also contribute to many areas that need addressing. Our market struggles with the environmental and air pollution trouble, as well as reshaping our energy mix.

Added to this, we have a very old car park in Poland, with an abundance of used and decrepit vehicles which were and are imported from Western EU States. These vehicles are highly affordable and hence attractive for many Polish consumers.

At the same time, this represents a big problem for incentivising the acquisition of EV’s and upholds a significant source of pollution.

The challenges are far more complicated to list in a short statement, but there’s much work to do where all the market participants have a large role to play, while the pace of development is robust.

EO: What trends are currently transforming the E-Mobility industry, particularly within Europe?

How are you responding to them?

AR: The current trends are numerous, mainly because the EU legislation sets a clear policy and strategy for the foreseeable future – one strongly limiting pollution and emissions, as well as a huge reliance on green technologies in all areas of the economy. Transport is a very significant element of this system, interconnecting various technological and business challenges.

With the European Green Deal and the ‘Fit for 55’ package publicly stated as pillars of the policy outline, some of the observable trends are becoming legal obligations as well. One of the trends we see is that EV producers are striving to make their EV portfolios more accessible to all consumers.

Government incentives are becoming more rational and efficient in supporting this process, with smart

INTERVIEW

THE POLISH ALTERNATIVE FUELS ASSOCIATION (PSPA)

EME Outlook issue 42 | 27

INTERVIEW

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

bonus/malus policies being introduced, like in France or other developed E-Mobility markets.

The EU is driving this process very strongly and decisively. Another great opportunity which responds to the realities and trends of the market is the RRF (recovery and resilience facility) which, if successfully implemented, will be a ground-breaking boost for E-Mobility and sustainable transport.

Turning large agglomerations into smart cities, developing not only E-Mobility and zero-emission transport, but also autonomous and V2X (vehicleto-everything) technologies are all coming along very fast, and they will soon be our realities. Our role, as PSPA is to support this process, but also make everyone aware of what this revolution is all about, what opportunities it entails.

The overall European pace for these processes is fast, so we make our best effort for the Polish transport and economy to not only be prepared for these new developments, but to join the revolution at the highest and most dynamic possible rate.

EO: Have you got any projects in the pipeline that you wish to highlight?

AR: We are very active in our efforts to develop

28 | EME Outlook issue 42

the sustainable transport sector in Poland and our region. Just in 2020, during the most intense COVID19 year, we implemented more than 100 projects and ventures.

We definitely wish to highlight our awareness campaign – Elektromobilini.pl (electromobile Poles) – which is one of the largest and widest education campaigns regarding E-Mobility, smart mobility and sustainable transport.

It’s a website-based campaign which aims to provide substantive knowledge about all areas of new mobility, but also provide a basis for the stakeholders to verify this information, as we developed applications and interactive tools within the campaign.

2021 is the second year of the campaign and we encourage all stakeholders to join us and awaken the e-generation in joining the transition to zeroemission transport. We will also be organising our two flagship events this year. The 2021 New Mobility Congress in Łódź will be a major industry event organised to discuss the most burning challenges regarding new mobility in Poland and the region – with much participation from Polish municipalities and public administration.

Our second flagship project will be the third

THE POLISH ALTERNATIVE FUELS ASSOCIATION (PSPA)

EO: How do you see the industry in Poland developing over the next five years?

AR: We are currently involved in a number of projects regarding this question and potential projections for the future. Our flagship project amongst these various ventures is a part of our cooperation with the European Climate Fund but we have analyses of our own, which point to one direction – the market will develop incredibly fast.

The Polish transport sector presently relies heavily on fossil fuels (mostly Diesel but many LPG-powered vehicles as well), ICE vehicles and imported vehicles.

The manufacturing industry in the transport sector is linked to that state of affairs, meaning mostly producing components and vehicles with ICE. This structure will evolve new companies, combined with the innovation from the rest of the world will begin the transition of the job market – so that Polish engineers, workers and entrepreneurs will begin to drive the sustainable transport industry to create more jobs and opportunities.

In our view, in five years the market will have a discernible transition of jobs available in the innovative low and zero emission transport. In that time, Poland will have an EV car market of over 500,000 vehicles, with close to 60, 000 public

charging points. Much of the EU and Polish law regulating the entirety of this market will also be in place by that time and hopefully binding enough to incentivise developing the sector and slowing down the negative remnants of fossil fuel-based transport.

Polish government agendas, such as the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, will most probably have a portfolio of on-going support and subsidy programmes for the market to thrive and rapidly grow.

We try to be very realistic in our approach to such assessments but observing our market now and seeing how it’s really accelerating; we think that the vision above is fully viable.

EO: Are you optimistic about the future of E-Mobility and hydrogen technology in Europe?

AR: As a member organisation of Avere and an entity strongly in touch with the industry in Europe, we look to the future of this sector with much optimism and it’s safe to say that it is shared by our surrounding counterparts.

Notwithstanding these circumstances, we have a great amount of work ahead of us. Europe as a region is diversified of course, with varying local priorities and challenges, but common goals and overarching opportunities. This is true for many other regions though, such as the United States, where some states have huge discrepancies in the field of sustainable transport.

For example, the differences in EV charging infrastructure, where California represents sometimes a twenty-fold amount of charging stations of some other states like Illinois or Arizona.

We have some of these characteristics in Europe as well, but smart policies with the support of NGO’s, businesses and experts will surely bring the process to synergy. Moreover, this will happen sooner than later, although the transition of the transport system is strongly connected to the processes taking place in the energy, oil and gas and industrial sectors.

INTERVIEW

edition of the Global E-Mobility Forum which we co-organise with the National Centre for Climate Change. This latter event attracts many top-tier stakeholders from around the world, including government representatives, global corporate practitioners, and experts from the world over.

Before the summer of 2021, we successfully supported the launch of the “Highway to E-Mobility”, a project of lifting highway tolls (A1 and A4 in Poland) for EV’s, allowing their users to reach their vacation spots in a an environmentally friendly way and free of such charges.

Apart from that we have many, many initiatives that we undertake, including our reports and analyses that really constitute the best and most credible data source for our market. We really work hard and actively to promote and develop new mobility, and we encourage everyone to reach out and cooperate. Just in the recent weeks we launched the Central and Eastern European Green Transport Initiative to develop the cooperation between CEE states in pursing the common goal of zero-emission transport and neutralising the two-speed model of developing E-Mobility in the EU.

Tel: +48 507 686 158 biuro@pspa.com.pl www.pspa.com.pl

EME Outlook issue 42 | 29

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AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. | NSPCC STATICUS

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MEGGER

Setting the standard in electrical test and measurement globally

BECKER MINING

Safety first in Poland’s transformative mining space

Issue 42

CONSTRUCTION

THE FACE OF FUTURE URBANISATION Unique, smart, sustainable; headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Staticus are the innovators of façade manufacturing. We discuss operations with CEO, Aušra Vankevičiūtė Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Sam Love

STATICUS

The Innovators of Façade Manufacturing

Aušra Vankevičiūtė

2 | EME Outlook issue 42

B

y 2025, 75 percent of the global population will live in cities, translating to over six billion people. Within today’s construction sector, innovation and sustainability are the prevailing factors that will lay the foundation for cities of the future, as the foundational concepts to create harmony between human beings living and working in an urban environment.

Adjacent to the advent of ‘smart buildings’, the market for façade engineering has grown from a niche industry to a significant field within the construction sector. Across the global market, the façade industry is projected to reach a valuation of $336.6 billion by 2028, with the European segment a major contributor to this dynamic growth.

As the skin to coat a building, facades play a fundamental role in bearing the brunt of the elements and protecting the building, determining the structure’s long-term behaviour. Yet as technology advances, these ‘climate skins’ are becoming increasingly intelligent, harnessing light, ventilation, shade, and temperature to create spaces that deliver energy efficiencies.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 3

ALEKSANDER RAJCH of the Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA), examines the organisation today ahead of an industry-defining decade

www.emeoutlookmag.com/work-with-us

Marketi ng Oppo rtunity

STATICUS

THE FACE OF FUTURE URBANISATION Unique, smart, sustainable; headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Staticus are the innovators of façade manufacturing. We discuss operations with CEO, Aušra Vankevičiūtė Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Sam Love

Aušra Vankevičiūtė, CEO

32 | EME Outlook issue 42

B

y 2025, 75 percent of the global population will live in cities, translating to over six billion people. Within today’s construction sector, innovation and sustainability are the prevailing factors that will lay the foundation for cities of the future, as the foundational concepts to create harmony between human beings living and working in an urban environment.

Adjacent to the advent of ‘smart buildings’, the market for façade engineering has grown from a niche industry to a significant field within the construction sector. Across the global market, the façade industry is projected to reach a valuation of $336.6 billion by 2028, with the European segment a major contributor to this dynamic growth.

As the skin to coat a building, facades play a fundamental role in bearing the brunt of the elements and protecting the building, determining the structure’s long-term behaviour. Yet as technology advances, these ‘climate skins’ are becoming increasingly intelligent, harnessing light, ventilation, shade, and temperature to create spaces that deliver energy efficiencies.

CONSTRUCTION

EME Outlook issue 42 | 33

STHLM 01 Future-Proof Office Building Encased in the WICTEC EL evo façade, Sthlm 01 is a 27-storey commercial building which will be part of the Stockholm New Creative Business Spaces set in beautiful waterside surroundings of the Swedish capital. The development covers seven distinctive buildings. Sthlm 01 will be the tallest, by becoming a landmark in the distinguished neighbourhood of Hammarby Sjöstad, an attractive location for offices, close to downtown Stockholm.

©SKANSKA

BUILD FAÇADES BEYOND TOMORROW

Find out more: www.wicona.com

STATICUS The building’s first defence, facades and their cladding must respond to stringent regulations regarding fire safety in particular, requiring thorough risk assessments, defect analysis, technical audits and monitoring, adding to the technical speciality of the field.

Equally important to the architects behind the design, a façade symbolises the harmony between aesthetics and performance of a building. As such, façade engineers are often likened to the true artists of construction, blending the essential components of appearance, safety and serviceability into an elegant final solution.

As the envelope to encapsulate the spirit of a building, it is this aesthetic potential that attracted Aušra Vankevičiūtė, CEO of Staticus, to the industry. Originating 20 years ago as a small family-owned enterprise, of which Vankevičiūtė is a member, her current tenure may be seen as a natural progression for someone “born and raised in this environment.”

“For me personally, it’s about the architecture – the art behind it, and the idea of knowing what cities are

Fornebuporten, Norway

36 | EME Outlook issue 42

‘OUR KEY FOCUS IS A COMMITMENT TO THE LONG-TERM. THIS MEANS THAT WE DELIVER AND MAXIMISE LONG-TERM VALUE FOR OUR CLIENTS, PARTNERS, AND SOCIETY BY DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY OUTCOMES, CREATING BENCHMARK SETTING PROJECTS, AND BUILDING LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIPS’ – STATICUS going to look like in the future, and how we can make an impact upon it.” she muses. “It’s amazing and inspiring.

With an esteemed reputation as innovators in the field, Staticus and their industry leading façade solutions, are at the forefront of this space, with over 150 façade solutions to date spread across the skylines of six European countries.

STATICUS: UNIQUE, SMART, SUSTAINABLE As one of the largest façade constructors in Northern Europe, the Staticus Group have over 20 years’ experience in the market, pioneering unique, smarter, and sustainable buildings, leveraging cutting edge façade production technology to surpass architectural briefs with

sophisticated and intelligent designs.

“Our headquarters for production are here in Vilnius, Lithuania. We currently have around 600 employees spread across our five offices in Oslo, Stockholm, London, Vienna, and Basel, with that number fluctuating depending on temporary installers and factory workers,” Vankevičiūtė explains.

Distinguished by their industryleading in-house value chain and laudable prioritisation of sustainability and eco-friendly business practices, the Staticus Group preside over the design, fabrication, and installation of their facades.

Business is entirely centred on large-scale projects, with notable examples including what has been hailed as ‘The Greenest

W

ith over 70 years of experience, WICONA has turned into a synonym for aluminium solutions meeting the highest standards, ranging from technology, product, service and consultation to sustainable construction. WICONA stands for complex building envelopes, meeting special technical challenges with innovative customised solutions in a sustainable and futureoriented way, constantly pushing the boundaries.

Numerous worldwide projects have already been awarded internationally recognized certificates, such as DGNB, LEED or BREEAM. But there is more. At WICONA, we truly believe in building beyond tomorrow. Sustainability requires to look behind a world beyond four walls and to work making it a reality. Not only going beyond world-class low-carbon and recycled materials, but to run every part of our business as sustainably as possible. Going beyond products, company and even ourselves, aiming for a 100% circular economy and reducing our CO2 emissions by half by 2025 and empowering 500,000 people with education by 2030.

Beyond partnerships | VIA VIKA, Oslo At WICONA we know, building beyond tomorrow requires strong partnerships. Therefore, sharing the same values and common goals as well as trust and respect is key. Trust in the decision making, vision and competence of our partners and enabling their trust in us. We always make sure to respect one another’s abilities and personalities.

of collaborative projects between Staticus and WICONA. During all the design stages and fabrication processes a clear and efficient communication between all parties became essential.

WICONAs’ closed cavity façade WICTEC Modul air follows the current trend of sustainable glass facades considering highest building performance combined with minimum maintenance costs.

Giedrius Valantinas Project Manager Staticus (VIA VIKA project) At WICONA, more than 30 highly qualified, experienced engineers work on special projects with bespoke designs for large international architectural projects. This guarantees the quality and homogeneity of the WICONA range, gathering, adapting and approving all the products in accordance with the technical requirements and test certificates. Bringing knowledge, innovation and expertise to the table, has enabled the involved parties to build an added value solution right in the business centre of Oslo, a solution for a better future.

We need to pay attention to every detail.

The purpose was quality. We had to be innovative.

Giedrius Valantinas Project Manager Staticus (VIA VIKA project)

Implementing large projects with WICONA’s special solutions requires to have a strong and reliable partner at your side. For us, Staticus is such a partner. A long and trustworthy cooperation where we look forward to all upcoming projects.

Torsten Föllmer Head of Key Account Management The VIA VIKA project in Oslo Norway as Northern and Eastern Europe’s first and only building using closed cavity façade (CCF) technology is only one reference on a long list

www.wicona.com

STATICUS

Reynaers Aluminium “Our goal is to increase the value of buildings and to enhance the living and working environment of people worldwide.”

For over 50 years, Reynaers Aluminium has been designing cutting-edge glazing solutions for some of the most iconic buildings in the world. Engineered without compromise, our range of aluminum glazing products has been the choice of world’s leading architects and construction companies.

Reynaers Aluminium is recognised globally for the premium quality of its products: the best designs and industry-leading performance and reliability.

Inside Staticus’ factory

development in Norway’ - Økern Portal, and London’s Tottenham Hale Tower, amongst an impressive roster of others including Sweden’s Gothenburg City Gate and Lexington, a New-York style tower currently under construction at Princess Dock in Liverpool, UK. Perhaps most notably, Staticus are also the name behind the Via Vika building in Norway – the first building in northern and eastern Europe to use Closed Cavity Façade (CCF) Technology.

These iconic buildings have cemented Staticus’ esteemed reputation, reaching Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and the UK. “In Scandinavia, we are definitely a market leader,” Vankevičiūtė comments. Indeed, Scandinavia is a suiting playground for Staticus as a forerunner of sustainable designs, where the Group has worked with major construction companies including SKANSKA, PEAB and NCC. As Vankevičiūtė elaborates, “we have a very strong focus towards energy efficient solutions, and I must say that Scandinavia is a true leader in implementing these requirements.”

38 | EME Outlook issue 42

The advent of ‘green’ buildings necessitates advanced materials and complex modern methods of construction (MMC), which in turn has prompted an increased demand for high-transparency glass (to allow passage of light whilst maintaining heat resistance), and recycled building materials such as aluminium – a Staticus speciality.

“We focus on aluminium unitised structures – that’s our know-how and knowledge.”

The greatest challenge that Staticus faces in recent times, along with the rest of the construction sector, is a lack of availability in the materials of their craft.

“It’s never boring in the construction industry – you always need everything yesterday! But currently, our greatest challenges are the fluctuation in material prices and shortages,” Vankevičiūtė observes.

That being said, such impediments have not hampered Staticus’ progress in the space. Indeed, we catch up with Staticus in the wake of an impressive 2020 which bought landmark achievements for the company, as Staticus

We test and certify all our products’ standard measurements. If you plan a module that has to meet special requirements, at Reynaers Aluminium will help to bring your even most challenging projects to life and support you at every step of the way.

To guarantee the highest quality possible, we invested in a worldclass design and testing facility. At the Reynaers Campus, we focus on sharing knowledge and experience while inspiring new technologies.

Next to the Technology, Training, and Automation Centre, Reynaers Campus offers a unique Experience Centre where visitors can explore future buildings in our virtual reality room, Avalon.

As Reynaers Aluminium opens the door to the world, we will be there for you not only this year but during the years to come.

Together for better!

www.reynaers.com

ElementFaçade 7 Future cities are already being designed today.

Cities become more dense, so buildings need more acoustic attenuation. Limited floor area pushes structures even higher, which requires better wind and water performances.

With standards and legislation growing more stringent, energy efficiency and insulation levels of today will no longer serve the building of tomorrow.

EF 7 was created precisely to stay ahead of the future and adapt to the growing requirements of modern construction.

Together for better www.reynaers.com

STATICUS demonstrate the resiliency and adaptability encapsulated by their facades.

Thanks to well-strategised contingency plans and adaptable staff, Staticus were able to implement new initiatives whilst maintaining a high standard. Indeed, 2020 was met with a 100 percent rate of construction site projects completed on time.

One such initiative concerned the opening of the Staticus Basel office in Switzerland, as the Group finalised on delivering the Staticus brand into new international markets.

“Our Basel office is focused on business development and sustainability engineering,” Vankevičiūtė informs us.

“We are also strengthening our position in the UK market, where we are a very strong player, by expanding our team alongside our offices in London,” she adds.

Bolstered by the strength of their in-house supply chain and highly talented team of qualified engineers, Staticus are fully equipped to excel at customer satisfaction with their clients and partners from the point of the design’s conception to installation, and on to post and long-term warranty services.

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS It soon transpires that for Staticus, the concept of sustainability and implementing low carbon

construction methods is paramount, with Vankevičiūtė fully alert to the detrimental role that construction can have on the environment.

“Construction is one of the biggest polluters overall. I strongly believe in boosting sustainability and green requirements within the sector,” she comments. “At Staticus, we did not just start this in recent years, when sustainability became a kind of trendy buzzword.

“We are one of the first companies to use recycled aluminium profiles and carbon footprint calculations for each project. We have just finished a project with entirely recycled aluminium profiles, but the development itself began in 2015. So, for us, it’s nothing new!”

The project that Vankevičiūtė refers to – Økern Portal – is one of Norway’s largest, and greenest construction developments. Composed of 75 percent recycled aluminium, which in turn contributes to 45 percent of embodied carbon savings in the building envelope, the Økern Portal façade exemplifies how Staticus maximise the use of recycled and environmentally friendly materials in their designs.

“Sustainability and what that actually means for the business, our clients and the end users, is one of Staticus’ strategic priorities and initiatives,” Vankevičiūtė comments.

‘WE ARE COMMITTED TO REDUCING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON THE PLANET AND CONTINUALLY STRIVE TO IMPROVE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR BUSINESS STRATEGY AND OPERATING METHODS. AS BUILDING FAÇADE CONTRACTORS, WE RECOGNISE OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, IMPROVE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT AND ENDEAVOUR TO REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE WHEREVER POSSIBLE’ – STATICUS 40 | EME Outlook issue 42

Schüco Schüco AF UDC 80 – new unitised system offering a complete solution The new UDC 80 façade combines excellent energy efficiency with huge design flexibility in a unitised system for both high rise residential and commercial buildings.

Scalable, tested system components form the basis for a wide variety of standardised applications and for modified, project-specific unitised façade constructions. The characteristic 80mm profile gives an elegant façade appearance while cover caps are also available as design options, enabling a perceived sightline of just 65mm.

The Schüco UDC 80 aluminium façade also sets new standards in terms of energy efficiency with U-values as low as 0.86 W/(m2K). Concealed when not in use, the new Schüco ZIP Design Screen textile sun shading reduces solar gain without impacting the overall design of the façade.

The system is designed to provide excellent design freedom with horizontally offset units, diagonal glazing bars or the use of opaque units. These can either be integrated flush into the façade unit or face-fitted to create deep offsets using system attachment components. When combined with balconies as a project solution, mechanically controlled insert units and project-specific, highly water-tight ASE 80 TC sliding doors also permit function-oriented design for high-rise residential buildings.

Where floor-to-ceiling opening units are used, the required safety barrier loading is achieved by means of a transparent, profile-integrated spandrel safety barrier, which blends in seamlessly and attractively into the unitised façade appearance, without interrupting the profile.

www.schueco.se

The Schüco façade UDC 80 SG looks impressive on the outside with the expansive appearance of an all-glass façade; on the inside its design is that of a unitised façade with narrow face widths of only 80 mm.

Schüco aluminium façade UDC 80 Dynamic system platform for individual unitised construction projects Urbanisation and an increasing global population mean our cities are growing upwards.

In this context, it is becoming ever more important to supply and install façade units quickly and in a way that saves space. Depending on the region, high-rise residential and commercial buildings are also exposed to extreme environmental factors such as wind loads and building movement. Energy efficiency, sustainability and flexible design are further aspects that are increasingly coming to the fore on building projects. Schüco is responding to these challenges with its new, dynamic aluminium façade system platform UDC (Unitised Dynamic Construction), which allows a high level of design freedom for individual projects with a unitised construction. For more information, visit schueco.com.

STATICUS Within the company itself, as of 2020 Staticus HQ and production facilities became 100 percent powered by renewable energy, with LED lighting installed across sites. In terms of logistics and transportation, throughout the course of 2021 Staticus has pledged to collaborate with industry partners and institutions to develop environmentally friendly alternatives to product packaging, whilst also reassessing the transport network of the logistics between companies.

The aforementioned Basel office is the true nexus of these ongoing efforts and sustainability commitments.

“The steering of these strategies and initiatives come from this office, alongside managing our new markets,” Vankevičiūtė explains.

Here, Staticus have implemented Sustainability Management and a team for Environmental Strategy Development within the office, presided over by Chief Business Development Officer, Aulikki Sonntag.

This is instrumental in driving Staticus’ attainment of their ambitious sustainability goals, including long term targets of reducing 50 percent of the CO2 footprint arising from their production chain by 2025.

In order to do so, Staticus will only procure materials in line with the Paris Climate Agreement criteria with all of Staticus’ suppliers providing Environmental Product Declarations.

By 2030, 80 percent of the entire Staticus project portfolio will comply with these requirements. This agreement has effectively set the criteria to guide the shift to a lowcarbon world, which construction industry players must adhere to.

The company’s sustainability commitments are also reflected on the wider scale of the ecosystem that Staticus enforce, and the role that the company adopts in contributing to the standardisation of sustainability assessment across the façade industry.

42 | EME Outlook issue 42

Staticus upholds a holistic vision that assesses the entire life cycle of their solutions – from the purchase of raw materials to the end-of-life phase of the installed façade. Life cycle assessment is leveraged to calculate carbon footprints of ongoing projects iteratively and using a high degree of automation. Wherever possible, these components of the building materials are then reused and recycled. As Vankevičiūtė comments, “We are seeking to disturb our industry by applying re-think, re-use, re-do methods.”

Staticus also adopt an educational voice in this field, organising workshops to exchange awareness among partners, from architects to suppliers, in the pursuit of sustainability solutions for the façade industry.

“We will continue to focus on sustainability and to sharpen our knowledge in this case by best understanding the benefits that we can bring to clients and society.

Økern Portal

The HELLA Group HELLA is one of Europe’s leading providers of sun and weather protection systems for buildings with headquarters in Abfaltersbach (East Tyrol).

In 2020, 1,350 employees generated a worldwide turnover of 186 million euros.

The product portfolio includes coordinated external and internal shading solutions, safety systems and corresponding electronic controls.

HELLA pursues a premium strategy and delivers products and services from a single source.

www.hella.info

CONSTRUCTION

WE DESIGN COOL SHADOWS

STATICUS PROJECT: ØKERN PORTAL, NORWAY CATEGORY: Commercial (offices) TECHNOLOGIES: Aluminium and glass façades, double-skin façade, mullion-transom façades, unitised curtain walls, windows and doors FAÇADE AREA: 15,000 metres-squared NUMBER OF FAÇADE ELEMENTS: 1,588 unique trapezoidal elements CERTIFICATES: BREEAM-NOR Certified ‘Excellent’ NOTEWORTHY COMMENTS: • Økern Portal is one of the largest office developments in Norway, and the first project implemented by Staticus according to agile principles.

• The use of recycled aluminium in the Hydro CIRCAL system reduces embodied carbon within the building envelope to less than 130 kilogrammes CO2/ metre-squared of the façade in the product stage.

• The building will host Northern Europe’s largest roof park with edible plants.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 43

STATICUS

Økern Portal

This thinking from a green point of view will become more and more technological in our structures, for instance with the development of replaceable skins and bringing products back into the loop,” Vankevičiūtė adds.

VALUE CHAIN VISIBILITY – FROM IDEA TO REALISATION Ensuring that the company has full visibility over their entire value chain is an undeniable asset for Staticus, thereby allowing the company to champion their sustainability goals and stringent regulations by selectively working with vetted suppliers to ensure transparency and guarantee environmental quality.

“Since we have our whole value 44 | EME Outlook issue 42

chain in-house, we do not subcontract for installation or production. We have our own capacities, and this is one of our key strengths, compared to other market players,” Vankevičiūtė comments. “Sure, sometimes it’s a headache, but overall, it’s definitely a huge benefit.”

This robust structure has been instrumental for the company in cementing exceptional, trustworthy relationships as a reliable partner to architects, developers and contractors over the past twenty years. Clients have the peace of mind that Staticus are equipped to deliver fully-assembled and high-quality products, thanks to their prioritisation of innovation and the proficiency of their engineers.

All qualified engineers are experienced with Green Labelling Certifications, including BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

The development of the ‘Staticus Cares’ unit, dedicated to extending the relationship with clients is also instrumental in this respect, as a branch within R&D that also pertains to repair establishment and façade maintenance. Thereby, Staticus inspire trust and team ship amongst all parties involved in a project’s development – whether that’s architects, engineers, clients, investors, and contractors.

The Via Vika commercial office

CONSTRUCTION building in Oslo aptly elucidates Staticus’ engineering proficiency coupled with technologically advanced solutions to guarantee superior energy performance within the building’s envelope. An industry first, Via Vika is Northern and Eastern Europe’s first and only building to implement closed-cavity façade technology (CCF).

Ensuring efficiency without compromising on quality, throughout 2020, Staticus effectively piloted and implemented agile methodology within project management, resulting in increased engagement and satisfaction for project team members. Through this approach, budget execution improved by 28 percent.

At the centre of those benefitting from the implementation of agile methodology were the invaluable workforce behind Staticus’ operations. As such, the company’s traditional hierarchical structure was dropped to ensure autonomous and empowered teams of employees, disbanding a waterfall approach in favour of team-based working which ultimately resulted in improved project management.

“Our staff are one of our key priorities. At a senior management

level, one of the questions that we ask every day, and include within both our long and short-term goals, concerns our people and the engagement of our employees,” Vankevičiūtė tells us.

“No people, no business!”

Staticus strive to be the most appealing employer in the sector, by recruiting top talent and motivating employees to upskill and explore a wide spectrum of experiences within the business, whilst contributing to its overall success.

The company’s commitments to their own staff is also reflected in their corporate social responsibility practices, where Staticus endeavour to inspire and educate younger generations.

“We cooperate a lot with universities. Before COVID-19, we used to work with youth schools by inviting them to our factories and presenting the different positions and showing the students what they might choose to study,” Vankevičiūtė explains.

Staticus also support and endorse various social projects and initiatives throughout Lithuania, applying their industry expertise to worthy causes showcasing laudable philanthropy.

“We support less favoured families and the early learning centres where

children are taken care of. The problem is that they get food, clothes etc but they don’t get attention, or they only see teachers or service people, so they don’t know what is out in the world and what they can learn. So, we cooperate with several such centres in Lithuania by inviting students to come and practice and learn about what positions are out there after they turn 18,” she tells us. “We also sponsor families and renovate the houses of those who are most in need.”

Returning to the importance of Staticus’ workforce, Vankevičiūtė acknowledges the balance between retaining talent and embracing digitalisation. “Whilst we may dream about robots and computers changing the industry, it won’t happen tomorrow,” she comments.

“Engineering and solutions – it’s all about creativity, knowledge, and experience.

“By having almost 90 engineers in-house, this is our greatest asset and also enables us to find new solutions and ways of working by exploring the combination of engineering and digitalisation. People are everything,” she adds.

Of course, this does not hamper Staticus from embracing the potential

Økern Portal

STATICUS

STATICUS PROJECT: VIA VIKA, OSLO, NORWAY CATEGORY: Commercial (offices) TECHNOLOGIES: Closed Cavity Facades (CCF), Single skin facades FAÇADE AREA: 20,000 metres-squared ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A-Class of digitalisation. Another landmark 2020 achievement, the company’s increasing focus in this area meant that 56 percent of Staticus’ processes were effectively digitalised.

Digitalisation plays an increasing role in the execution of projects, contributing greater efficiency whilst strengthening collaboration and knowledge sharing. One such example being implemented within Staticus’, ‘Smarter Work’ strategy, launched last year, is the use of the Dalux new quality management tool. Marrying the company’s environmental concerns whilst achieving greater efficiency, the tool tackles the waste of paper in printed workshop drawings and checklists during production, resulting in a saving of 100 kilogrammes / 20,000 sheets of paper.

46 | EME Outlook issue 42

CERTIFICATES: BREEAM-NOR Certified ‘Excellent’ AWARDS: Commendation in the Future Project Awards at 2017 MIPIM conference in Cannes NOTEWORTHY COMMENTS: • Via Vika is the first building in Northern and Eastern Europe to use CCF technology, ensuring that there is no condensation within the cavity.

• The building was designed around two different aluminium and glass systems assembled by two separate installation teams. The complex process of merging the unit parts with zero dirt and dust required a special production site with dry air piping.

• The building is cladded with Rosy Gold stainless steel corrugated sheets covered with a titanium coating and natural stone finish.

Stainless steel coating (PVD) protects the façade from corrosion and mechanical damage whilst preserving the colour.

• The façade consists of more than 2,000 single and double façade elements, 20 percent of which are curved. The façade has a high light transmission for four glasses of 64 percent.

CONSTRUCTION

Via Vika

For Vankevičiūtė, this is an area of ongoing focus explored within R&D and strategic investments. “In general, there’s a lot of room for improvement and innovation for all of us – the more efficient we are, the more affordable the construction is,” she states.

