EIC Survive and Thrive 2021

Survive & EIC Insight Report 2021 VOLUME V

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Section header here

Contents Executive summary 4 Overview of companies and strategies 8 Comparison table 14 Key statistics 16 COVID-19 – a catalyst for change 22 Resilience has been the name of the game 24 Energy Transition: how do EIC members define it? 26 Diversification

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Any enquiries should be directed to: Stuart R Broadley, FEI, Chief Executive Energy Industries Council (EIC) 89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP Tel: +44 (0) 207 091 8600 Email: stuart.broadley@the-eic.com

Copyright © 2021 EIC (All rights reserved) No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the EIC. The information herein is provided by the EIC and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct,, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to this report or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this report for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information, is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will the EIC be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profit arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this report.

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Section header here

Success stories 30 AAL Shipping........................................................................................................ 32 ACL Group............................................................................................................ 34 Advanced Insulation.............................................................................................. 36 Aker Solutions....................................................................................................... 38 Alderley................................................................................................................. 40 Ankura................................................................................................................... 42 AqualisBraemer..................................................................................................... 44 Aubin..................................................................................................................... 46 AVA....................................................................................................................... 48 Balmoral................................................................................................................ 50 BMT...................................................................................................................... 52 Bollore................................................................................................................... 54 Bureau Veritas Marine and Offshore....................................................................... 56 Cargostore Worldwide........................................................................................... 58 Crondall Energy..................................................................................................... 60 Deep Down........................................................................................................... 62 Deugro.................................................................................................................. 64 DNV...................................................................................................................... 66 Enermech.............................................................................................................. 68 Equilibrium............................................................................................................. 70 Essem................................................................................................................... 72 EthosEnergy.......................................................................................................... 74 Fulkrum Technical Services.................................................................................... 76 GAC...................................................................................................................... 78 Hendrik Veder Group UK....................................................................................... 80 HFI........................................................................................................................ 82 HKA...................................................................................................................... 84 Hunt Thermal......................................................................................................... 86 Indra...................................................................................................................... 88 Jo Bird................................................................................................................... 90 Johnson Controls.................................................................................................. 92 KBR...................................................................................................................... 94 McMenon.............................................................................................................. 96 NRL....................................................................................................................... 98 On-Line Electronics............................................................................................. 100 Petrofac............................................................................................................... 102 PetrolValves Group.............................................................................................. 104 Proserv................................................................................................................ 106 Quanta................................................................................................................ 108 Re-Gen Robotics................................................................................................. 110 Rotork................................................................................................................. 112 Samuel Knight..................................................................................................... 114 Serba Dynamik.................................................................................................... 116 Speedcast........................................................................................................... 118 STATS Group...................................................................................................... 120 Texo.................................................................................................................... 122 TP Group............................................................................................................. 124 TRS Staffing Solutions......................................................................................... 126 TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory.......................................................... 128 UCT Fluid Solutions............................................................................................. 130 Valor.................................................................................................................... 132 Venture Services.................................................................................................. 134 VWS Westgarth................................................................................................... 136 V-TES.................................................................................................................. 138 Vysus Group........................................................................................................ 140 W Maass............................................................................................................. 142 Walter Tosto........................................................................................................ 144 Wasco................................................................................................................. 146 Waves................................................................................................................. 148 Whitebeard Engineering....................................................................................... 150 Wood.................................................................................................................. 152

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Section header Executive summary here

Executive summary The EIC Survive and Thrive 2021 Insight Report returns for its fifth consecutive year, and what a fiveyears it has been. First published in 2017 to study the successful growth strategies of supply chain companies in tough market conditions, most notably following the oil price crash of 2014-2015, the report has followed an energy industry in transition that has had to both rebuild and redefine itself.

EIC CEO Stuart Broadley, the executive author of Survive & Thrive, and who personally carries out all the interviews, first came up with the initiative during a time when the energy sector was still reeling from the 2014-15 oil price crash.

Heavily reliant on the oil and gas sector, energy companies were faced with the EIC Insight Rep ort 2021 daunting prospect VOLUME V of cancelled and delayed projects, and ruthless costcutting measures at all levels of the supply chain to meet customer demands.

Survive &

Five years on from that inaugural report and much has changed in the world, both in the energy sector and beyond, compounded by COVID-19 striking in March 2020, just when businesses were at last seeing strong backlogs again, expecting 2020 to have been a much-needed strong year, which clearly did not happen. Consequently, this year, the need to analyse how companies have both survived and thrived has never been greater and the stories of our 2021 participants are inspiring in their resilience, adaptability, and ingenuity to overcome a market crisis like no other.

We were delighted to welcome a record number of participants in Survive and Thrive 2021, a testament to the agility of EIC members, but also to the growing strength and reputation of this report. This year is also the first time we welcomed a wider representation of non-UK energy supply chain participants, on top of the normal representation of UK companies, a change reflecting our belief that UK businesses can only flourish when strongly connected to a global community of customers, suppliers and partners.

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During the interviews for the first report, Stuart spoke to EIC members who had acted quickly to innovate their way out of a crisis, but these companies were very much the exception and not the rule. The oil and gas sector up until then, although accustomed to boom-and-bust cycles, had enjoyed a long period of high oil prices providing relative stability and high profit margins.

As a result, many companies in the energy sector were far too slow back in 2015-16 to react to the deep crisis, showing leadership behaviours that have since been described as ‘fat and arrogant’, hoping for a rapid rebounding boom, which never came.

The after-effects of the 2014-15 crisis, with the ‘lower for longer’ catchphrase, held up a mirror to the energy sector, and every company, large and small, was forced to make changes or perish, which sadly many did. In each annual EIC Survive and Thrive report, we have witnessed an accelerated shift in the mentality of energy firms. With the final realisation that they could no longer stand still, even in the good times, the energy supply chain displayed growing

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adaptability to diversify and spread its risk, collaborate with other companies, innovate, and optimise their way to lower costs and increased revenues, and explore new export market opportunities.

It is not inconceivable to think that without the crisis of 2014-2015, the energy sector would have fared much worse during the pandemic that struck in 2020. Having learnt its lessons about needing to be much more agile and radical, companies acted much faster, and with more strategic and cultural creativity, this time around, and we spoke to inspiring business leaders who faced the challenge headon in extremely challenging market conditions.

On page 22 we study the effects of COVID-19 on energy businesses, including the reasons why the pandemic helped some companies but hindered others. What is abundantly clear is that COVID-19 will be a catalyst for permanent change in the energy sector, and for the world at large, and while some things will return to normal in a post-pandemic world, many new ways of thinking and working are here to stay.

Also analysed in the front section of this report is everyone’s favourite hyper-topic: Energy Transition. 30% of companies interviewed for this report are making varying degrees of progress into the energy transition space. But one key question that we ask is, what does energy transition mean? We asked that question to all participants of Survive and Thrive 2021, and the answers varied widely. Head to page 26 to find out how we define this all-encompassing phrase, as well as the views of EIC members on what it means to them.

Over the next 156 pages you will learn about the strategies deployed by 61 EIC member companies from across

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the world, as well as our own in-depth analysis and comparisons on the quantitative and qualitative data.

Key findings 1. Diversification – high in the UK, low overseas Diversification is once again the number 1 growth strategy deployed by companies to Survive and Thrive their way out of a crisis. This is especially true for British companies, of which 45% used diversification to spread their risk and explore opportunities in new sectors, while only 21% of non-UK companies chose to pursue this strategy. As with last year, three quarters of this diversification is into non-energy sectors, with only one quarter being from oil & gas to renewables.

Sir Ian Wood, Chairman of Opportunity North East (ONE), was asked if we should be concerned that so many companies are exploring diversification beyond energy at the Energy Exports Conference 2020, and his view was clear – no, we should not be worried, quite the opposite. Particularly in a crisis, companies should look to spread their risk as widely as possible and non-energy sectors can provide the stability needed to ride out the storm whilst also keeping skin in the energy game.

And what about companies diversifying into the new energy transition markets (hydrogen, CCUS, energy storage, etc.). While 30% of our participants are investing in new energy transition strategies to help them survive and thrive (34% for UK companies and 14% for non-UK), it is clear that investments are normally relatively low, and that it has not yet become a primary growth strategy. Many companies believe it is an area they should be considering, particularly under scrutiny from shareholders,

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Key findings 1. Diversification – high in the UK, low overseas 2. Innovation – sharp drop in companies innovating, but why?

3. Exporting – the least used growth strategy ad infinitum?

4. Culture – embracing the new world 5. Resilience – Learning to prosper with uncertainty

clients and staff, but it is clear that energy transition is not yet, at least for the vast majority of businesses, driving the sustained growth and profits that would make it considered a “musthave” strategy.

As recently presented at Davos

by Stuart Broadley, data from EICDataStream in fact shows that the energy market over the next five years for new CAPEX project spend, is still dominated by oil & gas and thermal power, at nearly 70%, while mature renewable technology, namely on- and offshore wind, solar PV and hydroelectric, is growing fast, now reaching 25% of projected CAPEX spend. The laggards in real monetary terms are the energy transition technologies of hydrogen, CCUS, energy storage and floating offshore wind. Added together, and assuming all projects that have been announced actually reach FID (financial investment decision), they will only account for just 3% of world spend by 2026 – so, nothing to get too excited about just yet. In summary, the data indicates that companies should diversify widely, be careful not to over invest in new energy transition technologies while the market is still over-hyped but under-fed, and remember that the oil & gas market is still the largest for the foreseeable future.

Go to page 28, to see further EIC analysis on diversification, tracking over time whether this diversification trend is leading to significant revenue shifts yet, or not.

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2. Innovation – sharp drop in companies innovating, but why?

From 2017 to 2019, innovation was the most-used growth strategy by companies to Survive and Thrive in the energy sector. Since then, innovation has dropped from being used by 73% of participating companies in 2017 to just 31% in 2021 despite high take-up of R&D tax credits, and the key question is – why are companies innovating less?

This seems to be down to several factors. The high costs involved in developing new products and processes, at a time when companies are cash-strapped. Developing a new innovation takes time, money and human capital, and the allocation of these priorities is under the microscope to ensure they are spent with the best possible return on investment in mind.

The fact that traditional oil and gas companies may also be struggling to raise funds as a consequence of banks starting to look for evidence of ESG and green finance investments should be a cause for concern, particularly when many agree that the oil and gas sector is crucial in developing innovative decarbonised solutions.

A previous hyper-topic in our energy industry has been ‘digital’, which is one of the key Innovation drivers, and over the last three years companies have tried and often failed to make digital work – why? Because the application of digital and data in conservative

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energy markets is ‘hard to sell, hard to scale and low margin’.

Adding to these factors is the rise in diversification. With more and more companies choosing to diversify to de-risk their portfolios, innovating within their primary market is being increasingly seen as a less attractive option. A “doubling down” in a single market instead of entering new markets is a strategy that could lead to increased exposure in the event of another market crisis.

Finally, are we seeing less engineers and inventors wanting to work in the energy sector for environmental, philosophical reasons, which would quickly lead to a brain drain and would perhaps partially explain the reduced innovation and technology evidence? The energy market of today provides unlimited potential for talent to prosper in, and most importantly to shape the future of our planet, so we all need to work harder to make sure talent joins the industry at this crucial time, rather than leaving it.

3. Exporting – the least used growth strategy ad infinitum?

For the fifth consecutive year, developing new export markets is seen as the hardest and least attractive growth strategy used by companies to Survive and Thrive in a crisis. This figure is no longer a surprise, after seeing the same miserable result for five straight years, with the offputting time, cost, and risk involved in researching and developing a new export market. However, it is still disappointing, as developing new export markets is proven to offer huge potential for companies to scale, grow and de-risk.

Businesses still seem to prefer to prospect in their home markets, no matter how small the pipeline of opportunities is, no matter how

crowded the competitive landscape, no matter how low the margins may be. It makes no sense.

The Right Honourable Graham Stuart, MP and Minister for Exports in the UK’s Department for International Trade, spoke at the EIC’s recent Energy Exports Conference 2021. He consistently champions the fact that companies that export typically survive for longer, grow faster, and have higher profit margins than their non-exporting counterparts. Minister Stuart confirmed the scale of the problem with exportshyness – stating that less than 10% of UK businesses, across all sectors, are exporters.

With recent government declarations to remove government support and funding from UK oil & gas exporters, we will likely see this exporting trend worsen further, unless something serious is done. None of this is helping the government target to grow exports as a percentage of GDP from 30% to 35%.

It is time for an ‘intervention’ to refocus entrepreneurs on the export opportunity. Government, industry and support agencies need to work harder and more closely together to address this trend. This is one of the many reasons why the new UK Energy Supply Chain (UKESC) taskforce, co-chaired by the UK government’s Department for International Trade, the UK government’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department, and the EIC, is so important.

4. Culture – embracing the new world Businesses across the world have been forced to transform over the last year and a half, both operationally and strategically, but also culturally. Most organisations had not established the infrastructure to allow employees to

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work from home, but the speed and scale at which this was implemented across this and other industries was staggering, and a reminder how fast, radical change can happen when ‘aligned urgency’ is at play.

LinkedIn has grown rapidly as the #1 tool for networking and finding and reaching out to new customers.

Efficiencies in video conferencing also exposed the reality that expensive, time consuming and high-polluting regional and international travel is not always needed and a return to pre-COVID levels of business travel is unlikely. Indeed, one of the business benefits has been seamless, global teamworking.

With business leaders now having a window into the homes of their customers, suppliers, investors and staff, it also highlighted and broke down barriers of diversity and inclusion.

In our view, companies are now acting more quickly on policies to address their diversity gaps, and the year of COP26 coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for companies to also have their own sustainability policies and targets, to meet their ESG goals, and to prepare for their customers demanding it of them.

Diversity and sustainability are no longer policies that remain on the shelf and are increasingly becoming key drivers in sustained cultural change. It used to be stated in energy circles that the safest businesses were the best businesses to work for, and were the most profitable too. It is now becoming clear that the most diverse, sustainable and safest businesses will be the best and most profitable. Competitive advantage is really there for the taking, if you invest in these policies now…

This ‘collaborate versus compete’ conundrum is becoming a conference topic of its own. Announcements

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abound of companies collaborating to access new green markets and projects, as a means to quickly learn about these new (to them) technologies, and satisfy their shareholder’s demands for ESG, and in a way that spreads their risks too.

But how long before their confidence grows and they decide they no longer want to share the profits? Time will tell.’

One of the cultural changes we have seen as agility and radical strategic flexibility have become key to survival, with so much market uncertainty, is that business leaders are behaving more entrepreneurially in their thinking and actions. They see more opportunities now than ever before, in terms of new business models, new parallel markets, new ways to access clients, and new ways to disrupt and gain competitive advantage. This is an exciting time for the industry, as this entrepreneurial rebirth could be key to grasping the decarbonisation and exporting opportunities more quickly, and at more scale.

Is there anyone in business that has not learnt a lot about themselves and their teams through the pandemic?

This urgent need at a society level across the globe, to openly and sensitively care for our family, friends and colleagues in ways never contemplated before, has done a huge amount to break down barriers of mental well-being.

Much is talked about these times leading to a more collaborative approach to solve global issues like sharing vaccines, setting new agreements at COP26, and pooling know how to develop world-beating new decarbonisation technologies.

But, this year’s Survive & Thrive research has not unearthed any such new spirit of collaboration yet. It feels more like, as soon as the starter gun is fired for businesses to return to ‘normal’, then they will compete hard

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Survive and Thrive Volume V strategies at a glance Collaboration Working with partners to bring your strategy to life Culture Where business success is largely due to the beliefs and behaviours that determine how employees and management interact internally and with stakeholders Digital The application of digital and data systems, analytics and technology to innovate Diversification Expanding existing capabilities into other sectors, such as from oil and gas to offshore wind Energy Transition The next wave of technologies, beyond mature renewables, that will deliver the 2050 net zero carbon goals of the UK Export The development of new business growth by focusing on exporting and internationalisation in new countries/regions Innovation Enhanced products, services and strategies to meet specific client needs and build differentiation

to win, rather than offer a hand of help to those left behind.

5. Resilience – Learning to prosper with uncertainty COVID-19, oil crises, Brexit, disruptive technologies, global trade tensions,

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Optimisation The focus on improving internal decision making, costs, processes, agility, structures and enhancing competitiveness Service & solutions The focus on adding value to customers in their OPEX and O&M value chain, and the specific broadening of scope of work to provide a one-stop-shop or customer-centric approach Technology Refers to the specific development and use of technology to solve clients’ problems Transformation Company-wide step change actions, taken as part of a strategic approach to re-position Sustainability Taking responsibility, as part of your business strategy, to conserve natural resources and protect global ecosystems Scale Up To increase a business’ production, size or capacity in a marked and rapid way, above normal growth rates Resilience The capacity to adapt and recover quickly from challenging market pressures and events the anti-oil lobby and more, all have hit, but businesses have survived, often thrived, proving the resilience and tenacity of the energy supply chain.

Please take the time to read the stories in the second half of this report, to be inspired, and to directly apply these lessons to your own business.

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

ACL Impact

Advanced Insulation

1

348

X

N/A

20% 50%

£40.0

Aker Solutions

15,000

£2,529.9

Ankura

1,507

N/A

Aubin

20

Alderley

AqualisBraemar LOC AVA Energy Balmoral BMT

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore Cargostore Worldwide Crondall Energy Deugro

330 950 32

322

X X

1,400

75,000 15 32

1,400

£70.0

80%

£99.6

80%

£15.0

70%

£8.2

£96.7

£176.0

X X

£4,320.0

EthosEnergy

4,000

£645.7

GAC UK

Hendrik Veder Group UK HFI

400 250 180 4

HKA

950

Jo Bird

25

Hunt Thermal Johnson Controls KBR

McMenon Engineering Services NRL Group

Online Electronics

48

100,000 28,000

732 11

Rotork

3,400

Speedcast

1,300

Texo

70

285 80

TP Group

400

Valor

31

TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory V-TES

85 10

VWS Westgarth

150

W Maass

32

Vysus Group Waves Wood

Total (#) or average (%)

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X X

X

100

STATS Group

X

46

118

Quanta

Samuel Knight International

X

X

10,400

Re-Gen Robotics

£25.5

70

Petrofac Proserv

£350.0

650 43

40,000

302,477

X

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£42,664.1

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*CCS, hydrogen, floating offshore wind, energy storage, waste to energy, electric vehicles

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EIC (Energy Industries Council)

Overview

Re ve fro nues m ex po rt

X

£136.2

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Sa vin ne gs a w ord nd ers (m illio n) Co un try

Overview of companies non-UK SM

10

Company AAL Shipping Bolloré

Employees 100 36,500

Singapore

£7,430.0

France/UAE

Deep Down

47

X

£9.3

25%

USA

Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy (EEC)

180

X

£2.5

50%

UAE

Essem Group

355

£19.5

5%

£1.8

Malaysia

Indra

60

£12.4

33%

£2.0

Italy

PetrolValves Group

600

£170.0

97%

£0.7

Italy

5,500

£1,076.0

70%

£4.3

Malaysia

£272.8

70%

£1.4

USA/Mexico

£143.5

95%

£7.2

Israel

£1.2

0%

£1.8

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Serba Dinamik TRS Staffing Solutions UCT Fluid Solutions

226

X

X

1,100

Venture Services

19

Walter Tosto

650

£173.0

90%

£26.0

Italy

2,000

£144.0

95%

£36.0

Malaysia Malaysia

Wasco

X

Whitebeard Engineering

12

X

£1.2

0%

£1.0

Total (#) or average (%)

47,351

50%

£9,591.6

54%

£82.2

This year is the first time we welcomed a wider representation of non-UK energy supply chain participants, on top of the normal representation of UK companies, a change reflecting our belief that UK businesses can only flourish when strongly connected to a global community of customers, suppliers and partners.

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Email: marketing@the-eic.com • Phone: +44 (0)20 7091 8600 • #EICSurviveandThrive

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X

X

1% X

80%

20%

60%

X

X

70% 85%

X

10%

X

X

X

X X

X

X

30%

55%

5%

40%

X

55%

5%

40%

X

X

65%

30%

X

5%

95%

5%

98%

2%

X

17.8%

8

72.1%

6.5%

3.5%

0.1%

1

4

0

2

1

4

*CCUS, hydrogen, floating offshore wind, energy storage, electric vehicles

Government support: received one or more of the following options Apprenticeships levy: government funding towards apprenticeship training Grants: financial awards provided by federal, state or local government spheres to fund a project or activity Trade delegations: state-sponsored delegations to foreign countries aimed at fostering exports R&D tax credits: government tax incentives to reward companies that invest in the research and development (R&D) of innovation Export financing: financing of working capital linked to the export of goods and services

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EIC (Energy Industries Council)

Ankura

X

Aubin

X

AqualisBraemar LOC AVA Energy Balmoral

X

Cargostore

X

Deugro

X

Crondall Energy DNV

X

Fulkrum Technical Resources

X

HFI

Jo Bird

X

X

Johnson Controls KBR

X

X X

X X X

Petrofac

X

Online Electronics

X

Proserv

X

Re-Gen Robotics

X

X

Speedcast Texo

TP Group

TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory Valor

V-TES

VWS Westgarth Vysus

X

X X

X

Wood

Total (UK)

X X

13

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9

6

21

Re

Tra n

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s

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X X X

X X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X

X X X

X

X

X

X X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

12

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X X

X X

X

X X

Inn

itio n

Ex

po rt

tra ns

X

X

Waves

W-Maass (UK)

X

X

X

X

STATS Group

X

X X

Samuel Knight International

X

X

X X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

NRL Group

Rotork

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

McMenon Engineering Services

Quanta

X

X

Hendrik Veder

Hunt Thermal

X

X

GAC UK

HKA

ne rgy

X X

X

X

X

X

Enermech

X

X

X

EthosEnergy

X

X

X

BMT

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X

Aker Solutions Alderley

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X

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Overview of strategies

rm ati on sili en ce Sc ale -up Su sta ina bil ity

Section header here Overview

Co

12

7

X

X

X

X

11

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8

X

18

X

4

X

X

13

X

X X X

15

5

5

Deep Down

X

Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy Ham-Let Indra

Petrolvalves

Serba Dinamik

X

Venture Services

X

Wasco

X

WalterTosto

Total (Overseas)

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X 2

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4

X

3

X

X

X

X

X

X

3

2

X

2

X X

X

X X

X

X

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X

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X

Essem Group

Whitebeard

Dig

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X

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Bolloré

Inn

Austral Asia Line (AAL)

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Company

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13

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X

X

X

5

X

X

@TheEICEnergy

4

X

X

X X

4

X

2

0

7

X 3

0

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

14

Section header Comparison table here

Comparison table Number of success stories Per year savings and new orders Companies using collaboration as an enabler for other strategies Companies receiving government support

Diversification

Service and solutions Companies using innovation (including digital and technology) Energy transition

Optimisation

Culture Companies using collaboration as an enabler Transformation for other strategies Digital

Export

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15

2021

2021

61

47

14

£2.4bn

£1.5bn

£1.4bn

£82.2mn

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

69%

68%

87%

77%

83%

57%

27%

38%

36%

49%

39%

45%

21%

*

42%

60%

44%

36%

38%

29%

73%

69%

64%

54%

31%

30%

36%

*

*

*

18%

30%

34%

14%

23%

27%

48%

39%

21%

17%

36%

*

*

*

33%

21%

19%

29%

*

*

*

28%

21%

28%

0%

*

19%

32%

26%

15%

13%

21%

8%

19%

12%

15%

15%

15%

14%

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

26

26

26

40

£550m

£357m

£1.8bn

100%

100%

27%

* categories not previously measured

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UK

Non-UK

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

16

Section Key statistics header here

Key statistics £1.5bn

per year, savings and orders

61

number of success stories

21%

embraced culture change Only

31%

21%

innovated their way out of the crisis

focused on optimisation

Only

15%

36%

focused on digital and data

focused on service & solutions

23%

started to explore energy transition

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17

UK

28%

saw transformational change

47

number of success stories

83%

received Government support

45%

of companies used Diversification to survive and thrive

34%

of companies used Innovation to survive and thrive

14

started to explore energy transition

36%

36%

used Optimisation to Survive and Thrive

used Innovation to Survive and Thrive

number of success stories

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15%

exported their way out of the crises

30%

Non-UK

Only

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21%

used Diversification to Survive and Thrive

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14%

used Energy Transition to Survive and Thrive

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

18

Section Key findings header here

Key findings Energy transition

Plan, plan,plan!

Policies and regulation

Financial and fiscal incentives

Use the oil and gas sector

Consult with stakeholders

Energy Transition Strategies must be Consult with all requires a fully thought- backed up with realistic stakeholders in out, detailed and and proven policies Ambition requires The oil and gas sector advance of major integrated plan. and regulation; learn supply chain transition is the enabler of energy policy decisions; there the lessons of offshore at pace and scale that transition. Protect and is a role for everybody. wind. will not be possible nurture the oil and gas without significant supply chain to support financial and fiscal energy transition, don’t incentives. abandon it.

Real action, not soundbites

Stimulate the economy

Create faster and more significant value for the It’s good to have supply chain in energy 2050 net zero targets, transition segments. ambition and to make These technologies inspiring soundbites, will need economic but the clock is ticking. stimuli to scale up fast Real action is needed enough, otherwise the now. economics don’t work.

EIC data confirms that only 3% of the world energy CAPEX up to 2026 is expected to be in these new technologies.

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Ride the COP26 wave COP26 should pave the way for a large and consistent pipeline of utility-scale projects rather than pilot developments.

Go ‘all-in’ with green hydrogen, the global leadership position is still ‘up for grabs’.