“We recently received green funding for our R&D project – that’s the collaboration between us, and the regional universities and research centres in Norway and Lithuanian universities, including Oslomet – storbyuniversitetet (OSLOMET), SINTEF and KTU (Kaunas University of Technology), to test technologies for IOT development,” Vankevičiūtė explains.

In order to maintain their leading

position as industry innovators, this is essential.

“We have to think differently – not only from a technological point of view but also in the way that we design buildings, to which materials are used to inform shapes, whilst re-thinking and reusing – but also looking to how we can predict the future through IoT. “If the fishing industry can use AI to predict when the fish is hungry and feeding it at the right time with the right quantity, then surely we can also predict whether or not the glass that we use will break and how we can prevent it or what needs to be done. That’s also pushing the limits in terms of glass sizes, in terms of better

materials with parameters for energy,” Vankevičiūtė adds.

Through their unique approach to smart building solutions with a focus on high energy efficiency, supported by unparalleled in-house competencies, the Staticus difference guarantees operational excellence.

“I would say it is the way that we manage the projects and the service that we provide to the client by using agile methodology in the construction industry, is something that is not common which differentiates us from others by being more transparent, more proactive at communication and serving the clients,” Vankevičiūtė affirms.

A truly modern enterprise with an expanding operational footprint, Staticus will continue to shape the skylines of Europe for years to come.

Tel: +370 5 239 88 33 info@staticus.com www.staticus.com

EME Outlook issue 42 | 47

ONE WORKS

MAXIMISING VALUE IN DESIGN Leonardo Cavalli, Founder of One Works, discusses his sustainable approach to architecture in Italy and beyond Writer: Sean Galea-Pace | Project Manager: Sam Love When I started out, we were drawing with a pencil — now look at the world!”

Leonardo Cavalli is the Founder of One Works. An industry expert with over three decades of experience, Cavalli believes architecture is unrecognisable from when he first entered the space in 1986.

“Today, the tools you have at your disposal are completely different and the professional environment has changed dramatically over the past 30 years,” he recalls. “We are still designing buildings and infrastructures but the way we do it has changed considerably. This is particularly true for a country like Italy where things have started to happen quickly during the past 10 years, when before that very little happened. This gave us the opportunity to grow and organise ourselves in a different way and allowed us to have more of a personal passion and approach to projects.”

48 | EME Outlook issue 42

Cavalli founded One Works in 2007 in collaboration with his business partner. His company is an international architecture design and engineering firm offering an integrated and sustainable approach. One Works believes in creating dynamic and intuitive environments where people and communities can connect with their environment and with each other. The organisation closely works with both airport management companies and service operators to deliver safe, efficient, sustainable airport operations, while retaining a focus on passenger experience. One Works operates its design headquarters in Milan, and has offices in Bangkok, Chennai, Dubai, Doha, London, Rome, Singapore and Venice.

Indeed, upon the launch of One Works 14 years ago, Cavalli was adamant that a design isn’t just a matter of architecture, but an integrated effort that sets the standard to allow growth as an integrated design firm.

CONSTRUCTION

Some environments leave their mark. For the warmth they transmit, for their welcoming attitude, for their style.

And you immediately feel at home, even when you are far away.

Touchless Handwashing Systems and Toilet Cubicles

www.dmpelectronics.com

ONE WORKS

LEONARDO CAVALLI, FOUNDER AT ONE WORKS Cavalli graduated with a master’s degree in Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano and is a Member of the Italian Institute of Architects with more than 30 years’ experience in master planning and design. Since setting up One Works, Cavalli has become well-known in the industry and has successfully delivered designs that have enhanced and prolonged an all-inclusive occupant and visitor experience.

Leonardo Cavalli, Founder, One Works

52 | EME Outlook issue 42

“It tends to be led by architecture, but design integration is primarily our focus,” he explains. “Opportunity and strategy are mixed to help grow together and that has really helped us over the past 15 years.”

KEY PROJECTS One Works has been commissioned to work on a plethora of projects, featuring a variety of aviation, infrastructure, urban design, buildings and retail. To Cavalli, there are three that stick out for him in particular: Venice Airport, CityLife and the San Marino Outlet Experience.

“Those are the three that best showcase our capabilities,” he explains. “We were commissioned to design the new passenger terminal refurbishment and extension to facilitate growth in the airport’s level of service. The idea of bringing natural light into an airport is simple but if you think about all the airports in the world, very rarely is there natural light flowing into the airport from the roof. I felt this was a very interesting approach that we had. This was together with the idea of extending and leveraging the existing fabrics which I felt was the most sustainable approach design-wise when looking at new buildings.”

CITYLIFE CityLife is one of the largest urban regeneration projects in the recent

history of Milan. One Works was asked to design the Piazza Tre Torri and the commission included addressing the strategic design of a new retail plaza to serve as the entrance to the new metro line. The revision of the plaza’s layout stems from variations in its functional programme, or rather its spatial distribution and desire to create a single public place consisting of two open spaces at different levels. Retail functions, strongly characterised in part by the fashion mall at the bottom of the Hadid Tower, and the outdoor commercial activity distributed around the plaza and along the pathway towards Piazza VI Febbraio, permit the public square to open itself up to the city and the surrounding park.

“We are proud that we were able to bring the urban feeling into a very interesting project but separate it from the urban fabric,” discusses Cavalli. “Our mantra was to bring the town and urban environment into this new district which is built in the middle of a former fairground in the city and actually suggesting to the client to build less rather than more.”

SAN MARINO OUTLET EXPERIENCE Based in San Marino, One Works was commissioned to design a new luxury outlet destination to support the local community and tourism from

S

ince creating our first electronic photocell tap in 1978, DMP Electronics has carried out the largest number of solutions for the community, catering, and hospitality sectors. Our products are entirely designed, manufactured and assembled in our factories, using certified and entirely eco-friendly materials. In recent years, our company has forged important partnerships with architecture and design studios and has created an internal technical-commercial area dedicated to the contract sector, with the task of carrying out customisation and exclusive production for each specific project.

With a quick turnaround and complying the highest standards of quality, our technical department can transform design ideas into high performance advanced technological solutions, at a sustainable cost for the client.

service of all, present in the main communication hubs and meeting centres, continually defined by an ancient idea that will lead them far into the future, always carrying with it an ancient idea that leads far away.

We started protecting the environment in 1978, not out of fashion, or ambition, but to help build a better future for new generations. We have pushed our research towards innovative and cutting-edge solutions, with a green approach in the design of all our products. Ever since the first electronic tap, we have contributed to huge savings in water resources.

We have always carefully chosen materials with a low environmental impact and high-quality standards, having already achieved our goal of obtaining the most important environmental certifications. Every day, our research and development managers work side by side with our designers to give shape and content to the idea of the future.

“Our products will use a little water to wash your hands, a drop of soap to sanitise them, an air blast to dry them”, so wrote the founder of DMP in 1978.

Today, that idea has become vital in a world of rapidly changing demands and risks. To guarantee maximum hygiene without waste, DMP’s evolution takes place through a journey of acquired knowledge and continuous development, in a perfect balance between sustainability and a vision of the future.

An evolution based on ingenuity and ease of use, our touchless system is founded on respect both for humans, and the environment. DMP is security at the

www.dmpelectronics.com

ONE WORKS local towns. The project assumptions originate with the territorial context, in addition to the commercial objectives.

Terraced parking lots follow the terrain’s natural profile and the interior pedestrian path winds following a slight slope diagonally across the hillside. The design concept allows visitors to read the site’s topography and at the same time significantly reducing the building’s footprint.

“The San Marino Outlet Experience only launched in June 2021,” he says. “It is totally open air, focused on the shopping experience rather than convenience, and building an environment which stands out.”

SUSTAINABILITY DRIVE For Cavalli, sustainability is an important pillar to One Works’ strategy and he believes in maximising value out of pre-existing infrastructure.

Milano CityLife by Alessandra Chemollo

CONSTRUCTION “This is where our work on the Venice Airport project comes in because we are leveraging the existing materials,” he explains.

“This is key because it’s important to understand and recognise what is existing and is a major step towards a sustainable approach. We must also ask ourselves the best way to approach new projects while also maximising the value that already exists. This is what interests me more about a sustainable approach.

“Sustainability isn’t just about design; it’s about incorporating the idea into the full chain that produces a place or a building. I believe this is the very goal of being sustainable in design. Being architects and structural engineers, we tend to look at the building physics rather than the operation of the building. There has been a considerable effort to have a more sustainable approach over the past 30 years.”

AN AGILE APPROACH Cavalli is keen to treat technology as an opportunity to refocus on urban development. “Digital technology is a chance for the periphery of the countries and cities to become more relevant economically and socially,” he explains. “Digital technology will be the most interesting tool for a proper revolution and redistribution of wealth across different parts of the country and reducing the differences between rich areas and poor areas. I believe this to be far more important to the future of our cities and to our lives than technology in the technical sense.”

Like every other organisation around the world, COVID-19 impacted One Works. Fortunately, unlike all firms, One Works was well prepared.

“We had the technology available for people to work from home if they wanted to,” discusses Cavalli. “We allowed them to act as freely as possible and even today people are still free to come to the office or stay home if they want to.”

The San Marino Outlet Experience, a new retail destination designed

by One Works and promoted by Borletti Group, Aedes SIIQ, DEA Real Estate Advisor and VLG Capital, opened in June this year, offering a new shopping experience to the local community and visitors However, Cavalli maintains that such a flexible approach has come at the cost of efficiency. “For our designers, being in one place and sharing a desk helps considerably,” he explains. “Creativity needs informality, and it isn’t something you can find on Teams or Zoom. What we saw happening is what might be forced to happen in the next five years anyway.

We were forced to learn and adapt quickly. Our plan now is to balance out opportunities with future behaviour as we are working.”

Indeed, harnessing a collaborative culture is essential to sustained success on projects in architecture.

“It doesn’t matter which staff member is assigned to the project, it’s about feeling part of the bigger process of producing a design,” says Cavalli. “We always try to be fair with opportunities in terms of career and we are of a decent size.”

Looking ahead, Cavalli understands the market shift as a result of COVID19 and recognises the importance of listening to the current demands of the industries One Works serves to find the most appropriate solutions. “It’s about understanding what opportunities could arise,” he affirms. “Two of the main industries that we serve; airports and retail destinations, were significantly disrupted by the pandemic. This has showcased to us the importance of listening to find solutions and exploring ideas that are born from risks and disasters. Now, we know we must be open and ready to change.”

Tel: +39 026 559131 milan@one-works.com www.one-works.com

EME Outlook issue 42 | 55

SLA

ECOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE 56 | EME Outlook issue 42

CONSTRUCTION SLA operates with the mission to build cities and public spaces that balance urbanisation with the natural world. We speak to Rasmus Astrup, Partner and Design Director at SLA, about the practice’s projects and scientific approach to design Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Sam Love

R

asmus Astrup hadn’t always planned to enter the architecture sector. Resulting from a keen interest in ecology, mixed with a chance introduction to landscape design during school, he decided to explore a career path into the space.

Now, after pursuing this and spending 12 years with the company, Astrup sits as a Partner and Design Director to the internationally renowned architecture practice, SLA.

GREEN PRACTICE SLA operates within the fields of urban space, city planning, and landscape architecture. A key aspect of the practice’s identity is its use of nature to solve some of today’s hardest urban problems while providing genuine life quality for all.

SLA’s main office is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with another in Oslo, Norway, and one in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, with 130 employees across the company.

“We were established more than 25 years ago by Professor Stig Lennart Andersson, that is why we are called SLA. We are not a traditional architecture firm. Rather we are an inter disciplinary design studio in which we have anthropologists, sociologists, biologists, lighting designers, forest engineers, and of course landscape architects and designers working alongside one another on the joint mission to create green and sustainable cities,” Astrup informs us.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 57

SLA “SLA has been on an amazing journey from only having 20 or 30 employees six years ago and working primarily in Scandinavia to the large, global team we have today. Especially in the last three years we have seen a growing global demand for our services, which means we today have projects under development in Scandinavia, France,

EUROPEAN PROJECTS: NATURKRAFT The ambition of Naturkraft located on the Danish west coast is to create an iconic exploratorium and nature arena about the power and aesthetic values of nature.

The nature arena encourages and challenges visitors to oneon-one experiences through physical play, enlightening learning activities and intuitive understanding of the interaction between humans and nature.

At Naturkraft, it is intended for visitors to become fascinated by experience, feel and sense how the physical and aesthetic powers of nature will shape the sustainable cities and communities of the future.

SERVICE: Full-service landscape design LOCATION: Ringkøbing, Denmark TYPE: Invited CLIENT: Fonden Naturkraft DESIGN PERIOD: 2017 - 2018 REALISATION: 2018 - 2020 AREA: Five hectares PARTNERS: Thøgersen & Stouby, NIRAS, Hune & Elkjær, Fuldendt, Hansen & Larsen

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Italy, Germany, USA, Canada, the UAE and China. To see our work making such an impressive and positive impact around the world is incredibly inspiring and motivating for everybody at the studio.”

“SLA IS A HUB OF CREATIVITY AND SCIENCE” – RASMUS ASTRUP, PARTNER AND DESIGN DIRECTOR, SLA KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN DESIGN Another aspect of SLA’s international success is the way the broad variation of global projects brings a constant flow of new knowledge to the studio and clients, especially the more complex projects demanding the studio’s interdisciplinary approach.

“There is an assumption that we are utilising all our knowledge when going abroad, but actually we are bringing back so much new knowledge as well,” Astrup informs us. “We of course always provide our expertise, but we also learn during the project and thereby combine knowledge between clients and countries.

Like how Paris is supporting urban farming, how London is demanding Net Gain Biodiversity, or how Vancouver is studying the influence of particles from car tyres moving from bioswales to salmons.

“We are first and foremost a design studio, but cities are complex ecosystems and frankly too important and complicated to be left to architects alone. That is why we always work interdisciplinary. For example, when we started working in Detroit, our anthropologists were fundamental to engage and deal with the many social challenges in the city.

And when we work in London - and basically in all our China projects - we always start with a comprehensive biological study to inform and fulfil the ambitions of our design.”

Zinco Danmark In 2011, Zinco Danmark received the first introduction for the project CopenHill. CopenHill is the name for Copenhagen’s new epicenter for urban mountain sport inclusive a ski slope – the highest view spot is 87 meters above sea level.

The architects from BIG needed some professional sparring for the project: “How do we realize to build a skiing slope on a roof?”

The team discussed the project for a long period of time and subsequently involved SLA Landscaping Architects in the process. By this point, Zinco Danmark began to question how it could begin to make this project a reality. Zinco Danmark then collected experience from people who had been in touch with each fragment of the project. The landscape architects from SLA put in all their knowledge of designing a wild meadow with wild trees and the partners discussed different solutions for details in construction and how to force the downhill forces to ensure the final parc can stay stable after heavy rain, stormy wind or dry seasons. In the end, the partners decided together how to create the landscape that had never been done before.

CopenHill is a perfect example how far we can reach when it comes to building landscapes which are unique.

When architects, landscapers and builders are working together in close collaboration and sharing professional knowledge, we can accomplish considerable projects.

www.zinco-greenroof.com

CopenHill Denmark PARK ON ROOF - NEVER SEEN BEFORE Green Roofs - Provides Natural Biodiverse Habitats in the city Landscaped roofs compensate for green spaces, which are lost to building development.

They provide natural habitats for wildlife and bring nature back into the cities.

In Copenhagen - the waste incineration plant ”Amager Ressource Center”, which provides electricity for 30,000 and heating for 72,000 households - got the roof turned into a huge epicenter for urban mountain sport.

ZinCo works with landscapes on deck and green roofs all over the world and we are dedicated to longlasting, functioning solutions for rooftop landscaping.

Photo: Ehrhorn Hummerston

COPENHILL DENMARK Build Architect Landscaping Architect Landscaper Green Roof System

2018-2019 BIG SLA Malmos A/S ZinCo GmbH

Copenhagen’s new epicenter for urban mountain sport.

”It has been one of the most magnificent projects I’ve ever been involved in. The opportunity to build something truly unique and then create a landscape that provides people with nature in the city and a place where adults and children can live, play and enjoy life in is important.”

Per Malmos, Malmos A/S and ZinCo Danmark

ZinCo Danmark and ZinCo GmbH · www.zinco-greenroof.com

Life on Roofs

SLA

Rasmus Astrup, Partner and Design Director, SLA SLA stands as a leading European architectural firm when it comes to enveloping sustainability and ecology as well as life-quality and the human scale in its various projects.

LEADING ECOLOGICAL DESIGN What really places SLA above and apart from its industry peers is the company DNA to work with “city nature” as well as the drive to bring the aesthetic value of the natural world into its projects. This is core for SLA, as Astrup explains.

“Driven by this inspiration, our projects focus on a very sensory experience; textures, smells, how the air and wind affect the moods of those who experience the projects,” he elaborates. “These elements of the projects make use of the biologists, sociologists and anthropologists we employ; those who focus on developing the sensory experience led by a deep understanding of the relationship between nature and people.

“I believe that this is where we really differ from other practices - SLA is a hub of creativity and science.

When I pass colleagues there could be discussions regarding a root 60 | EME Outlook issue 42

system of three plants that they are currently studying that will change peoples’ sensory experiences, or a philosophical talk about arrangement of soil, the feeling that it provides and how to utilise this within a project.

“On top of this, our people are what makes the practice work. Both SLA employees and our partner relationships are the company’s biggest assets and are key to SLA’s success. Across the practice we are like many smaller studios under one roof. We are constantly feeding each other with new and exciting information, and the intertwining of design, science and nature is a core part of SLA.” The practice is backed by highly skilled employees as well as scientific professionals who study the project environment so that SLA’s structures can blend seamlessly and promote its natural ecosystem. The critical high-level expertise of the firm’s designers ensures that each and every project is elegant and in-keeping with its surroundings. SLA’s many projects, both within Denmark and internationally, such as Amager Bakke, exemplify these progressive efforts.

“THE INTERTWINING OF DESIGN, SCIENCE AND NATURE IS A CORE PART OF SLA”

– RASMUS ASTRUP, PARTNER AND DESIGN DIRECTOR, SLA AMAGER BAKKE SLA’s design of a green rooftop park for Copenhagen’s newest waste-toenergy plant combines hiking trails, playgrounds, vantage points, climbing walls and street fitness, along with a ski slope designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) that measures over 500 metres. All of it has been created within a wild and sensuous mountain nature with plants, rock-scapes, 7,000 bushes and 300 trees, all 85 metres up in the air. The complete project area totals a 35,000 metresquared nature park and landscape, a 41,000 metre-squared building and involved partners Zinco Danmark, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), MOE, Malmos Landskaber, and Rambøll in its realisation. The experimenting use of the steep pitched roof, places high demands on the plant and landscape design.

CONSTRUCTION

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS: AL FAY PARK Al Fay Park in Abu Dhabi is a game-changer and a paradigm shift in how to design and implement city nature in dense megacities of the Middle East.

SLA’s 27,500 metre-squared park is the first urban park in UAE focusing on biodiversity, social activities and microclimate optimisation. It is designed both aesthetically and climatically to be ‘the coolest place in town.’

Besides world-class facilities for multiple sports and activities and children’s playgrounds, the winding forest track is one of Al Fay’s main attractions. Al Fay Park is designed utilising the latest knowledge and research in microclimate optimisation and urban sustainability. Its high density of trees, plus modern irrigation systems, thus ensures that it uses 40 percent less water than traditional parks while providing a cool, comfortable, and unique round-the-clock place for all residents and visitors in Abu Dhabi to meet, play and live.

SERVICE: Full-service landscape design LOCATION: Abu Dhabi CLIENT: The Department of Municipalities and Transport, Abu Dhabi DESIGN PERIOD: 2019 - 2020 REALISATION: 2021 AREA: 27,500 metre-squared COLLABORATOR: Parsons

“To create a nature park on top of a steep, hot and windy powerplant roof has been one of our most challenging constructions to date. But our work has been worth it. Amager Bakke’s nature roof park and hiking trail now invites locals and visitors to traverse a mountainous landscape of plants, rock-scapes, bushes and 300 pine and willow trees atop the world’s cleanest waste-to-energy plant,” says Astrup.

“It also acts as a generous “Biodiversity Booster” that will radically green-up the adjacent industrial area. Copenhill becomes the home for birds, bees, butterflies and flowers, creating a vibrant green pocket and forming a completely new urban ecosystem for the city of Copenhagen.”

GREEN FUTURE Into the years ahead, SLA will be continuing with multiple projects spanning the Nordic countries as well as looking towards implementing a larger global impact through its projects abroad.

Led by its core elements of technical expertise, scientific research, excellent design skills and ecosystem collaboration, SLA is a refreshing and promising architectural practice building a better tomorrow for people and the environment in which they dwell.

PANTONE cool gray 11

Tel: +45 3391 1316 info@sla.dk www.sla.dk

EME Outlook issue 42 | 61

GRIMSHAW

CONSTRUCTION

ARCHITECTURE’S ENDURING SPIRIT We speak to members of the Grimshaw team about the firm’s global deliverance of architectural projects harbouring the elements of sustainability, quality and endurance Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Sam Love

A

rchitecture can be regarded as the face of civilisation.

For millennia, whether it be through statues, temples or tombs, mankind’s mark has been its craft, and the ability to design and build monuments holding meaning and serving practical functions in equal measure.

This notion still exists today, and with increasingly innovative methods behind architecture as well as a wider recognition of present global issues, the sector merges elements of technology, modernisation and sustainability for the betterment of people and the planet.

Keith Brewis, International Development Partner

A PRACTICE WITH HISTORY Merging said elements in its various projects, Grimshaw stands as a key member of the sector.

The company became a partnership in 2007, and as of 2020 it marked its 40th year as a practice that continues to build its global reputation for design and client services worldwide, operating with over 650 staff across its offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Dubai, Melbourne, and Sydney.

Annelie Thompson, Partner, London Studio

Matt Utley, Principle and Head of Grimshaw Dubai

Since its establishment by Sir Nicolas Grimshaw in 1980, the firm has specialised in diverse highperformance, enduring, sustainabilityfocused and progressive architecture spanning from large-scale rail, aviation and infrastructure projects to major commercial, education, sports, arts and master planning projects.

“We’re driven by seeking an enduring personality in our buildings,” Keith Brewis, International Development Partner at Grimshaw, tells us. “I think that this stems from how the buildings perform, and in order for buildings to perform well, and to look elegant, we need to consciously engage with specialists, contractors, engineering consultants and others so that we know they can be built well and beautifully.

“This thought, dedication and enduring commitment gives us a place within the market and is why clients turn to Grimshaw.”

And across the firm’s global operations, there is a sense of reflective balance that mutually represents both the urban and natural world. A core element of Grimshaw’s architectural design and function, EME Outlook issue 42 | 63

GRIMSHAW this duality of purpose stands out as an aspect that echoes through its multiple projects, as Brewis comments.

“The practice has always thought about the relationship of buildings in both the senses of energy and their impact on the environment from the get-go; for the past 40 years,” he informs us. “This has become almost a priority in terms of our mantra.”

Embodying these elements are

A PRACTICE WITH PEOPLE AT THE CORE Grimshaw operates globally with multiple offices, departments and staff. In light of this, the company ensures that there is internal and external connectivity between its locations to maximise both knowledge and expertise, drawing on the collective professionalism and experience of its company-wide talent to collaborate to the best end result of Grimshaw projects. Matthew Utley, Principle and Head of Grimshaw Dubai, elaborates on the topic.

“We’re not theorists or academics within architecture, but rather invested in the physical impact and influence that Grimshaw buildings have on people and the communities they are in,” he explains to us. “Because of this, we work alongside very professional colleagues, and commit to the relationships that we have between those in such fields as engineering, fabrication and the manufacturing supply chain. The people associated with Grimshaw make the practice what it is.”

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Grimshaw’s various projects, such as those within the UK and UAE.

LONDON BRIDGE STATION The new station is designed to accommodate over 90 million passengers per year in a new expansive street level concourse – larger than the football pitch at Wembley Stadium - which links two communities in Southwark for the first time since the Victorian period.

Operationally, the project creates a unified site that includes extended platforms, integrated new street entrances, three new through tracks, fewer terminating platforms and convenient links to onward travel.

Beneath the tracks, a grand streetlevel space that humanises journeys through its naturally lit concourse filtered through voids in the platforms above, flanked by timber lined soffits providing visual softness and warmth to the space.

“London Bridge is a really important hub and transport area,” explains Annelie Thompson, Partner at Grimshaw’s London studio. “Transport is at the heart of it, and it has also done a lot for the wider city as well in terms of visitors and of course serving its function for people throughout London.”

The station has a rich history, it was the first railway station built in the capital in 1836. Grimshaw’s project incorporates its layers of history by adaptively reusing spaces. The new concourse cuts through the existing brick viaducts and is connected to the Underground station by the shop lined Western Arcade, historically a site of a market when the station was first built. This link has been extended to over three times its original length with board marked concrete quadripartite arches inspired by the original brick arches whilst referencing the rich brutalist heritage of the South Bank.

“We had to keep in mind its history and maintain the integrity of the old

Iris Ceramica Group Iris Ceramica Group and its forward-looking ceramic surfaces For the last 60 years, Iris Ceramica Group has been a world-leading manufacturer of high-performance and authentically beautiful ceramic surfaces.

Based in Fiorano Modenese with production sites in Italy, Germany and the USA, the Group operates in over 100 countries worldwide, offering a wide range of design solutions: from the contract and wellness sectors to the hospitality industry and residential projects, as well as major public works and designer furniture, satisfying all contemporary building and living requirements.

Iris Ceramica Group’s brands include major global players in the field of design and architecture such as Ariostea, Fiandre Architectural Surfaces, FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti, Iris Ceramica, Porcelaingres, SapienStone, StonePeak and the latest addition, SeventyOnePercent, which is dedicated to designing unprecedented experiences in the high-profile wellness & bathroom sector.

The Group stands for a culture centered around ceramics, which is regarded as one of the finest materials existing in nature that has been available to mankind since the discovery of fire, evolving through geological time.

Iris Ceramica Group puts into practice a forward-looking vision that has its roots in the pioneering spirit of the company, which has been bold enough to create original materials and applications, opening up new markets for ceramics.

This identity, which encompasses design/art and ingenuity, can be found in Iris Ceramica Group’s showrooms and flagship stores located in major international cities including London, Berlin and New York, as well as in Milan where a new store was opened in September 2020.

Tangible values such as innovation, quality and sustainability are brought to life through the company’s ability to be ahead of its time, promoting an evolution of materials and their applications that shapes the future while remaining firmly rooted in the elements of nature: fire, water and earth.

flasgshipstore.irisceramicagroup.com

GRIMSHAW

LONDON BRIDGE STATION PROJECT AWARDS • 2019 RIBA National Award and Stirling Prize Shortlist • 2019 RIBA Regional Award, Building of the Year Award • 2019 AJ100 Award: Building of the Year • 2019 Civic Trust Award, Special Award for Transportation & Infrastructure • 2018 World Architecture Festival ‘Transport – Completed Buildings’ category winner • 2018 Structural Steel Design Award • 2018 British Construction Industry Awards (BCIA), Transport Project of the Year • 2018 British Transport Award, Station of the Year • 2018 New London Award, Overall Winner and Sustainability Prize

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“THOUGHT, DEDICATION AND ENDURING COMMITMENT GIVES US A PLACE WITHIN THE MARKET AND IS WHY CLIENTS TURN TO GRIMSHAW” – KEITH BREWIS, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNER, GRIMSHAW while introducing the new,” Thompson continues. “It was important to think about how the project impacts the area and people, and it is appealing to be able to see our work every day and how it has changed the lives of people around it.”

DUBAI EXPO 2020 SUSTAINABILITY PAVILION A fine example of Grimshaw’s progressive projects, the pavilion aims to illuminate the ingenuity and possibility of architecture as society looks to intelligent strategies

for sustainable future living. The pavilion is one of three at the expo, presenting the opportunity to deliver an aspirational message about the natural world, ecology, and technology to a global audience.

Drawing inspiration from complex natural processes like photosynthesis, the dynamic form of the pavilion is in service to its function, capturing energy from sunlight and fresh water from humid air, as Utley elaborates.

“As well as being important to the city of Dubai, the UAE and the global community, it’s representational

CONSTRUCTION of the progress and the continued thinking of the practice over decades,” he tells us.

“The project is really aimed to highlight the possibilities of architecture to provide intelligent and sustainable strategies. As we look to bringing about a sustainable future globally, this project stands out as a representation of what we can achieve worldwide, as it relies on natural processes such as complex

central processes like photosynthesis.

It captures energy from the sun, produces fresh water from the humid air, and explores sustainability in an innovative way. But it is also a project that is designed for learning and education.”

Based in a prominent location, the pavilion structure works in tandem with the considered landscape of demonstration gardens, winding pathways and shaded enclaves to

SUSTAINABILITY DRIVE Grimshaw sets ambitious goals for itself and its clients to deliver compelling, forward-thinking architecture and design that has the power to deliver a better future.

Grimshaw’s broad project portfolio includes four decades of leadingedge design that has applied bold approaches to ambitious briefs. This has informed their holistic approach to sustainable development which encompasses the full scale of economic, social and environmental impacts. An increasing population and finite resources have created unique challenges, and Grimshaw’s response addresses ways to improve quality of life while simultaneously regenerating the planet.

Grimshaw is the only major architect practice to pledge to design and deliver socially and environmentally regenerative buildings and assets by 2030, and as a first step to reach this, to design net zero carbon ready buildings and infrastructure by 2025. As of 2020, all of its business operations are also carbon neutral.

create an aura of magic punctuated by the sights, smells and tactile opportunities of nature.

The gardens surrounding the pavilion design are an integral part of the visitor experience, both experiential and functional, setting the stage for the exhibition contents within and creating gathering areas that will manage and distribute crowds while providing retail, food and beverage opportunities. An array of E-trees is distributed throughout the site. Following the path of the sun, much like a sunflower, they provide 28 percent of the energy required to power the building.

At present, Grimshaw’s current projects under construction include a new member of the Eden Project family in Qingdao, China, Oman Botanic Garden in Muscat, Gunyama Aquatic Park and Recreation Centre in Sydney and a Science and Technology Building for Arizona State University.

Design work continues on five further Eden Projects in China and the UK, a number of high profile and strategic transportation projects in the UK, HS2 London Euston and Birmingham Curzon Street stations; and the practice is involved in developments for both Newark and John F Kennedy airports in New York as well as a new transportation hub at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport.

Grimshaw continues to bring its enduring and sustainable architecture to various locations around the globe, and looking to the future it is safe to say that the practice’s dynamic and innovative projects are worth watching in the years ahead.

Tel: +44 (0)20 7291 4141 info@grimshaw.global www.grimshaw.global

EME Outlook issue 42 | 67

INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE DESIGN

BUILDING BALTIC AND NORDIC HEALTHCARE

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CONSTRUCTION “Better design - better healthcare.”