Make carbon Don’t abandon costly oil & gas lending As well as incentives,

a carbon tax should also be implemented Address SMEs’ real in order to foster faster concerns around change with laggards. current unavailability of lending facilities where oil and gas factors still prevail, hampering growth, investment, technology and transition.

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Support SMEs Implement to convert higher UK high-emission content rules clusters

Learn the lessons from offshore wind

Promote collaboration

Invest in University R&D projects

Improve diversity transparency

Nurture local Local clusters needs and – get active leaders For local governments/

Promote networking and collaboration For important British Learn the lessons forums to accelerate Government and If an SME is deemed energy-related new from offshore wind best practice sharing, university projects as important for an projects, implement and ensure key energy both from operators can be a source of industrial high-emission higher UK content transition technologies and EPC contractors growth and investment cluster to succeed, it thresholds and ensure are invested in, seeded to the supply chain and potential for innovative should receive higher UK content thresholds and rooted in the UK, vice-versa.

SMEs. levels of support. are not just met to support domestic through service/O&M and international workscopes. demand on a competitive basis.

Speed up scale with targeted training Adapt the Fit4Nuclear/ Fit4Energy programmes to support faster energy transition through targeted training Fit4EnergyTransition

Foster inclusion and sustainability

Ensure UK flagship Mandate transparency energy projects of diversity and have clear project sustainability results qualification and policies across all requirements linked to UK energy businesses. diversity, inclusion and sustainability policies.

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Adapt policies to support local needs and capability; encourage local leaders to develop their own strategies that match their local needs.

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clusters: don’t be a passenger - be proactive in support of your own local region’s needs and capabilities.

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20

Key findings Exporting

Step 1: Identify capability Identify current UK energy supply chain capability (EICSupplyMap)

Review export policies Review policies around export support for destination country local content requirements/ opportunities - local content requirements will grow post-COVID and the UK must have policies that are local content-friendly or risk losing even more international business.

Step 2: Map potential

Step 3: Gap analysis

Extrapolate capability to map potential capability to meet future energy needs.

Identify size of the prize, global market opportunity.

Carry out gap analysis of future capability versus future market needs. Link future capability weighting to size of the global prize, the market opportunity.

Research impact of Brexit

Enable UKEF to support service sector

Remove the mystery of tariffs

Research and publish the impact of Brexit on companies’ ability to export and move personnel freely

As a services economy, it is time to review the options for UKEF support for service businesses.

Remove the mystery of tariffs and customs - tools and advice are more readily needed to help new SMEs to export.

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Step 4: Competitive analysis Carry out a competitiveness analysis of the UK supply chain on a global stage.

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Step 5: Invest in capabilities Invest in those capabilities that are deemed as both competitive and critical to future energy needs and market opportunities.

Enable ambassadors Ensure our FCDO officers are still able to work with NOCs, being the key to future energy transition opportunities, even though they are oil and gas focused.

21

Don’t abandon Invest in “Buy relevant trade British” for missions energy

Research impact of COVID

UK companies, Government should particularly SMEs, still invest in a much larger need support to join “Buy British” global trade missions and export promotions overseas exhibitions. campaign.

Even with removal of government oil and gas export support, those companies will need help to grow exports in a post-Brexit, postCOVID and in a netzero world.

Research and publish the impact of COVID on companies’ ability to export.

Champion digital success

Expand Queen’s Award

Recognising that digital Introduce new Queen’s enables step change Award categories to competitiveness, recognise resilience in promote and celebrate face of COVID. success stories

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Recognise oil and gas can mean energy transition Carry out a review to the exemptions of the oil and gas export policy to recognise that O&G customers are and will be energy transition customers.

Define net-zero vocabulary

Use the EIC for support Where companies are unable to obtain government support for O&G exports, reroute them to other agencies such as the EIC rather than abandon them.

Amplify the voice of the supply chain

Clearer definitions of Use the UKESC (UK the net-zero language Energy Supply Chain) are required, such task force to amplify as energy transition, the voice of the supply decarbonisation chain and deliver step and sustainability, to change results in enable policies to more exports. directly support the definitions with less confusion.

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COVID-19

COVID-19

FINDING NEW WAYS TO NETWORK Learnt how to make the most of virtual events, meetings and networks, making it far easier to reach more people, on a truly global basis, more quickly, and with high meeting acceptance rates.

RADICAL, INNOVATIVE BUSINESS CHANGES COVID became the catalyst to make some big, urgent, rapid, fundamental changes, changes that were otherwise seen as too hard to consider. Innovative new products, processes, organisational structures, cultures and streamlining were implemented at pace.

THE DIFFICULTIES IN WORKING FROM HOME The sudden shift to remote working led to delays, particularly around onsite operations, and poor mental health among the workforce. Staff and clients missed the human interaction and finding new ways of networking remotely proved difficult.

NEGATIVE FINANCIAL IMPACTS Q2020 saw gross revenues fall drastically, and major cash injections were needed to stay afloat. In some cases, contracts were cancelled and government support schemes such as furlough were necessary to survive.

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17% 35%

a catalyst for change

48%

22

23

How did COVID-19 help and hinder EIC members, and what new ways of working brought about by the pandemic will be a catalyst for permanent change in the ways that we work? 48% of companies were primarily hindered, but surprisingly also 35% were helped, and 17% were neutral.

SEAMLESS TEAMWORKING AND REDUCED COSTS Adapted quickly to working-from-home, or -anywhere, enabling time- and cost-efficiencies, utilising free, innovative digital tools, offsetting revenue shortfalls with far lower travel and office costs, connecting global teams seamlessly, benefits that all plan to keep.

WE HAD TO ADAPT BUT IT WORKED OUT The initial response to the outbreak led to rapidly adapting to new ways of working, including moving to home office set-up where possible, establishing stringent health and safety measures onsite, constant communication with all members of staff.

LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES COVID-19 had a negative impact on logistical costs, schedules and predictability. Continuing business operations while creating a safe working environment for staff and adhering to multiple countries’ varying restrictions proved to be a real challenge.

DEFERRED PROJECTS Key projects, cargo shipments and site operations were put on pause, delayed or cancelled. The impact ranged from having to find alternative solutions, changing our ways of working, and in the worst cases the loss of revenues and staff.

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Section header here Resilience

Resilience has been the name of the game LEARNING THE LESSONS FROM THE 2014/15 OIL CRISIS Hard lessons were learned during the oil price crisis, forcing companies to become leaner and respond quicker to turbulent market conditions.

AGILITY, FLEXIBILITY AND SITUATION SENSING SPREADING BETS

BY DIVERSIFYING Companies that spread their portfolios across multiple sectors put them in stronger positions compared to their competitors in a single sector.

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Being able to respond quickly and intelligently to rapidly changing circumstances has become a pillar of strength for energy supply chain companies.

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SERVICE AND SOLUTIONS MINDSET Transitioning from CAPEX opportunities to the operations and maintenance OPEX market gives financial stability and alternative revenue streams.

25

COVID-19, oil crises, Brexit, disruptive technologies, global trade tensions, the anti-oil lobby and more, have all hit the energy sector over the last five years, but businesses have survived, often thrived, proving the resilience and tenacity of the energy supply chain.

PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY Previous crises forced companies to plan for the worst and improved preparedness for the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SENSE OF URGENCY AS CATALYST TRAVEL AND OFFICE SAVINGS COULD STAY A complete halt of local and international travel, as well as the need for physical office space, could change business practices for the long run.

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Businesses faced a sense of urgency that had never been seen before, prompting business leaders to make bold, tough decisions in a high-risk environment.

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26

Energy transition

KEY TECHN

SOLAR

WIND

NUCLEAR

HYDROGEN

94% define it as the journey away from fossil fuels to sustainable, renewable and clean fuel solutions.

45% highlight it as necessary to reduce the industry’s carbon emissions and lower global temperature growth.

28% believe carbon capture, storage and utilisation is the key to achieving net zero in the energy sector.

How EIC memb

Energy Tr

includin technologies what pro

71% see large-scale investments in

renewables as crucial to diversify away from full reliance on fossil fuels.

Here at the EIC we define Energy Transition as: all of us, as individuals, companies and countries, h of global temperature growth limited to 1.5 degrees by 2050, putting the burden on each of us to a Get in touch Share your news and views...

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NOLOGIES

CCUS

ENERGY STORAGE

ELECTRIFICATION

WATER

GEOTHERMAL

30% understand the need to focus on sustainability in the industry, leading our world to a greener environment.

26% focus on rapid advancements in

w do bers define

innovative technologies and research to develop and scale new energy sectors.

Transition

ng which s and solving oblems?

16% look inward, recognising the need for fundamental change in the energy industry and reflecting on their role in the transition.

4% studied their company’s impact of their products and services on the end user’s carbon footprint.

have to start from where we are, unique to each of us – but we all share the same end destination act, both independently and collaboratively, to execute our own transition roadmaps to get there.

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Diversification

The truth behind diversification in the energy sector SECTOR SPLIT OVER THE YEARS

70% 60% 50% 40%

58.1% 48.1% HOUSTON

30% 20% 10% 0%

27.5%

25.3%

12.3%

8.4%

12.1%

8.2% RIO DE JANEIRO

2018

2019

(24 companies)

(24 companies)

MAINLY OIL AND GAS

MAINLY RENEWABLES

We know that 3,000 of the 3,500 UK energy supply chain businesses (> 1m revenues) have oil & gas capability, reflected in high % of companies relying on oil & gas, >50% for the last 3 years, although dropping in 2020 due to more renewable projects, and lower oil & gas activity due to COVID.

Renewable reliance ebbs and flows, likely due to the timing of large offshore wind projects which do not provide a consistent pipeline of work in the UK, lumpy instead, and changing policies around onshore renewable subsidies, but clearly growth in 2020 has eaten into oil & gas.

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MAINLY CONVENTIONAL POWER AND NUCLEAR This covers civil nuclear and thermal power and is surprisingly low given the huge value of Hinkley Point C, which underlines both that too much nuclear work is provided by non- UK businesses, and that thermal power projects are at record lows due to successful net zero policies fed by renewables.

LONDON

N

29

Diversification is the number one growth strategy employed by EIC Survive and Thrive companies in the 2021 report, and has been consistently talked about by thought leaders as necessary for business to survive in a decarbonising world. But what is the reality when it comes to organisations’ core business? We analysed what sectors Survive and Thrive companies had 50% or more of their business in, and the results might surprise you.

61.1%

55% MAINLY OIL & GAS

DUBAI

26% MAINLY NON-ENERGY

28.8% KUALA LUMPUR

13% MAINLY RENEWABLES

5.1%

5% 2%

5%

2020

2021

(38 companies)

MAINLY ENERGY TRANSITION As presented at Davos earlier in 2021, EIC data clearly shows that new transition technologies including hydrogen, CCUS and energy storage are the hyper-topic of the day, but this has not yet converted to pace and scale of value in the supply chain, but 2% is a start.

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MAINLY CONVENTIONAL POWER AND NUCLEAR MAINLY ENERGY TRANSITION

(45 companies)

MAINLY NON-ENERGY

LOOKING AHEAD

Surely the smartest companies are those with the most diverse markets, such as infrastructure, chemicals and pharmaceutical, spreading risk and opening up more lucrative opportunities, but this is staying steady at 25-28%, not growing, which is surprising given the shock of 2020.

Looking ahead to 2022–24, with a bow-wave of oil and gas contracts forecast post-COVID, expect to see the oil & gas line move upwards again.

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30

EIC membership

Committed to keeping you informed about opportunities in the global energy industries DataStream

CAPEX database tracking over 10,000 active and future projects globally

AssetMap

SupplyMap Supply chain database of all UK supply chain companies across all energy sectors

Energy Industries Council

OPEX database tracking assets in the UK, Europe and Caspian, Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico, Africa, Australasia, EMEA and the ASEAN and GCC states

Membership benefits including our premium market research service

Publications

INFORM

Worldwide offices

Our global office network has been set up to assist members that want to have a presence in key regions: London, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Houston and Rio de Janeiro

List your products and services in our Procurement Guide Promote your company for free in our monthly news Inside Energy Publish in our quarterly magazine Energy Focus

LIVE e-vents Book on to our online events to hear from industry decision makers and experts

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31

AssetMap

EICAssetMap

EMEA Join us

Asset-tracking database with 14,000 operational assets for energy O&M opportunities in EMEA EICAssetMap maps all key energy assets in all energy sectors across the EMEA region in the latest membership offering from the Energy Industries Council (EIC).

EICAssetMap, the EIC’s asset-tracking database for all energy sectors, is now available as a new and powerful membership category for the entire EMEA region including 14,000 assets from over 100 countries.

Companies can grow their business by identifying and engaging with key targets in the operator, developer and O&M contractor communities in Africa, ASEAN, Australasia, Brazil, EMEA, Europe and CIS, GCC, Gulf of Mexico and UK with this fully interactive map-based database.

key energy markets around the world in all energy sectors to find new O&M business opportunities Search for operational assets in

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Success stories 2021

UK

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Non-UK

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Success stories

AAL shipping Weathering the storm to emerge in new markets How is AAL thriving?

Singapore-based marine transportation firm AAL has ridden out the storm caused by the 2014-2016 oil price crash, drawing on its multi-purpose heavy lift cargo expertise to outlast much of its competition and consolidate in key markets such as the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Here, the company continues to thrive and has taken on a number of new projects, work which so far has produced extremely promising client feedback.

The challenge AAL Shipping also commonly known as AAL, has mastered the niche multipuppose shipping sector since it began operating in 1995.

The company provides marine transportation solutions, including the handling and transporting of project heavylift, breakbulk, dry bulk and steel cargos for clients across many industries, including energy, oil and gas, mining, forestry, leisure, agriculture, and construction.

It is a multipurpose, heavy-lift ocean carrier with vessels designed to carry a broad range of cargo – a specialism which, due to the complexity of infrastructure required, is not offered by a large number of competitors.

Projects such as transporting enormous wind turbine blades involve huge amounts of planning, in many cases for up to two years, before the transportation takes place in order to lay the logistical groundwork. It is a process AAL has carved a niche in, spurred on by the 2008 shipping boom which saw the number of carriers in oceans double within five years.

But the industry learned the hard way that there can be too much of a good

thing. By the time the 2014 oil crisis arrived, there was an enormous supply of vessel capacity which simply was not in demand.

For AAL, which had previously relied heavily on contracts serving oil and gas clients, the need to diversify into new segments and markets became paramount.

The solution The company had to endure some lossmaking years, applying to shareholders for capital injection to navigate the worst of what was an extremely bumpy period after the oil price dip.

However, its initial investments made from the outset in the 1990s have stood AAL in better stead than many competing firms. The company’s vessels are specialist multi-purpose ships and able to transport a wide range of cargo, from the simple to the complex. Meanwhile, early investment was made in sourcing and developing industry leading engineers, as well as establishing a network of local office

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infrastructure to bring the company closer to customers in various markets.

Technological capabilities and vessel numbers were steadily increased to deal with a wider variety of increasingly large and heavy cargos, with a significant focus on oil and gas in the early days.

This expertise, wealth of assets and infrastructure has proven invaluable despite the recent oil and gas industry slump. Clients have continued to be served by a reliable and determined partner through troubled times, even during the COVID-19 pandemic which has caused enormous disruptions to portside operations and mandated home working in many cases. Thanks to its previous investments in cloudbased technological systems and other tools, AAL has been able to maintain smooth delivery of services.

AAL’s investments in technology, infrastructure and skills have also been applied to serve new sectors and gain traction in new markets.

Australia is perhaps the most striking

Success stories

example. Here, AAL now holds a 70% market share thanks to its ability to exceed expectations regarding the speed and quality of its services, its customer surveys and questionnaires strongly reflecting this.

The company is over-performing in the market because of its enduring monthly liner services between Australia and Asia – a lifeline for big and small shippers trading between the two regiond - and sustained efforts to digitise and optimise the performance of its vessels and voyages. This has helped to mitigate costs, provide economies of scale for its customers and maintain AAL profit margins.

Windfarm in the Barrier Ranges of New South Wales.

AAL also successfully completed an intense 9-month project shipment for LPL Projects + Logistics GmbH, to transport 194,561 freight tons of HRSG modules and related accessories (architectural steel and other components) from Ulsan and Penglai to the Egyptian ports of Sokhna and Adabiyah – cargo destined for the country’s largest-ever power generation project, the Siemens’ Megaproject.

been discouraged to continue, AAL has stood the course.

About AAL

Having weathered several storms in recent years, AAL has emerged strongly, owing to its initial start-up investments and determination to continue providing complex multi-purpose cargo services to its clients. Where others have fallen or

AAL Shipping (AAL) is a multiple awardwinning breakbulk, project heavy lift, steel and dry bulk commodity carrier which has for over 25 years delivered competitive solutions for the world’s most dynamic industry sectors including oil & gas, mining, energy, construction and agriculture. AAL provides the market with seamless around the world connectivity, comprising scheduled monthly liner services operating between Europe, Middle East, India, Asia and Oceania backed by an ever-increasing number of tramp chartering sailings covering the Americas and the rest of the world.

With 12 representative offices on four continents, AAL’s team comprises more than 25 different nationalities and 35 spoken languages, ensuring a local 24/7 service in key trading hubs and in support of major trade lanes globally.

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Key findings

AAL at a glance:

#serviceandsolutions (main category)

For industry

#culture, #innovation, #optimisation, #resilience

• Always be relevant and open-minded • Promote a culture that promotes partnership and mutual understanding • Work for the future

Key products and services: Service providers for ocean transportation for cargos destined for oil & gas, mining, energy, infrastructure, raw materials

In 2019, the firm carried the largest volume of wind turbine blades to Australia in a single voyage, a feat only achievable thanks to the AAL engineering team’s ability to plan ahead for such an undertaking.

AAL successfully completed three sailings into Adelaide with 45 windmill blades (each of around 65 metres in length), turbine generators and other related components on each sailingcargo destined for the AGL Silverton

Benefits • 70% market share in Australia

The cargo comprised 384 HRSG modules and 45,000 freight tons of accessories, transported on 17 sailings between South Korea, China and Egypt.

The modules were employed at the Beni Suef and New Capital Power Plants, two thirds of the biggest gas-fired combinedcycle power station in the world and one that will generate 14.4 GW – a boost of 45 percent to Egypt’s power capacity.

For government • A planet first mentality is needed to tackle climate change

Government support?

The company has not received any type of government support.

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Main industries served: • Wind - 25% • Hydro – 5% • Petrochemicals – 5% • Industrial – 60% • Containers – 5% Headquarters: Singapore Year established: 1995 Number of employees: 100 Revenue: US$190m Revenue from exports: 100%

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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ACL

How is ACL thriving?

Audrey Caulliez-Louis, with 15 years of investment banking experience behind her, established ACL Impact in 2019 to work with Corporates/Governments or Financial institutions on the energy transition and projects delivering tangible ESG benefits. Having taken a huge personal risk by setting up her own consultancy, the newly-formed company is now starting to live up to its name.

and starting up a business can prove very rewarding and inspiring.

For Audrey Caulliez-Louis, it was a leap of faith taken in 2019. Having spent 15 years in the world of investment banking, she wanted to see a more direct impact of her work. The energy sector has always been a path of interest, especially in new markets, and she was also determined to help steer investment towards smaller companies and projects that could make a real difference.

The challenge

The solution

Starting a business is no small undertaking, and can be a daunting prospect if you’re influenced by statistics. In the UK, 20% of all new businesses fail within a year, and fewer than half make it beyond five years according to official government figures.

ACL Impact was thus born. While ACL was able to establish the firm relatively inexpensively and lean on a significant pool of contacts from her banking days, ACL’s success was, and to a degree still is, by no means a foregone conclusion.

It is a gamble, especially for those leaving a secure job that has taken many years of hard work to climb to.

However, with risk also comes reward,

ACL, operating as a one-woman band, provides consultancy services in fundraising (early-stage capital, Project Finance, Export Finance) for activities that have a strong environmental,

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social and governance (ESG) impact, with a particular focus on social infrastructure and energy transition.

After seeing first-hand how largescale investment machines tend to lean towards larger corporates, she was also determined to work closely with smaller players who worked on projects that piqued her imagination.

ACL hit the ground running in 2019, with two early contracts covering investments into climate change awareness campaigns and a waste to energy scheme in the Philippines that converted plastic bags and other waste into biofuels.

They worked with UK Export Finance (UKEF) to assist its pipeline of renewable assets with some bigger players in the market, as it continued to expand its renewable energy and carbon management expertise – which is now in place.

Among them was an offshore wind farm – ACL assisted on the structuring

Success stories

side, helping UKEF to support its local players in the supply chain of the Energy transition. ACL also assisted on the Business development efforts, to build the Clean Energy pipeline where possible, as the Export Credit Agency wanted to support an increasing amount of Energy transition projects.

By the time the COVID-19 pandemic struck, ACL was off the ground and able to operate fully remotely, helping to mitigate some of the challenges that may otherwise have presented themselves. However, the coronavirus and its knock-on effects have had devastating consequences for businesses which have been forced to reduce or cease their activities amid lockdown policies.

in the knowledge that her work is making a tangible difference.

The contract with UKEF has been a welcome stabiliser for the business, and ACL was also invited to join the initiative to launch CCC Training, a training boutique, in partnership with three other collaborators, covering Project Finance topics in the Energy and Infrastructure sectors, as well as legal & ESG aspects of Project Finance (www.ccctraining.org) .

And with work also likely to pick up as the world recovers from pandemic shutdowns, the investment banker turned entrepreneur is looking to the future through an increasingly optimistic lens.

About ACL

However, ACL has steadfastly continued to support start-ups and SMEs in their endeavours despite these challenges, pursuing her passion

All of this has so far been achieved by word of mouth. A key future priority for ACL (and CCC Training) is to formalise marketing activities through partnerships with key publications.

ACL Impact is a consultancy boutique specialised in international business origination and fund-raising (earlystage equity/project finance/export finance/development finance) for corporates or projects with a positive environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact. The company is currently working alongside UK Export Finance (UKEF) on its international project finance pipeline, including in the energy transition sector in emerging countries. ACL has also assisted a start-up in the digital health sector for their fund-raising exercise and early business development efforts in Asia and is helping a start-up in the financial inclusion sector on the African continent.

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Key findings

ACL at a glance:

#sustainability (main category)

For industry

#collaboration, #energytransition, #scaleup

• Networking is a huge ‘plus’ – make sure you leverage your networking platform and meet as many people as you can

Key products and services: consultancy services in ESG-focused fund-raising activities

The aforementioned project in the Philippines, unfortunately, succumbed to the pandemic with the SME behind it also closing its doors. Meanwhile, other projects have stalled which has added complications to ACL’s funding work.

Benefits • Contract with UKEF • Successful collaboration to deliver project finance training

CCC Training welcomed 10 clients onto the inaugural course and has received interest from numerous energy industry stakeholders (banks, technical advisers, project sponsors, insurance companies, Development Finance Institutions, SMEs, etc) since then. Likewise, CCC Training is attracting a lot of interest from the oil and gas industries players willing to use Project Finance to help the financing of the Energy transition to Renewables and other technologies.

For government • Ambitious carbon reduction targets should come with solutions and momentum

Government support?

The company has not received any type of government support

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Main industries served: • Renewables (Structuring and Business development) – 80% • Waste to Energy – 10% • Others: Health 5% / Financial Inclusion in Emerging markets 5% Headquarters: London, UK Year established: 2019 Number of employees: 1 Revenue: Not disclosed.

Revenue from exports: 20%

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Advanced Insulation A trilogy of diversified triumphs

How is Advanced Insulation thriving?

In the face of a volatile oil and gas market and pressures from the coronavirus pandemic, Advanced Insulation is stepping up to the challenge and successfully diversifying in three key markets: subsea buoyancy, offshore wind cable management, and electric vehicle fire protection.

The challenge At the beginning of 2020, Advanced Insultation was facing a series of challenges. Cyclical changes in the oil and gas market contributed to continual uncertainty as early parts of the year saw the price of oil drop to its lowest since 1998. These commercial pressures were further compounded by the pandemic. As countries went into lockdown, air travel ground to a halt, car usage plummeted, and many businesses typically using large amounts of

energy either partially or fully shut down. In total, global energy demand fell by an estimated 20%.

Advanced Insulation’s progress was unavoidably caught in these challenges.

Short term growth was impacted by delayed projects, additional considerations and a £750,000 investment were needed to navigate the new COVID-19 environment, and similarly pressured suppliers saw cogs in a usually seamless system begin to deteriorate.

A rethink was therefore needed – for this company, 2020 became a year of steadying the ship, adapting, and readying itself for a new, diversified wave of growth.

The solution Testament to Advanced Insulation’s proactive culture, the company had thankfully already been re-strategising since 2017. Through extensive internal

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planning, two key plans of action had been identified.

First, the company was to focus on innovation with the aim of developing and selling new technologies to the existing oil and gas market. And second, it began to focus on two new markets – offshore wind and automotive fire protection – as they looked to diversify their portfolio using existing knowledge.

For the former of these focus areas (technology development), buoyancy products have been the source of much of Advanced Insulation’s success. Having already been a growing part of the business back in 2017-18, they are now a firm staple of its overall offering.

Differentiating in the market and providing competitively priced solutions through its patented clamping technology, the firm is investing £8 million in a new, state-of-the-art

Success stories

65,000-square-foot factory to enable delivery of key projects.

The result? In 2020, buoyancy products led to £10-15 million in new orders, and are now expected to contribute 20% of overall revenue this year – up from less than 1% just two years earlier.

Similarly fruitful success can be found in Advanced Insulation’s offshore wind endeavours. Here, the company has been focusing on delivering products that provide effective retrofit solutions for installations.