We take a look at Integrated Healthcare Design and speak to the company’s CEO, Anssi Hakarinne, about the latest projects undertaken across the Baltic region Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Sam Love

T

he Nordic and Baltic regions are known for many highly successful and leading industries and subsectors within the European continent, such as design.

Within one such subsector, Integrated Healthcare Design (IHD) specialises in providing building design as well as digital platform design for various healthcare institutions. A Nordic-Baltic company with employees in Helsinki (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia), IHD currently operates across all Baltic countries as well as in Poland, Romania and Slovenia.

DESIGN WITH PEOPLE AND DATA “The industry is incredibly exciting at the moment,” begins Anssi Hakarinne, CEO of IHD. “We are at a point where data is growing at a fast pace, and this is what is driving us at the moment towards better design solutions.”

IHD’s design work foundation consists of a cooperation between its own designers, partner network designers and those who are local to the project construction site. When it comes to platform design, IHD conducts data management from the primary and initial stage of a project building, throughout the entire design and construction process, with the data becoming usable for the entirety of the building’s lifespan. These design platforms gather the handling of information regarding medical technology and the company’s partner network platforms.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 69

INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE DESIGN “Our focus is placed strictly on healthcare buildings and projects,” Hakarinne explains. “This gives us a higher understanding of these specific building types. We rely on our network of expertise which consistently gives us the top of the range expertise in the field. We also understand that knowledge comes from data, people and the integration

EME Outlook: Can you tell us how you came to work in the healthcare design sector?

Anssi Hakarinne: “I started in the design sector straight out of school in 1996 and have worked in this field ever since.

“I had an education in mechanical engineering, and this ended with my finals revolving around the automation of a central sterile supply department of a hospital, so I had learned about the hospital and healthcare sphere in line with my education.

of these two, which gives us a greater capability to learn from the past.

“At IHD, we think that every piece of data being utilised in a project should be ‘written’ only once, and then simply used throughout the design process; this provides a very lean process to design.”

The incorporation of consistent data as well as the varying and diverse nature of IHD’s design experts allows the company to provide complete and enduring design solutions for not only the building, but the platforms that will help it, and the people that use it, in the long-term.

INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE DESIGN AT THE CORE The designing phase represents a small part of the total costs of the construction of a building, but it can have significant long-term impact on the overall operating and lifecycle costs. Unfortunately, the established multistage tendering and traditional

“I’m not an architect, but I have worked side by side with several dozen different architects in Finland and the Baltics over the years and have always had a keen interest in spatial design and process design integration, especially in the field of process automation, but also in the so-called ‘hot hospital’ areas such as the operating departments or intensive care units.

“Over the years, my interest towards the spatial design of whole hospitals grew, as did my understanding of hospital functions, and I stay true to my interests to this very day.”

Kanta-häme Hospital

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AW2 Architects AW2 Architects is an international architecture firm with offices located in Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia. AW2 has extensive experience in a wide range of architectural design from traditional building design to innovative and complex special structures.

The company is particularly known for its specialized solutions in healthcare design, such as hospitals and healthcare centers.

The cornerstone of AW2 Architects’ design work is sensitivity to customers’ needs, user friendliness and cost efficiency. AW2 keeps an open dialogue with its customers in order to deliver efficient and tailored service solution

T +358 10 837 2700 E aw2@aw2.fi www.aw2.fi

CONSTRUCTION

construction planning processes have led to the separation between the different fields of planning and design. The design teams are brought together fairly late in the process, which does not encourage multidisciplinary R&D and innovation.

In a traditional construction project, designers and engineers optimising their own part of the project often results in de-optimisation. This lack of interaction between the fields can Viljandi Hospital

lead to problems such as unclear responsibility areas, error estimates, expensive design solutions and lost information.

The integrated planning approach offers a solution to these aforementioned problems. It is an innovative approach to planning that enables assessing the lifecycle of the building, cutting costs and improving productivity. In the integrated planning process, multidisciplinary

teams work together and with the same data from the beginning to the end of the project. The main goal is to create a team effort by integrating owners, architects, engineers, managers and users into the process in order to optimise efficiency and create innovative solutions.

In the integrated design process, building information modelling (BIM) serves as the main tool and platform for collaboration. BIM allows the design team to create visualisation of the project and insert all essential information about the facility. With the use of BIM, the design team is able to effectively measure the lifecycle of the materials and solutions as well as collaborate efficiently.

DIGITAL DESIGN With digitalisation existing as a large aspect of the company’s practice and services, it is no surprise that IHD have been investing in the field, in particular, BIM. EME Outlook issue 42 | 71

INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE DESIGN “BIM and digital design are the core of our business,” Hakarinne affirms.

“For us, BIM is a digital environment where the data from different kinds of databases can be visualised as a hospital building and constructed as such. Our main investments in this field go into integrating the medical

BEHIND INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE DESIGN

technology and process information/ data into building construction information.

“We are constantly investing to get the best usage from existing BIM related software integrated into our own medical technology and healthcare process databases.”

The company brings together the best experts from the fields of healthcare design. Through its partner network, IHD provides the following services: • Design platform development

IHD believes that multidisciplinary collaboration early on in projects leads to better results. An integrated design process enables more accurate cost planning and lower lifecycle costs. Overall, it makes way for innovation and results in better designed buildings.

IHD is in constant search of partner companies to reinforce its network of companies in Nordic, Baltic and target countries.

• Medical technology • Project management • Architectural and interior design • Lifecycle planning and analysis • Auditing and consulting • Hospital process planning • BIM and project IT services • Integrated design Tallinna Hospital

IN THE FIELD

Tallinna Hospital

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Of the many projects that IHD is undertaking, the company’s hospital projects, such as the Tallinna Hospital (Estonia), Kanta-Häme Central Hospital (Finland), and Viljandi Hospital (Estonia), are those that stand out as the prime examples that embody its digital developments.

“In the case of the Tallinna Hospital, we are providing a multi-talented network of experts integrated into the usage of different types of databases,” Hakarinne tells us. “All this know-how is concentrated so that it can be seen through the BIM, which we have created from that hospital.

“It has also been very intense timewise, we have collected and processed all the information from the end-users in just half a year. The

CONSTRUCTION this will be the waking up area of the operating department, where we rethink the whole logic of patient orientation towards the surroundings.

We manage to turn the patients towards the light, and we believe this will provide better healing results in the future.”

The Viljandi Hospital project involved an alternative route of thought regarding BIM. According to Hakarinne, it was the first project where IHD handled most of the medical technology data partially outside of BIM. This marked the beginning of a new era for the company, and one that Hakarinne is keen to see.

BEYOND THE BALTIC And moving forward into the years ahead, IHD has both expansion and development plans at the forefront of the company, as Hakarinne explains.

“Our aims and goals are Europe and beyond, especially within the eastern European markets,” he tells us. “We want to see growth in that market and so we are currently investing a substantial amount into development in the region.

“Our present growth is quite rapid, but to bring about our eastern European aims we are investing further into technological development and the integration of data management platforms.”

IHD aims to be a game changer in hospital design by integrating the best expertise and experience in the field combined with data utilisation to bring about the reality as stated in the company’s motto: “Better Design Better Healthcare.”

Tartto Hospital

project is still in very early stages, and we are looking forward to getting underway with this.”

Looking to the Kanta-Häme Central Hospital, Hakarinne elaborates his own personal interest in the project

during its recent initial phase of building.

“What I especially like in this project is the innovation throughout the design process,” he reveals. “I would say the best example that captures

Tel: +358 10 837 2700 www.integrated.fi

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CHEMIE-TECH GROUP

Maintaining Industry Facilitating the engineering, procurement and construction industries, Chemie-Tech Group is a key player in the sector, placing professional and client-centric service at the fore of its operations Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Thomas Arnold

T

he resources sector is one that keeps the wheels of global industries turning.

In the Middle East, where the fields of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) are both numerous and arguably crucial to multiple nations, the resources sector stands as a key aspect to the functionality of industry operations.

Based in the UAE, ChemieTech Group is one such firm that operates in this field. The Group was 74 | EME Outlook issue 42

established in India, 1997, by a group of passionate engineers who had served for years in the EPC industry. It started as a consultation organisation for both the on and offshore resources sector, and engineering services to small-scale industrial projects, under the name Chemie-Tech Projects Ltd. Chemie-Tech LLC was then born in 2003 as the international division of the Chemie Tech Group after its phenomenal success on Indian soil. It has since grown into a large

multinational organisation with offices in 28 countries and a workforce of over 3,400 employees.

With its focus on bulk storage tanks for the oil and gas sector, petrochemical and process plants, power and water treatment units, the Group has delivered over 30 prestigious projects across the Middle East, Africa, and North American regions over the span of 11 years.

Chemie-Tech is a globally active company, and its operations surround four specified routes of business, each of which operate as individual legal entities: EPC, Refining, Mining, and Trading.

The Group is represented in more than 30 countries on five continents. Chemie-Tech Group’s

CONSTRUCTION

flagship company, Chemie-Tech DMCC, is a professional industrial solutions provider offering high quality engineering, procurement, construction, and project management services to the oil and gas, petrochemical and process, power and water, and agriculturalbased industries.

The sphere of activity is focused in providing expertise and turnkey solutions to clients throughout Middle East, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Americas.

EPC AND INDUSTRY Operating across many fields of industry, Chemie-Tech specialises in delivering cost-effective solutions to clients across the globe.

The Group provides comprehensive engineering services enabling its local and international clients to maximise their assets, gain competitive positioning and increase their business success. With a team comprising of several multidiscipline engineering professionals and in-depth regional and local knowledge, the company is known for both its local and international engineering capabilities.

Chemie-Tech’s team of engineers is geared to support projects of all sizes from anywhere around the world, and guarantees a high level of responsiveness, presenting innovative global solutions for local challenges, and bringing international standards of execution to local projects. The

AT A GLANCE: CHEMIE-TECH GROUP 17 YEARS of experience and excellence.

OVER 3,400 in the total Group workforce.

APPROXIMATELY 300 engineers and managers currently employed.

12 OFFICES worldwide.

OPERATING IN 28 countries across five continents.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 75

CHEMIE-TECH GROUP engineering team is well acquainted with the phases of the project life cycle, from the appraisal stage through to the feasibility, detailed design, and completion. Chemie-Tech maintains a close eye on all the needs of each of its projects while following a strict quality process, design and safety policy.

The company takes great pride in its localised knowledge of the countries in which it operates, as well as its commitment to client, local and international standards. The design and engineering teams provide multi-disciplinal services for grassroots projects as well as upgradation.

Engineering services are totally client dependent, with the single objective of providing true project value engineering to clients, based on

optimum and innovative solutions.

Chemie-Tech Group’s global procurement operations enables the company to provide its clients with cost effective and quality sourcing of materials and equipment solutions. Its procurement engineers and team members are fully experienced with all aspects of compliance regarding engineering requirement, freight forwarding, custom duty requirement, duty exemption procedures, and local road transportation. Chemie-Tech has fully functional procurement teams based in India, the UAE, and Canada.

The company has expediting and quality assurance teams in all the countries in which it operates, while always maintaining its just-in-time delivery of material and equipment.

QHSC Chemie-Tech’s Quality Policy summarises the essential elements of our commitment for excellence, and includes: • Fostering quality culture with the objective of developing and providing solutions and services with zero defects that are trusted and preferred by its consumers.

• Complying with relevant laws and regulations as well as internal requirements.

• Continuously challenging itself to improve the quality management system to guarantee health and safety, prevent quality incidents and eliminate defects through the review of quality objectives and results.

• Encouraging participation and promotion of quality responsibilities amongst all employees and third parties through standards, education, training and coaching, supervision and effective communication.

• Operating under the disciplines and control of a quality management system conforming to ISO standards.

• At Chemie-Tech, teamwork, engagement, ownership and support by everyone are vital for achieving its quality objectives. In this context, it is committed to providing the required leadership, management and resources, and will ensure that quality policy is reviewed annually and communicated to all employees and third parties.

• Quality is about trust. Each and every one of Chemie-Tech employees has the power to influence this trust through the quality of its services and through our passion and leadership.

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Consolidated Shipping Services Group L.L.C. Consolidated Shipping Services Group L.L.C. is one of the leading integrated freight forwarding solutions and NVOCC providers in the region it operates, with 25 years of service in the industry.

Through its corporate diversity and willingness to keep learning and relearning, the company has earned its collective experience within the industry. CSS can meet a client’s freight forwarding requirements by sea, land, or air.

The CSS Group adapts itself to the industry’s latest trends, offering efficient and feasible solutions to its clients and associates.

www.ccsgroupsite.com

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EME Outlook issue 42 | 77

CHEMIE-TECH GROUP Chemie-Tech’s procurement department is staffed with experienced professionals capable of providing equipment, materials, and services to both large and small projects in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Purchasing, expediting, subcontracts, and source inspections are the functions performed by the ChemieTech’s procurement department.

Purchase orders are placed with global suppliers that are qualified to furnish materials and equipment for the refining, petrochemical, and power industries. Chemie-Tech’s efforts to

develop long-term relationships with key suppliers have proven to be a significant benefit to its customers and clients.

The Chemie-Tech procurement system is deeply integrated with its engineering and bulk materials systems. The project’s work breakdown structure and cost codes are known to the procurement system to ensure proper cost reporting on the project.

On top of engineering and procurement, Chemie-Tech has a total of over 17 years of experience in the construction industry. This

ROADMAP TO SUCCESS Chemie-Tech aims to achieve long-term sustainable growth as an international EPC contractor by adding true value to its customers and empowering them with cutting edge engineering, cost effective procurement, and world-class construction services, all overseen by individuals with numerous years of project management experience.

Chemie-Tech strives to be true partners to all its customers and help them achieve success through its innovative solutions.

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consists of an extensive track record in executing its projects with quality, on schedule, and within budget. The company provides expertise in all facets of construction, and within its construction management teams are many highly experienced individuals with a vast collective knowledge and specialisation of new facilities and the expansion of existing facilities. The firm has the ability to manage and execute multi-discipline construction services for its many projects across the world.

THE COMPANY MISSION Chemie-Tech is driven to meet high quality standards.

Delivering quality projects on time and in budget is paramount to the company’s mission. Chemie-Tech believes that the best recipe for success is the honesty and integrity of its business operation, as well as commitment and hard work from its employees and management. But ultimately, Chemie-Tech views that

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‘CHEMIE-TECH ATTRIBUTES ITS SUCCESS AND GROWTH TO BOTH ITS CUSTOMERS AND WORK ETHICS. DELIVERING QUALITY PROJECTS, ON TIME AND WITHIN BUDGET, IS AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF THE COMPANY’ the success of its projects relies on the satisfaction of the client involved.

With this unwavering commitment to client satisfaction at the fore of the company’s mission, Chemie-Tech is fuelled by the passion and expertise of its professional workforce, specialising in providing a wide range of EPC solutions and services to a broad spectrum of industries.

Chemie-Tech’s assets, both in terms of people and equipment, allow its

customers to leverage an end-toend solution and have all necessary services under one umbrella, making the company’s projects easier to manage and quick to deliver, maintaining the highest standards of quality, health and safety.

Chemie Tech attributes its success and growth to both its customers and work ethics. Delivering quality projects, on time and within budget, is an unwavering commitment woven

into the fabric of the company.

The company values relationships and firmly believes that its customers, vendors and employees are its partners in creating success stories, project after project. Its pledge is to maintain lasting relationships that are established on trust, professionalism and ethics at the core.

Quality is an integral part of Chemie-Tech’s corporate business principles. These principles guide the company’s actions to deliver its solutions and services that are safe, compliant and preferred by its customers. They are essential for the achievement of company ambition to be recognised and trusted as a leading EPC contractor in the Middle East.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 79

M+S HYDRAULIC

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MANUFACTURING

FROM BULGARIA TO THE WORLD

Vladimir Spasov, Managing Director at M+S Hydraulic, discusses his company’s place in the world’s hydraulic manufacturing space Writer: Sean Galea-Pace Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

Vladimir Spasov, Managing Director, M+S Hydraulic

Bulgaria’s manufacturing industry is very exciting today.”

Indeed, Bulgaria is regarded as a major player in the production of lead, zinc and copper and produces approximately 10 percent of the world’s hydraulic machinery. As a result of its geographic location,

Bulgaria is based at a crossroads between Europe and Asia and is ideally placed for international transport. It’s an advantage that Vladimir Spasov, Managing Director at M+S Hydraulic, is well aware of.

“Since becoming a member of the European Union, there have been quite a number of investments in Bulgaria and the country has a long tradition of manufacturing hydraulic products. But we’re not tied to the overall industry in Bulgaria,” he explains. “More than 98 percent of our production is exported and we’re selling worldwide, with more than 40 distributors around the globe.”

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M+S HYDRAULIC

Production overview M+S Hydraulic is a leading manufacturer of hydraulic orbital motors, steering units, brakes and accessories in Europe and across the globe, and operates with a strong customer-centric mindset. In a bid to differentiate itself from competitors, Spasov acknowledges the importance of being agile and quick to respond to customer demands.

“This gives us an opportunity to increase our market share and we have about 70 percent which are sales to OEM customers and only 30 percent which is aftermarket,” he explains. “We have around 1,200 employees and are manufacturing everything ourselves. Of course, we have some sub-contractors that we are working with, but the company has production capacity that can guarantee the possibility to make everything ourselves. We are wellorganised, structured and we always strive to respond quickly to customer needs at ease. It’s a key advantage over our competitors.”

Although operating primarily with one centralised headquarters, M+S Hydraulic has three smaller workshops nearby where it makes preliminary machining.

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COMPANY MISSION M+S Hydraulic has a drive to win the trust and respect of its customers, investors and employees by reinforcing values every day through the management, production, marketing and sales of high-quality hydraulic products as well as providing safe working conditions and environment care.

Company Aims • Customers’ satisfaction by providing the best products and services on time and on budget.

• Increasing the M+S brand evaluation, brand control, monitoring and brand protection.

• Continually improving performance and effectiveness.

• Encouraging creativity, decision-making and co-operation.

• Earning sustainable financial results that enable continuous profitable growth.

• Expending opportunities for qualification and career growth of its employees.

• Meeting its broader responsibilities to the community and the environment.

• Investments in industrial innovation, development and regeneration in order to meet with changes in demand and supply and to consolidate its position.

• Establishing close relationship with suppliers that promote open and honest communication.

MANUFACTURING

Teknosan Machining Co. operates out of its modern plant with 3,500 m2 closed area, within a total area of 8000 m2, in the Kirac Industrial Zone.

Teknosan manufactures parts for customers in various industries including the automotive and tractor fields.

The product range offered includes transmission boxes, shift frames, clutch hubs, as well as various hydraulics parts, differential hubs, reduction hubs, lock plates for various engines and ball bearings, pulley types.

teknosanmakine@teknosanmakine.com.tr

www.teknosanmakine.com

Manufacturing hydraulic cylinders of all types

Head office

8600 Yambol, Bulgaria, 1 Pirin str.

Tel. +359 46 661 464 | Fax +359 46 661 456 | e-mail info@hes-co.com

EME Outlook issue 42 | 83

M+S HYDRAULIC

Progamming “What we’ve done in the past few years is improved the organisation because we’re growing year by year,” explains Spasov. “At the end of 2018, we began to build another new workshop. It’s a very interesting project at 8,000 square metres. We move part of the machines that we have internally, and the idea of this workshop was to have additional space. I’m really proud of this investment and today it’s working at full capacity.”

The coronavirus pandemic impacted organisations and industries across the globe. However, despite its seismic impact worldwide, cases in Bulgaria were few.

“With the vast majority of our products exported, in April 2020 we began to experience issues with cancelled orders because of the pandemic,” explains Spasov. “We continued to work during COVID-19 for the subsequent two or three months with decreased workload, but during that time we did receive support from the government, and this helped us to ensure we could retain all employees within the business. The positive aspect is that our products are used across different sectors so there is a diversification of the risk.

“We took all the safety precautions we could to ensure the workplace was 84 | EME Outlook issue 42

Heat treatment area

M+S Hydraulic’s workshop as safe as possible. We immediately switched to work on shifts to decrease the number of people working at any one time and today, we can say that we didn’t stop working for even one day because of COVID-19. In some different countries like Italy and the UK, they

had to stop working completely but fortunately for us, this wasn’t the case.

COVID-19 is a challenge, but we are dealing with it well.”

Developing key, strategic relationships is a vital part of achieving long-term success at all organisations.

For Spasov, he recognises the value of a robust supply chain and points to its importance within M+S Hydraulic.

“We value each and every partnership and it is key for future success. We normally work with at least two suppliers for every material that we’re delivering in order to diversify the risk. Our quality

MANUFACTURING

Student training

Research laboratory and training centre

department is making audits of our suppliers and we are trying to develop all of them in the right direction. Our aim is to have a long-term relationship with suppliers and to grow together.”

Looking ahead, Spasov reflects on a challenging 2020 and is optimistic about what the future could hold for M+S Hydraulic.

“Last year was difficult for us all, and we are beginning to see an increase in demand for our service which can only be a good thing,” he explains. “We have an aim to recover and bounce back from a difficult year and I am expecting to see around a 25

An aerial shot of operations at Kazanluk

percent increase in sales.

“We are working and preparing a new strategy for the next phase of the company. The aim is to increase the production capacity for our existing products and our philosophy is to add new products to our portfolio.

With the new workshops in mind, we plan to expand and diversify where possible.

“M+S Hydraulic fully accepts the statement of the European Economic and Social Committee on the European Industrial Strategy for sustainable transformation and transition to a carbon-neutral

economy. Ahead of the expectations, we have already implemented with our own funds a project for electricity from clean energy sources entirely for our own needs and we have set many more large-scale actions in the medium-term plan.”

Tel: +359 431 65167 msh@ms-hydraulic.com www.ms-hydraulic.com

EME Outlook issue 42 | 85

MEGGER

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MANUFACTURING

RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF CRISIS Jim Fairbairn, CEO of Megger, discusses the company’s COVID-19 strategy and how his organisation has continued to grow despite disruption from the pandemic Writer: Sean Galea-Pace | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

E

xiting a global pandemic in a better way than you entered it is not possible for all companies.

However, for Megger, that is looking increasingly likely.

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to grip the world, leading electrical testing company Megger made several key decisions.

“We knew we had to communicate to our colleagues more effectively, so we aimed to be much more proactive in our messaging,” reflects Jim Fairbairn, CEO of Megger. “We set out our stall very early with a three-pronged strategy: protect our

people, support our customers and preserve our cash. In essence, protecting our people really meant two things: obviously protecting them from COVID-19, so we invested heavily in safety measures and always went beyond the minimum government guidelines, but we also looked to protect as many jobs as possible giving as much security to our employees as we could. We also continued to invest in growth initiatives, and it’s really paid off as we know we are a step ahead of our competition, while business in 2021 is booming!”

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MEGGER

He adds: “Our customers are the people that keep the power on, in our homes and hospitals, so it was critical that we quickly adapted to the situation, so we were able to continue to support them. Rather than meeting our customers face-to-face, we had to move all our interactions online, including training and product demonstrations. Our support teams quickly learned how to use platforms they were not accustomed to, in order to be there for our customers online at any time.”

Consequently, Fairbairn believes that COVID has acted as a catalyst for transformation rather than just change out of necessity. “We had a busy 2020 – there was COVID, but we also completed two acquisitions last year and the pandemic made us realise that we have to invest in our digital infrastructure, so we have established a three-year digital transformation plan.”

Joining Megger in 2017, Fairbairn is an astute business leader focused 88 | EME Outlook issue 42

“WE ARE A VERY CULTURALLY DIVERSE COMPANY, FULL OF TALENT AND PASSION TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS. THAT’S OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE” – JIM FAIRBAIRN, CEO, MEGGER on transformation and delivering strategic objectives. Having led Megger through the pandemic, he believes that his company has tried to see new opportunities in a crisis and has continued to commit to the firm’s ambitious strategy to double in size in five years.

“One of our highest priorities is investing in people and ensuring that we do the right thing for both our people and the company,” he explains.

“I have no doubt that we will come out of this leaner, stronger and more

focused than our competition.”

Europe has posted some of the highest growth in recent years, while sales in North America, South America and China have also grown.

“Europe is an exciting region – the reason is that there are clear avenues for growth and development for Megger,” explains Fairbairn. “We have a very supportive parent company in Zurich, in the last five years we’ve completed five acquisitions and the plan is to complete many more over the next few years.”

Established in 1889, Megger has been designing and manufacturing electrical test and measurement instruments for preventative maintenance, voltage testing, troubleshooting and commissioning on valuable electrical assets. Megger’s products support customers worldwide to improve the safe and effective operation of their facilities’, reduce costs, extend the life of electrical infrastructure and, through trend analysis, anticipate equipment

MANUFACTURING failure and future performance.

Fairbairn knows what factors set Megger apart from its competitors and he believes that a large component is the people. “Our people play for the jersey and I’ve seen employees show a real passion for doing the best they can for the company,” he says. “I believe we have a brand that has been built up with all the things that customers want – a brand with strong values that actually

means something.

“I feel very responsible to keep that evolution of the company going in terms of investment in our brands so that when I leave the company, it is in an even better place.”

Upon joining Megger, Fairbairn was given three tasks. “The first was to refresh the group strategy because it hadn’t been updated for several years,” he recalls. “Secondly, the company had not completed

any acquisitions for seven or eight years and that needed to change.

Finally, the organisation was heavily decentralised and was not fully optimised in the way it should be.

“We have tried to articulate what it means to work for Megger and communicate the reasons why we are successful.”

Megger has been recognised as a leader in electrical test and measurement globally for over 130

EME Outlook issue 42 | 89

Enabling everyone to live confidently and work safely, with the energies that power our world. www.megger.com

From power generation to the power outlets in your home, Megger products and services solve challenging measurement applications across the Energy Supply Industry.

We have formed an invaluable understanding of the world’s energy markets, the industries they serve (including Construction, Oil & Gas, and Transportation amongst the many) and the changes taking place within them, so that we may serve those in the energy supply industry that strive to keep the power on.

Cable fault location and test diagnostics Protection relays and systems Protection circuit breakers Transformer test and diagnostics Low voltage installations General electrical testing Motor and generator testing

Megger, Archcliffe Road, Dover, Kent, UK, CT17 9EN +44 (0) 1304 502 100

MEGGER

MEGGER’S RECENT ACQUISITIONS VESPULA Megger is a company, that despite COVID, has shown no signs of slowing down. In 2020, it announced the purchase of UK-based electrical certification company Vespula.

Following the acquisition, Megger launched CertSuite, software that provides electrical contractors a simple to use and streamlined cloudbased platform for completion and storage of their electrical installation certificates. The software has been developed to operate seamlessly on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, both online and offline, enabling certificate completion in the field using a mobile device, or from the office.

The CertSuite software extends Megger’s solutions into the electrical contract and maintenance industry, which is moving to digital certification.

At the time of the acquisition, Simon Wood, Business Development Manager for Megger’s EMEA electrical market, commented: “Megger is always striving to better serve our customers, and we are really excited to be able to offer this as a simple solution to certificate creation.”

BALTO PRODUCT LINE FROM STEVO ELECTRIC BVBA Megger recently confirmed the acquisition of the BALTO product line from STEVO Electric bvba. The BALTO products, in continual development since their launch in 2003, are used to test the operation of DC high-speed electrical circuit breakers. These circuit breakers provide protection to equipment and operators and are typically used in DC traction applications, such as rail, rolling stock and underground transportation, where their reliability is critical to maintaining the safe operation of DC protection schemes. There are further applications in photovoltaic, mining, marine vessels and heavy industry where DC supplies are found.

The BALTO products extend Megger’s electrical testing solutions to the rail and metro industries, which are transitioning to greater electrification, digital communication and digital control. This complements Megger’s solutions for traction and trackside applications for electrical test, measurement and diagnostics.

Dr Andrew Dodds, Group Director, says: “This acquisition continues Megger’s growth ambitions and strengthens the support we are able to give customers in DC network protection test.”

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Megger’s headquarters is based in Dover, England

years. From power generation to domestic power outlets in your home, Megger’s products cover almost all applications in the electrical supply industry.

Its products are categorised into seven core application segments: cable test and diagnostics, protection relays and systems, circuit breakers, transformer test and diagnostics, low voltage installations, general electrical testing and motor and generator testing.

Megger has manufacturing sites in nine locations in Germany, the United States, the UK, Sweden and Russia, with its headquarters based in Dover, England, and with sales offices in 42 locations worldwide. Megger‘s values

MANUFACTURING

are embedded within its culture, not only making it successful company but crucially, a compelling business partner for electrical contractors at any scale.

“WE ARE A VERY CULTURALLY DIVERSE COMPANY, FULL OF TALENT AND PASSION TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS. THAT’S OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE” – JIM FAIRBAIRN, CEO, MEGGER

COORDINATED COVID-19 RESPONSE At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, Megger immediately introduced a strategy that focused on looking after its people and supporting its customers.

This meant introducing many control measures across its sites and new communications to ensure that the constantly developing advice was being followed across its many locations. Employees were asked to work from home if they could. This transitioned smoothly as a result of the company’s investment in a leading ERP system as well as the of Microsoft Teams just before the pandemic, supported by a highly capable IT team.

Megger subsequently introduced social distancing, travel restrictions, cleaning regimes, hygiene requirements, temperature checks and the wearing of PPE to protect employees who remained on its sites.

This strategy has been a big success and, despite a few internal scares, Megger has reported no virus transmission across any of its sites. Operations have been able to continue, enabling Megger to serve its customers’ needs with minimal disruption. There have been some delays to shipments over the lockdown period, but its On-Time-InFull (OTIF) delivery performance is now back to the high pre-pandemic levels, a significant reflection on the EME Outlook issue 42 | 93

MEGGER hard work of all employees globally.

The company believes that the key to success is to operate with a values-led culture. In 2019, Megger introduced four core values – ‘Caring, Consistent, Creative and Captivating’.

These values represented its employees’ views of Megger, and what the collective organisation stood for.

At the beginning of 2021, Megger reviewed its values following its response to the pandemic, and the company believes that it truly lives by these principles, and that they really do reflect what Megger is. During the pandemic, employees collaborated to do whatever they could to continue to support Megger’s customers in this time of crisis. Megger has not

only survived, it has thrived, posting orders in 2020 broadly in line with the previous year, and has proved that it is a resilient business in the face of crisis. Therefore, Megger decided to introduce ‘Confident’ as a fifth core value.

PRODUCTS FOR A BOOMING RENEWABLES INDUSTRY The renewable energy sector continues to grow in new applications and geographical markets, with the number of wind and solar plants rapidly rising worldwide as renewables become a preferred method of power generation. In 2020, annual renewable capacity additions increased 45 percent to almost

280 GW – the highest year-on year increase since 1999, according to the International Energy Agency.

As the economic outlook for the renewable energy sector remains strong, this not only allows Megger’s existing product portfolio to flourish but is also allowing the company to diversify into new solutions and better inform industry guidance.