Its ambitions in this domain were drastically bolstered by the acquisition of Bardot Group last year – a company which specialises in buoyancy bend stiffeners, grout seals, water injection risers and other polyurethane-based solutions. Now capable of delivering these products to the highest standard, Advanced Insulation is anticipating that 4% of 2021 revenue will be derived from renewables – up from 0% last year.

And headway is being made in the second of Advanced Insulation’s external diversification projects – automotive fire protection solutions.

Early 2020 saw the company win a four-year, £2.5 million contract to enhance the fire protection of automotive battery covers. They have also been a partial beneficiary of a £20 million government grant, securing £1 million in funding for the development of electrical vehicle battery pack protection solutions.

Unlike its typical lines of business, this will entail dealing with large product volumes with smaller values per unit, however, quality standards are still under significant scrutiny given the nature of the automotive industry.

There are clear indications that the company is well on the way to successfully diversifying and bypassing the pressures seen at the turn of the decade.

With a new £8 million facility, expanded in-house expertise, a significantly diversified product portfolio, and more

Story type

For government

#diversification (main category)

• An anti-O&G policy will slow down decarbonisation. A healthy and secure baseload of O&G-related business is vital for the supply chain to be capable of investing in energy transition.

• Energy transition requires a fully thought-out, detailed and integrated plan – not grandiose pledges.

#energytransition

Benefits • Contract awards exceeding £20m • Diversified product portfolio • Improved pipeline of tenders in the buoyancy segment

Key findings For industry • Perseverance is essential to unlock business opportunities • Invest in getting the best possible team • Challenge the status quo

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Government support?

In addition to R&D tax credits, the company benefits from the Apprenticeship Levy. Advanced Insulation has used bank guarantees provided by the UK Export Finance as well as grants by Innovate UK.

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than £20 million in first contract wins, the future looks both exciting and bright.

About Advanced Insulation Advanced Insulation is an established global leader in the engineering, manufacture and application of insulation and passive fire protection systems, buoyancy, and SURF products (subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines) to the offshore and onshore oil and gas industry. The company has achieved exceptional growth both in the UK and overseas through growing demand, increasing turnover from £3m in 2008 to £35.6m in 2020. The company has a strong international footprint, with manufacturing facilities in five sites in the UK and further facilities located in, Brazil, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Advanced Insulation at a glance: Key products and services: Subsea insulation, buoyancy products, cable protection, fire protection and insulation for energy market Main industries served: • Oil & Gas – 80% • Marine – 8% • Renewables – 6% • Electric vehicles (EV) – 3% • Power – 3% Headquarters: Gloucester, UK Year established: 2008 Number of employees: 348 Revenue: £40m Revenue from exports: 81%

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Aker Solutions A cleaner, greener mission

How is Aker Solutions thriving?

Motivated by the opportunity to champion a greener, more sustainable future, Aker Solutions has taken difficult albeit rewarding steps away from oil- and gas-related activities towards delivering market-leading services and solutions to the renewable energy market, its transition underpinned by a new £1 billion offshore wind contract.

The challenge Founded 180 years ago, Aker Solutions is one company that has made significant contributions to these economic advancements. With origins tracing back to a small mechanical workshop found on the Aker River in Oslo in 1841, the company’s near two-century-long activities have varied over the years from shipbuilding and manufacturing to the provision of oil and gas industry solutions.

It is the latter of these which has formed the basis of business for Aker through the 21st century, where it has helped to address environmental pressures in oil and gas with low carbon solutions.

Yet, as circumstances change, Aker has recognised the need to adapt.

base and become leaner in order to successfully capitalise on the relatively limited renewable opportunities and survive through a period of significant adjustment.

The winds driving its sails have shifted and Aker is now driven to deliver expertise for not only the oil and gas sector, but rising renewable energy verticals.

Progress has already been made, however. Renewables are not entirely alien to Aker, the company having begun looking at carbon capture technologies as early as the 1990s.

Over the last decade , it has also been transforming technical capacity in the area of offshore wind.

A period of transition has been required in order to achieve this transition, and with that has come challenges. Not only does a shift towards renewables entail an alteration in product and service provision, but equally the company’s culture and identity.

For Aker, this is a long-term, gradual, holistic move that offers little in the way of quick wins. In pursuing its new vision, it has had to shrink its core

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The solution

Aker’s legacy includes significant work in offshore oil and gas projects that share similarities with the emerging offshore wind industry, and 2018 saw the firm invest in Principle Power – a move that provided a leap forward in the way of technical expertise and ensured the successful establishment of Aker Offshore Wind.

Success stories

In February 2021, Vattenfall announced that Aker Solutions together with Siemens would be their preferred bidder if Vattenfall starts a development project for the Norfolk Offshore Wind Power Zone. In the potential project, Aker Solutions’ scope can include deliveries of HVDC converter platforms and other parts of the infrastructure Through this project the firm will leverage its oil and gas engineering experience and existing equipment to develop optimised HDVC transformer platforms that will significantly reduce topside weight on the offshore wind farm. In doing so it will minimise the need for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and ensure the infrastructure will be able operate almost entirely remotely.

This contract is significant. Valued at approximately £1 billion, it provides demonstrable evidence of the company’s success in energy transition, no better signified than by a shift in its revenue sources.

future. Aker’s chairman Kjell Inge Røkke has invested heavily in ocean clean up ventures and been working alongside the World Wildlife Fund, for example.

Like many companies, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Aker and placed some hurdles in the face of its ambitions. Yet it has also brought to life some structural benefits that will benefit the firm long term.

Remote working, for example, has been recognised as a sustainable model that brings many benefits to the table. Not only has it facilitated a lower fixed cost base with smaller core teams on site, but it has additionally allowed the company to leverage expertise from all over the world and better pull in key resources for projects at short notice.

Against a backdrop of an accelerating global energy transition towards sustainable power, supported locally

by Norway’s strong pro-green KPIs, Aker’s proactive approach will stand it in good stead to achieve both a more diversified and sustainable business model in the long term.

About Aker Solutions With over 180 years of experience, Aker Solutions helps the world meet its energy needs. The company engineers products, systems, software, and services required to unlock energy.

The company’s experience spans shallow to ultra-deep waters and tropical to arctic conditions. From subsea to surface and concept to decommissioning, Aker Solutions’ technical expertise and strong partnerships provide energy companies what they need to succeed.

And its progress on a financial and technical front are not the only ways in which the company is making great strides towards a cleaner, greener

Indeed, while recent times could be characterised by upheaval and complications for Aker, internal and external changes have also led to progress and positive change. Looking ahead, the company is targeting 33% of revenues from non-oil activities by 2025 and hopes that two thirds of its business will be motivated by renewables by 2030.

Story type

Key findings

Government support?

#diversification (main category)

For industry

#energy transition, #transformation

• A business needs a vision • Work with partners as needed, even if the partnership does not look ideal

In the UK, Aker Solutions has benefited from the Apprenticeship Levy, R&D tax credits as well as export financing. Aker Solutions actively supports Norwep trade delegations.

Benefits • £1 billion contract award • Successful diversification from oil and gas to offshore wind

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For government • R&D tax credits are also needed for larger businesses, not just SMEs • The industry needs funding to carry out energy transition projects • A meaningful engagement with the energy supply chain is necessary

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Aker Solutions has 12,000 employees in about 20 countries around the world – all embracing innovation and collaboration in a drive to create a sustainable future.

Aker Solutions at a glance: Headquarters: Oslo, Norway Year established: 1841 Number of employees: 15,000 (1,500 in the UK) Revenue: 29,396 MNOK (2020)

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EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Alderley Moving closer to customers through digital diversification

How is Alderley thriving?

Alderley has embarked on a dramatic diversification of its business over the past year, seizing the opportunity to offer greater value to both new and existing customers. Its development of a digital fiscal metering solution in response to the challenges presented to oil and gas operators by the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a winner.

The challenge Thirty years is a long time in business.

Having emerged on the oil and gas services scene in 1989, Alderley PLC has truly mastered its craft, serving large capital projects very successfully as an independent systems integrator.

But recent years in particular have seen a somewhat bumpy demand in the large project EPC sphere, and the COVID-19 pandemic only served to crystilise what Alderley and CEO Colin Elcoate already knew. In order to survive and thrive, diversificationn and a new focus was required. How could Alderley widen its knowledge base and offer something different to a new segment of customers and its existing client base?

way to shift away from what had previously been a business heavily reliant on capital-intensive equipment towards a healthier balance of product and services. Indeed, the past 12 months have seen a renewed strategy adopted, focussing key priorities such as end user solutions, environmental upgrades and enhancing clients’ operational efficiencies across a range of areas including water treatment and cybersecurity.

The solution

What the pandemic highlighted was an opportunity to digitise crucial processes, not least in the area of asset monitoring. Here, Alderley already offered condition-based monitoring, but clients were in need of solutions that could enable monitoring away from their sites in light of new remote working protocols.

While COVID-19 has devasted many industries, including activity in the oil and gas sector, it has likewise presented opportunities to diversify and open up new revenue streams.

For Alderley, it helped paved the

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Success stories

It soon became clear to Elcoate and his leadership team that the company housed more capabilities than they realised, and that a smart metering solution was the answer to clients’ painpoints.

Already an independent system integrator used to configuring products with multi-OEM input (alongside its own), Alderley transformed itself into an independent digital integrator. Harnessing its collaborative experience and spirit, in summer 2020 it set about creating a digital, cloud-based asset management system.

Able to connect all existing fiscal metering systems within a network of assets (upgrading older solutions with its digital twin), clients are now able to benefit from a single view of all global metering assets, providing the critical insight required to make important decisions.

business operates – digital and servicedriven companies, in order to survive, require agility.

The shift is starting to pay off. Alderley achieved incremental service-based wins of +£5 million in 2020 and expects to generate an additional £10 million of service-led business by the end of 2021. Meanwhile, the digital arm is forecast to pull in £500,000 this year, with more on the horizon.

Indeed, the company is now operating at a much more even split in terms of capital equipment and services/digital revenue. In 2019, services accounted for just 20% of income, a figure which will rise to 35% in 2021 with digital contributing another 5%.

About Alderley From humble beginnings as a single workshop in Wickwar, Alderley has grown to become a leading provider of integrated solutions for the global energy industry. The company was initially established to deliver innovative metering systems for the challenging North Sea environment, but now Alderley applies its vast experience and unrivalled technical capabilities across their entire range of solutions.

In tough market conditions, this investment required a leap of faith by the family firm, as well as a fundamental change in how the

And such diversification will also help to boost profit margins, with digital typically achieving margins of more than 50%, compared to 30-50% in services and up to 20% in the traditional capital equipment business.

As Alderley continues to shift the digital dial, its long-term future looks ever more secure.

Story type

Key findings

Alderley at a glance

#digital (main category)

For industry

#innovation, #serviceandsolutions, #transformation

• Be ready to embrace change

Key products and services: advanced digital, mechanical, electrical, process, hydraulic and aftermarket solutions for the global energy industry

Benefits • Continued diversification to service and remote monitoring segments • Pipeline of services tenders increased from £5m to £55m in 18 months

For government • A more sensible discussion around energy transition is needed, without compromising the valuable oil and gas supply chain

Government support?

Alderley has benefited from R&D tax credits, DIT trade missions as well as the Apprenticeship Levy. In addition, the company has been supported by UK Export Finance (UKEF).

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Repeatedly partnering with some of the biggest names in the industry, Alderley’s services – including advanced digital, mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, process and aftermarket solutions – have benefited offshore, floating and onshore operators around the world.

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 100% Headquarters: Wickmar, UK Year established: 1989 Number of employees: 330 Revenue: £70m Revenue from exports: 80%

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Ankura Collective knowledge is power

How is Ankura thriving?

Ankura has stuck true to its values. A company built around collaboration and knowledge sharing among internal teams and external clients, it has grown steadily having started small in 2014, and continues to operate at full capacity despite the operational challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The challenge We’ve all come across the age-old saying knowledge is power. Often attributed to British painter Francis Bacon in 1597, the term has stuck through the centuries and been rephrased in a wide variety of contexts – from the political theory of Thomas Hobbes to the contemporary world of business.

At global business advisory and expert services firm Ankura, this ethos has underpinned its existence ever since it was founded in 2014. The company helps organisations operating in a range of industries, including energy, to navigate a range of risk management challenges.

It does so successfully because of the formidable knowledge contained within the firm, expertise which provides clients unparalleled insight and experience across a wide range of economic, governance, and regulatory challenges.

The key challenge facing the company in its short history has been one of how to drive growth most effectively.

How could it make the most of its knowledge base and become greater than the sum of its individual parts?

The solution Ankura and its CEO Kevin Lavin have always been actively on the lookout for ways to grow, both organically and inorganically.

As time has passed, it became clearer and clearer to the company’s leadership that internal collaboration between its various expert practice teams not only helps bring better value to clients, but also presents the business with new opportunities to

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grow and enhance the quality of what it does – a dual benefit which could not be ignored.