One of the most popular sources of renewable energy generation is solar farming. These farms can cover vast areas, meaning that Megger has had to adapt not only its instrument technology but also the products’ physical characteristics to ensure that engineers make the best use of their time on site.

“WE WANT TO WORK WITH SUPPLIERS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO OUR DESIGN PROCESS, THEY HAVE TO BE COMPETITIVE AND HAVE LONGEVITY AS WELL” – JIM FAIRBAIRN, CEO, MEGGER

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MANUFACTURING

Megger’s headquarters, based in Dover, England

Some of Megger’s existing product portfolio is ideal for solar farming. The MIT 430/2 CATIV insulation tester is suited for certain solar installations.

When 1kV is not enough, Megger provides the MIT2500, a handheld, lightweight insulation tester that can produce up to 2,500 Vdc for testing insulation resistance in photovoltaic systems.

Megger’s newest solar clamp meter,

the DCM1500S, is designed for use on AC or DC solar power systems and equipment. With a large clear display, several measurement capabilities and handheld size, it’s a great tool for engineers who work across very large solar plants. Pairing with the free Megger Link App, it can also remotely monitor measurements with built-in Bluetooth which gives a live-trended graph on a paired smart

device. And for troubleshooting solar power issues, the TDR product range is the ideal time-saving solution for any solar technician or engineer, for locating cable faults in isolated solar panel strings for example.

Global wind capacity has grown approximately 15 percent over the last 10 years, and is showing few signs of slowing down. With a three- or twobladed rotor design, wind turbines EME Outlook issue 42 | 95

MEGGER

MANUFACTURING convert wind energy into electrical energy, which are fed into medium and high voltage systems. Megger manufactures several electrical testers for the wind power industry, including motor, low resistance and insulation testers.

Megger’s range of digital low resistance ohmmeters, such as the DLR02 and DLRO10 Series, are meant for testing busbar connections in wind farm networks. The DLR02 has the added ability to test with very long leads that are ideal for verifying lightning protection on wind turbines. For testing a wind turbine’s motor insulation, the MTR105 is a lightweight, handheld motor and insulation tester with four-wire resistance, temperature correction and voltage measurement.

MEGGER: EQUALITY AND INCLUSION In 2020, Megger established an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) working group that regularly meets to develop the EDI programme. Some of this work includes: 1. Megger Circles – groups of interested parties that get together to review and analyse its performance in the inclusivity of diverse groups.

2. Planning of diversity and bias awareness training for all employees.

3. A guest speaker programme to promote and raise awareness of diversity issues.

4. Recognition and celebration of local cultures globally, with a shared calendar of key dates.

However, developing industryleading products is not the only thing on Megger’s radar. Alongside masterminding a complete product roadmap for customers, Megger is using its expert knowledge to help refine electrical testing best practice in the renewables industry.

By focusing its efforts on creating papers, guides and content that will help customers understand the importance of testing and maintaining these systems, Megger intends to become both a manufacturer of products and a reliable source of guidance for the industry.

TARGETS FOR GROWTH Growth is at the top of Megger’s agenda and this includes software and service companies beyond core electrical testing products.

“If opportunities come along and they fit our strategy, then we will look at them seriously,” explains Fairbairn.

“We are a well-capitalised company and we’ve worked with our parent company on the strategy for the last three years and we are continually developing this.

“We have been very strategic over the years. We have had some issues with single sourcing, especially from low-cost economies, which challenged us to look at dual sourcing.

We want to work with suppliers that contribute to our design process, they have to be competitive and have longevity as well.”

Looking to the future, Fairbairn believes that Megger is in the best position to push on and significantly increase its size and market presence.

“We want to continue to innovate and embrace new ideas, products and services, and complete our digital transformation,” he explains. “We’re going to get better every year and we want to grow in every sense of the word.”

Tel: 44 (0) 1304 502 100 uksales@megger.com www.uk.megger.com

EME Outlook issue 42 | 97

PETROLVALVES

INNOVATIVE, TRANSFORMATIVE MANUFACTURING Cristiano Tortelli, CEO at PetrolValves, discusses his company’s journey towards continuous improvement and setting the standard in the market Writer: Sean Galea-Pace | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

I

n today’s world, innovation is essential.

Without adopting a proactive mindset, companies run the risk of falling behind competitors and experiencing stagnation or decline. To PetrolValves, this can’t be allowed to happen.

“Innovation is an important part of our continuous development, in order to keep pace with a fast-changing environment and an increased level of competitiveness,” explains Cristiano Tortelli, CEO at PetrolValves.

Indeed, his firm is one of the world’s leading valve and actuator manufacturers specialising in solutions for the oil, gas and power industries. Having been active in the market for over 60 years, PetrolValves covers thousands of engineering and installation projects worldwide and has sold more than one million units in the last 20 years providing customised products, value-add engineering and a wide services range while leveraging a one-stop-shop approach.

Having served as CEO of PetrolValves since 2018, Tortelli has over two decades experience in 98 | EME Outlook issue 42

the industry, and believes there are significant opportunities ahead for Italian manufacturing.

“With the deployment of the Recovery Plan and funding mechanism, I expect that Italy’s economy will see a huge boost,” he explains.

“However, we do operate in a global environment and each country or basin has its own dynamics which we need to monitor and harmonise to fully exploit opportunities that might arise.

“With the increasing trend of raw material costs, optimisation, bundle buy, and supplier partnership will be necessary to offset the potential exposure. At the same time, any good idea and innovation with an open spirit of collaboration will be required to overcome the traditional way we have been doing things collectively or embrace new developing segments like sustainable development or artificial intelligence. It’s exciting times and there are many opportunities to capitalise on.”

TO GROW AND TRANSFORM With over 60 years of history to call on, PetrolValves doesn’t rest on its laurels and seeks to constantly transform and pursue continuous research. As many companies

Triple offset valve with electro-hydraulic actuator: size 42”, rating ASME 600

MANUFACTURING

undergo a digital transformation, PetrolValves recognises the importance of embracing the latest trends and operating with a positive mentality. Indeed, in a competitive market such as flow systems, Tortelli understands the goal of developing or updating products until they truly stand out.

“We adopt an open network of partners through which we bring well proven or early technologies into our reality, combining the expertise and knowledge in valve systems with new ways of shaping the applications,” he discusses. “A typical example is our Brava technology, where we leveraged well proven oil and gas technologies into a unique way of rethinking a trunnion mounted ball valve.”

PetrolValves has launched a new product called Valve New Life which has been developed to refurbish and

upgrade existing valves that allow CAPEX investments of up to 40 percent to improve replacement lead times and reduce to zero.

“Leveraging PetrolValves’ reverse engineering capabilities and its proven manufacturing experience, it is possible to revitalise any valve considered at its end of life,” discusses Tortelli. “Valve New Life can be supplied to our extensive range of products including subsea and topside actuators, on/off valves as well as triple offset and control valves operating in any kind of application and service as well as to valves, actuators and valve systems supplied by third-party manufacturer.

“Our teams are able to grant fully safe operational capabilities to the Valve New Life product in line with premium quality and reliability of any PetrolValves’ product. Customer’s

valves that have reached the end of life or are not currently in use can benefit from a complete reengineering and refurbishing being revitalised in the Valve New Life product that generates a sustainable total cost of ownership with a predictable cost and stock availability. Valve New Life can be delivered at a customer’s site, or we can provide a stock storage and a full valve fleet management programme to monitor availability upon a customer’s request.”

Three years ago, PetrolValves launched a new 25,000 square-metre factory in Piacenza, Italy, and recently introduced offices and manufacturing premises in Saudi Arabia as well as a continuous investment programme in Kazakhstan, signalling its intent to achieving sustained growth, while also driving value through its Regionalisation Programme.

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PETROLVALVES

COMMITMENT TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY • PetrolValves always protects its employees and contractors guaranteeing high safety standards and respect for the local environment.

• The company believes in people development and is committed to job creation, training, and upskilling.

• PetrolValves accelerates local industrialisation through local supply chain development.

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“This is focused on supporting and developing the local community which, in turn, sustains and grows our global operations through job creation, training, technology transfer and local supply chain development,” explains Tortelli. “Whenever possible, we recruit our workforce from the community or country where we are based. Irrespective of whether local content is mandated by the countries in which we operate, PetrolValves adopts the same approach around the world because we recognise the benefits it brings to local communities, our people and ultimately our customers.”

Today, most organisations seek to embrace greener operations.

Sustainability has become an important focus area as companies adopt a more environmentally friendly approach, without compromising on the quality that brings them success.

For Tortelli, it is split into two major areas.

“One is tied to the optimisation of the activities, through lean and total quality, to minimise waste and inefficiencies, which will have a positive impact in energy consumption and raw material utilisation,” says Tortelli.

“Concurrently, bolstering innovation in an open network approach with partners, will help identify configurations and solutions or services which will, for example, extend the life of the existing assets, avoiding replacement and consequently the energy and raw materials required to manufacture a replacement.

“This is particularly exciting in the current environment because it will help represent a net positive impact on the environment while helping our customers.”

The introduction of new technology in day-to-day operations brings with it increased efficiency and endless opportunity. However, there is no benefit in leveraging technology for technology’s sake and Tortelli understands that adopting the right solutions that will generate long-term value is the key.

“I see advanced manufacturing techniques taking place in our world, as well as a full exploitation of the digital opportunities, to either optimise the production processes and minimising environmental impacts, or debottlenecking wellknown problems,” explains Tortelli.

“Keeping an open eye on what is moving around us at a fast pace will help spot what could be injected into our ecosystem, working collaboratively with partners and suppliers to develop the right ecosystem.”

MANUFACTURING

ISOLATION KITS VALVE gaskets flange gaskets

braided packings valve components ferp environmental division Our sealing solutions AND VALVE COMPONENTS have outperformed expectations all over the world for over 60 years.

Learn more about our unique approach at www.carrara.it THE ROAD TO SUCCESS PetrolValves operates with a robust supply chain in order to achieve long-term success in the field. Aside from suppliers that are involved in providing services, the company’s important groups of suppliers are used for producing castings and forgings as well as developing relationships with those that provide welding overlay and special processes and mechanical machining.

“These companies are mainly based nearby PetrolValves’ plants, and we define them as partners of an ‘extended factory’,” Tortelli tells us.

The extended factory concept is key to the success of PetrolValves and it is based on performance KPIs and on the financial strength and willingness to be an integral part of the production process.

“Recently, with SACE, a joint-stock company of the Italian state-owned group Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, specialised in the insurance-financial

“KEEPING AN OPEN EYE ON WHAT IS MOVING AROUND US per AT A FAST Petrolvalves inserzione.indd 10 PACE WILL HELP SPOT WHAT 15/06/2021 14:26:44 COULD BE INJECTED INTO OUR ECOSYSTEM” – CRISTIANO TORTELLI, CEO, PETROLVALVES sector, we have developed a reverse factory web-based tool to ensure cash flow to suppliers tied to payable invoices where suppliers may decide the payment terms with wide flexibility,” he explains.

“We are also developing a WMS (Warehouse Management System) to have suppliers fully integrated in the production process, with transportation optimisation and inventory management.”

Looking ahead, Tortelli is optimistic about the future at PetrolValves and is clear about what he expects the next few years to look like.

“Quality and timeliness will be instrumental to maintain and secure relationships with the customers, while sustaining a relationship that will

evolve into a partnership,” he explains.

“The ability to serve customers locally in a prompt and timely manner and being part concurrently of a global network, will be critical to capitalise and capture opportunities.

Technology, lean and continuous improvement will be necessary to sustain competitiveness, because cost optimisation and reduction of lead times will be the key success factors in a challenging market space.”

Tel: +39 0331 334111 sales@petrolvalves.it www.petrolvalves.com

EME Outlook issue 42 | 101

HAMILTONJET

Propelling into the Future Led by quality and innovation, we speak to Ben Reed, Managing Director of HamiltonJet, about the company’s varied and high-quality propulsion systems for the international boat market Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Ryan Gray

It is often said that we punch above our weight for a remote nation of five million people!”

For Ben Reed, Managing Director of HamiltonJet, New Zealand is an innovative nation that holds a lot of promise.

“New Zealand only represents three percent of our total market. However, it is a great example of a forward-thinking country with high-value industries and professional operators that want the benefits our technology brings,” he explains.

“It also has a reputation across the globe as a centre for marine innovation, with events like the America’s Cup showcasing how our challenging water conditions and kiwi ingenuity have bred a fighting spirit and deep competence on the water.”

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MANUFACTURING

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HAMILTONJET HamiltonJet are the world’s leading manufacturer (by market share) of waterjets and vessel control systems in the commercial and military space.

FROM PAST TO PRESENT The company was founded in 1939 by New Zealand industrialist Sir William Hamilton, widely recognised as the grandfather of the modern waterjet.

Today it employs 400 people in six countries; 350 of these people are based in Christchurch, New Zealand, where all design, development, manufacturing and business functions reside, with another three regional offices totalling approximately 50 staff in Singapore, London and Seattle collectively.

These regional offices support 55 distributors across the globe with parts, sales, and service support. 97

percent of HamiltonJet’s products are exported to its various customers all over the world, and the company provides products across multiple sections of the market. These include boats such as offshore, pilot, search and rescue, fire, patrol and military, wind farm, fast ferry, fishing, recreational, and aquaculture.

QUALITY CRAFT “Our smallest jet, the HJ212 is found in small craft, upwards of five metres long. It weighs 80 kilogrammes and would usually be found in single or twin driveline form with simple cable actuated controls,” Reed elaborates.

“We then have another 17 different jet sizes, ending up with the HT1000; an 8,000-kilogramme monster that would be found in pairs or quad configuration, in oil and gas or military

WATERJETS EXPLAINED A waterjet generates propulsive thrust from the reaction created when water is forced in a rearward direction. It works in relation to Newton’s Third Law of Motion – “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. A good example of this is the recoil felt on the shoulder when firing a rifle, or the thrust felt when holding a powerful firehose. Put simply, the discharge of a high velocity jet stream generates a reaction force in the opposite direction, which is transferred through the body of the jet unit to the craft’s hull, propelling it forward.

In a boat hull the jet unit is mounted inboard in the aft section. Water enters the jet unit intake on the bottom of the boat, at boat speed, and is accelerated through the jet unit and discharged through the transom at a high velocity. The pumping unit, which includes the impeller and stator, increases the pressure, or “head”, of the flow. This high-pressure flow is discharged at the nozzle as a high velocity jet stream. The driveshaft attaches at the coupling to turn the impeller.

Steering is achieved by changing the direction of the stream of water as it leaves the jet unit. Pointing the jet stream one way forces the stern of the boat in the opposite direction which puts the vessel into a turn.

Reverse is achieved by lowering an astern deflector (E) into the jet stream after it leaves the nozzle. This reverses the direction of the force generated by the jet stream, forward and down, to keep the boat stationary or propel it in the astern direction.

LAPP Leader in Cable & Connectivity Solutions LAPP has remained in continuous family ownership since it was founded in 1959. The LAPP organisation is renowned globally for its levels of quality, innovation and for its commitment to ethical values and service.

LAPP is a leading supplier of integrated solutions and branded products in the field of cable and connection technology. The company’s portfolio includes standard and highly flexible cables, industrial connectors and cable entry systems, customised system solutions, automation technology and robotics solutions for the intelligent factory of the future, as well as technical accessories. LAPP’s core market is in the industrial machinery and plant engineering sector, and its technologies extend into the food and beverage, water and wastewater, energy, marine, industrial communication, electrical contractor, and mobility sectors.

“LAPP Australia offers a one-stop shop for highly integrated, efficient and reliable systems which comply with the leading Australian, European and American compliance and quality standards, which are among the most demanding in the world. In addition to major LAPP brands of product – such as OLFLEX®, UNITRONIC®, HITRONIC®, SKINTOP®, SILVIN®, EPIC, FLEXIMARK®, and ETHERLINE® – Lapp Australia will focus strongly on world-class total solutions incorporating highly compatible components from the one source.

This integrated approach will save customers time and money when assembling optimum solutions to their particular needs, while ensuring proven reliability in service,” says Lapp Australia General Manager, Mr Simon Pullinger.

www.lappaustralia.com.au

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LEADER IN CABLE AND

CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS LAPP’s comprehensive range of German-engineered cables, connectors, and accessories for lifting and materials handling equipment delivers uncompromising product quality, and robust solutions that can withstand even the toughest conditions, backed by local customer and technical expertise. ÖLFLEX® CRANE PUR Weather-resistant, reelable and lightweight cable with central supporting braid

ÖLFLEX® CRANE F Weather-resistant & flat cable for power chains & lifting applications

UNITRONIC® FD CP (TP) PLUS Screened & highly flexible data cable for use in harsh environments

UNITRONIC® BUS PB FESTOON Flame-retardant PROFIBUS cable for use in trolley systems

ETHERLINE® FESTOON PN Cat.5e Flame-retardant PROFINET ethernet cable for use in trolley systems

SKINTOP® SVF

Flat metal cable gland with optimum strain relief

SKINTOP® FL FLAT

Diverse flat cable gland for large flat cables or several smaller cables

SKINTOP® FLAT

Suitable for flat & round cables with a very high IP rating

lappaustralia.com.au sales@lappaustralia.com.au 1800 931 559

Make the right connection with LAPP Australia

HAMILTONJET

EME Outlook: What sets HamiltonJet apart from its competitors in the industry?

Ben Reed: “We genuinely believe that our products are the best in the industry, but I guess everyone says that whether it is true or not!

“I think the key differentiator in our customers’ eyes is the reliability and support of our systems. These are largely commercial and military operators for whom uptime is paramount. We have a reputation for bullet-proof reliability and durability, with our products often outlasting the hulls they are in. And when it comes to warranty and support, we do not quibble. If something is our fault, we fix it. And if not, we still have a ‘fix-first and ask questions later’ approach which customers love.

“The water jet industry is relatively niche in global marine terms, so the foundation for delivering this is our support network. With the highest levels of parts stocking in the industry at our regional warehouses, 55 global distributors, and some of the most experienced people in the industry, we are consistently on site with the right parts or service whilst others are left waiting.

“Our large size relative to our jet competitors and length of time in the industry are clearly factors in this. Building an ability as a newcomer or small player to be everywhere in the world at a moment’s notice would be impossible.”

applications, up to 70 metres with electronically controlled hydraulic controls.”

According to Reed, waterjets offer several advantages over alternative propulsion systems. They are efficient in their speed and manoeuvrability, and safe in the water (with no rotating appendage), as well as being suitable for shallow water areas.

“The manoeuvrability comes from the combination of a steerable nozzle and a deplorable reverse duct, which work together to give a fully vectorable thrust, 360 degrees round the jet unit,” Reed elaborates.

“As a result, they appeal to many customer types, including fast ferries, pilot boats, military, patrol, rescue, windfarm and offshore platform support, fire and ambulance boats, tourist vessels, and a small amount of higher value custom recreation builds.

“Not only do these vessels take their waterjets from HamiltonJet, but they also use our control systems, meaning the skipper is interfacing directly with HamiltonJet products (helms, levers, joysticks, displays etc) in order to pilot the craft.”

The advent of electronic controls has revolutionised the ease-of-use of these vessels and provided a ‘future ready’ platform for advancements like autonomy, driveline electrification and the general digitisation of the modern vessel. Today, HamiltonJet is still focused on waterjets and related controls, ensuring that it knows the market and minimising distraction from it.

“We think it makes us more responsive to our customers’ needs and focused on our efforts,” Reed informs us. “We also remain family owned, with a strong culture of care for our people and a commitment to remain operating from our home in Christchurch.”

INVESTING IN DEVELOPMENT Over the last five years, HamiltonJet has ramped up its investment in

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Norinco Norinco is a multi-faceted organisation committed to providing holistic solutions to partners, customers and stakeholders.

Originally formed in 1942 in Calcutta, India as the NORway INdia COmpany, Norinco has grown to service a range of business verticals such as Marine Equipment, Oceanographic Research & Equipment, Steel and Hydrogen.

Built on a legacy of global quality standards and impeccable work ethics, our reputation as reliable experts ensures we work with the best partners and suppliers globally.

From advisory and consultation to idea and execution, from delivery and implementation to annual maintenance, we’re present every step of the way.

Marine Equipment & Services: We bridge the gap between the OEM and the ship builder. By leveraging our global network of leading equipment manufacturers, we’re able to deliver integrated solutions. Foreign OEM’s trust us for personalised guidance in the challenging Indian market.

From hull to mast and engine room to cranes, we cover everything from concept to ship rollout and AMC’s.

Oceanographic Equipment & Research: The manufacturing, delivery and maintenance of sophisticated scientific research equipment is the core of our efforts here.

Steel: Today, we have unrivalled ties to India’s top steel producers to provide Graphite Electrodes, essential elements for Steel Furnaces. True to our form, we’ve brought the global leader and inventor of Graphite Electrodes, Graftech, to the Indian steel market.

Hydrogen: Our efforts here are driven by our representation of NEL Hydrogen, a global leader in Hydrogen production. As their exclusive India partners, we service the needs of businesses and individuals alike.

www.norinco.co.in contact@norinco.co.in

“Our legacy of nearly 80 years of operations across business verticals has been built primarily on the strength of our relationships with our partners and customers, globally. Today, we are proud to contribute to over a billion dollars worth of sales for our foreign OEM partners, who we represent in India” Nikhil Mathew, Director Norinco Pvt. Ltd. A proud, second-generation, family business owner, Mathew is extremely optimistic about the future, and with good reason. Established in 1942, Norinco has carved a niche for itself in the Indian market with a proven track record and a growing range of premium clientele. In this candid conversation, Mathew shares his thoughts on the journey so far and how he is now looking towards a future for Norinco powered by technological innovation.

Norinco has been around for some time now, how did it all start for the company?

While we are an Indian company through and through, interestingly, Norinco was founded in Kolkata back in 1942 by two Norwegian gentlemen.

Being entrepreneurial and industrious individuals, they capitalised on market opportunities and existing business ties to begin supplying paper pulp and Ferro Alloys from Norway to India. This soon expanded into supplying Ferro Alloy plants across the country.

An essential element in the production of steel, Norinco quickly became the preferred supplier for Ferro Alloys for most of India’s major steel manufacturers. Thanks to close ties with the Norwegian business community, soon enough Norinco began representing a lot of Norwegian marine technology companies, helping them create a presence and initiate sales in India. It was during these initial years my father, George Mathew, joined the leadership team at Norinco. Over the years, his contribution and responsibilities increased, ultimately resulting in his acquisition of the company itself. In fact, my father, the MD of Norinco today, has twice been knighted by the king of Norway for promoting business ties between the two countries, an honor he holds very dear to his heart.

Since then, we have worked tirelessly to create value for our partners and customers alike, expanding our operations across the country with an established presence across all major port cities in India. Today, through our representation of the world’s leading equipment manufacturers, our capabilities have grown both in range of services and depth of knowledge. From navigational equipment on board vessels to complete on board accommodation, after sales maintenance and AMC’s , we are present at every step.

Tell us about a few major milestones in Norinco’s journey Marinor India: Established as a JV between Maritime Montering AS (Marinacc), Norway and Norinco, Marinor India was founded in 2010. Upon identifying a gap in the market for state-of-the-art marine accommodation, we joined hands with a leading Norwegian

company to service the requirement. Today, Marinor India employs over 400 people, and has completed over 20 commercial vessels and is also installing accommodation onboard India’s first Indigenously built aircraft carrier.

Syncrolift AS: In 2004 Syncrolift with Norinco’s local support supplied and installed India’s first ever shiplift and transfer system of 10000 ton capacity to the Indian Navy and since then have supplied and have contracts for several other such systems in India to government and naval shipyards. Norinco has taken care of various aspects of this business including sales, marketing, after-sales support, local procurement and administrative and contractual consulting. We are currently assisting Syncrolift for another 2 shiplift and transfer systems under execution. Norinco also supports Syncrolift in comprehensive maintenance contracts with the Navy for their systems.

RHI India: What began as an exclusive partnership to bring world class refractories to the Indian market, eventually evolved into a much larger strategic collaboration. By 2007, after many decades of a successful partnership, Norinco had built up a team of 40 highly trained engineers dedicated to RHI’s interests and sales. Eventually, we advised, consulted and guided RHI on how to set up an Indian entity, later known as RHI India, and thus began our joint venture as strategic partners. When we eventually handed over our share in the company, RHI India had a turnover of 500 Million Euros. Today, they are the largest seller and producer of carbon refractory bricks in the country.

times, we were also able to leverage our financial muscle and provide the necessary inventory of spares, ensuring the Navy’s requests never went unfulfilled.

A highly organised and motivated team, HamiltonJet treats their people and partners like family. We’ve come to truly appreciate their depth of knowledge and breadth of expertise, which is complemented wonderfully by the trust and faith they place in all their partners. Sharing a common goal of providing the best quality of service possible to the customer, makes our work with these global pioneers a constant delight.

Norinco and HamiltonJet: A few major projects: Indian Navy: The Indian navy commissioned 14 attack craft vessels, fondly known as the Ferrari of the water, that were built from the period of 2007–2017. Each of these attack crafts were fitted with Hamilton waterjet propulsion and systems Ministry of Home Affairs: Following the tragic 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, the MoHA commissioned the development of 120 coastal security police boats, each being powered by two Hamilton waterjet Indian Army: In May 2021, HamiltonJet was awarded a contract to supply 24 Waterjets for 12 Patrol boats of the Indian Army, designed for higher altitudes.

AMC for research vessels, Govt. of India: We look after all the scientific equipment onboard six research vessels that belong to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India and one research vessel that belongs to the Geological Survey of India, Ministry of Mines. We’re also the only company in India to offer these services for 25+ years and have a team of highly experienced engineers sailing onboard these vessels 24/7, 365 days a year.

Our company has proved over the last 80 years that we are ideally placed to service the needs of the Indian marine and oceanographic industry. We have earned the trust of our partners and customers and today are positioning ourselves for an even more meaningful contribution in the future. We are investing heavily into technology and are keen on working with partners that share our vision and are looking to make an impact in the Indian ecosystem.

Describe your partnership with Hamilton Jet in India After a rigorous 2 year long evaluation and selection period, we are proud to say HamiltonJet chose us as their exclusive representatives in India. At the time, HamiltonJet was facing serious concerns with their India partners, causing much unwanted strife with the Indian Navy, their primary clients in India. I’m happy to report that our engineers were able to go in and resolve long standing issues in an impressive amount of time, earning the trust of our partners and the respect of their clients. During these difficult

Start a conversation with us, write in to contact@norinco.co.in, LinkedIn: Norinco Private Limited www.norinco.co.in

HAMILTONJET its products and technological development. This is a fundamental element to the company’s strategy and covers multiple parts of HamiltonJet’s operation, as Reed elaborates.

“In the area of waterjets, we are working on gradually replacing our entire waterjet line-up with newer, more efficient, and more robust models,” he tells us. “Each new jet is coming in between three and seven percent higher in its propulsive efficiency than the model it replaces, delivering lower fuel consumption and higher speed.

“They also generate more thrust at lower speeds which is great for certain applications like wind-farm support.

These new jet models are also easier to install and simpler to integrate.”

In the control systems space, HamiltonJet recently introduced a new electronic system designed to the most rigorous Class Authority standards - AVX.

“This, plus the soon to be released AVXexpress for smaller craft will replace both of our older control systems and offer a solid platform for future technology integration,” Reed explains. “Both systems offer multiple layers of redundancy, exceptional reliability and availability, and some truly innovative features. The best example is our GPS based control system called JETanchor which can automatically hold position and precisely manoeuvre a vessel with incredible accuracy.”

FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES The marine industry faces three significant trends which are shaping HamiltonJet’s future product strategy: automation, electrification and digitisation.

Exalto Bearings UK Limited are honoured to be associated with a company like Hamilton Jets.

As an ISO9001:2015 accredited company we adhere to strict quality procedures and continually strive to making improvements to our products whilst maintaining our high levels of Quality.

Our manufacturing facility in Derby is a well-controlled, efficient, but friendly operation where the need for customer care and satisfaction is understood from all of the workforce so allowing Exalto to provide an honest and personal service that can only be provided by a tightknit team.

AUTOMATION “Operators are increasingly looking at forms of vessel remote control, autonomy and skipper-assistance

EME Outlook: Tell us about your employees and how HamiltonJet recognises their contribution to the company?

Ben Reed: “We have 400 staff, around half of whom are in the field of operations, 50 of which are overseas in our regional offices, and the rest of whom are office workers and engineers in Christchurch.

“HamiltonJet has been working really hard to improve communication and keep people abreast as to how the business is going and how we are doing against our strategy. We try to show our appreciation for them with quarterly barbecues and other smaller events. We also have a Christmas breakup party which is in our summer. Last year it involved taking the whole team jet boating on the Waimakariri river, with a barbecue and craft beers, brewed by members of the team.

“HamiltonJet has an enviable staff retention rate. We are one of the more interesting companies to work for in the area, especially for engineers, so finding local talent is not difficult. We also have cultural great diversity, with 50 percent of our staff being born outside New Zealand. HamiltonJet regularly hires from overseas and has no trouble attracting people to such a wonderful country and location.”

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Exalto

www.exalto.co.uk

RYCO Over the years, RYCO Hydraulics has developed a strong partnership with HamiltonJet. HamiltonJet waterjet is one of the most advanced and innovative marine propulsion systems.

RYCO has had a proud history of providing hydraulic hose and fittings to the marine industry. Today’s maritime and vessel fleets rely heavily on their hydraulic systems and growth in this sector has demanded the need for fast and efficient service.

We provide HamiltonJet with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) hose kits and all hydraulic hoses are pressure tested and tagged with QRAM labels and this is all done within our Auckland facility.

At RYCO, we offer transparency in engagement with OEM’s like HamiltonJet and are truly committed to building longterm partnerships with our clients.

Our customer care and technical support coupled with 75 years of industry expertise and Know How provide superior support to our clients enabling increased efficiency and continuous improvements.

MANUFACTURING

At Exalto Bearings UK we manufacture high quality rubber-lined and composite cutlass bearings for the pump and marine industries, in both bespoke as well as more standard sizes. All bearings are produced at our in-house workshop and we specialise in the manufacture of non-standard sizes. Bearings can be supplied in a number of shell materials and lined with compounds such as Nitrile, Polyurethane, EPDM or Viton. Because of our extensive range of tooling a non-standard bearing for quick turnarounds can easily be

Exalto Bearings UK Ltd Unit 8C1, Sir Francis Ley Industrial Estate Shaftesbury Street, Derby, DE23 8XA, United Kingdom

produced. For larger Flanged bearings we can offer a re-lining service to reduce the price of a new bearing.

Over the last 25 years we have built a reputation for both the quality and reliability of our bearings as well as our friendly and professional service and now work with businesses in over 40 countries worldwide.

T: +44 (0) 1332 340 501 / F: +44 (0) 1332 340 252 E: sales@exalto.co.uk exalto.co.uk

EME Outlook issue 42 | 109

HAMILTONJET to improve safety and productivity,” Reed informs us. “The applications in this field include military (such as unmanned minesweeping), survey and oil and gas vessels.