The strategy has involved numerous components. It is constantly seeking to develop the skills of its people, which in turn enhances the nature of support it gives and how that support is delivered to customers.

Regarding the latter, Ankura has also expanded geographically in order to be closer to clients, with offices spread around the world. In the U.S., where it is headquartered in New York, the company has a presence in most of the major cities, including Chicago, Dallas, Baltimore, San Francisco, Seattle, New York and many others.

Key international locations include the UK, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ann Arbor, Singapore, Sydney, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong.

Over time, Ankura has extended and deepened its expertise and experience, meaning it can offer a wide range of services ccovering numerous pressure

Success stories

points for clients, such as: capital projects and forensic investigations; litigation, arbitration and disputes; investigations and accounting; strategy and performance; data and technology; economics and statistics; and risk management and compliance.

And within these various areas of expertise and industry verticals, the company has mastered the art of cross-collaboration. In an energy sector context, this is best demonstrated by a series of recent challenges it has helped clients to overcome.

For example, in 2020 it concluded a complex construction dispute involving an offshore oil production vessel conversion project for an offshore fleet owner. Ankura’s Construction Disputes and Advisory business group provided quantum expert support, evidence, analytics and testimony, but at one stage the client’s opposing party in the dispute pursued security for costs in the arbitration. Here, the firm’s Forensic Accounting team were able to review the accounts of the client (which had recently financially re-structured) and provide expert evidence and testimony

as to its ability to pay the costs in the arbitration if necessary.

After settling the case successfully, the client was looking to hire assets and potentially set up in a new territory.

Ankura was able to offer a further set expertise in the form of the Geopolitical Intelligence team which specialises in political, economic, social, security, technological and environmental risks, opportunities, potential risk mitigation strategies and analysis at country or regional level.

This is a perfect example of how crosscollaboration between teams has led to Ankura growing its scope on a project and delivering a superior result to a client.

And, despite the challenges presented

by COVID-19, collaboration continues to underpin everything the firm does.

It was quick to adopt a homeworking model backed up by internal support systems. Virtual group chats, recruitment and onboarding, and key employee wellbeing mechanisms are all operating strongly, while externally Ankura has been communicating

Story type

Key findings

#collaboration (main category) #serviceandsolutions

For industry

Benefits • Tailored solutions by assembling the right combination of experts • Unique blend of subject matter expertise, cross disciplinary and cross industry expertise • You gain a partner not just one area of expertise

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• Be guided by your client’s needs, collaborate with them

Ankura at a glance: Key products and services: global business advisory and expert services firm • Cyber Security • Economist & Statistics • Intellectual Prosperity • Investigations & Accounting • Advisory • Litigation, Arbitration & Disputes • Risk Management & Compliance

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closely with clients and conducting business through virtual methods.

The disruption has revealed the company’s collaborative spirit, helping it to thrive through the pandemic period and explore new opportunities to accelerate the growth journey it has been on since the very beginning.

About Ankura Founded in 2014, Ankura is a global business advisory and expert services firm. The company helps clients navigate a wide range of corporate performance and risk management challenges, including those pertaining to compliance, investigations, forensics, technology, turnaround and restructuring, and corporate strategy. Ankura’s unique blend of subject-matter expertise, wealth of cross-disciplinary and cross-industry experience, and proven track record enables the company to deliver tailored, effective solutions and unparalleled service in a broad range of matters.

• Advisory • Strategy & Performance • Transaction Advisory Service • Turnaround and Restructuring Main industries served: • Energy • Construction • Financial Services • Real Estate Advisory • Healthcare • Public Sector Headquarters: New York, USA Year established: 2014 Number of employees: 1,500+ Revenue: Publicly unavailable Revenue from exports: Not applicable

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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AqualisBraemar LOC Becoming an owner’s engineer to thrive in a new market

How is AqualisBraemar LOC thriving?

As part of its ambition to become the energy and marine consultant of choice for both client and employee, AqualisBraemar LOC is helping to drive energy transition around the world towards its new-found strength in offshore renewables, in particular floating offshore wind. Marketing itself as an a reliable owner’s engineer, the company has made remarkable headway in the past few years, a trend which has only been accelerated by the recent acquisition of LOC.

The challenge The global clean energy transition is a mightily complex picture. Full of complex indicators and ever-moving variables in supply and demand trends, the underlying objective is to create a global energy mix that greatly reduces the toil it inflicts on the planet.

Indeed, the energy sector accounts for 90% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, something which drives AqualisBraemar LOC (ABL) to make its own business more sustainable.

it is aiming to have renewables and sustainable business account for 50% of turnover by 2025, a major part of this being derived from offshore renewables.

The company offers independent adjusting, marine and offshore consultancy to the global renewables, maritime, oil and gas and power sectors. Spread across a network of offices in 39 countries worldwide, the group operates under seven brands: AqualisBraemar, LOC, OWC, Innosea, Longitude, JLA and ABL Yacht Services. It has a rich history dating back to the middle of the 19th century, and for much of its existence has relied on the oil and gas sector for the lion’s share of its business.

In 2017, it carried out due diligence work for ACS Cobra on its Kincardine Floating Offshore Windfarm, located around 15 kilometres off the Aberdeen coast. This project provided a catalyst to go further, and with the potential of floating offshore wind recognised, ABL needed to grow its expertise and capabilities to fully capitalise on the opportunity in front of it.

But recent years have seen a change in the status quo. Not only does the firm intend on leveraging its traditional leading positions to improve profitability in the marine and oil and gas sectors,

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The solution Careful recruitment of personnel with experience in floating offshore wind has been critical to the company’s increasing activity in this segment.

In combination with the already formidable bank of traditional offshore

Success stories

wind knowledge contained in the group and its divisions, ABL markets itself as a reliable owner’s engineer.

For new players, technologies and investors entering the floating offshore wind market, acquiring the services of an owner’s engineer is a pre-requisite to succeed. While becoming an owner’s engineer is not necessarily a major corporate process, it involves integration with and understanding of a client’s team, and being bedded into their culture.

ABL and its division’s ability to be flexible has enabled it to master the owner’s engineer brief, the past 18 months having seen the floating offshore wind business snowball for the firm. OWC has been able to leverage strength and expertise, as well as financial resources, from across the group, with more knowhow being brought on board in late 2020 through the acquisition of LOC.

Group’s Innosea and other renewable focused units, the combined group has doubled its size in the renewables space and commands a far broader offering covering EPCI, insurance, consultancy to developers and investors, and services for technology players.

The end of 2020 also saw ABL land its most important floating offshore wind contract to date. Here, Erebis has selected ABL subsidiary OWC for its UK offshore wind development activities, a $6 million contract spanning three years which involves the management of consenting and engineering packages. The site is being developed by Simply Blue Energy and Total under a joint venture called Blue Gem Wind, and is the largest floating offshore wind project currently under development.

LOC Group, founded in 1979, is an international marine and engineering consulting firm that operates within the shipping, oil and gas and renewables sectors. By joining OWC and LOC

This landmark contract, along with the acquisition of LOC, has propelled ABL in to becoming a global leader in the offshore floating wind consultancy arena. Indeed, a quarter of the 37GW of projects worked on in 2020 is in the floating category, and the company is already jointly bidding

Story type

Key findings

#energy transition (main category)

For industry

Benefits

• Build the best team, the one most appropriate to your business • Have strategic clarity, and be flexible in its execution

• US$6m contract award

• Measurable, actual commitments are needed to meet the emission targets set at COP21

Government support?

The company has benefitted from a DIT trade mission as well as R&D tax credits.

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Renewable’s activity grew by 59% in the last 12 months alone, and ABL looks well on its way to meeting its lofty 2025 ambitions and driving real, impactful change in the global offshore renewables market.

About AqualisBraemar LOC AqualisBraemar LOC (ABL) is a leading global independent energy and marine consultant working in energy and oceans to de-risk and drive the energy transition across the renewables, maritime and oil and gas sectors, offering clients the deepest pool of world-class expertise across marine, engineering and adjusting disciplines from more than 300 locations worldwide.

AqualisBraemar LOC at a glance:

For government

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on work that could not have been targeted before thanks to is unique joint scope.

Key products and services: independent energy and marine consultancy services Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 55% • Maritime/marine – 28% • Renewables – 17% Headquarters: London, UK Year established: 2012 (AqualisBraemar LOC formed in 2020) Number of employees: 950 Revenue: US$139m (ABL Group) Revenue from exports: 80%

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Section header Success storieshere

Aubin A new low-carbon culture How is Aubin thriving?

Aubin has been pursuing a series of diversification initiatives since early 2018 by repurposing its chemical technology, developed over 30 years in oil and gas, for the renewable and water markets. They have also diversified by developing new solutions to provide more cost effective and lower carbon options for decommissioning oil and gas wells. XcludeTM offers a cost effective well abandonment solution which is now being evaluated to stop leaks of methane from thousands of abandoned oil wells around the world.

The challenge The importance of sustainability to commercial and non-commerical life cannot be understated. In the last decade, awareness surrounding the impact of human activity on our planet has reached new heights as climate change and the overuse of finite resources are now firmly at the forefront of the world’s most influential minds.

The message is simple – businesses, governments and society alike must work together to safeguard the health of planet earth for future generations.

For Aubin, a globally recognised supplier of chemical solutions to the oil and gas industry, flying the flag of a more sustainable energy industry was a key motivation in its pursuit towards energy diversification.

The solution Aubin took the decision to diversify in an attempt to change these fortunes.

No longer could the company differentiate itself by simply doing things differently – it needed to do different things too.

Having attended Fit4Energy (F4E) at Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen, a programme designed to equip participants with the knowledge, insights and best practices for sustainable growth in the energy industry, Aubin set an ambitious target of generating 25% of revenue from nonoil and gas activities within two years.

bolster both the reliability and lifespan of offshore wind turbines. By testing compressive strength and working on ways to improve performance of the grout, it is working to reduce maintenance costs and downtime, and eliminate the need for preventative maintenance in restrictive weather windows.

Since setting that goal, the company has been exploring the potential application of existing products in new markets with rigorous research and development, driven by its dedicated chemicals lab and highly experienced technical team.

So, just what impact might this have?

Assuming Aubin can reduce turbine downtime by just one day a year, it could deliver more than £5 million in savings during the lifetime of Seagreen’s 114-turbine offshore wind farm.

This has included efforts to create a series of wind turbine tower and monopile grouting solutions for the offshore wind sector, its buoyancy and ballast products already demonstrating translatable application in this field.

The company has already been contracted by several companies to conduct tests on additives for cement grouting that have the potential to

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Indeed, it is Aubin’s commitment to consistent product innovation that has made these repurposing efforts not only possible, but effective.

The firm is supporting a variety of industry partners, from developers and designers to installation contractors and grout-pumping service providers.

For example, it completed two landmark projects in the first quarter

Success stories

of 2021, including a contract with FoundOcean which involved using ultrasonics in low strength grout testing. Using Aubin’s qualifications of its proposed grout mixes not only saved FoundOcean time, but also provided an additional level of authority to its tenders and technical responses.

Aubin also offers alternatives to grout from plant-based materials that aid carbon capture and reduce reliance on cement, which is thought to contribute as much as 8% to carbon dioxide emissions. Its AXI-GardTM is proven to be effective and sustainable, reducing pumping times by around 75%.

The company is currently working with an oil and gas client’s foundation designers on MP-TP connections to utilise non-grout reinforcement within metal structures by deploying AXI-GardTM, which Aubin estimates can lead to savings of at least £60 million in typical foundation structure deployments over the next five years.

Delivering variable and controllable ballast to launch installation jackets from shallow water facilities or to

Story type #diversification (main category) #collaboration

Benefits • 10% growth in non-O&G revenues • Lifecycle OPEX savings estimated at £50,000 per wind turbine

Key findings For industry • Be open to accepting support and guidance • Be bold – everything is do-able • Avoid rabbit holes – always check your sources

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assist in the mooring or buoyancy of structures is another area where Aubin is collaborating with partners in the offshore wind sector.

Beyond the offshore wind and oil and gas sectors, the company has also made headway in delivering applications to the utilities industry Aubin is using its expertise to support the development of a novel method of sealing leaks in the water network.

And there are other reasons for optimism too. Staff members are more engaged than ever before, keen to embrace the firm’s new low carbon strategy, and diversification has made it increasingly viable to attract investment having improved Aubin’s overall prospects with a more consolidated business model.

Indeed, Aubin has already received funding from Scottish Enterprise, and has been accepted for theFit4OffshoreRenewable (F4OR) programme. With this support it is hoped that the firm will be better placed to further invest in more sustainable solutions that both

About Aubin Aubin Group is globally recognised as a leading developer and supplier of chemical solutions to the oil and gas industry. The company commits resources to developing effective and reliable products and delivering these promptly to clients around the world. Using chemistry in a number of ways, Aubin develops innovative and proprietary materials technology to solve industry problems.