“We have been working for over 20 years in this area and have over 170 vessels equipped with some level of autonomy or remote control around the world. We continue to work with all the leading manufacturers of autonomous systems, but more recently signed an agreement with Sea Machines Robotics to develop a HamiltonJet pilot-assistance tool that will be integrated at the helm and use an augmented reality vision system, fused with radar and AIS, to allow autonomous route following with collision alert and avoidance.

“This will be available sometime late 2022 and will be an option on all vessels with AVX electronic controls.”

ELECTRIFICATION There is a global and industry-wide

110 | EME Outlook issue 42

pressure to clean up the carbon footprint of the marine industry.

Stemming from this, the area of electrification has become a key aspect of development for both the good of the environment and to answer the demand of the customer base.

“It has been surprising to us just how quickly this trend has gone from being something of interest, to a strong buying driver with operators willing to pay a premium for the right technologies,” Reed says. “Last year, we launched our own electro-hybrid drive system called EHX. “Essentially it is an integration of batteries, electric motors, and diesel engines, and the system can also be used on an all-electric vessel. We were driven to do this after being involved with multiple projects where the detailed integration seemed to be left to the last minute.

“We wanted to grasp hold of the whole thing and deliver a fully

Q-West Boat Builders Q-West Boat Builders was established in 1996 and is a leading commercial aluminium boat builder specialising in custom fabrication of vessels from 10-40 metres.

The facility based in Whanganui, New Zealand has been the local centre of vessel construction for over sixty years. Q-West has been at the forefront of new designs, components, developments and vessel applications.

Our yard prides itself on the diverse range of craft that have been constructed, from foil assisted, jet propelled, quad engine tourist vessels to hybrid electric vessels.

Q-West has been a longstanding customer of HamiltonJet, installing more jet units in New Zealand than any other builder. HamiltonJet’s quality, support and commitment to development has ensured our strong relationship will continue.

sales@q-west.co.nz

MANUFACTURING

NEW ZEALAND’S PRE-EMINENT BOAT BUILDERS

+64 6 349 0035 sales@q-west.co.nz

Whanganui, New Zealand

EME Outlook issue 42 | 111

HAMILTONJET integrated hybrid propulsion system that operated in a fully automatic mode, switching between power sources and optimising the use of electrical energy. This product is now available to the market and the first installation we did was on our own vessel. We bought and converted a 15-metre foiling catamaran called Aria which is now capable of running nine knots on electrical drive only, diesel only (or charging the batteries) up to 37 knots and can boost performance with both together up to 42 knots.”

HamiltonJet deployed Aria at the America’s Cup in March as a showcase as to what could be achieved with this new technology.

The system also boasts reduced sound when stationary or at lowspeed cruising while using the electric option.

DIGITISATION Alongside the increasingly innovative electrification of engine systems, integrating digitisation into products is a key demand, and one that HamiltonJet has answered.

“The modern vessel is an increasingly complex system-ofsystems,” Reed elaborates. “The propulsion controls, navigation, alarms, hotel services, and other elements are increasingly intelligent and connected systems.

“As primary vessel controls, our system has the potential to be a central hub for information about the vessel. We are currently developing a vessel monitoring, data logging and IoT system to complement our products that will allow operators to interrogate their journeys and activities in absolute detail from the ship or the shore.

It even captures data on the movements of vessels around them through AIS. This will ultimately support productivity optimisation, preventative maintenance, issue response and accident investigation.”

112 | EME Outlook issue 42

QUALITY IN THE MARKET Today, HamiltonJet offers many advantages over competing drive systems: RELIABILITY: Fewer moving parts with most major components inboard and out of harm’s way.

MANOEUVRABILITY: Split duct reverse bucket and JT nozzle combine for excellent manoeuvrability.

SPEED: Optimised for speeds from 25-55 knots.

EFFICIENCY: Meets or exceeds the best prop designs at speed of 30 knots or better.

SHALLOW WATER OPERATION: The ability to go where other props simply can’t.

Three regional offices supporting over 55 distributors and dealers located all over the world.

The HamiltonJet waterjet is particularly suited to high-speed planing vessels operating in the 20 to 50 knot range but can also be successfully used in displacement speed vessels in certain situations like Dive Support.

It is important to understand that waterjet propulsion operates quite differently to conventional propeller propulsion systems. This results in many advantages, when compared to propellers for any particular application.

Anyone considering waterjets needs to understand how they work and how best to set up a vessel to make best use of this superior propulsion technology.

MANUFACTURING

Customised water sealing solutions for maximising jet reliability

A High Performance Partnership Proudly supporting Australian Boat Building

Over 25 years of sealing experience within Australasia.

EAGLEBURGMANN AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD New Zealand: sales@nz.eagleburgmann.com TEL +64 9 448 5001

www.jetsynergy.com.au

Seascape Marine Services (Pty) Ltd proud Hamilton Jet Distributors for Sub – Saharan Africa.

www.hamiltonjet.co.nz

“ Giving expert advice to the Metal Finishing Industry . . . for more than 45 years ”

INDUSTRIES LIMITED Abrasives : Polishing : Plating : Engineering Supplies : Lubricants Branches throughout New Zealand Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Hastings, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Dunedin

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seascape_marine_services +27 21 511 8201 info@seascapemarine.co.za

www.seascapemarine.co.za EME Outlook issue 42 | 113

HAMILTONJET

THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS HamiltonJet waterjets are manufactured at the CWF Hamilton & Co factory in Christchurch, New Zealand. The factory is dedicated solely to the manufacture of waterjets and control systems, with the majority of components engineered inhouse.

The basic manufacturing process is: • The waterjet housings and other aluminium components are sand cast, then go through a waterblast and fettle process before being machined on dedicated CNC machine centres. They are then washed and painted.

• Stainless steel components such as mainshafts and couplings are turned and milled on CNC machines.

• Impellers are cast from molten stainless steel, before being machined, balanced, trimmed and pitched to a specific “impeller rating”.

• The waterjet controls systems, including hydraulic and electronic components, are also CNC machined, painted and assembled.

• All parts are then dispatched to the final assembly area where they are assembled and pressure tested, the control system is installed and tested, a final quality inspection is conducted, and they are then boxed up and shipped to the customer.

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BUILT TO SHIP HamiltonJet’s business is unique in the waterjet industry in that the company truly manufactures its products.

The company has a lean-production process delivering 18 different jet models over only two production flowlines. The process is designed around high-variety, low-volume and a hard to forecast model mix. Reed explains further; “It is a fully cellular, build to order, batch-of-one process utilising four foundries, casting LM6 Aluminium, 316 Stainless and AB2 Bronze, over 50 CNC machines, fabrication, electronics assembly, hydraulics manufacture, paint and build,” he says.

“Over 90 percent of the weight of each jet unit manufactured is made to

MANUFACTURING

order from raw materials (ingot and bar-stock metals) inside our factories.

We do have some bought-in items in our products, but these are relatively small in the whole picture, and we carry sufficient stock to manage our output.

“Our very short, simple supply chains have been a real asset during the pandemic and gave us a high level of confidence in the delivery of each shipset on time, in full. Whilst we are located in New Zealand, boat building is a global business, so we are all facing the need to use global shipping to distribute our products. One lasting effect of COVID-19 is that sea and air freight has become more expensive and harder to book, but we work well in advance with shipping lines and

have a great success rate at getting our products to customers when we promised them.”

CHARTING 2021 For HamiltonJet, 2021 is looking like a busy year. According to Reed, there is an active increase in sales approaching pre-COVID levels, and on top of this, the company has a high number of high-profile projects in the electric and hybrid drive space.

“We have two new jet model releases (The HTX42 is imminent and the HJX27 at the end of 2021) and a ‘lite’ version of our control system called AVXexpress,” Reed tells us. “We will also be continuing our development work with Sea Machines on the pilot-assist system and a few

other innovations. We are excited by the way all these releases will improve the operational effectiveness of our customers.”

These developments represent the next stage of the company’s movement towards addressing the increasing demands of its worldwide customer base. With promising projects in the works, it is worth keeping an eye on HamiltonJet as a leading player in the boat systems manufacturing space.

marketing@hamiltonjet.nz www.hamiltonjet.com

EME Outlook issue 42 | 115

BECKER-WARKOP

EVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION In mining, safety comes first – that’s our domain – to provide safe, reliable, top quality products.”

That’s the view of Leszek Zyrek, Deputy Chairman of Engineering and Development at Becker Warkop.

Zyrek is responsible for development both in technological aspects but also in gaining new markets and direction within the company, and it is his belief that the European mining industry, 116 | EME Outlook issue 42

Leszek Zyrek, Deputy Chairman of Engineering and Development at Becker Warkop, discusses the digital transformation of Poland’s mining space while prioritising a safety first approach Writer: Sean Galea-Pace Project Manager: Thomas Arnold

particularly in Poland, is seen as having had its best days.

“The main reason for this is the very deep ore deposits, which dramatically increases mining costs and risk assessments,” he explains.

“However, this doesn’t prevent the market from developing new mine projects in which we participate with great willingness and commitment.

The brand we have managed to create over the past 30 years has made its

MINING

presence felt in almost every country involved in the mining industry in Europe.”

Founded in 1991, Becker Warkop has become a leading producer of mining equipment and devices.

Becker Warkop is part of the internationally recognised Becker Mining Systems Group providing access to innovative mining solutions.

Indeed, the organisation specialises in manufacturing longwall sets of

equipment, underground transport systems, power systems, control systems, communication systems and identification systems.

Becker Warkop, as well as other companies operating with mining and mining-related companies, have a number of products that can be offered off-the-shelf. The organisation always tries to adapt or redesign its solutions in order to meet the customer’s requirements and

expectations as much as possible.

“The way we work with clients is mainly based on preparing a number of studies, different options and presenting the widest possible range of applications for our systems,” explains Zyrek. “In mining, the costs associated with the exploitation of seams located deep underground are becoming an increasing problem.

Our solutions, especially in mining where tire equipment is used, open EME Outlook issue 42 | 117

BECKER-WARKOP

up new possibilities for mining companies that face this problem.

Our transport systems can reach the point of excavation in a faster way due to the ability of running on much more inclined sections. This means that labour and time is saved during the development of the headings.

This system is called Becker Steep Transport.”

Today, Becker Warkop employs more than 350 people. The company’s flagship products are monorail and floor-mounted transport systems driven by diesel, electric or battery power. In addition, the firm is also a major manufacturer of powered roof supports for longwall mining and has supplied the market with over 14,000 units. Becker Warkop offers a wide range of services, from basic aftersales service to assembly services or the design of new technologies according to the requirements and expectations of their customers.

The organisation provides both its 118 | EME Outlook issue 42

“AT BECKER WARKOP, WE PUT EMPHASIS ON PEOPLE WITH LARGE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, BUT ALSO, WE PUT EMPHASIS ON STAFF WHO ARE YOUNG, AMBITIOUS, AND OPEN FOR NEW TASKS” – LESZEK ZYREK, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF ENGINEERING AND DEVELOPMENT, BECKER-WARKOP products and services to the entire European mining industry, and in recent years has also been able to significantly increase its footprint in the Asian market. Following this success, Becker Warkop is showing no signs of slowing its reach and has set its sights on expanding into the South American, North American and Australian markets.

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION With technology beginning to play a more influential role on operations across the world, Zyrek remains open to adopting technological innovation

that makes life easier.

“In view of the incredible technological developments affecting all areas of industry, we at Becker Warkop also strive to take advantage of the advances in technology available on the market,” he explains.

“As a company primarily involved in the manufacture of mining transport systems, we have already experienced the impact of technology on our equipment over the course of our 30 years of business. We started by supplying rope-driven systems, then electric systems, then diesel systems, and now, in order to meet modern

FOAMED MINING INHIBITOR SIG-1 The main task of SIG-1 is the reduction of coal self-heating tendency by the deactivation of its surface, and thereby the extension of fire incubation period. It is used for: • • • •

Preventing fire hazard in active longwall workings, Sealing longwall workings that are to be closed down, Sealing of galleries in the points of coal seams crossing, Sealing of temporary and permanent isolation stoppings.

It can be used in underground workings of coal mines in workings of levels ‘a’, ‘b’ or ‘c’ methane explosion hazard.

SIG-1 is a class 4 inhibitor of coal self-heating process according to the classification developed in Central Mining Institute (GIG).

GCA MINING NITROGEN REFRIGERATING UNIT The GCA Mining nitrogen refrigerating unit is designed to be used in underground workings of coal mines, in workings of ‘a’, ‘b’ or ‘c’ level of methane explosion hazard and in workings of “A” or “B” class of coal dust explosion hazard. The unit is used for cooling nitrogen pumped into goafs to prevent fire in the area of a longwall in operation as well as in sealed headings. The unit is compact, made in closed housing on a frame bearer guaranteeing its stiffness during transport. The design of the unit enables its movement along with the longwall advance, it can also be installed in any gate road or in close proximity to the stopping if the area is sealed. The unit is powered from a typical mining starter. The refrigerating system is airtight, water used for cooling the condenser is taken from the mine system operating in an open circuit.

The refrigerating unit can lower the temperature of nitrogen pumped into goafs by about 30 degrees to the recommended one [-1 C].

CONTAINER NITROGEN GENERATOR WA-700 The container nitrogen generator type PSA is designed for continuous generation of nitrogen of purity min. 97%, with flow rate 700Nm3/h and pressure 6-8 bars from atmospheric air.

Atmospheric air drawn by the generator is compressed, cleaned and dried, then directed to two nitrogen generators working alternately, where oxygen and nitrogen are separated. The nitrogen obtained this way is pumped through a buffer tank to the receiving system, and the oxygen is released into the air outside the container.

The device is maintenance-free, and all the processes can be observed with the use of a complicated visualisation system.

Azis Mining Service, 44-304 Wodzisław Śląski, os. 1 Maja 16K | azis@azis.pl | +48 32 4510083

BECKER-WARKOP trends, we produce and put into operation battery-powered transport systems.

“Technological development is also used in the production process, through the use of the newest machines or, for example, machining centres, but also in management.

A very good example of the impact of technology on company management was the introduction of remote working during the COVID19 pandemic - thanks to modern software and available electronic tools, remote working did not affect Becker Warkop in any negative way.”

Becker Warkop has plans to develop further autonomous mining transportation systems and is developing a solution that will allow control of autonomous systems from a control and supervision point located on the mine surface. “Communication and control of the transportation system is done via Wi-Fi wireless network and the most important stage is development proximity detection and collision avoidance systems that detects danger and automatically stops the machine when it occurs,” says Zyrek.

“We are currently developing and implementing the above solutions

Speedway Freight Services Speedway Freight Services (Poland) is an expert in transport supports exporters in reaching new foreign markets.

We are an international logistics operator responsible for transporting goods to the most distant destinations worldwide, including China.

Day in, day out we take every effort to ensure a comprehensive service for sea, air and railway transport operations. This is made possible owing to our membership of the WFN, ALN and AOP groups. This allows us to support deliveries i.a. to Africa, North and South America.

BECKER-WARKOP: PRODUCTS The products of Becker Mining Systems provide solutions for higher safety and efficiency into the mining industry, split into two divisions: electrical and mechanical.

ELECTRICAL The electrical segments consist of three product divisions: energy distribution, automation and communication. A safe and flexible supply of energy underground is vital in mining. Becker Mining Systems provide complete, customised energy infrastructure solutions that yield maximum output even under the most challenging of conditions. The products in the area of energy distribution includes transformers and switchgear that can be handled flexibly and quickly as a result of a modular technology developed by Becker.

In automation, the company provides flexible solutions that guarantees the comprehensive control and monitoring of all work processes across all levels of a modern mine and at the same time, the greatest efficiency with more safety.

MECHANICAL Transportation and infrastructure products are included within this segment. Since the establishment of the company, the organisation has been developing transportation systems for workers and material underground. Both individual solutions and complete systems transport employees, material and equipment quickly and reliably, even to the most remote parts of the mine. The systems are renowned for transporting heavy loads at high speeds, even on strongly inclined routes.

In the expansion of underground mining, safety is essential too. The company produces support systems for safe face and roadway expansion.

The developed hydraulic shields and mechanical support systems secure faces and roadways during and after expansion.

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www.sfspoland.com

in battery-powered monorails and locomotives from our product range, however the final stage of the project is to create a dedicated autonomous transport system.”

With the world seeking to adopt a more sustainable approach, Becker Warkop understands the importance of pivoting quickly to leverage the latest trends.

“As environmental protection has become increasingly important, the demand for electric and battery solutions has increased,” explains Zyrek. “For the last seven years since we implemented our first battery transport system, we are constantly developing our technology to get the best result from the solutions we offer.

We currently provide manoeuvring devices, a battery-powered monorail and a monorail with electric-toothed drive, all with the possibility of additional power supply and battery charging via a bus cable.”

For Zyrek, there are two projects

MINING

We are a reliable partner for our customers!

Working together with our partners, especially on long-term projects, has endorsed our belief that besides professionalism in the handling of the transport operations, an individual approach to the task entrusted to us is also of great importance.

Only our 100% commitment allows us to work out fully satisfactory solutions.

www.sfspoland.com

Longwall system

EME Outlook issue 42 | 121

BECKER-WARKOP that stand out as being particularly influential over the last few years.

“Recently, we had the opportunity to supply two mines, Zenica and Kakanj, with complete longwall systems.

Every contract is a challenge for us, and it confirms our belief of solid position in the mining industry,” discusses Zyrek. “Another milestone project is based on the application of our monorail systems in hard rock mining - something that has evolved within recent years, when the first solutions of this kind were applied on a gold mine in Mexico.”

Remote Control

Battery Monorail

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Becker Warkop offer various power supply methods using diesel engine, battery or electrical wire. All its devices and machines are adapted to the requirements in force in the country of destination and meet the requirements regarding safety and ergonomics

STRATEGIC COLLABORATIONS To Becker Warkop, both suppliers and partnerships are key for the smooth running of the company and the firm remains enthusiastic about keeping a special bond with all of these relationships.

“We are constantly looking for new partners and foreign representatives, especially in markets where we see potential and opportunities, open for new technologies and solutions not only limited to mining,” says Zyrek. “Based on the partnership and representative’s cooperation for years, our position and recognition within the mining market has improved notably. The key factors we consider when establishing a partnership are mutual promotion, sales and technical support, and desire to develop.”

MINING

too. Most importantly, our employees identify themselves with the company and its products. Each of our employees has an open career path in Becker Warkop - we have many employees who started their work in the service department or production department and now they are on the management level.”

Looking ahead, expansion is the aim of the game and the company harbours goals of expanding into new markets, such as Australia, Africa, South America and North America in the near future. It’s clear Becker Mining is just getting started.

BW Trans Zyrek recognises the role that employees play on the success of his organisation. As far as he and Becker Warkop are concerned, such an approach has been presented from the top up from the very beginning.

“We try to minimise fluctuation

of employees in our company - the longer our employees are with us, the more profits the company has from it,” he tells us. “At Becker Warkop, we put an emphasis on people with large professional experience, but also, we encourage young and ambitious staff

Tel: +48 32 432 99 00 International Sales: +48 32 432 99 38 becker@becker-mining.com.pl www.becker-mining.com.pl

EME Outlook issue 42 | 123

KUNOOZ OMAN

MINING IN OMAN We speak to Scott Watson, CEO of Kunooz Oman, about the company’s projects, operations, and future plans within the mining industry in Oman Writer: Marcus Kääpä Project Manager: Thomas Arnold

124 | EME Outlook issue 42

T

he Middle East is home to a mining industry that is evolving and growing into a key producer and supplier of bulk products and metals to pan-continental sectors.

Within Oman, the mining sector is largely divided into two areas: metals and bulk, with the latter including gypsum, limestone, and dolomite.

Oman’s strategic geographic location provides the major benefit

MINING

of being able to target the rapidly growing economies of India, East and Southeast Asia.

“The bulk mining sector in Oman is substantial,” begins Scott Watson, CEO of Kunooz Oman. “Government support for the companies that have invested in technical expertise, mining equipment and processing plants is key to the future success of the industry. Kunooz Oman is one such

company that is focused on bulk production; with the natural assets being substantial in comparison to the size of the country. In fact, Oman is currently the world’s largest exporter of gypsum - approximately nine megatons (Mt) per year through the Port of Salalah. Kunooz Gypsum exports up to 2.5 Mt per year through Salalah International Gypsum, a trading company established by the

producers in 2019, alone answers a market demand stretching from South Africa to as far east as Vietnam and Japan.”

Exploration and issuing of mining licenses is key for the growth of both the bulk and metals mining sectors in Oman. Scott Watson states “The granting of exploration and mining licenses has been a challenge. The government has now merged two EME Outlook issue 42 | 125

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stered trademark of Weir Engineering Services Ltd.

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KUNOOZ OMAN ministries to form the Ministry of Energy and Minerals – merging the governing body responsible for oil and gas with the Public Authority for Mining. The industry now awaits new procedures for issuing licences that consider the applicate’s expertise, and financial standing.”

Kunooz was incorporated in January 2014 following the consolidation of five subsidiaries and two associates within the mining, quarrying, logistics and construction materials sectors. Named after the Arabic word for “treasure”, Kunooz refers to the extraction of valuable raw materials from Oman’s earth, and the company’s engagement in the mining of minerals and resources.

Scott Watson has worked for Kunooz Oman in a variety of positions for over five years.

Having started his journey working for Anglo American in 1984 (after graduating from Camborne School of Mines – Exeter University with a BSc Hons Mining Engineering - in the same year), Scott Watson rose through company ranks to the position of Underground/Section Manager in both the gold deep level mining and underground coal mining, totalling nine years with the company.

“I then returned to UK working for Lagan Group in senior operational and commercial management roles in the aggregates, concrete and asphalt, sectors. The highlight being the export of high-quality aggregate into Great Britain and Europe for asphalt wearing coarse applications on heavy trafficked roads such as the M25 around London. My career with Lagan Group covered 15 years of dedicated service and experience. During my time at Lagan Group I was Chairman of the Northern Ireland Institute of Quarrying, sat on the Quarry Products Planning Committee and attained an MBA from the University of Ulster, specialising in strategic planning. This led me into consultancy, lecturing and a desire to utilise my knowledge and skills in overseas ventures.”

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KUNOOZ OMAN BUSINESS PROFILE Kunooz Oman subsidiary and associate companies operate in the mining, construction materials and the logistics industries.

MINING AND QUARRYING: Kunooz Gypsum LLC – 2.5 Mt exporter of raw Gypsum aggregate from Salalah. Key Customers – Yoshino (Japan), IMI Trading, Lafarge Holcim, Global Transit, ETEX, St Gobain (India, Vietnam, S Africa), Heidelberg Cement, Knauf, Cemex, .

Kunooz Gabbro LLC – 1.2 Mt producer of high-quality aggregate and washed sand, servicing the Greater Muscat construction industry.

Majan Mining LLC – Associate Company – plus three Mt exporter of Limestone aggregate from Salalah. Servicing mainly the Indian Market.

Kunooz Marble LLC – Operates two quarries supplying factory with capacity of 60,000 metres-squared per month finished product.

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS: Kunooz Ready-mix LLC – Operate two RMC Plants in Salalah with capacity of 25,000 metres-cubed per month, and block plant, servicing corporate and private sector customers in the greater Salalah region. Also, two mobile plants for selected projects in Oman. Selected RMC supplier for the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah.

Carmeuse Majan LLC – Associate Company – Major producer of lime for the Indian market. A value-added business for Majan mining.

LOGISTICS: Kunooz Logistics Global LLC – Operates a fleet of 50 modern prime movers, plus hired fleet when required servicing in house bulk handling and ship loading activities. Additionally, also a provider of logistics services for external businesses across Oman and UAE inclusive of the petroleum, grain, and cement transport.

Exciting year ahead for Weir Minerals in Africa and Middle East Weir Minerals Africa is focused on partnering with customers to drive efficiencies using its proven technology-driven solutions.

According to Grant Ramsden, Regional Managing Director of Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East, the company’s successful evolution over a century and a half continues with a strong sustainability vision for the modern mining, minerals processing and the sand and aggregate industries.

Ramsden is confident about the prospects for the Middle East, where comminution is the main focus of the company’s offerings – serving the considerable demand for infrastructure works in that region. Its local capacity has been further enhanced by the recent unveiling of a new world class service centre in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

“As our customers look to reduce their carbon footprint, we are engineering solutions for a future that prioritises energy efficiency and raises productivity,” says Ramsden. “With leading brands all the way from ground-engaging tools to processing equipment across the mill circuit, we have an exciting year ahead with our continuously expanding equipment range.”

In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramsden says that Weir’s Synertrex® condition monitoring and smart analytics platform will also attract more attention in 2021. Developed by Weir Minerals to complement its portfolio of mining equipment, Synertrex® monitors product operation and feeds data automatically to the cloud and control systems. This also allows for remote monitoring where employees or management may not have regular physical access to plant operations.

“With our service-focused approach, we are able to become directly integrated into the customer’s operation, through having one of our own experts in the mine’s control room helping to monitor equipment and possibly even procuring the necessary spares,” he says. “Synertrex has already proved itself in South Africa’s minerals sands segment, and similar interest has been expressed from other commodity miners in our region. This system can also streamline procurement by alerting customers when new spares may be needed.”

“This aligns with our mission to be available wherever and whenever our customers need us,” he concludes.

A Trio TC66 cone crusher installed at Oman Quarries crushing operations in Sultanate of Oman.

Grant Ramsden, Regional Managing Director of Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East.

KUNOOZ OMAN

KUNOOZ OMAN ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CSR is important to Kunooz.

The company operates in many areas across the country, and with mining operations involving localised workers the assurance of continuous networking and assistance to such people and areas is of paramount importance.

On a national level, companies in Oman must contribute five percent of their net profit to CSR so that it can be allocated to local community projects. Kunooz Oman follows suit in this practice and provides funding to a multitude of community projects and events, from charitable outreach programmes to camel races in Salalah.

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“In 2011, I took the opportunity to work for Lagan Asphalt (a Lagan Group company) as Project Manager,” he says. “Here, I oversaw the company planning, establishment, build-up, plant erection and operations on the A2 Motorway Project in Poland in the lead up to the Euro 2012 Football Championships.”

On completion of the project in Poland he gained a further opportunity as Country Manager Norway, for Aggregate Industries UK (part of the Holcim Group) where his position took him across multiple countries including Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the UK. Here, Scott Watson supplied aggregates to Northern Europe and the Baltic States and pipe bedding rocks for the offshore oil industry from the company’s coastal super quarry north of Bergen, and their quarry at Repparfjord in the very north of Norway.

It was 2016 that saw Scott Watson accept the position of General Manager of Kunooz Gypsum (a subsidiary of Kunooz Oman), where

he oversaw the operations, marketing and sales of Gypsum Aggregate on a Global Stage. Applying his lengthy industry knowledge and experience in both mining and logistics, Scott Watson was promoted to Group COO in May 2018, and Group CEO in December 2018, the latter position he holds to this day.

OPERATIONS AND PROJECTS Kunooz Oman is focused on operational excellence in every aspect of its business, enhanced by excellent communication between all levels of the company to maximise efficiency and effective decision-making.

Kunooz Gypsum sets the mining standard within the business, being a world leading gypsum aggregate producer. Kunooz Gypsum obtained its first mining area in 2007 and the groundwork commenced in May 2010.

The mining operations started from October of the same year with the first shipment delivered in January 2011. The operation has expanded exponentially since then, acquiring

MINING

“WE ARE FOCUSED ON GROWING OUR MINING BUSINESS AND DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL VALUEADDED STREAMS, IN GYPSUM AND DOLOMITE COUPLED WITH THE BASALT FIBRE AND COLD STORAGE WAREHOUSING PROJECTS, THE FUTURE IS EXCITING FOR KUNOOZ OMAN” three more mining areas and the installation of a 2.5 Mt Capacity Crushing Plant, whilst acquiring a fleet of Komatsu and Volvo excavators, dumpers and loading shovels coupled with an effective rebuild and replacement plan.

Quality control in the mining process is key to meeting customers’ requirements, as Scott Watson elaborates.

“The mining operation is open cast to a final depth of 50 metres, extracting lateral layers of gypsum interbedded with layers of dolomite,

necessitating segregation of the gypsum and dolomite, to deliver gypsum at a purity level more than 90 percent. In total, the operation moves 4 Mt per year of gypsum and dolomite. For every Mt of gypsum 0.8 Mt of dolomite is extracted.

Unfortunately, the dolomite is of poor quality and has no commercial value.

Therefore, utilised for restoration.”

From 2016, Kunooz Gypsum extended its marketing reach beyond its then primary market India, and now has a broad customer base reaching and servicing markets from

South Africa, East Africa, UAE, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, New Zealand, and Japan.

On top of this, Kunooz Oman is focused on adding value to its Kunooz Gypsum business in Salalah, through the manufacture of gypsum board and gypsum powder. This project is progressing, having concluded pre and full feasibility studies, identifying the benefit of siting a Gypsum Board Factory in the Salalah Free Zone.

Kunooz Oman is complemented by Mineral Development Oman (MDO), a 20 percent shareholder in Kunooz Oman. MDO is the new flagship of Oman’s mining industry and founded primarily to develop and open the Omani mining sector by investing directly in new projects.

The high standards and professionalism set by Kunooz Oman echoes throughout the company’s project portfolio.

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KUNOOZ OMAN

For Scott Watson, the key principles for business success are: 1. Strong culture for health and safety 2. Continuous improvement driven by creative thinking 3. Lean business, delivering more with less 4. Business heads fully committed to delivering on the business objectives 5. Effective reporting and decision-making 6. Management by action 7. Delivering quality product and service 8. Effective strategic planning particularly prior to the annual budgetary process These principles are embedded into Kunooz Oman, which he has followed throughout his career.

THE HEART OF KUNOOZ OMAN Vision Bringing natural resources to the world to support the sustainable development of Oman and to inspire progress.

Mission Creating sustainable value for its investors, the people it invests in, and the environment in which it works.

Core Values • Health and safety • Transparency and integrity • Effective collaboration • Performance orientation • Resourcefulness

One such example can be seen in Kunooz’s Dolomite Project, as Scott Watson elaborates.

“The company have completed a full Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) exploration feasibility study of a substantial high-quality resource in Oman with a typical magnesium oxide (MgO) content of 21.5 percent and a maximum of 0.4 percent silica.

The primary market is the supply of dolomite aggregates for steel manufacture, coupled with phasing in value added products such as dololime, float glass, and magnesium metal,” he explains. “Kunooz is currently refining and finalising a detailed mining, logistics, sales, and CAPEX plan.”

Kunooz Oman is also in process of setting up a full exploration study of a basalt fibre deposit, which will enhance the business’s mining and value-added portfolio.

Kunooz Oman is not only focused on mining but also realises the need to evolve the logistics business to the next level. In this regard the company has completed a full feasibility study on developing the cold storage business in Muscat, levelling, site establishment, and concluding design.

Scott Watson elaborates “The company’s Cold Storage Warehousing Project is aimed at complementing the existing Kunooz Logistics business, enabling the company to transform from bulk transport to fully developed logistics.”

PEOPLE AND COMMUNITY Within the mining sector logistics is vital to the fluidity and efficiency of operations across the board. For

Kunooz Oman, the supply chain plays a critical and vital role, as Scott Watson comments.

“We prioritise our suppliers and partnering with key businesses is of the upmost strategic importance to Kunooz Oman. We focus on getting the best value through our wellestablished procurement department, satisfying the requirements of management and the respective businesses,” he elaborates.

“The company cannot rely on just-in-time delivery for key critical parts, particularly in mining and processing. The supply chain in many regards is long, with many suppliers holding minimal stock levels in the UAE and not Oman. Therefore, excellence in maintenance planning is a prerequisite, requiring Kunooz to ensure critical stock is in place backed up with consignment stock, held in Oman. We have a consignment stock agreement with our key OEM crusher parts supplier.”

“Key to the budget process is the management’s review of the maintenance and rebuild CAPEX programme, ensuring effective scheduling, placing of orders and control of cash flow.

Effectively predicting when key maintenance milestones occur enables Kunooz to ensure plant availability is maintained at levels plus 90 percent for all ages of equipment.”

As reinforced by Scott Watson’s commentary, the most important element to Kunooz Oman is people and the commitment, combined with hard work and loyalty they hold. The employees working in the company’s operations are what makes Kunooz Oman what they are. It is important they receive management support

MINING

to deliver the business goals, with site management and site employees spearheading Kunooz’s frontline.

In this regard, employee safety and welfare is paramount to the company’s culture.

“You have to value your employees,” Scott Watson affirms. “When employees feel valued then they are naturally motivated and committed, thus enabling operations to work like a well-oiled machine, backed up with strong leadership from senior and executive management.”

For Scott Watson, Kunooz is a very employee centric company that rewards hard work and service, and importantly allows workers to improve upon any shortcomings through discussion, training, and collaboration.

“We have an experienced senior management team that lead and oversee company activities, reinforcing Kunooz’s core values inclusive of continuous improvement and teamwork,” he says. “Here in Oman, we have a very multi-cultural expat community complemented by the Omani citizens and so must understand and respect each other’s culture and adhere to the needs and requirements of every one of our employees. Omani employees play a very important role and are being encouraged and trained to step into roles previously filled by expats. This is a policy of the Oman government, and one Kunooz Oman supports through training both formally and on the job.”

With 2021 business activity picking up and still at the head of a new

decade, Kunooz Oman has many plans for the future.

“Kunooz is aiming to expand its profile through reaching out to work with various potential partners,” Scott Watson informs us. “We are focused on growing our mining business and developing additional value-added streams, in gypsum and dolomite coupled with the basalt fibre and cold storage warehousing projects, the future is exciting for Kunooz Oman.”

KUNOOZ OMAN Tel: +968 2422 2600 info@kunoozoman.com www.kunoozoman.com

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AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO.

SETTING THE COURSE FOR

KUWAIT CEO of the Al-Rashed International Shipping Company, Ravi Varrier, discusses the projects behind Kuwait’s leading maritime logistics provider and the challenge of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Eddie Clinton

SUPPLY CHAIN

L

ocated on the fringes of the vast Arabian Gulf, Kuwait is a hub of trade, with a vast amount of the country’s exports comprised of petroleum and petroleum-derived products. The country’s ports, particularly Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City, have long been a strategic centre situated between ancient Mesopotamia and India. Today, Kuwait’s port facilities have expanded in line with an ever-increasing fleet of oil tankers and general cargo ships.

Modern day Kuwait is served by three seaports, Shuwaikh, Shuaiba, and Doha Port. As the lifeblood of economic development, maritime trade plays a key role within the country’s ‘New Kuwait 2035’ vision – a significant investment initiative designed to transform Kuwait’s transport infrastructure to capitalise on its strategic location, with the newest addition to Kuwait’s shipping landscape - the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port on Boubiyan Island – set to become a major new regional hub.

At the forefront of this dynamic space, are Al-Rashed International Shipping Company, offering a complete range of freight services from ship-to-store transportation, customs clearance, forwarding, warehousing and project logistics.

“One of the leaders of the Kuwaiti marine industry is Al-Rashed International Shipping Co., a division of The Al-Rashed Group—a long established trading company founded in 1911 by the late Mr. Abdul Aziz Abdul Mohsin Al-Rashed, from the highly respected Al-Rashed family,” explains CEO Ravi Varrier, who has been with the company for over 40 years.

“As shipping agents, charterer’s, project logistic contractors, and freight forwarders, we take on all types of shipping requirements, from specialised vessels to passenger ferries, freighters, container ships, bulk carriers, RORO (roll-on/roll-off) vessels, naval vessels, cattle carriers, offshore equipment, tugs/barges, oil EME Outlook issue 42 | 135

AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO.

tankers, land services and air freight,” Varrier adds.

Al-Rashed International Shipping Co. represents over 200 principals who perform shipping and airfreight related activities across the globe in all segments. A company of reliable quality, Al-Rashed has been awarded the quality management system certification with UKAS accreditation as per the ISO 9001, 18001 and 14001.

This certification acknowledges the quality system maintenance within the company’s activities of shipping, vessel handling, air and ocean freight, inland transportation, project logistics, warehousing, and integrated supply chain solutions.

PRIDE IN PROJECTS As an international trading company, the roots of the Al-Rashed Group date back to the discovery of oil in the country, led by the vision to further the industrial development of Kuwait from a small fishing village to a major oil-producing metropolitan state. Subsequently, Al-Rashed International Shipping Company has 136 | EME Outlook issue 42

EME Outlook: Could you provide us with some insight into your career to date, and explain how you became involved in the shipping industry?

Ravi Varrier: “My journey of more than four decades from a junior clerk to the Chief Executive Officer of Al-Rashed International Shipping Co., Kuwait was not an easy ride.

“In 1977, at the tender age of 19, I followed my uncle’s footsteps and landed up in Kuwait to pursue my dreams like many other Indians did.

As an inexperienced young man, in a stranger’s land with a different language, diverse culture, and extreme weather it was a task to find a job. I was wandering on the streets, knocking on umpteen doors but my search was ended only when Mr. V P Prasad, a family friend introduced me to Al-Rashed Group.

“44 years ago, I started my career as a junior clerk. I was always determined, eager to learn, and never got bogged down by any shortcomings. I believe that is what took me forward even in unfavourable circumstances.

“Mr. Ghassan Zein, the General Manager then, spotted the fire in me and allowed me to lead. Soon I began communicating with the owners and principals directly. His work ethic, and personality had a great influence on me. I am thankful to the Al-Rashed family to have had me here for over four decades and instilling their belief in me which has grown over the years in leaps and bounds.”

SUPPLY CHAIN participated in major infrastructure and industrial government projects which continues to this day, as Varrier affirms.

“In recent years, Al-Rashed International Shipping Co. has participated in many prestigious key projects involving marine agency and project logistics, including customs clearance.”

Some prominent examples to highlight include Al-Rashed’s involvement in Kuwait’s New Refinery Project (later called Al Zour Refinery Project), Clean Fuels Project between 2006 to 2010, after the company’s principal Jumbo Shipping was awarded a contract with the Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC), to act as a handling agent for the discharge and storage of reactors and separators through the aforementioned Shuaiba Port.

“WE HAVE AN OUTSTANDING RECORD OF PAST SUCCESSFUL YEARS AND A HIGH LEVEL OF EXPERIENCED SHIPPING STAFF WHILST OFFERING SUPERB CUSTOMER SERVICE. AS SUCH, AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. ENJOYS A LEADING EDGE IN THE LOCAL SHIPPING INDUSTRY” - RAVI VARRIER, CEO, AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. Several years later in 2015, Al-Rashed International Shipping Co. continued to provide heavy lift services for the Al Zour Refinery, previously known as the New Refinery Project. This concerns the construction of what is set to be one of the largest refineries in the world, processing mostly heavy crudes with Al Zour set to produce 615,000 barrels a day. The Al Zour refinery is still yet to officially commence operations,

as a result of complications from the pandemic. When the refinery officially comes on stream, Al Zour will lift Kuwait’s total refining capacity to 1.4 million barrels a day, in comparison to approximately 800,000 barrels a day as per the country’s current potential.

Turning to talk of future projects, Varrier hints at potential for various initiatives that will resume once the disruption of the pandemic has run its course.

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AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO.

AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. - ONGOING PROJECTS The Al-Rashed International Shipping Co. are proud to be involved in these key projects, as agents, and then as logistics partners for the following packages: • Al Zour Refinery Package One with TSH JV: Umbrella contract for Offshore and Onshore Logistics.

• ALE Middle East: Marine agency for load/discharge at Shuaiba and Al Zour for Package One. • Al Zour Refinery Package Two and Three with FDH JV: Customs clearance.

• Al Zour Refinery Package Five with HSS JV: Marine agency related and organisation.

• KLNG with Hyundai Engineering: Marine agency related.

• Sheikh Jaber Causeway: Marine agency and logistics with Hyundai Engineering.

• KALI Project with Hyundai Engineering: Marine and logistics.

• Al Zour Refinery with Siemens for delivery and installation of transformers.

• GT Five (Gas Train Five) with Roll Dock for Ship agency and Mammoet for heavy haul deliveries.

• MEW Project as logistics partner for Doosan.

• KOC Al Zour Pipe Line Project for Saipem, handling onshore as well as offshore activities.

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“We do have some significant, interesting and challenging projects in the pipeline and myself and my teams are all geared up to commence this journey. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until our borders are opened again, and the government relaxes the restrictions that have been imposed in various transportation channels,” he explains.

One such project involves the Al-Rashed International Shipping Co.’s participation in the Jurassic Early production facility, which is expected to mobilise during 2022. Located in the north of Kuwait, the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) Jurassic Production Facilities (JPF) will handle the testing, processing and handling of wet and sour hydrocarbon wells fluids from Jurassic Fields. A significant undertaking, the development of northern Kuwait’s Jurassic sour gas fields are key to attaining the country’s gas production target for 2030.

“We are also already involved in the Integrated Offshore Drilling Project with Halliburton Worldwide and COSL ME, to perform shipping agency and logistics services for offshore drilling in Kuwait,” Varrier informs us. In the meantime, the company will continue to handle rig shipments for various clients.

Turning to talk of recent investments, Varrier highlights warehousing as a key new development for the Al-Rashed International Shipping Co, which will also be instrumental in expanding the company’s customer base.

“We are already partnered with key companies who are utilising our services,” Varrier comments. “At the same time, our intention is also to support these services with transport and our own equipment, which remains vital.”

At the foundation of Al-Rashed International Shipping Co.’s heritage are the core values of quality, reputation, customer service and

SUPPLY CHAIN

“OUR VISION IS TO BE AN UNDISPUTED REGIONAL LEADER, PROVIDING UNCOMPROMISING TOTAL LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS THROUGH COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMER SERVICE, EXCELLENCE IN FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE, AND FOSTERING THE SPIRIT OF TEAMWORK AND MUTUAL GROWTH AMONG OUR PEOPLE WITH A DESIRE TO EXCEL” - RAVI VARRIER, CEO, AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. performance. This still rings true today, as the Al-Rashed Group continues to pride itself on being a client focused and service-oriented company.

With a workforce composed of approximately 300 members of staff, Varrier acknowledges the importance of empowering employees, and recognises their individual successes as a reflection of the company as a whole.

“Recognition and appreciation are the keys for quality performance, and also revenue generation which will eventually uplift the national

economy. This may be in either monetary or non-monetary terms – it is something that myself and management personally look in to.

“For instance, a small achievement of a budding employee complimented with appreciation can take that person a long way and contribute to the overall growth of the company,” Varrier explains.

NAVIGATING A LOGISTICAL HURDLE The aforementioned pandemic has posed a significant challenge for the shipping industry on a global scale,

with an unrelenting demand for goods and exports from China in the face of a rising cost of maritime container transport, and a shortage of freight vessels. Stringent COVID-19 sanitation and hygiene measures implemented across ports, logistic centres and storage depots, have contributed to sector-wide bottlenecks resulting in significant delays, contributing to the overall imbalance between supply and demand.

As Varrier comments, “due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire world is affected and so is Kuwait. The constant fluctuation in the number of covid cases means that several restrictions are still in place for the benefit of residents’ health. At times, the rules are relaxed as the number of cases comes down and vice versa.”

“Furthermore, the borders have been closed for more than a year, which resulted in many projects being on hold but still comparatively, the shipping industry has been less affected, and we do expect brighter EME Outlook issue 42 | 141

AL-RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING CO. opportunities and exciting projects to begin in the near future.”

While there was truly “no escape” for Al-Rashed International Shipping Co. in avoiding the impact of COVID19, Varrier credits the long and esteemed history of the Al-Rashed Group as an entity for mitigating any extensive disruption, thanks to its collective strength.

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“Al-Rashed has deeply grounded roots – that’s the reason that we could successfully survive and continue to survive, the storm that is COVID-19.

Al-Rashed is renowned for its unity, so when one division was affected, the other divisions were able to back them up and stand to support them,” he explains.

Leveraging the strength of their

own position to provide aid where it was most needed, Al Rashed International Shipping Co. used their shipping services to transport aid cargo to India in a philanthropic initiative known as ‘Oxygen to India’.

“We take pride in getting involved in projects like ‘Oxygen to India’, where we can help to curb the suffering of innocent people,” Varrier comments.

SUPPLY CHAIN

“Our well-established relationships within official departments in Kuwait, as well as in India, alongside our immensely hardworking staff, made it easier to carry out such critical projects. In this instance, Oxygen to India required deep involvement with the Public Authority for Industry, Kuwait Ports Authority, Kuwait Customs and the Embassy of India.

“Several missions of sea, air, and logistics involving Indian Navy vessels and the Indian Air Force were undertaken throughout May to June, 2021, as part of our aid mission to India patronised by the Government and NGO organisations within Kuwait,” Varrier elaborates.

Within the company itself, the pandemic introduced many changes in working conditions and necessitated an adaptation of strategy.

“We have KPIs in place that are being adapted to the current situation,” Varrier explains with regards to Al-Rashed’s management strategy.

“Our targets will continue to serve the local and international shipping fraternity with flawless services.”

Looking beyond navigating this present logistical hurdle, Al-Rashed have their sights set on expansion.

“We have also identified new opportunities and avenues for growth and expansion, alongside our existing offices in Iraq, Qatar, KSA and Oman, which will also be included in amending our KPI’s and target requirements,” Varrier comments.

Varrier concludes on a note of confidence of the long-term success of the Al-Rashed International Shipping Co., with their ongoing tenure since 1952 serving them in good stead.

“Although various regional and local economic factors will determine the stretch of our growth and expansion for the current and future years, we don’t foresee any issues concerning our own sustainability,” he concludes.

With its growth and development intrinsically linked to Kuwait itself, the Al-Rashed International Shipping Co., bolstered by the collective strength of the Al Rashed Group as its parent entity, is ensured a prosperous future.

AL RASHED INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING kuwait@al-rashedgroup.com www.al-rashedgroup.com

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SOCEP

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SUPPLY CHAIN

O

REDEFINING TRADE IN THE BLACK SEA

As the leading operator at Europe’s fourth largest port, SOCEP have their sights set on expansion. We discuss resiliency and embracing modernisation with General Director, Dorinel Cazacu Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Thomas Arnold

n the Western coast of the Black Sea, Romania’s Port of Constanța has been a nexus of trade since bygone millennia, dating back to the rule of the Roman Emperor that lent the city its name.

Strategically positioned as both a maritime and river port, Constanța benefits as the gateway to three pan-European transport corridors.

Since the late 19th century, the port has been shaped by a ceaseless tide of modernisation. This still rings true today, as intrinsically linked to the history and position of the port itself, are the operators that work in this dynamic arena.

“Now, we are in the process of modernisation, as we are looking for the new youth – to breathe new life into this container terminal,” comments Dorinel Cazacu, General Director at SOCEP. A proudly Romanian enterprise, SOCEP have been a mainstay of Constanța port operations for the past 30 years, during which time SOCEP have cemented a reputation as a leading Black Sea port terminal operator.

Cazacu himself found his way to the helm of operations at SOCEP following a variety of roles that piqued his logistical interest in the maritime industry.

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SOCEP

DCTS Structuri SRL DCTS is an engineering company with high expertise in structural design.

Main activity of the company is construction design and consultancy in engineering services. Through continuous development over time we have the capability to cover a large field of activities such as: • Technical and specifications for all specialties: architecture, structure, plumbing, electrical and HVAC external networks (water, electric, gas), roads and platforms; • Technical expertise and building projects and rehabilitation; • Technical assistance during the execution of design works;

SOCEP OPERATION TERMINALS CONTAINER TERMINAL • 500,000 TEU - annual operation capacity • Two Piers – 51 and 52 • Pier Length – 470 metres both • Water depth – 13.5 metres GENERAL COMMODITY TERMINAL • Three million tonnes of unitised and bulk general commodities – annual operation capacity • Six Piers – 35, 36, 37, 41, 42, and 43 • Pier Length – 220 metres each • Water depth – 13.5 metres A NEW GRAIN TERMINAL Additional to this, SOCEP’s new grain terminal will begin operation later this year.

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“I entered this business for the first time in 2014, after having been involved in many other industries connected with logistics, and supply chain, but also in manufacturing and distribution and many other fields,” he tells us.

Cazacu’s first taste of the marine sector came within manufacturing, where he was responsible for coordinating sales and distribution across the region. When an opportunity arose at SOCEP, the role within supply chain logistics was a natural progression that for Cazacu, represented a satisfying ‘completion’ of his career. As he comments, “I realised the importance of the supply chain within a business in the new era of industry,” and subsequently embarked on his first mandate at the company.

A RELIABLE PARTNER With an annual turnover in the region of €14.5-15 million, SOCEP is the only operator from Constanța to be listed on the Romanian stock exchange. At present, SOCEP operate two principal terminals within the Northern Port of Constanța, with plans for expansion and diversification firmly in place.

• Geotechnical studies (in collaboration with certified laboratories); • Mapping survey; • Projects zoning and detailed urban projects; • Building permits, licenses and approvals, notifications, agreements; • Documentation of auction; • Supervision of construction.

Our working procedure is based on clearly implemented procedures and a project plan which describes all processes in all of the planning phases: Concept, Technical Project for Building Authorization, Execution Project, Detailed Execution Project, Assisting the construction works, As-Built Project.

The company holds three ISO certifications.

• The desire to align ourselves to the highest quality standards in our work; • Concerned with getting the best results for our partners; • Seriousness and professionalism; • Training program to improve people efficiency; • Additional software solutions to improve the way we work.

www.dcts.ro

DCTS is an engineering company with high expertise in designing industrial buildings. Socep project was intended as a two stage project for extending the grain processing capacity to 1.2 million tones/year.

DCTS fulfilled all the designing needs of the client and offered the expertise for the civil works, the power supply plant and network, railway line underpasses, and the outdoor networks of water supply, household, and rain sewerage.

First Stage

The project design was made in 2019 and in 2020 the execution started. This project had two particularities: Building Information Modeling (BIM) was used for the civil works and for the first time in Constanta Harbor, slurry walls were used for the dip diggings.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) was used in order to realize better ways of working for the designers and better outcomes for business and the built works.

Second Stage

The slurry walls were used instead of piles to make possible the diggings in harbor fillings to -10.35 meters with the hydrostatic level of water at -1.00meter. This solution conducted to half a million euro economy in civil works and execution time halved. No other civil engineer put this solution in execution in Constanta Harbor but our designer team reduced all the risks and made it possible.

DCTS Structuri SRL | 5, Duzilor str | 2nd district | Bucharest | Romania M +40 721 308 407 | E office@dcts.ro | www.dcts.ro

SOCEP

Bühler Bühler understands the whole process. A huge part of the world’s grain is processed on their equipment. So they work with companies all over the world, big and small, in many different climates and situations. They are always there to find the right solution for your own plant.

Bühler’s constantly creating more efficient ways of ship loading or unloading, grain conveying, processing, drying, cooling, grading and grain storage. Or introducing new digital services to help increase productivity and quality. For efficiency in every step of your production.

buhlergroup.com/gh

“We have specialised berths for a container terminal, and those specialised for general cargo. By general cargo, I mean, bulk and break bulk. So, we can cover almost all types of cargo that transit through the Port of Constanța,” states Cazacu.

“We operate our general cargo terminal, and a container terminal.

Within the general cargo terminal, we are developing a grain terminal, and now we are also involved in special and project cargo. As such, SOCEP is remaining active in all relevant kind of related activities with the port operation,” he explains.

The development of this new grain terminal represents a €33 million investment in total. “Now we are developing the first phase of this investments, which is €20 million. Our highly modern grain terminal is going to be operational by November – December this year,” Cazacu informs us.

Although the port’s smallest container operator, Cazacu is 148 | EME Outlook issue 42

confident that the relatively small size of SOCEP’s operations can only be beneficial, in allowing greater agility.

As Cazacu quips, “we are big enough for several clients’ needs, and much more flexible.”

“In fact, in terms of numbers of employees, SOCEP is one of the biggest port operators in the Port of Constanța, offering us the chance to benefit from the extensive pool of related competencies and skills.

If we are talking about our areas of expertise and the areas of business that are covered by SOCEP, we are the most complex,” Cazacu informs us.

Indeed, SOCEP’s workforce currently numbers around 400 permanent employees, with a varying number of approximately 40 temporary workers bought on each day.

Cazacu is keen to stress what a valuable asset SOCEP’s workforce are, as the essential backbone of all operations. SOCEP’s employee retention rate and the loyalty that

employees showcase within their tenure at the company, reflect the appreciative working environment that Cazacu endeavours to enforce.

“I want people to be happy and proud that they are part of our transformation as we are talking about investments – without our people, you can’t do anything.

“I would love to convince new people to come to work here, because it’s very telling that more than half of our employees have been with SOCEP for over 20 years. This is capital that I need to keep, whilst also providing younger generations coming to work here the warranty that they are coming to work at a company who are taking steps into the future,” Cazacu comments.

ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS Indeed, it is this backbone of staff who will undergo and effectively action the changes that SOCEP wish to drive within their organisation through their investment strategy– primarily

SUPPLY CHAIN

Your grain is in the best possible hands.

Innovations for a better world.

within digitalisation and sustainable development – as a company that takes pride in its people, culture, and the environment.

“We are working in the digitalisation era, and we need to have the necessary processes. So, we are looking for modern technologies such as automatic processing – mostly we are focused on the medium term on these actions talking about sustainability and growing in this way,” Cazacu comments. “We are always thinking about our carbon footprint and so are looking to modernise our equipment.”

In terms of sustainability, SOCEP endeavour to minimise the movements behind operations through optimisation of productivity.

“There is a new trend with the sustainable economy where everybody is looking to reduce the transport distances – we have some objectives and plans in this area for the future of SOCEP.” EME Outlook issue 42 | 149

SOCEP “WE ACT RESPONSIBLY TOWARDS THE ENVIRONMENT, OUR CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES, BUSINESS PARTNERS, AND SHAREHOLDERS. WE PROMOTE NATIONAL CULTURE AND IDENTITY, BEING MORE CREATIVE AND CLOSER TO THE FIELD IN WHICH WE OPERATE” – DORINEL CAZACU, GENERAL DIRECTOR “We are looking for schemes that are going to improve the productivity in the terminal, that means less movement to manipulate the cargo.

It’s a specific KPI for a container terminal, the average number of movements per container. It’s an objective for everybody and also for SOCEP in order to reduce this average number of movements – because this translates to efficiency – less oil consumption and less emissions. This is the first step,” he continues.

An example of this are SOCEP’s ongoing plans to extend their actual

portfolio of businesses. For example, SOCEP would consider venturing into edible oil logistic and supply chain business through new partnerships and developing a terminal to do so.

Logistically speaking, it is far more efficient to transport the oil itself, as opposed to the seeds used to manufacture it. “We are looking to integrate our agro-terminal with other related operations and businesses and we are open for discussions with potential reliable partners.”

Nevertheless, hurdles prevail that hamper such developments. Whilst

the intentions are there, progress is difficult with limited resources. As such, support is necessary, in the form of partnerships and investments that are reflective of collaborative progress.

“We are looking to make investments, but first, in all honesty, we need grants. In the national programme of development there is an ongoing discussion and we do believe that the strategy of the EU will help us in order to access this, otherwise it is difficult, and we do need some support in order to change and modernise the equipment,” discusses Cazacu. “This requires investment.”

Aside from this, challenges beyond SOCEP’s control have a major effect, such as the deterring cost of tariff charges within the Black Sea region as a whole.

“If we compare our port with Ukraine, for example within grain, since we are now making a modern grain terminal, at Constanța the tariffs

SUPPLY CHAIN

for grain in a silo are about less than 36-40 percent compared to tariffs from Ukraine. This is a policy for the whole port of Constanța that’s tied to its history, but I think that this is going to change because the cost creates a pressure. In the near future, there will be an alignment of the tariffs between the ports,” Cazacu explains.

Romania’s geographical location is another factor that SOCEP seek to overcome through partnerships in more strategic positions related to cargo. “We are currently having discussions regarding different projects with a potential partner, to use and identify the synergies between SOCEP as a terminal and a port operator in the hinterland of the port of Constanța, in those locations that are closer to the cargo – we do estimate that we are going to see future volumes,” Cazacu observes.

“We will not stay in the position that we are – we are looking to make the

step to move forward and meet the cargo.”

LOOKING AHEAD Turning to talk of the future, SOCEP are looking to venture beyond the confines of Constanța.

“Our strategy is to get out of the box – we are going for the cargo; we are not waiting for it to come to us,” Cazacu states.

“We will also continue to develop our container terminal – it’s a continual investment process which started five years ago. Up to now we have invested approximately €11 million, and we will continue with this plan with the changing and modernisation of a new fleet following the sustainability principle.”

For Cazacu himself, his work at SOCEP is far from finished. “Now, I am in my second mandate of three years at SOCEP. My intention is to continue with this since there is plenty to be done, especially after the pandemic,

which made us realise that a lot of changes that are going to occur within logistics and the supply chain, including the ‘cold chain’, which is not very well-developed.

“The world is going to rearrange to answer the new given situation and demands.”

Cazacu ends with his future vision for the company that he hopes SOCEP to become.

“I want to be sure that we at SOCEP are open. Our main goal is not just to keep the company alive, but to revamp somehow and make SOCEP more resilient. We need to be part of the future with those who are one step ahead.”

Tel: +40 374 416142 socep@socep.ro www.socep.ro

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TRUCKOMAN

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eighbouring the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, the country of Oman sits close to a massive oil and gas producing region. Facilitating logistical services and management solutions within the oil and gas space across the country is Truckoman.

Founded in 1978, Truckoman has been serving Oman’s oil and gas industry for more than 40 years.

“We focus on upstream oil and gas logistics, supply chain services, including rig moving, infield logistics, equipment rental and logistics management,” says Chris Fidler, CEO of the company.

MIDDLE EASTERN OIL LOGISTICS “We are the leading provider within Oman and have been moving rigs since 1997.” We speak to Truckoman about the company’s provision of moving solutions for the oil and gas market within the country Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Thomas Arnold

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TRUCKOMAN SERVICES AT A GLANCE MOVEMENT OF LAND RIGS Truckoman’s core activity is the transportation of land-based drilling rigs between sites and across international borders. The company moves rigs and camps for most of the established oilfield services companies in Oman.

CRUDE, CARGO HAULAGE AND PROJECT CARGO Truckoman is recognised throughout the Sultanate as the main supplier of specialised tankers for transport of crude, base oil, chemicals and infield logistics services.

EQUIPMENT RENTAL Truckoman provides rental equipment, especially to support the oilfield activities of customers. This area of expertise is managed by the subsidiary Truckoman Equipment Rental LLC. It offers a tailored service to customers from simple rental through to a service-based agreement designed to protect and support the continuity of the customers’ own operations.

Generally, the company provides equipment with trained and certified operators however it also supplies self-drive equipment for customers.

LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT AND MANAGED SERVICES In today’s competitive world, through the expertise of its management, Truckoman are able to work together with its customers towards driving down their supply chain expenditure, optimisation in the usage of resources and maximise their bottom line. Truckoman has now built on this experience to provide logistics management services. Its newest company, Khazzan Logistics, can provide expert managers, staff or teams to run and improve transport safety, warehousing and logistics management services supported by integrated software based on IVMS data to monitor and control transport flow and thereby reduce the risk of HSE incidents.

Amzone International AMZONE INTERNATIONAL LTD., since 1989, is a comprehensive rigging facility and rope specialist providing powerhouse brands like KISWIRE & MURLINK for all lifting and tackling requirements.

We provide top-class industrywide services to the Oil Offshore, Marine, Ports, Ship Repair, Ship Chandelling, Construction, Piling and Foundation, Elevator, Crane and General Engineering industries and applications.

KISWIRE LTD., established in 1945, a steel wire manufacturing giant, offers an impressive range of steel wire rope products supplying cranes, mooring lines, drill lines, hoist ropes, drag lines and boom lines to name a few applications. With 40 manufacturing plants all over the world, KISWIRE’S annual output capacity is 1.2 million metric tons of high carbon wire making KISWIRE the largest steel wire producer in the world.

In 1997, KISWIRE established a dedicated manufacturing facility for the Oil and Gas sector that holds the Guinness Book of World Record for the “thickest wire rope”, measuring 175mm (6.88in) in diameter.

“MURLINK- the best chain in the world” -synthetic, strong, and longer lasting chain with Dyneema. MURLINK is 80% lighter than equivalent steel chain for equivalent breaking load.

The Möbius link design and the fiber with low friction properties makes it stronger than existing lashing and lifting alternatives. MURLINK’S unique design has passed sand and abrasion tests for 50,000 cycles. It is a tested and certified product that complies to latest safety regulations and comes with an EC marking and an EC declaration of conformity.

www.amzoneinternational.com

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TRUCKOMAN

EME Outlook: Can you tell us about the importance of your employees to the success of Truckoman?

Sabri Al Mandhari, Group CSR and Marketing Manager: “Our forte is the oil and gas industry, and Truckoman goes above and beyond for both its people and its clients.

“The company exceeds the localised levels of requirement for safety, and we stand above our industry peers in this way.

This stems from our quality management team and all of the hardworking employees.

Truckoman recognises the efforts that its people put into the company, for example when COVID-19 began to cause challenges, Truckoman prioritised its employees and retained all of its staff.

“On top of this, the company’s management structure works on a base of hard work and loyalty allowing staff to climb the ranks from the most initial positions to those of top management. Our people make Truckoman.”

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“Our vision is to be the logistics provider of choice for the oil and gas sector in Oman. We will achieve this by providing high quality services, deploying well-trained and motivated staff, and using specialist equipment in a safe environment across our operations.”

Truckoman focuses on achieving a high level of customer satisfaction from its five subsidiary companies: Truckoman Operations South, Truckoman Operations North, Truckoman Equipment Rental, Khazzan Logistics Management, and Khazzan Warehouse Management services.