Aubin’s headquarters are located in Aberdeenshire, where global research and development work is carried out.

The company also has an important presence in the Middle East, with a local support office in Dubai and manufacturing and stocking capabilities in Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Aubin at a glance:

For government • SMEs require investment to make the transition to a cleaner energy matrix

Government support?

Aubin has joined trade missions organised by the Department of International Trade (DIT). The company has also received funding from the Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) as well as the Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) for selected projects. Aubin has also benefited from R&D tax credits.

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improves its own diversification strategy and assists it in flying the flag of green energy globally.

Key products and services: design, development, manufacture and supply of chemical solutions Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 90% • Renewables – 5% • Water – 5% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 1986 Number of employees: 20 Revenue: US$11.5m (£8.2m) Revenue from exports: 75%

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Section header Success storieshere

AVA Energy Making the most out of a crisis

How is AVA Energy thriving?

The COVID-19 pandemic has, in many ways, served as a blessing in disguise for recruitment specialist AVA Energy, with its response to the enormous challenges it faced leading to a root and branch overhaul of how the company is structured and led by Julian Morison. On track to achieve a record year, expansion overseas is now firmly in sight.

The challenge The world stood still for much of 2020 as societies responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is still with us today, and despite light being at the end of the tunnel in the form of vaccination programmes, the economic

fallout in particular is only just kicking in. At AVA Energy, an industry recruiting expert helping clients all over the world find the expertise they need to thrive, coronavirus gave CEO Julian Morison and his board the opportunity to review the whole business.

Following two record trading years, 2020 was forecast to be the best year yet. The pipeline was strong, and a new office opening in the USA was earmarked – once COVID-19 struck, the momentum ground to a sudden halt. It could have been worse, however, as AVA had previously operated heavily in the oil and gas segment of the industry, as much as 100% in 2015. The company made the decision to diversify shortly after, a move which has helped to safeguard it against the volatile nature of the global

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oil market.

But the pandemic still hit hard. Project delays and client hiring freezes, created cashflow backlogs, and enduring uncertainty through the middle of 2020 prompted Morison to reconsider the way AVA was run – how could the business emerge from the other side of this in the best possible shape?

The solution One thing COVID-19 did afford the CEO was time. While the numbers may have been stalling, the opportunity to revisit the business model has been proven invaluable – an opportunity which AVA has exploited to the full.

For instance, the firm’s activities have been split into key focus areas.

Success stories

Contract (freelance) and permanent postings are now handled by dedicated teams, as opposed to its previous dual approach. The move has created greater focus and relevance to its offering.

The teams have also been strengthened thanks to clever recruitment which involved offering experienced people the chance to advance their careers even further, taking advantage of the available talent pool created by competitors making cut backs. AVA, on the other hand, managed to minimise losses and engendered huge loyalty among existing staff by putting their welfare at the heart of the pandemic response.

The firm adopted a remote working model, underpinned by its move away from its London lease into a more flexible office space. While it has been a challenge to keep morale high without the daily social interaction inherent in a face-to-face working environment, AVA placed a lot of effort into keeping all personnel motivated during this period; through an online PT, funded apps and books and a business coach, psychologist.

target setting to reflect new market conditions, a key part of the new strategy being to retain key people through incentive schemes such as revised targets for bonuses. It is part of a self-examination and journaling culture, with every thought encouraged to result in a call to action, something which works its way right to the top.

Indeed, Morison, the board and selected groups of people within AVA, drove the cultural shift with the help of a business psychologist. His desire is to create a best-in-class operation over the long term, built around investment that is designed to underpin the business for the next 15-20 years, as opposed to quick cash injections and profit withdrawals via share sales. A clear vision and plan which is held by values, a scalable structure and people development, where AVA Appraise ensures the hiring and promotion agisnt these plans and values.

by 160%, doubling the size of the business for this year.

Hitting these budgetary targets is step one of an ambitious plan for 2021, the other two goals being to open its US office and ensure all leadership positions are filled. This will lay the foundation for the longer-term ambition Morison is determined to achieve – to hit £500 million in revenues and create a major player on the global stage.

About AVA Energy

This has been aided by more realistic

All of this has driven a marked resurgence in the numbers. The contract business is due to grow 250% in 2021, with recruitment for renewables projects at the heart of this growth. Meanwhile, permanent placement activity is set to rise

AVA Energy is a London-based independent international energy recruitment expert. The company helps clients within both traditional and renewable energy markets by helping them fulfil both permanent appointments and contract assignments in the following areas: Nuclear, Power and Transmission & Distribution, Renewables - Solar, Wind & Hydro, Oil & Gas, Energy Trading and Energy Management.

Story type

Key findings

AVA Energy at a glance:

#transformation (main category)

For industry

#culture, #resilience, #scaleup

• Perseverance is essential – success will come eventually

Key products and services: human capital management business

Benefits • Successful diversification away from oil and gas (100% to 0% in six years) • Growth in contract business to grow by 300% in 2021, while permanent placement business expected to grow by 200%

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For government • Greater clarity is needed around free movement of people following Brexit

Government support?

Ava Energy has not received any kind of government support.

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Main industries served: • Renewables (wind, solar and energy storage) – 40% • Conventional power – 25% • Nuclear – 15% • Sustainability/ESG – 10% • Hydrogen –5% Headquarters: London, UK Year established: 2016 Number of employees: 32 Revenue: £15m Revenue from exports: 70%

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Section header Success storieshere

Balmoral Prosperity through proven, patented technology How is Balmoral thriving?

Through extensive R&D and the application of world-class oil and gas expertise, buoyancy specialist Balmoral Comtec (trading as ‘Balmoral’) has developed state-of-the-art offshore power cable protection solutions for renewable energy markets. It has taken a significant step in consolidating its diversification strategy, doing so despite challenges posed by COVID-19, Brexit and market uncertainty.

The challenge The most successful businesses are those willing to embrace change, adapt and shift as change and challenge requires. Tailwinds and headwinds will constantly fluctuate in any industry – it comes with the territory. Yet, it must be said, 2020 posed a truly difficult series of hurdles that tested the resolve of even the most resilient businesses.

For offshore engineering specialist Balmoral, these difficulties were particularly pronounced.

Headquartered in Aberdeen and operating in the energy industry, the company was faced with a trifecta of challenges. While it had a buoyant order book at the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 cast the potential for prosperity into doubt as it caused economic hardships, travel restrictions and rapidly changing UK government regulations.

The UK’s exit from the European Union at the end of January 2020 added an additional layer of uncertainty, impacting the supply of raw materials which placed pressure on Balmoral’s ability to deliver projects in line with commitments.

Meanwhile, ongoing downturns in the oil and gas market thanks to a duo

of price crashes in 2014 and 2020, alongside growing environmental pressures, had resulted in the need for transition to sustainably succeed and scale in the long term.

The solution In the event, 2020 was a successful year for Balmoral despite these challenges, thanks to a combination of quick and agile responses in the face of hardships, coupled with a sound long-term strategy.

Regarding the former, effective governance had been vital during the year. Drastic change swept the company as health and safety requirements had to be addressed in order to maintain production output in a secure manner, while other preparations had to be made to allow for home working and a shift to online business interactions.

Testament to Balmoral’s willingness to be flexible, the efforts of its HR team to prioritise staff motivation and mental wellbeing, and a rapid deployment of and shift towards technology, the firm was able to adapt to the needs of the hour effectively and efficiently, and production output remained aligned with client commitments.

Yet 2020 was not simply a year of stability for the company. It was able to not just survive, but also thrive.

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Since 2017, the firm had begun to pursue a significant diversification strategy, using its experience to support renewable energy markets while also sustaining its traditional oil and gas activities.

This transition began with the acquisition of Norwegian firm Seaproof Solutions, bolstering Balmoral’s portfolio with the introduction of a unique offshore wind power cable protection system. Owing to financial distress at Seaproof, Balmoral decided to move the technology to its Aberdeen HQ in 2019 to permit greater control of the design, engineering and manufacture processes – a change which enabled the company to shift its focus towards organic energy transition.

Here, the firm took Seaproof’s patented technology and developed a series of functional products. First it introduced FibreFlex™ – a fibre-reinforced cable protection system used to protect subsea power cables that have a lifespan of 25-40 years. Alongside this, the company developed technologies to reduce cable fatigue and introduced ballast systems that provide dampening and additional stability, whilst improving design life and higher tensile load capabilities.

To facilitate and prove the benefits of its state-of-the-art products, Balmoral

Success stories

built a full-scale test rig in Aberdeen in April 2020 to test robustness.

This was a major leap forward. The test rig proved the capabilities of its products and allowed the firm to release them for full use at the end of the year with supporting use-case data.

How were these received? Well, in the short period since then, the company has secured three contracts within the offshore wind sector, the latest of which is valued at £1.6 million.

Here, the firm will be deploying its FibreFlex and ballasted systems to upgrade the client’s power cable arrangement, working in close partnership to develop a custom solution that will feature a ballast stability system to dampen the curvature on the CPS. This system minimises movements from wave and current whilst prolonging the cable’s lifespan.

With this system clients will avoid cable failures and the costly problems associated with that, including more frequent loss of power, downtime and higher replacement costs. Assuming

Story type #diversification (main category), #technology (main category), #resilience

Benefits • Projected ten-fold order increase in diversified sectors (£700k to £7 million) over the course of 12 months • Potential OPEX savings of £600,000 per turbine over wind farm’s lifecycle

Key findings For industry • Adopt an open-minded approach – don’t copy and paste existing solutions

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that typical power cables fail once every five years, Balmoral’s fibre-reinforced solution will deliver approximately £600,000 in savings per turbine.

It must be noted that it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the Aberdeenheadquartered organisation. The Seaproof acquisition provided fresh challenges at the outset, and it also faced difficulty in getting internal and external buy-in into its diversification strategy.

Yet the company’s order intake in diversified sectors is expected to increase from £700,000 in 2020 to £7 million in 2021 – a stark jump that highlights a rapid move towards consolidation within renewable energy markets and, ultimately, a significant step towards the successful completion of its energy transition.

About Balmoral Balmoral specialises in supplying engineered buoyancy, elastomer and composite solutions for demanding applications in the offshore oil and gas industry spanning the E&P and marine segments.

• Development of renewable technologies needs to be driven by industry players. The supply chain plays a key role in bringing oil and gas products to energy transition markets For government • There should be more local content in the development of UK wind farm projects

Government support?

Balmoral has benefitted from R&D tax credits as well as Scottish Enterprise grants. The company has also joined DIT trade delegations.

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Headquartered in Aberdeen, the company offers a varied portfolio which includes buoyancy modules for drilling and production risers, riser towers, bend restrictors, bend stiffeners and protection equipment for subsea infrastructure, cables, pipelines and risers, among other products.

Balmoral’s manufacturing operations include a range of syntactic, hot and cold cure processing capabilities. In addition, the company’s proprietary laboratory, hydrostatic and mechanical testing facilities enable it to research, identify and develop cost effective materials across a spectrum of applications.

Balmoral Comtec Ltd is part of Balmoral Group Holdings Ltd, which is also active in the advanced composites and liquid storage tanks sectors, in addition to property management.

Balmoral at a glance Key products and services: surface and subsurface buoyancy, protection and insulation products and solutions Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 95% • Renewables – 2.5% • Defence – 2.5% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 1980 Number of employees: 322 Revenue: £96.7m Revenue from exports: 92%

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EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Success stories

BMT (Regional) knowledge is power How is BMT thriving?

By pooling knowledge across all its areas of expertise into a matrix organisation with a regional focus through customer-, market- and mission-focused teams BMT has been able to reach new clients with joined up specialisms, the organisation taking on a variety of new projects across Europe and Australia. Although in its early days, early signs suggest that the structural sea change is starting to pay dividends on a financial and cultural level.

The challenge The global energy mix is constantly changing. As countries and regions look to exploit the renewable potential of their geopgraphies – be it hydrogen in Australia or offshore wind in the UK – companies in kind are having to adapt in order to maintain a relevant offering to the new-age energy sector.

Market volatility has been exposed by COVID-19 and resultant oil price drops, while new players are entering the industry with disruptive technologies that are transforming old ways of doing business.

For BMT, a leading international design, engineering, science and risk management consultancy active in oil and gas, defence and security, ports, risk management and maritime transport, sea and coastal sectors with 36 offices around the world, transitioning to a sustainability-driven footing was vital to its long-term viability. However, entering a renewable energy market presents challenges to the likes of BMT which have been associated with oil and gas for a long time. The organisation had to prove it was serious about sustainability in project tenders, all the while keeping on top of fast-moving industry trends and navigating difficulties in the

recruitment of seasoned oil and gas, mining and defence professionals, still vital to its business.

opportunities for collaboration to help win projects and deliver better outcomes for clients.