“The group’s head office is based in Jifnein, Muscat, with operating facilities strategically placed across Oman,” Fidler tells us. “We deliver a high level of operational support with industry leading levels of safety and quality.”

Truckoman has an extensive fleet of heavy equipment, enabling it to provide all of the logistics and transportation support for smooth rig moves across the interior of the country. Trained, qualified and experienced personnel, along with the necessary resources, are assigned to each job to ensure that the move is managed safely and effectively.

MOVING SOLUTIONS Truckoman is one of the largest amid its peers and stands out as a provider of professional industrial moving services.

“We exceed the government requirements and stand out as a company that provides high-quality and reliable services in the field,” Fidler tells us. “We invest in both Omani staff and resources, going beyond what is required by the Omani government, and on top of this we tend to try and are known to provide a higher level of service and commitment to our clients within the industry.

“For a long time, the core of our business activity has been the contracted moving of land rigs, of which we are the leading provider within Oman and have been doing this since 1997.”

Truckoman has been moving rigs for over 20 years and provides logistics support to nearly all the drilling and workover companies working in Oman. Such moves require a great deal of expertise to plan and much heavy equipment to carry out. However, the key to a successful move is the company’s professional rig move supervisors, together with their teams of experienced operators.

SUPPLY CHAIN “WE DELIVER A HIGH LEVEL OF OPERATIONAL SUPPORT WITH INDUSTRY LEADING LEVELS OF SAFETY AND QUALITY” – CHRIS FIDLER, CEO, TRUCKOMAN FROM PAST TO PRESENT

Such teams can be deployed quickly using a mix of local and external expertise. Over time, and in conjunction with clients, Truckoman drives the rapid development of local staff and achieves high levels of operational quality. The capability of its managers and supervisors has allowed the company to take on contracts to provide infield road safety, vehicle inspections and certification, warehousing, infield accommodation and hospitality, special purchasing, materials management and the provision of

workshop facilities. On top of this, Truckoman has grown beyond its original national clientele, as Fidler comments.

“Over the last few years, we have expanded and provided moving services to many other companies including international players, for example BP, Occidental Petroleum, and Schlumberger,” he informs us.

“Our main focus has been placed on these international companies because they require a higher standard of service, and they are prepared to work alongside us to facilitate this.”

Truckoman was established in 1978 with an objective of specialising in three core areas – oil and gas logistics (rig moving) services, supply chain management, and integrated logistics solution.

After more than 40 years of operation Truckoman has developed as one of the leading companies in Oman to provide its clients with comprehensive logistics solutions and to utilise its experience in broadening its activities in other related areas, such as cargo haulage, yard management and warehousing.

Looking to the future, Truckoman has its sights set on widening its current service and solutions offerings, as well as moving the company towards an additional area of the market – downstream oil and gas.

This will open up the company’s ability to facilitate a greater variety of services and allow Truckoman to continue its employee and clientcentric operations throughout this new decade and beyond.

TRUCKOMAN Tel: +968 2230 8800 info@truckoman.com www.truckoman.com

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RELYON NUTEC

Newfoundland Nova Scotia Houston, Texas

Lafayette, Louisiana Houma, Louisiana Ciudad del Carmen Port of Spain

TAKING SAFETY

Macaé Rio de Janeiro

DIGITAL RelyOn Nutec is a global firm dedicated to protecting people, assets, and the environment. CEO Torben Harring discusses propagating competence and compliance through cutting-edge technology Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Nicholas Kernan

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TECHNOLOGY

Trondheim Bergen Oslo Kristiansand

Stavanger Aberdeen

Esbjerg Bremerhaven Maasvlakte Ostend

Teesside Amsterdam Baku

Doha

Dammam Dubai

Prakern Cherating Johor Tuas

Miri Jakarta

Perth

A

n element of risk is common to all industries. To a varying degree, enterprises face a universal need to protect their people, assets, and the environment. Across high-risk industries in particular, the need for a trusted safety and competence provider is paramount.

From its headquarters in Copenhagen, RelyOn Nutec has been at the forefront of serving safety critical industries across the globe for

the past 50 years. Yet for CEO Torben Harring, the industry is a transforming phenomenon, as RelyOn Nutec seeks to constantly adapt to shifting tides in technology, moving forward as a truly digi-physical enterprise.

“A significant part of our growth story here is essentially digitising, and revolutionising the way that we manage learning, skills, compliance and competence across the industries that we serve,” opens Harring.

“Becoming a truly digi-physical business on a global scale – that’s our main objective for the next few years.”

The global enterprise that is RelyOn Nutec today began as a fire-training school in Denmark, subsequently evolving to become the preferred end-to-end partner enabling industries and customers to establish and maintain a safe workplace, leveraging cutting-edge technology to do so.

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1

RELYON NUTEC “We have since developed to having more than 30 facilities in 21 countries across the world, while our capabilities have also developed beyond basic fire and safety survival training to include more advanced technical training and corporate services to help companies better manage their overall competencies,” Harring explains.

Taking this traditional business model and fully embracing digitalisation is a significant undertaking. However, it soon becomes apparent that for Harring, guiding and enabling transformation has been part and parcel of his career history to date.

“I started my career in chemical research, but relatively quickly I transitioned into business strategy and market development. After approximately five years in the chemical sector, I joined an

RELYON NUTEC SOLUTIONS: • Training • E-Learning • Managed Services • Consultancy • Applications • Simulation

“BECOMING A TRULY DIGI-PHYSICAL BUSINESS ON A GLOBAL SCALE – THAT’S OUR MAIN OBJECTIVE” – TORBEN HARRING, CEO, RELYON NUTEC agricultural conglomerate with significant growth aspirations. During 12 years and numerous acquisitions, we grew the company to become one of Europe’s largest in its field, and also one of the largest companies in Denmark.”

Harring first entered the realm of safety training following his secondment into Falck Safety Services to lead the restructuring of the company, as the downturn in the oil and gas industry introduced financial difficulties.

“The business was built on entrepreneurship and multiple different ownership structures, with a much too high cost base and with limited global coherence. It truly called for transformation to become a global company,” he explains.

Now, Harring presides over RelyOn Nutec and its vast global footprint, as the training organisation to serve over 10,000 companies each year – from sole employee contractors to some of the largest high-profile businesses within the safety critical industries across the world.

SAFETY YOU CAN RELYON Offering a full roster of managed safety solutions, RelyOn Nutec is designed to instil peace of mind, with a reputation for being first class in efficiency. Leading with the values of competence, reliability, and sustainability, RelyOn Nutec’s longevity in the sector is instrumental in maintaining the company’s prestigious reputation.

“We have a deep history of delivering compliance and 160 | EME Outlook issue 42

Area9 Lyceum Area9 Lyceum brings together more than two decades of learning research and advanced computer science in its next-generation, adaptive online learning platform for the Energy and Renewable sectors.

With a highly effective tutoring approach, capability gaps and unconscious incompetence are identified and eliminated early and effectively.

Its AI-driven technologies ensure a highly personalized path to mastery and track and redirect the learner to revisit those very same capability gaps over time to reduce memory decay - all backed by performance and metadata on an individual and group level.

area9lyceum.com/relyon

Sparrows Group RelyOn Nutec and Sparrows Group have formed a strategic partnership combining industry-leading safety training and competence management with the globally recognised technical authority in crane and lifting operations. Our training partnership ensures that safety critical lifting training is available around the globe at the highest standards.

The Sparrows Group is a global provider of specialist engineering, inspection, operations, and maintenance services to the renewables, industrial and oil and gas markets. Their multi-disciplined technical capability and broad range of services ensure the reliability and safety of critical equipment and people.

www.sparrowsgroup.com

TECHNOLOGY

Working in partnership to deliver safety critical lifting training around the globe For booking information visit www.sparrowsgroup.com

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TECHNOLOGY competence services with more than 50 years of experience,” Harring comments.

Today, RelyOn Nutec’s breadth of services extends to six different business lines. Through digital safety skills and compliance training, RelyOn Nutec offers various digital learning services, such as e-learning, micro, and adaptive learning.

Alongside this, the company provides outsourced managed services whereby a business can outsource its competence and compliance administration to RelyOn Nutec – and a high-risk industry consultancy.

“Finally, we have a rapidly growing business stream around digital applications, geared towards managing, learning, compliance and competence across the high-risk industries,” Harring adds.

Adjacent to this digital presence are the physical solutions that RelyOn Nutec offers, utilising leading training simulators to deliver safety and technical training to customers worldwide, alongside traditional safety and survival guidance. The combination of the digital applications, with the worldclass facilities and simulators pertaining to the company’s strong physical presence, means that RelyOn Nutec is strategically positioned to serve a global client base, either remotely, or in-person, as suits the need of the customer.

“Our solutions cater and build around a solid past experience – we have combined and leveraged our skills and knowledge into what I would call state-of-the-art digital capabilities, including our digital learning software applications and simulation technology.”

WORLD-CLASS TECHNOLOGY On the topic of technology, innovative partnerships and investments are at the forefront of maintaining RelyOn Nutec’s leading position as a safety innovator.

RelyOn Nutec has developed a

suite of digital applications, designed to create an unrivalled ecosystem showcasing technological agility designed to give its users tailored solutions through several platforms catering to different services.

“Our digital application platforms focus on learning management, employee performance management and operational safety,” outlines Harring. “We have tier one digital services within these three areas that we are bringing to market.

“We have an employee performance management platform, which caters to compliance and competence. Within operational safety, we have a platform catered around permit to work, control of work, and digital procedures for

high-risk industries,” he adds.

These applications work separately but can also combine to create a synergy ultimately designed to advance business. “Our marketleading suite of digital applications offers customers a modular approach to monitoring and managing safety across their business processes to minimise risks,” he adds.

“Utilising these innovative cloudbased technologies, our customers can select the range of applications that fit their business purposes best, revolutionising the way that companies develop and track workforce safety,” Harring concludes.

RelyOn Nutec’s simulators are equally advanced, offering a customisable learning experience for EME Outlook issue 42 | 163

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EME Outlook: What do you believe gives RelyOn Nutec the edge over other market competitors as a leading safety training provider for the high-risk industries?

Torben Harring, CEO: “Our company is built on people with excellent skillsets. We have a multi-cultural background and an international footprint that allow us to serve customers across the world with reliable and consistent quality services. Add to that our cutting-edge simulation, digital learning technologies, and application platforms tailored to reduce risk and manage and educate workforces across industries and build on in-house subject matter expertise, and that is what makes us different – both from competitors, and from other businesses.”

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individuals or crews with immersive experiences and leading 3D visualisation. Such is the quality of the technology behind the simulators, RelyOn Nutec is considered first in the world for dual drilling simulation training.

Within the fields of drilling and lifting in particular, RelyOn Nutec is able to deliver and develop worldclass simulators to the point of need, mimicking real-life safety critical scenarios with the utmost accuracy.

“Our simulation technologies are applied within our own training services, but we also sell externally,” Harring comments.

The final extension of RelyOn Nutec’s developments within digitalisation is the wealth of learning material available through an everexpanding library of e-learning courses.

SUSTAINABLE SAFETY As Harring concurs, “most of our story at the moment is centred around digitalisation and the energy transition.”

Unwavering in its commitment to protecting not only lives, but also the environment, RelyOn Nutec prioritises the environment through its strict alignment with the UN’s ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’, and also through investments. Indeed, many of the

TECHNOLOGY industries that RelyOn Nutec serves operate within the oil and gas sector, with a particular focus on renewable energies.

“Sustainability is kind of built into our purpose – helping customers across safety critical industries to ensure a healthy and safe working environment, by upskilling its workforces and supporting them with applications to manage competence and safety critical processes, thereby avoiding life-threatening situations and protecting assets and the environment thereby.

“We are investing in the growth of the renewable sector, within on and offshore wind in particular,” Harring comments. “In addition to that, we are promoting UN objectives and the agenda for sustainable development and responsible business practices.

“OUR SOLUTIONS CATER AND BUILD AROUND A SOLID PAST EXPERIENCE – WE HAVE COMBINED AND LEVERAGED OUR SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE INTO WHAT I WOULD CALL STATE-OF-THE-ART DIGITAL CAPABILITIES, INCLUDING OUR DIGITAL LEARNING SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS AND SIMULATION TECHNOLOGY” – TORBEN HARRING, CEO, RELYON NUTEC

We have committed to the UN Global Compact, and we are doing annual impact assessments and monitoring our carbon footprint.

“Our corporate social responsibility and ESG (environmental, social and governance) have always been a key focus area for us,” Harring states.

LOOKING AHEAD The key areas of digitalisation and sustainability will continue to occupy

RelyOn Nutec for the years ahead.

“2021 and 2022-23 will continue to be centred around digitalisation, bringing digital services to market that we have acquired throughout 2019-2021, and developing further integration and implementation,” Harring comments.

Leading with the complimentary intersection of reliability and innovation, for RelyOn Nutec, the future is in safe hands.

www.relyonnutec.com

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EVBOX GROUP

EURO ELECTRIFICATION A

s of the past few years, the international manufacture, production and purchasing of electric vehicles (EVs) has swelled in line with a growing global recognition of environmental betterment, and the increasing efficiency and performance of EVs themselves.

And naturally, alongside this rising mass-use of EVs, domestic and public charging points have become a must-have for many households, and certainly a necessity for cities and urban infrastructure - introducing 166 | EME Outlook issue 42

“We are driven by an absolute passion for the sustainable future of transportation.” We speak to Madelein Smit, CIO of EVBox Group, about the company supplying Europe with the most advanced EV charging solutions Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki

EVBox Group.

At the forefront of the EV charging space, EVBox provides flexible charging solutions for businesses and homes, empowering forwardthinking customers to help build a sustainable future. These scalable charging solutions allow businesses to incorporate EXBox’s solutions en masse and completely revamp the way they operate.

“We have over 250,000 charging ports across 70 countries,” Madelein Smit, Chief Information Officer (CIO)

TECHNOLOGY

of the company, tells us proudly.

“Mobility is a key part of our everyday lives and EVs have reinvented the way we travel, especially when you realise that traditional fossil-fuel road transport is one of the largest contributors to global pollution.”

For Smit, this mission of replacing the wide use of traditional fuel use to electrification is at the heart of the company. Founded in 2010, EVBox exists as the oldest EV charging solutions provider in the whole of Europe,

“By 2023, we aim to have installed one million charging ports and will have made an even greater mark on European transport, making it increasingly cleaner and allowing EV charging to be more accessible and supported by infrastructure expertise and software to help customers,” Smit explains to us.

“We are driven by an absolute passion for the sustainable future of transportation.”

And this aim is not simply a distant ideal – it is very much a present need.

AT THE FOREFRONT Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the country serves as a constant reminder of the large-scale issues that man-made environmental issues could cause. 26 percent of the Netherlands itself sits below sea level, and the very real notion of climate change, rising sea levels and flooding forces the nation to think about how people can prevent disasters and coexist with the environment for the betterment of both.

“Climate change is very real for EME Outlook issue 42 | 167

EVBOX GROUP people in the Netherlands,” Smit elaborates. “Cycling is a primary form of transport, and the country is making huge investments in the hydrogen space. It is also presently the country selling the most EVs proportionally.

EME Outlook: Can you tell us why you came to work in the EV charging solutions space?

Madelein Smit, CIO: “Simply put, with the climate crisis being the primary issue that we are having to face I really felt the need to make an impact on the world.

“Last summer, I was asked to join EVBox and I felt like it was the right decision. I sold my company to my business partner in order to enter this fast-moving industry. The EV space is a huge technological area full of cuttingedge innovation – elements of the industry that speak to my curiosity and my DNA. “But more importantly, there are many people in the world who are willing to shift their careers so that they can give back to the environment, and with two children I wanted to do my part to better the future.”

“The Netherlands, alongside the Nordic countries, are taking the EV change very well and has made the EV charging space incredibly exciting.

Amsterdam is effectively the Silicon Valley of EVs.” In order to expand the reach and use of EVs, EVBox offers its customers a full portfolio including hardware, software and services, while boasting one of the fastest charging solutions in the market, as well as employing teams of dedicated professionals who make EVBox what it is.

“We have great R&D facilities that we keep investing in, but the most important and greatest asset we have is our people,” Smit continues. “We ensure that EVBox is an exciting and interesting company to work for in order to attract and retain the best talent in the field.

“We put our people first so that they can put customers first. I think that really makes the difference, and as one of the oldest companies in this industry, our long track record of positive employee experience.”

EXPERTISE IN THE FIELD On top of its teams of experts spearheading the company’s operation within the EV charging 168 | EME Outlook issue 42

solutions space, key business partnerships stand out as another primary driving force behind EVBox’s continental coverage.

“We are only as strong as our network, so our partners are a core element of EVBox,” Smit explains.

“We really have to build and grow these relationships. In IT for instance, we have a great cooperation with Accenture and Salesforce who support our functionality.

“Accenture and Salesforce provide us the ability to scale up our operations, for example scaling up our IT support for our new assembly and distribution plant opening up in Libertyville, Illinois (US), where logistics and organisation in the face of differing time zones becomes an important aspect of the company’s success. We are already the market leader in Europe, and we made a very conscious decision to enter the US. We already have small sales offices in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, but Libertyville will really become the hub of our American operations for distribution, assembly and modular manufacturing.”

Building these relationships is key to EVBox’s ambition towards becoming a platform company and exist as

TECHNOLOGY

ONECHARGERONETREE The OneChargerOneTree initiative was brought to life to celebrate EVBox’s milestone of installing 100,000 charging ports worldwide as of November 2019.

For every new charging port placed, the

First in logistics: Kuehne+Nagel’s Net Zero Carbon programme. www.kuehne-nagel.com

company plants a tree. This initiative has resulted in: • 250,000+ charging ports installed worldwide.

• 160,000 trees planted via this initiative.

• 35,379 trees planted in 2021.

• 48 pounds of CO2 is stored by a single mature tree every year.

businesses that play a critical part in the company’s facilitation of products.

“We are only as good as our supply chain, and our relationships show how dependent we are on each other to provide the best EV charging solutions in the market,” Smit assures us. “We are driven to develop products that fit in an ecosystem of collaboration and facilitation.”

EVBox’s association with external companies also encompasses becoming a part of something larger than itself. Linking directly with a core mission of increasing sustainable transport across Europe (and beyond), EVBox has become a company aiding this mission at the highest levels, as Smit explains.

“Governments and authorities around the world are trying to figure out how they are going to go green and how they are going to deal with their climate goals,” she tells us. “EVBox has partnered with Tesla among a consortium of

20 other companies to put forward proposals to governments regarding the delivery of smart energy, such as solar panels and EVs, in order to build an ecosystem based on large-scale collaboration.”

A DIGITAL FUTURE Having entered the industry as a modern start-up back in 2010, EVBox has the advantage of being established during a progressively digital period, allowing a more seamless integration of digital tools and platforms to help it operate.

“We run a Google Cloud Platform stack for everything, and we can keep refining the way that we support customers,” Smit elaborates. “Since the beginning we have been able to work from anywhere with any device, and especially in the past year this has meant that we have been able to provide this support during a time that was trying for many companies and people.

“It is important to maintain this digital nature as a backbone for EVBox while we scale and grow.”

This scalability is key to EVBox’s current plans for its entrance into the US market; a new frontier for EVBox in the EV charging solutions market. On top of this, EVBox’s aforementioned aim to establish a substantial total of one million charging ports across Europe by 2025, reinforces its sustainability mission that sits at the core of its operations. With this mission at heart and its continual expansion, it is safe to say that EVBox could soon not only be the market leader in Europe, but across the pond as well.

EVBOX GROUP Tel: +44 (0)1908 933921 www.evbox.com

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NSPCC

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TECHNOLOGY

SHIELDING THE VULNERABLE The NSPCC stands at the forefront of child safeguarding across the UK. We speak to Greig Sharman, CTO of the organisation, about its latest developments protecting the vulnerable in the digital realm Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki

Striving to protect children, prevent abuse and transform society through every childhood is at the heart of everything we do at the NSPCC.” The words of Greig Sharman, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the NSPCC, envelop the core mission at the centre of the organisation’s purpose.

The NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) has stood as a non-profit organisation for over a century, having been founded in 1884 as the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (London SPCC). And, after five years of campaigning by the original London SPCC, parliament passed the first ever UK law to protect children from abuse and neglect in 1889. Ever since, the NSPCC has been protecting vulnerable

children from various forms of abuse, providing aid to help children and younger people develop, and joining with other non-profit organisations to bring about the best for the young generations in society.

“We’re always working hard to protect children and prevent child abuse across the UK and Channel Islands, via Childline, our helpline, direct services, collaboration with schools and our local campaigns,” Sharman explains.

“For example, our helpline service is staffed by trained professionals who can provide expert support and advice for any adult who may have concerns about a child, parents who may be seeking advice or professionals in need of information or guidance. And then there’s Childline, a free counselling service where children and young people can talk through their worries confidentially with a trained volunteer counsellor.”

The NSPCC has 12 Childline bases across the country manned by approximately 1,200 volunteer counsellors who work around the clock to be there for the children. And younger people can also get in touch with the service via email or a 121 chat on the Childline website where they can access further EME Outlook issue 42 | 171

NSPCC advice and supportive tools to help them work through whatever it is that’s troubling them.

“EVERYTHING WE DO PROTECTS CHILDREN TODAY AND PREVENTS ABUSE TOMORROW, TO TRANSFORM SOCIETY FOR EVERY CHILDHOOD” – NSPCC EVOLVING AID Part of the course of cruelty prevention is staying ahead of the curve when it comes to the various forms of abuse that can and do occur.

In an increasingly digital environment, and especially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, online issues have come to the fore for the NSPCC and its dedicated workforce. Thankfully, a digital environment also allows the NSPCC to provide online protection to those that need it, as Sharman elaborates.

“Digital change can be a real enabler for both increasing the reach and the impact of the work we do. Ensuring we’re putting children and safeguarding at the heart of those changes and that we collaborate effectively in managing and sustaining the changes is both daunting and challenging, but also a great opportunity to make a real difference.”

EME Outlook: How did you come to work for the NSPCC? Greig Sharman: “Throughout my career I’ve always had a passion for ensuring that people are at the heart of any digital or transformation efforts.

Content+Cloud At Content+Cloud we live and breathe our clients’ success. As a leading digital transformation partner, providing technology solutions, services and support, we help our clients make the most of their technology investments.

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“The NSPCC has been working with Content+Cloud for a number of years, providing critical technical services to our people, enabling our Society to continue to deliver impactful support to the protection of children.

We’ve recently extended the services they deliver and I really look forward to continuing, and developing, this key partnership, as we move forward on our digital transformation journey.”

“Over the years I’ve had the good fortune of working with, and learning from, some exceptional people and with a variety of clients across many different sectors. One of the common threads I have experienced is that when you get the right combination of technical engineering and system development in tandem with the business change, process and ways of working, the benefits and advantages to a client can be significant.

Greig Sharman, CTO, NSPCC

“As a consultant for Accenture and CSC, and more recently working in leadership roles for the University of Leeds and now the NSPCC, achieving this combination is more easily said than done. There are many barriers to executing digital change well and over the years I’ve acquired the ‘scars’ as well as the successes of supporting organisations through their changes.

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“My CTO role at the NSPCC was a great fit for me personally and professionally. It is a new role for the organisation and one where they’re looking to strengthen the delivery of the new NSPCC 21+ strategy using technology - a new approach to the digital. Personally, it is a great opportunity to help strengthen the team, building on the core foundations already in place and putting into practice everything I have learned in previous roles. It also allows me to work in an area that is truly altruistic and provides an opportunity for me to give back. I’m immensely proud of the work of the team and what we do here at the NSPCC.”

How we help the NSPCC succeed: • Service Desk and Desktop Support Services.

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Working hand in hand to keep children safe : proud to be partnering with the NSPCC on their digital transformation journey.

NSPCC

Kin+Carta Childline, the NSPCC-provided counselling service for under-19s, was previously purely telephonebased. 100 volunteers had to manage 15,000 sessions per year.

However, a significant percentage of Childline’s audience naturally gravitate towards digital channels, so it became clear the charity needed to extend the remit to meet their needs.

A further strategic priority was to build in scalability to the provision.

The NSPCC tasked digital transformation specialist Kin + Carta to upgrade the service by eliminating barriers to any child seeking help as limited by age, familiarity with a technology, or in articulating a problem.

“STRIVING TO PROTECT CHILDREN, PREVENT ABUSE AND TRANSFORM SOCIETY THROUGH EVERY CHILDHOOD IS AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO AT THE NSPCC” – GREIG SHARMAN, CTO, NSPCC COVID-19 APPROACH The COVID-19 pandemic forced individuals, families, businesses and entire governments to rethink daily activity to fit the multiple restrictions and lessen the impact of the virus. The NSPCC was no different, and swift adaptation was necessary to ensure that the organisation could still provide protective and preventative measures for children and young people while adhering to the lockdown measures and COVID-19 guidelines.

“Over the past year, we know that children and young people have faced numerous challenges, and for some the pandemic has turned their lives upside down,” Sharman acknowledges. “Many have struggled with their mental health and wellbeing due to issues such as local lockdowns, school closures, cancelled exams, a separation from support networks and isolation from family 174 | EME Outlook issue 42

and friends. Whilst others have spent months on end trapped behind closed doors in unsafe homes.

“Therefore, it was vital that we continued to be here for children and young people as a source of support for those who had nowhere else to turn.”

During this period, the NSPCC Childline service continued to be a lifeline and vital listening ear for thousands of children and young people despite the reduction in volunteer numbers due to social distancing measures and selfisolation. The helpline also remained for adults who spoke of concerns of increased risks of abuse and neglect that some children were facing whilst at home, out of sight from other trusted adults in their life.

On top of this, many of the NSPCC’s services adapted and developed so that they could be delivered online.

In 2016, Kin + Carta updated the Childline website to make it more responsive and user-friendly. It also digitised the telephone counselling service, making it accessible as a 24/7 online chat channel. The chat function precedes counselling calls to gather background information and assesses the emotional state of the caller. This means counselors are better prepared to make the most of the time available and define personalised follow-up activity.

75% of all contacts are now handled online and are thus pre-qualified.

This unlocks efficiencies that allow the charity to do more with less and - crucially - without adversely impacting the experience for its vulnerable audience.

The value of the future-facing project became apparent during the pandemic. The number of child abuse referrals by the NSPCC increased by 79% by the end of 2020, thankfully Childline’s digital framework was able to scale to the unprecedented growth in demand.

kinandcarta.com

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Building a world that works better for everyone.

NSPCC

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EME Outlook: How important are the people behind the NSPCC? Greig Sharman: “We’re only as good as our people and finding opportunities every day to both support and give them agency in the work we do as a charity is crucial.

“Everyone I’ve met at the NSPCC is committed to our mission.

It’s great to see the passion and dedication that our people demonstrate in support of what we do. For me, we need to build on this, ensuring everyone can see how their specific role is translated into how we protect children.

“One of the first things I did for my team was run a ‘Communications and Engagement’ survey to see how people wanted to be recognised and how best we come together and celebrate as a team. This is increasingly more important as we shift away from in person working and ensuring we don’t lose the value of those often simple human exchanges.

I think a genuine and authentic ‘thank you’ can go a long way.”

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“AT THE NSPCC, MAKING THE INTERNET A SAFER SPACE FOR CHILDREN IS A PRIORITY FOR US AS AN ORGANISATION AND WE’RE DOING ALL WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS” – GREIG SHARMAN, CTO, NSPCC Exemplifying this is the organisation’s School Service that hosted two virtual assemblies on Facebook with guest hosts Ant and Dec so children and young people could still receive vital information about how to speak out and stay safe is something was worrying or upsetting them.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION With the digital realm becoming so critical to the future development of the organisation and its mission, the NSPCC and its existing technical teams have been putting in place the foundations that both stabilise the underpinning technical environment and provide a basis from which to transform and develop.

“The team have done a great job over a number of years to get us into better shape, focusing on

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the internal technical environment, coinciding now with my appointment and the publication of our new 21+ strategy,” Sharman continues. “There are still many challenges ahead but there is appetite at all levels of the organisation now that a new approach to developing and adopting digital capabilities can really strengthen the work we do, starting to shift the focus from ‘internal’ to ‘external’, and to define an aspirational and ambitious vision for what I’m calling our ‘Digital Plan’.

“The case for change is clear, and we have some great capabilities, joining them up now into a coordinated programme of work and sustainable development over many years will be hard and requires further support and investment from a broad group of people and partners, but the first step towards digital transformation has been made, and there is now a long and exciting journey to be charted ahead of us.”

TECHNOLOGY

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EME Outlook issue 42 | 177

NSPCC

178 | EME Outlook issue 42

TECHNOLOGY

NSPCC PARTNERS The NSPCC’s partner ecosystem is a real extension to the capabilities of the organisation’s internal teams.

The partners provide both scale and a more cost-effective ways of providing specialist capabilities. The challenge the organisation often has in the technology sphere is that there are many external bodies that wish to get involved and help the NSPCC.

According to Sharman, the NSPCC aims to become more responsive to the many offers of help it receives from both formal and informal organisations. In order to be successful and deliver the organisation’s mission, the NSPCC needs to establish how best to work with partners to bring about the best service possible, and this is something the charity will continue to develop.

“The key question then becomes, ‘how best do we engage and direct these suppliers into the specific areas of need, ensuring it is managed and aligned with a target architecture and operating model?’,” Sharman tells us. “As part of our digital plan I’m currently looking to review our supplier and partner landscape, strengthening longer term relationships but also building a service integration capability that allows us to move with greater agility and better manage partners into the areas of need.”

The NSPCC is a varied and complex organisation, with many different services and products coming underneath the NSPCC umbrella. This, combined with a sizable ‘volunteer’ and ‘supporter’ network of people and organisations that provide a valuable contribution to how it works, results in the complexity of aligning the human, data, process and technical landscapes across these various moving parts, as Sharman elaborates.

“There are a number of significant programmes currently in flight which will start to better shape how we operate and deliver services, and alongside a refreshed leadership team and some new executive

appointments including my CTO role, we can better integrate the objectives and changes across society,” he informs us. “In the future, I’m really looking forward to the conversations we are going to have regarding our operating model and finding the areas where we can be both digitally enable, but also digitally lead, in delivering on our mission.”

THE FUTURE OF PROTECTION AND PREVENTION The NSPCC are currently undertaking a broad engagement which is looking to define the ‘Digital Plan’ for the entire organisation. With a number of work streams across security, data, technology, and with an operating

model, the NSPCC is aiming to create a set of plans that demonstrate how it embraces the power of cloud technology; how the organisation integrates experiences; how it connects and secures an extended technical landscape; enhances productivity; uses the power of data to become a more data-informed organisation, and ultimately how best the organisation drives the outcomes that delivers its mission.

“THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION HAS BEEN MADE, AND THERE IS NOW A LONG AND EXCITING JOURNEY TO BE CHARTED AHEAD OF US” – GREIG SHARMAN, CTO, NSPCC “I’m hoping over the next few months we’ll have version one of our digital plan, which will then be fully integrated into the ongoing strategic planning process across the society,” Sharman says. “It will be the first statement of intent that aims to describe the role of the digital in delivering an ambitious strategy for the NSPCC, and I’m really looking forward to the conversations we then need to have with current and prospective partners to help us deliver on it.”

The incorporation of this digital plan represents a new digital forefront for the NSPCC to aid in the protection and support of vulnerable children, young people and families across the UK and Channel Islands, in the present and for the tomorrow.

Tel: 020 7825 2505 www.nspcc.org.uk

EME Outlook issue 42 | 179

CIS GAZ

Energising

ROMANIA

A family business with ambitious plans for expansion, Sebastian Călugăr, CEO of CIS GAZ reflects on the firm’s development at the forefront of Romania’s oil and gas industry Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Nicholas Kernan

We have evolved from a family business, regionally positioned, to becoming a national and international supplier and partner in strategic infrastructure projects,” opens Sebastian Călugăr, CEO of Romanian energy company, CIS GAZ. Since the company’s inception in 1990 as one the first privately funded companies in Romania, CIS GAZ are now celebrating 30 years of 180 | EME Outlook issue 42

operation. Founded by Ioan Călugăr, Sebastian is the third generation of the Călugăr family to take the helm, after following in his father’s footsteps and working his way up from the position of administrative clerk.

“The most valuable business lessons I’ve ever learned came from working in the family business,” Călugăr comments. “Growing up in an entrepreneurial environment has helped me in more ways than sparking

a passion for business at a young age. I believe that my passion for this industry came naturally.”

Following the liberalisation of Romania’s gas market in 2004, Călugăr was positioned in charge of the company’s gas supply division, leading to CIS GAZ becoming a licensed supplier of natural gas and petroleum products in 2005.

“Our headquarters are in Mures County whilst the commercial office is situated in Bucharest, but we also have multiple job sites where we are present like Timisoara, Craiova, Onești, Bacău, Iași, Chisinau, and the Republic of Moldova,” Călugăr explains.

During the company’s nascency, CIS GAZ was primarily involved in providing construction-assembly services for natural gas pipelines.

ENERGY & UTILITIES

Today, the company has evolved to comprise four business divisions, namely, power and gas, EPCC infrastructure, maintenance and integrity of pipelines and installations, and finally the distribution of solutions and equipment for the oil and gas industry.

CIS GAZ’s primary activity concerns the construction and assembly of pipelines and installations in infrastructure projects for the collection, storage, transport, and distribution of natural gas, water, and crude oil.

“We cover the entire spectrum of engineering and construction projects from design, engineering to procurement and construction, manufacturing, installation, testing, and putting the projects into operation,” Călugăr informs us.

AT A GLANCE: CIS GAZ PRODUCTS AND SERVICES CONSTRUCTION – Installation of pipes, gas and crude oil injection and collection pipelines, gas transmission and distribution pipelines, surface technological installations, gas measuring and control stations.

PIPELINE INTEGRITY – Mechanical cleaning and intelligent pipeline inspections, hot tapping and under-pressure plugging technology, relining pipes with Thermoflex and Primus line, interior coatings with epoxy resins, rehabilitation and relocation of pipelines, corrosion consulting and management services.

EQUIPMENT AND SOLUTIONS – Pigs, fuel tanks, T.D. Williamson, Thermoflex IBH, Primus Line.

GAS SUPPLY – CIS GAZ are able to manage gas deliveries through transmission and distribution networks, subject to the needs of their customers.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 181

CIS GAZ “Currently, the company specialises in providing integrated solutions and services in the energy sector at the highest standards of quality according to the relevant certifications obtained in the field. Our client base is both large and diverse, ranging from state institutions to private companies including Transgaz, Vestmoldtransgaz, Petrom, Moldova Gas, and Strabag,” he expands.

“Our products and solutions for the oil and gas industry are designed to maximise our customers’ operations, whether they are in the exploration and production, transportation, or distribution segment.”

A TIME FOR TRANSFORMATION Despite the company’s ongoing success within Romania’s energy industry over the past 30 years, CIS GAZ refuse to rest on their laurels and take a proactive approach to adapting and innovating their range of services and solutions to remain relevant to the modern energy landscape.

“In the next 10 years, we presume a radical transformation of the industry, convergence, and many new entrants,” Călugăr observes. As such, CIS GAZ today stands at the dynamic precipice of major change.

Whilst consolidating their position within Romania’s energy market, CIZ GAZ are also pursuing a restructuring of the company and implementing a new organisation system, adding new branches of service from existing business lines “Currently, we are implementing a new organisation system holding type: CIS GROUP, which will enable regional and international expansion.

“For example, one of the companies from CIS GROUP, CIS TRADING, inaugurated its permanent establishing office in the Republic of Moldova at the beginning of 2021, after obtaining the license to supply natural gas and electricity from the National Agency for Energy Regulation,” he adds.

182 | EME Outlook issue 42

The implementation of CIS GROUP will drive growth into international markets, whilst retaining the company’s status as a proudly Romanian enterprise.

Exploring new avenues and guiding growth is also CIS GAZ’s relatively recent venture into the solar photovoltaic industry. Although the company have operated a solar park in Mures County for over eight years, CIS GAZ anticipate “interesting results” in this area that are yet to be fully revealed, particularly now that lower investment costs and access to co-financing from European funds are facilitating the growth of the industry.

The growing market for clean energies is also a focus for CIS GAZ

within their power and gas division.

“We offer products and solutions for environmentally compatible systems like new solar farms, cogeneration, but also special projects where we focus on using natural gas mixed with hydrogen.”

KEY PROJECTS CIS GAZ’s prowess within Romania’s oil and gas sector is evidenced by their roster of past and ongoing projects. The company continues to play an active role in supporting the development of the national gas transmission for 2020 to 2029, which concerns the connection of local communities to the natural gas network.

EME Outlook: Congratulations on reaching your 30th anniversary! How has CIS GAZ developed and progressed since its inception 30 years ago?

Sebastian Călugăr: “Since 1991, the construction and assembly division of the company has carried out over 1,200 kilometres of gas transmission and distribution pipelines, more than 100 gas measurement and regulation stations, has rehabilitated almost 150 kilometres of pipelines utilising re-lining methods, as well as providing numerous surface equipment for compression and dry natural gas.

“Our performance is also generated by the accelerated development of the natural gas supply division, set up in 2005 against the background of the liberalisation of the market. This is reflected in the results achieved, with CIS GAZ currently having more than 3,000 business and end customers, with an annual volume of approximately 180 million cubic metres of traded natural gas.

“Taking the road of gratitude and reflecting on the past 30 years, along with our exclusive partners we have had a nice and steady journey, scoring fundamental steps in our development.

“For more than 11 years we have been an exclusive distributor in Romania and Moldova for a complete range of products and solutions of internationally renowned companies such as T.D. Williamson – a company that we have managed to implement numerous projects to date. We are also exclusive representatives of the Primus line – Germany and Flow (actual Baker Hughes) – FPS onshore. Looking back, I believe that these sustainable partnerships have ensured us industry-specific know-how, adapting it to the needs of the local market.”

ENERGY & UTILITIES

The main object of activity of CIS GAZ consists in the construction and assembly of pipelines and installations in infrastructure projects for the collection, storage, transport and distribution of natural gas, water and crude oil

EME Outlook issue 42 | 183

CIS GAZ

“Over 30 years of activity, we have been happy to realise that the secret to our business success lies in our partners, clients, and team, but also the long-term relationships with them” – Sebastian Călugăr, CEO, CIS GAZ

With regards to past projects, CIS GAZ are also particularly proud of their involvement in improving the supply of natural gas to the Republic of Moldova.

“One of the most important projects in the company’s history is the extension of the Inter-connector Iași– Ungheni – Chisinau (phase II, lot I and lot II). As well as improving the supply of natural gas to the Republic of Moldova, we have also increased the transportation capacity, thanks to CIS GAZ’s construction of the gas transportation pipe DN700 Onesti – Gheraesti – Letcani (Lot I and Lot II and V are currently in progress, concerning five gas regulating and measuring stations),” Călugăr informs us.

“Furthermore, this pipeline will contribute to the sustainable development of the national economy 184 | EME Outlook issue 42

of the Republic of Moldova, providing a mechanism for the sustainable development and connection with the European energy market. The project creates a transparent and

competitive energy market, especially by supplying gas from Romania to the Republic of Moldova, in the context of the need for the diversification of gas sources in the country.

ENERGY & UTILITIES “The extension of the interconnector from Ungheni to Chisinau is also a major objective for the Moldovan energy sector.

Its connection with the gas market in Romania and the European gas market is the first step toward reducing energy dependence, by means of diversification of energy sources and routes, thus strengthening the country’s energy security,” he elaborates.

Additionally, Călugăr highlights the DN700 Onești - Gherăești - Lețcani natural gas transmission pipeline as an instrumental development in advancing natural gas supply across north-eastern Romania whilst also providing additional volumes of natural gas for the Republic of

Moldova. As Călugăr expands, “Within this project, CIS GAZ performed the following works: the construction of a new natural gas transmission pipeline DN 700, Pn 55 bar, in the direction of Oneşti – Gherăeşti (LOT I) at a length of 104.1 kilometres; (the route of this pipeline will be largely parallel to the existing DN 500 Oneşti – Gherăeşti pipelines), and the construction of a new natural gas transmission pipeline DN 700, Pn 55 bar, on the direction Gherăești – Lețcani (LOT II) at a length of 61.05 kilometres. This pipeline will replace the existing DN 400 Gherăești – Iaşi pipeline on the Gherăești – Lețcani section.”

LOOKING AHEAD Since their inception, CIS GAZ have been dedicated to both innovation and performance. It comes as no surprise that these two principles will continue to propel the company forward.

“Our strategy pursues growth, and we are focusing on creating value in an uncertain and volatile environment.

When mapping our future in the oil and gas ecosystem for 2022-2024, we try to take into consideration many things, but some of the main objectives include focusing on the development of new capacities for solar energy production, the complete digitisation of supply activity, but also the development of new gas distribution systems, including the supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) to industrial consumers,” Călugăr explains.

With a diversified portfolio catering to the many challenges of a dynamic market, CIS GAZ will continue to energise generations to come.

Tel: 0800 420 444 office@cisgaz.ro www.cisgaz.com

EME Outlook issue 42 | 185

LAHTI ENERGY

Nordic ENERGY Providing sustainable district heating in Finland, we speak to Jouni Haikarainen, CEO of Lahti Energy, about the company’s progressively green mission for carbon neutrality Writer: Marcus Kääpä Project Manager: Nicholas Kernan

E

urope is a leading continental player in the global sustainability sphere.

From cities such as Copenhagen (Denmark), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Helsinki (Finland), Berlin (Germany) and Vienna (Austria), that are each some of the most sustainable destinations in the world, to industry developments such as green steel, promoting environmentally friendly practices is at the forefront of European development.

Finland stands out as one country that is a key promoter of such practices.

As well as having been deemed the happiest nation in the world, its city of Lahti has also been awarded as Europe’s Green Capital 2021.

Lahti not only aims to 186 | EME Outlook issue 42

become completely carbon neutral in the next few years but has already implemented its greener mission across the board. This ranges from industrial scale sustainable methods to individual CO2 budgets amongst inhabitants to help reduce carbon emissions and increase greener and healthier forms of travel, all the way to domestic green energy usage.

And Lahti Energy is one of the fundamental elements to the provision of the latter. Lahti Energy is a subsidiary of the City of Lahti and acts as a versatile and environmentally responsible energy company, with its main products being generating and supplying electricity and district heating that are produced at its two power plants within the area, which are almost 100 percent based on renewable energy.

In its heat production processes, the company uses small power plants located in different parts of the distribution network, as well as peak and backup district heating centres predominantly during the winter season.

Over 90 percent of people within Jouni Haikarainen, the Lahti area live CEO, Lahti Energy in housing connected

ENERGY & UTILITIES

LAHTI ENERGY

LAHTI ENERGY AT A GLANCE Through its associated company Oomi, Lahti Energy sells electricity throughout Finland. The company supplies district heating to its own network in Lahti, Hollola and Asikkala. In addition to Lahti and Hollola, the company’s electricity transmission network also extends in part to the municipalities of Iitti and Asikkala. Lahti Energy’s subsidiary LE-Sähköverkko Oy takes care of matters related to electricity transmission.

• The length of the company’s electricity network is 4,801 kilometres.

• The length of its district heating network is 710 kilometres.

Lahti Energy supplies its customers with high-quality and competitive energy as well as various energy-related services. It invests in producing environmentally friendly, renewable energy. Among other things, the company has built the world’s first gasification power plant using energy waste as fuel.

Lahti Energy’s own production uses recycled fuel, certified wood, biogas and, in severe frosts, natural gas. Through its associated companies, it has shares in hydropower, wind power and nuclear power. The amounts and ratios of the use of different fuels vary from year to year.

Lahti Energy employs approximately 200 employees on a permanent basis.

to the district network allowing the company to supply the vast majority of people with domestic green energy.

“The industry in Finland as well as globally is quite exciting and interesting. There are a lot of things going on in the energy industry at present,” begins Jouni Haikarainen, CEO of Lahti Energia.

“When you look back 10 years a lot has changed. The energy efficiency business is growing fast and this goes alongside heavy investments within the space.”

Haikarainen’s path into the energy sector began at university, where he graduated in Energy Engineering in 1990. Afterwards he took up the position of Consulting Engineer becoming part of a variety of projects for energy companies as well as heavy industrial firms.

As part of his consulting career Haikarainen spent time working in Portugal before moving back to 188 | EME Outlook issue 42

Radscan World-leading flue gas condensation: “Makes CHP plants 25 % more efficient” As much as 1 GW of heat - 1000 MW – supplied by the around 80 reference plants that have installed Swedish company Radscan’s world-leading fluegas condensation since the 90s.

– The energy yield from the CHP plant is increasing by 25 % while the investment amounts to less than five percent of the total investment cost, says Helena Roos, CEO of Radscan in Sweden. She continues: – The repayment period is only a few years, and Radscan’s plants have a normal lifespan of at least 30 years.

Radscan has been developing flue gas condensing since 1999, and today they have about 80 reference plants.

- Radscan’s flue gas condensation means that the CHP plants yield more heat from the same amount of fuel. The temperature of the flue gases emitted is decreased from 160 to 50 degrees. The difference is emitted as heat and used in central-heating networks.

Värtaverket in Stockholm is Radscan’s largest plant, producing up to 100 MW, but Radscan also prioritizes smaller plants.

Each flue gas condensation is tailored to the specific CHP plant.

Radscan has unique specialist knowledge. The company’s experts have actively developed the technology since it was first introduced in the 80s.

- We know that poor quality is expensive, and we receive numerous requests to replace other suppliers’ “cheaper” variants that didn’t last as expected.

Radscan’s plants are sustainable. We take no shortcuts at the expense of quality, Helena Roos concludes.

Flue gas condensation reduces the total payoff time on the entire cogeneration plant, says Helena Roos, CEO of Radscan in Sweden.

No plant is too big or too small for a Flue Gas Condensation from Radscan.

In Lahti KYV03 Radscan has delivered equipment for cleaning the condensate from flue gas condensation to fully de-ionized make-up water and utilized for high pressure steam generators.

Radscan always takes full functional responsibility of the delivered plant.

Proud supplier of Flue Gas Condensation Since 1999, Radscan has delivered “Turn-key” projects with Flue Gas Condensation, Combustion Air Humidification, Heat pumps, Waste Water Treatment and Makeup Water Treatment to Power Plants and other industries in Nordic and Europe.

To Lahti Energia Oy KYV03 project, Radscan’s delivered plant contributed with an additional 25% energy recovery on top of Boiler output.

Never hesitate to contact us if you want to learn more about what can be done at Your plant.

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LAHTI ENERGY Finland and becoming a Production Director for energy company E.ON Finland. From here he was given the opportunity of becoming Vice President at Fortum, before becoming Senior Vice President of Gasum Oy, both positions totalling over 14 years in the energy sector.

“In 2020 I joined Lahti Energia as CEO,” Haikarainen tells us. “I started in the energy industry and it has interested me ever since.”

Lahti Energy prides itself on providing CO2-free energy on a mass scale. In 2020, the company commissioned a biomass boiler that has enabled Lahti Energy to provide CO2-free heat to the city.

“We are also continuing our investments into wind power as a part of increasing our power portfolio,” Haikarainen informs us. “There are actually two other companies through which we are partnering to develop wind power plants for the increasing development of sustainable energy.”

What keeps these progressive projects moving forward is Lahti Energy’s many suppliers and employees.

“It would not be possible to run our business without reliable partners and suppliers,” Haikarainen affirms. “Our service stems from well-known and reliable partners.

“In Finland during winter months the temperature can often drop to –25 degrees. This means that everything has to work reliably, and if something goes wrong then we and our partners have to be able to react swiftly. This encompasses the whole region and is the number one priority for us and our customers.”

It is the highly professional company staff who ensure that risks and problems are limited throughout the company’s operation. Lahti Energy continuously develops in every aspect of its operations and recognises that its employees are the ones keeping the company moving forward, with clear management

ROXON ROXON has a longtime partnership with Lahti Energia, providing maintenance services to their systems.

We have ample experience managing the lifecycle of the equipment of our customers to provide higher occupancy rate. This comprises the supply of equipment, components, spare parts, modernization and condition monitoring.

ROXON is a valued supplier in the bulk material handling industry. We offer a wide array of equipment, project work, conveyor components and customer services. With professionality, experience, and innovative technology we deliver the best results, keeping the systems of our customers running and competitive.

www.roxon.com

Recion DEMANDING ENERGY SOLUTIONS High pressure power piping solutions have been Recion Ltd’s core business for several decades.

Recion can provide complete turnkey high pressure piping deliveries consisting of detail design, materials, prefabrication and installation to modern combined cycle and nuclear power plants.

Nordic location in Finland requires solutions to bear extreme circumstances. There is need to take extra measures to ensure high standards of the products and work.

Therefore safety, sustainability and quality are the the main values that Recion promotes.

Recion – Niche expertise in highpressure piping solutions

Recion.com

190 | EME Outlook issue 42

ENERGY & UTILITIES

EME Outlook issue 42 | 191

LAHTI ENERGY

LAHTI ENERGY’S CORE VALUES Lahti Energy is committed to providing high quality service to its customers and recognises its responsibilities. It adheres to its company values and adheres to ethical principles in all its activities, such as accountability, transparency and fairness.

The company’s commonly agreed goals contribute to the well-being and sustainable development of both people and the environment.

OUR VISION In 2025, Lahti Energy will be a profitable and progressive energy group. It aims for carbon neutrality.

OUR STRATEGY The company’s goal is profitable growth, which it achieves with satisfied customers, efficient processes and quality products, even outside its traditional business area.

Lahti Energy’s strengths are optimised cogeneration and motivated professional staff. The company takes advantage of networking and prepares for the future with a diverse range of fuels and reliable distribution networks.

192 | EME Outlook issue 42

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ENERGY & UTILITIES

Leading your project to comprehensive success info@fimpec.com, more info www.fimpec.com

targets to guide each individual in their important work.

Alongside the quality management of company employees, which includes celebrating meeting company targets, safety is paramount for Lahti Energy.

“All our activities strive to create a completely safe work environment

from which all parties involved return home healthy and with positive wellbeing,” Haikarainen tells us. “This is a vital aspect of our company.”

Lahti Energy promotes a sustainable modern world above all else. Yet as a people centric company it also ensures that it gives back to the local community.

The company provides sponsorship to a variety of youth sports clubs and events. It also supports local schools and educational institutions by promoting entrepreneurship with pupils and students.

Into the future, Lahti Energy aims to develop and introduce new products for the district heating customer, on top of improving its service so that the company can better respond to the heating market competition.

Spearheading the sustainable energy frontier in Finland, Lahti Energy is well worth keeping an eye on in this increasingly progressive, innovative and green decade.

Tel: 029 000 8000 viestinta@lahtienergia.fi www.lahtienergia.fi

EME Outlook issue 42 | 193

THE FINAL WORD To round off each issue, we ask our contributing business leaders for their views on the same question

How is technology helping to transform your industry?

Greig Sharman Chief Technology Officer, NSPCC “Organisations need to be creating what I call a ‘Data Backbone.’ Fundamentally, your organisation needs to find a way to remove the friction from the generation of structured and unstructured data into the subsequent scalable application of changes, product development or improvements.

“With a focus on the delivery of specific business goals, building data-driven projects that establish these technical capabilities with appropriate data governance that is integrated with process is key because a pragmatic and outcome-focused approach can deliver significant benefits. These capabilities are already quite mature in other sectors, and most of the third-sector organisations I’ve spoken with have already started or are beginning to see early benefits from these corporate data programmes.”

Keith Brewis International Development Partner, Grimshaw “We, as a practice, have put a lot of time and thought into the use of immersive technologies in architecture, both in the design process and in terms of client engagement. We have a dedicated team of XR specialists that span a gamut of industry backgrounds, whether it is architecture, the gaming industry or other areas, that look to develop solutions for us to utilise virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality and more across products and projects of different 194 | EME Outlook issue 42

sizes, scales and differing stages of development. This is because it’s critical, and not just to the design generation stage of projects, but for the future of architecture.”

Ravi Varrier CEO, Al-Rashed International Shipping Company “We’re currently in a digital technological world and ignoring it would be a mistake for any industry.

As the world evolves each day, it brings with it numerous opportunities that are being created in this digital world that are aligned with such technologies and giving equal importance to human interaction, which is the strategy we are steering towards.”

Vladimir Spasov Managing Director, M + S Hydraulic “Technology for the production of our products has been developed and upgraded over the years. However, technology is also continuously changing the landscape of business and industries generally. The ever evolving and adaptive nature of tech-

nology is the central force behind the transformation of the business world.

“Technology in business is encompassing a wide range of hardware, software, and services and it is playing a significant role in changing every aspect of the business industry.

Smart use of technology is helping small to big-sized companies to stay ahead of the competition by improving communication, making employees more efficient, and by enabling them to tap into effective marketing channels.

“Today, organisations are using custom software, web applications, ERP solutions and database solutions to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of operational activities.

Technology adoption is a powerful and less expensive option for companies to gain a core competitive advantage.

Accounting software, emails, customer relationship management applications are enabling entrepreneurs to use their time efficiently and technology is playing a critical role in different phases of the business industry.”

Are you a CEO or a Director with a company story to tell?

Contact EME Outlook now!

The future of façade engineering...

STATICUS

CONSTRUCTION

See page

36 32

THE FACE OF FUTURE URBANISATION Unique, smart, sustainable; headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Staticus are the innovators of façade manufacturing. We discuss operations with CEO, Aušra Vankevičiūtė Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Sam Love

Aušra Vankevičiūtė

B

y 2025, 75 percent of the global population will live in cities, translating to over six billion people. Within today’s construction sector, innovation and sustainability are the prevailing factors that will lay the foundation for cities of the future, as the foundational concepts to create harmony between human beings living and working in an urban environment.

Adjacent to the advent of ‘smart buildings’, the market for façade engineering has grown from a niche industry to a significant field within the construction sector. Across the global market, the façade industry is projected to reach a valuation of $336.6 billion by 2028, with the European segment a major contributor to this dynamic growth.

As the skin to coat a building, facades play a fundamental role in bearing the brunt of the elements and protecting the building, determining the structure’s long-term behaviour. Yet as technology advances, these ‘climate skins’ are becoming increasingly intelligent, harnessing light, ventilation, shade, and temperature to create spaces that deliver energy efficiencies.

STATICUS

CONSTRUCTION

STATICUS PROJECT: VIA VIKA, OSLO, NORWAY

Via Vika

CATEGORY: Commercial (offices) TECHNOLOGIES: Closed Cavity Facades (CCF), Single skin facades FAÇADE AREA: 20,000 metres-squared ENERGY EFFICIENCY: A-Class of digitalisation. Another landmark 2020 achievement, the company’s increasing focus in this area meant that 56 percent of Staticus’ processes were effectively digitalised.

Digitalisation plays an increasing role in the execution of projects, contributing greater efficiency whilst strengthening collaboration and knowledge sharing. One such example being implemented within Staticus’, ‘Smarter Work’ strategy, launched last year, is the use of the Dalux new quality management tool. Marrying the company’s environmental concerns whilst achieving greater efficiency, the tool tackles the waste of paper in printed workshop drawings and checklists during production, resulting in a saving of 100 kilogrammes / 20,000 sheets of paper.

2 | EME Outlook issue 42

CERTIFICATES: BREEAM-NOR Certified ‘Excellent’ AWARDS: Commendation in the Future Project Awards at 2017 MIPIM conference in Cannes NOTEWORTHY COMMENTS: • Via Vika is the first building in Northern and Eastern Europe to use CCF technology, ensuring that there is no condensation within the cavity.

• The building was designed around two different aluminium and glass systems assembled by two separate installation teams. The complex process of merging the unit parts with zero dirt and dust required a special production site with dry air piping.

• The building is cladded with Rosy Gold stainless steel corrugated sheets covered with a titanium coating and natural stone finish.

Stainless steel coating (PVD) protects the façade from corrosion and mechanical damage whilst preserving the colour.

• The façade consists of more than 2,000 single and double façade elements, 20 percent of which are curved. The façade has a high light transmission for four glasses of 64 percent.

EME Outlook issue 42 | 3

For Vankevičiūtė, this is an area of ongoing focus explored within R&D and strategic investments. “In general, there’s a lot of room for improvement and innovation for all of us – the more efficient we are, the more affordable the construction is,” she states.

“We recently received green funding for our R&D project – that’s the collaboration between us, and the regional universities and research centres in Norway and Lithuanian universities, including Oslomet – storbyuniversitetet (OSLOMET), SINTEF and KTU (Kaunas University of Technology), to test technologies for IOT development,” Vankevičiūtė explains.

In order to maintain their leading

position as industry innovators, this is essential.

“We have to think differently – not only from a technological point of view but also in the way that we design buildings, to which materials are used to informs shapes, whilst re-thinking and reusing – but also looking to how we can predict the future through IoT. “If the fishing industry can use AI to predict when the fish is hungry and feeding it at the right time with the right quantity, then surely we can also predict whether or not the glass that we use will break and how we can prevent it or what needs to be done. That’s also pushing the limits in terms of glass sizes, in terms of better

materials with parameters for energy,” Vankevičiūtė adds.

Through their unique approach to smart building solutions with a focus on high energy efficiency, supported by unparalleled in-house competencies, the Staticus difference guarantees operational excellence.

“I would say it is the way that we manage the projects and the service that we provide to the client by using agile methodology in the construction industry, is something that is not common which differentiates us from others by being more transparent, more proactive at communication and serving the clients,” Vankevičiūtė affirms.

A truly modern enterprise with an expanding operational footprint, Staticus will continue to shape the skylines of Europe for years to come.

Tel: +370 5 239 88 33 info@staticus.at www.staticus.com

16 | EME Outlook issue 42

EME Outlook issue 42 | 17

EME Outlook issue 40 | 13

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MANUFACTURING PRECISION AND FLEXIBLE

EME Outlook issue 40 | 3

programme,” Ewald tells us proudly.

“We have our own in-house training experience and learning from within. actively encourages additional qualifications, but the company and others towards gaining higher drive aspiring technicians, engineers prospect of employment with Pfiffner as a company. Not only does the important role in Pfiffner’s operation Additionally, education plays an proficiency in problem-solving.” made, maximising our learning and employees to learn from any mistakes culture of open exchange allows our the apprenticeships, and our in-house highly qualified individuals through and engineering schools produce very “Our universities, technical schools, explains. to a successful company,” Ewald another very important ingredient highly qualified personnel, which is loyal employees that are excellent “Pfiffner has very hard-working and

Staticus has told its story.

Pfiffner GmbH Zimmern o.R Frank Offenburg joins to K.R. Unit Multispindle and Witzig & 2018 Foundation of Business Group joins the international FFG 2015 10th June Pfiffner Group

Japan Co., Ltd., Japan 2014 Establishment of Pfiffner

product line PT 2013 Market introduction of the product lines RT / AT 2007 Market introduction of the

On top of this, while 2021 sees autonomous driving sector. of battery parts and projects for the applications within the manufacture vehicles, Pfiffner is turning to new towards electrical and autonomous the automotive sector moving With the latest technologies in

www.pfiffner.com info@pfiffner.com Tel: +41 (0)32 666 35 35 KR PFIFFNER GROUP

2021 AND BEYOND

that we can achieve.” achieve this highest quality standards on these qualified people to help us the latest talent to the field. We rely this apprenticeship model and bring industry by helping also to support “Pfiffner contributes to the national after the course is over. them continuing employment with us from the company, with plenty of learn and gain experience directly years during which the apprentices apprenticeships last three or four we have 30 apprentices. These “Currently of our 250 staff

people to move this forward.” footprint in China with hiring more are in the middle of increasing our focus being China and Taiwan. We environment, with our major project the coming years, given the current the best market development in “It’s also where we expect to have the most,” Ewald tells us.

Asia which is where the market grows “We will increase our presence in Korea and China. introduce its advanced RT machine in sights on the east, including aiming to vaccines over Europe, Pfiffner sets its the widescale rollout of COVID-19

s a l e s @ k l o p f e r - t o o l i n g.d e DE – 71272 Renningen

ALBERT KLOPFER

GMBH

Now, why not tell yours? Our bi-monthly magazine EME Outlook is essential reading for Machine Hydromat - Rotary Transfer 2005 Delivery of the 2‘000th

devices Special welding

cylinders Series and special devices Special clamping

business executives wanting to keep up with the latest in global news and trends affecting GmbH (Germany) 1989 Foundation of K.R. Pfiffner

Power chucks

Hirth-Gearing

Machine Hydromat - Rotary Transfer 1977 Delivery of the 1st

European and Middle Eastern businesses across all industries.

Machines Hydromat - Rotary Transfer 1976 Development of the

KR PFIFFNERZurich GROUP incorporates K.R. Pfiffner AG in 1970 Karl Richard Pfiffner

KLOPFER

MANUFACTURING

Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

forward-thinking place within the sector GROUP HISTORY Reaching an audience of over 395,000 readers, your Pfiffner Group, about the company’s innovativecompany and KR PFIFFNER can take advantage of spoke to Andreas Ewald, CEO of Swiss firm KR

Machinery to further digital and print-based marketing tools that could transform your business.

Making AT A GLANCE:

exposure in EME Outlook with a FREE article and FREE digital brochure, as well as access Revolutionising the manufacturing industry, we

of KR Pfiffner Group. industry,” begins Andreas Ewald, CEO place to work in the manufacturing “Switzerland is still an excellent fore of such a sphere. in the field pushes the country to the the latest technologies and knowhow we see that incorporating and utilising progressive manufacturing industry, Turning to Switzerland and its beyond. function in Europe and a key element of industry achinery manufacturing is

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