The solution

Furthermore, key functions such as HR, finance and marketing, sales and business development have been identified to be the focus for improved efficiencies in process. These are known as blue chips, with senior managers deployed to oversee these areas and drive continuous improvement using an agile and lean perspective way of working amongst the internal teams called the “scrum” team approach. A key task has been to retrain and adapt sales roles to regional scopes across multiple products and specialisms.

Helping to support staff through the change of course are specialist transformational change leaders.

BMT’s chief executive Sarah Kenny has been instrumental in creating and executing a vision to overcome these challenges, adopting a strategy of renewal and growth. At the heart of this is a new business model based on a regional structure with centralised portfolios, a setup which has enabled efficiencies to be made and expertise to be shared more readily across the organisation, a three by two matrix.

The process involved merging and consolidating previously disparate future business teams into centralised hubs, activity which has brought multidisciplined expertise together under one roof. COVID-19 both hindered and expedited the transition BMT were already on, however as the organisation had a history of working well in remote teams, the shift to homeworking and virtual communication help to break down the barriers created by prior needs to travel. Teams are interacting and collaborating, gaining a greater understanding of each other’s competencies, and exploring

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While the transformation is still in its infancy, initial outputs and results have been extremely positive. Employees are adapting to the changes and embracing new opportunities to collaborate with colleagues, and new doors are being opened as a result.

BMT’s project pipeline is now clearer, , while operational efficiency and productivity processes are improved thanks to standardised process control and implementation of a strategic

Success stories

review process of all opportunities in pursuit at various stages of the progress through the sales pipeline.

Several contracts have been secured via the new regional framework. In the UK, BMT’s Australian business expertise had proved vital in securing a fisheries project for a consortium of Scottish seafood companies, a project financed awarded funding by the UK Seafood Innovation Fund. The work will see BMT deploy its AquaDEEP BMT Deep, digital platform solutions to help farmers deal with lice infestation, a major issue facing aquaculture in Scotland. Another European project, this time with the European Space Agency, involves BMT carrying out a feasibility assessment of ways to improve safe and secure decommissioning of oil and gas and renewable energy assets via the use of space-based satellite data.

assessment in support of the proposed large-scale renewable energy supply project, the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), in Western Australia. BMT has worked closely with InterContinental Energy as the project has evolved from a renewable energy export project via a high voltage direct cable (HVDC) to a downstream processing facility utilising seawater and renewable power to produce green hydrogen and ammonia as stored/exported renewable energy. BMT’s technical expertise in hydrodynamic and plume dispersion modelling, habitat mapping and field data collection will continue to support the environmental impact assessment for the AREH project. This prestigious project will provide BMT with experience in this relatively new industry, building on our capabilities across the Australian environment team and the broader BMT community.

In Australia, InterContinental Energy contracted BMT to undertake the marine environmental impact

About BMT Formed in 1985 following the merger of

the British Ship Research Association and the National Maritime Institute, BMT is a leading international design and security, engineering, science and risk management consultancy with a reputation for engineering excellence.

From initial concept through to design, construction, operation and eventual decommissioning security arrangements of these projects, the organisation supports customers at every stage of the project lifecycle.

Active in the defence and security, oil and gas, energy and renewable energy, ports, risk management and maritime transport, sea and coastal sectors, BMT has around 1,400 professionals located in 36 offices in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.

Story type

For government

BMT at a glance:

#transformation (main category)

• Government investment is required to support innovative solutions, seeded by funding UK companies, and specifically focused for the targets set to be met for Net Zero.

• Policy on the protection of our maritime environment needs to look at climate risk and our coastal habitats.

• Export finance is difficult to unpick as an SME, greater engagement with UK based companies and ways of facilitating partnerships to secure overseas investment would be gratefully received.

Key products and services: design and security, engineering, energy and renewable energy, science and risk management, maritime transport, sea and coastal consultancy

#diversification, #optimisation

Benefits • Improved pipeline of project opportunities

Key findings For industry • Perseverance is essential in business. Believe what you are doing and keep going, even if it is difficult • Get your teams aligned and fully on board with your vision • Companies need to be adaptable and completely flexible in a fastchanging world

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Government support?

BMT benefits from the Apprenticeship Levy and has received R&D tax credits. The organisation has also received funding from Innovate UK and Aquaculture Scotland.

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Main industries served: • Defence and Security – 63% • Oil and gas – 12% • Commercial shipping and Offshore services – 10% • Environment and Coastal and Oceans Resilience services – 7% • Land and Coastal Infrastructure – 5% • Energy and Renewable Energy – 3% Headquarters: London, UK Year established: 1985 Number of employees: 1,400 Revenue from exports: 97%

@TheEICEnergy

EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Success stories

Bolloré Logistics Helping the industry access hard to reach places

How is Bolloré Logistics thriving?

Bolloré Logistics knows the world of logistics inside out. By assisting energy industry players with critical freight forwarding, logistics, warehousing, customs brokerage and international transport services, the company is itself thriving by helping its clients to thrive – enabling them to access markets and destinations that they may otherwise have been unable to reach.

The Challenge With a cohort of 35,000 employees spread across 109 countries and 600 offices, Bolloré Transport & Logistics has the coverage and in depth expertise to provide crucial supply chain solutions to companies operating in the energy sector. Indeed, the oil and gas market has been an important sector to the company for many years, with experts positioned in strategic

locations around the world to explore and develop business opportunities in both upstream and downstream segments.

years of project execution in remote areas, a process which has involved meticulous planning, reviewing and learning over time.

However, the volume of energy-related enquiries is increasing, particularly in relation to remote places in the likes of the Middle East and Africa. The company has been a logistics specialist for complex and large projects, able to facilitate access to remote places for the energy sector relying on its strengths allowing it to build on its already formidable pool of knowledge.

To support the energy sector specifically, the company created a dedicated business unit vertical.

It trained and recruited employees with specialist industry experience to enable a greater understanding of client requirements, early detection of project challenges and anticipation and preparation for worst case scenarios.

The Solution Bolloré Logistics has several decades of experience behind it. The company is specialised in taking on projects that other logistics firms may be reluctant to explore.

Tackling complex logistical challenges is part of the firm’s DNA, built up over

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Furthermore, newly acquired knowledge has been shared across teams.

Frequent internal communication and learning exercises have enabled best practices to be exchanged, which in turn has enabled superior services to be provided to clients.

Indeed, the company is recognised globally as a leading expert in complex transportation of products and cargo

Success stories

to remote locations and is one of few operators able to do this reliably and extensively.

Performance in the UAE specifically is testament to this observation.

Here, Bolloré Logistics has achieved a KPI performance of greater than 96%, covering critical areas such as meeting budgetary targets and HSE criteria.

This means projects have been executed diligently and successfully, a recent example being the completion of a complex contract to move cargo from various worldwide fabrication locations to Chad via Cameroon.

In total, 10,000 tonnes of freight of varying shapes and sizes were moved, with Bolloré Logistics responsible for the entire project which concluded at the end of 2019.

end destination in Chad, and fees associated with customs clearance and other duties, something which the client approached Bolloré Logistics specifically to resolve due to its track record of operating on the continent.

Despite the various nuances, which also saw a last-minute route change caused by road maintenance works in Chad, the company completed the project to the full satisfaction of the customer.

It is a benchmark project for energy players seeking to move cargo to hard-to-reach markets, and as the world continues to recover from the devastating impact of COVID-19, Bolloré Logistics remains determined to meet and exceed customer expectations.

There were several challenges that were overcome, including coordinating numerous client facilities, suppliers, ports and other transport hubs, as well as various regulatory and administration complexities in the two African nations. Technical hurdles comprised navigating a limited transportation network to reach the

Its ongoing mission covers three critical components: Operating as close as possible to its budgets; acting with timeliness, even in the face of challenges and uncertainties; and ensuring all KPIs defined with clients are achieved. By fulfilling these, Bolloré Logistics will continue to thrive and open up critical markets for players across the energy industry spectrum.

Story type

Key findings

#serviceandsolutions (main category)

For industry

#collaboration, #optimisation

• Know your market and your customers • Do not assume you know and understand everything • Prepare for the worst by being proactive

Benefits • Major contract award for logistics services in Africa

The company has not received any type of government support

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Bolloré Transport & Logistics is a major international transport and logistics operator. Our 35,000 employees spread across 109 countries on five continents express their expertise through four businesses. Bolloré Ports, Bolloré Railways, Bolloré Energy and Bolloré Logistics are today working in synergy to deliver their international customers a turnkey service offer. We support major international groups and thousands of SMEs around the world. We move from one continent to another with the same agility, credibility and expertise. We offer local and international customers a unique integrated logistics network and turnkey services offer that makes it possible to import and export goods even in the most remote areas.

Bolloré Logistics at a glance:

Government support?

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About Bolloré Transport & Logistics

Key products and services: • Multimodal Transport • Customs & Regulatory Compliance • Contract Logistics • Supply Chain • Industrial Projects Main industries served: • Energy – 20% • Others – 80% Headquarters: Paris, France Year established: 1822 Number of employees: 35,000 Revenue: €7.7bn

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Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore

Adapting to a crisis using digital transformation How is Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore thriving?

Amid the hardships experienced by the global offshore oil and gas industry, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore has reformed its internal digital tools in order to better position itself in the market. Known as the Offshore Transformation Project, its plan is in full swing and already paying dividends in the form of a newly-secured contract.

The challenge It is fair to say that the oil and gas sector has experienced something of a bumpy ride over the past five years.

Although a relatively small period in the context of the industry’s history, it has been arguably one of the most volatile chapters in recent memory – from the price plunge of 2014-2016 to the hugely damaging impact brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, players up and down the value chain have had their resilience sorely tested.

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore is no stranger to market fluctuations.

Established all the way back in 1828, the company has prevailed throughout the ages and is today a global leader in testing, inspection and certification across a number industries, with energy being just one of them (responsible for about 20% of overall revenue).

With 75,000 employees and more than 1,400 offices worldwide in the Bureau Veritas Group, it is a huge operation, and was therefore hit especially hard by the COVID-19-enduced downturn in oil and gas activity in 2020.

The challenging situation forced company leaders, including Matthieu De Tugny, President of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, to rethink their strategy towards the offshore energy market – as well as the oil and gas crisis, the increasing momentum being gained in the areas of energy transition and green industrial strategies were also cause to alter course.

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore suffered from immediate reductions in offshore activity. Despite its classifications business remaining admirably resilient, offshore revenue dropped by 25-30% through the course of 2020.

Clients that were offering work also expected the same level of service and delivery, regardless of the disruptions brought about by the pandemic. In February 2020, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore opened its first remote survey centre, a move which couldn’t have come at a better time – however, the onset of COVID-19 exacerbated the demand for services such as this. By May, it was clear to company bosses that wholesale change needed to be enacted.

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The solution Several months of planning in the making, the Offshore Transformation Project reached deployment stage at the start of 2021.

It looked at several key areas, including what services were currently being provided and whether they were delivering acceptable returns, as well as how such services were deployed – was delivery consistent? How can digital systems be upgraded to support consistent delivery? Would a global operating model work better than a local operating model?

These were all crucial questions being asked. The project also examined organisational structure and the need for market intelligence to determine exactly what the offshore market might require – intelligence which will identify growth opportunities for the years ahead.

Several teams and facilitators were created to carry out key tasks and answer the aforementioned questions and issues.

First, it became clear that integrating

Success stories

offerings could lead to efficiencies and greater opportunities to land projects.

Furthermore, new avenues such as energy transition were explored, while components of existing services were examined to see if greater value could be extracted. For example, in the area of decommissioning, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore saw gaps in analysis around operational expenditure and risk-based methodologies. Meanwhile, it was noticed that clients were demanding an equipment certification scheme that was globally standardised.

So, how have these findings been put into action? Although implementation in in its early stages, there are three major conclusions that can be drawn.

Operationally, the company is now working towards a single global operating model, breaking down the localised siloes that were seen to be holding it back. This means customer support is available 24/7, with Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore internally more resource-efficient and agile.

As a result of this, global hubs are now able to utilise expertise that they may not have been aware of previously.

Offices have a full map of all company

competencies, with technical authorities playing a global role in order to standardise processes and qualifications – this directly answers calls made by clients regarding certifications.

This is all being underpinned by a new, standardised global digital platform with a raft of beneficial features. Key among them are a unified dashboard and single tools for contract verification and contract performance, enabling crucial analysis comparing different locations. Workflows are more visible, meaning resources are not likely to be bottlenecked.

Early signs are the strategy is already paying off. Not only has Bureau Veritas launched a new e-learning platform for the industry BVS eAcademy (eacademy.bvsolutions-m-o.com), but the firm has also secured a €1 million verification contract that it would otherwise not have been able to win.

The rest of 2021, it appears, is very much a case of watch this space.

About Bureau Veritas Group Created in 1828, Bureau Veritas is

Story type

For government

#optimisation (main category) #digital, #serviceandsolutions, #transformation

• Clarity is needed around what the energy transition plan is and how the service sector can contribute to its success

Benefits • €1m in verification contracts

Key findings

Government support?

Bureau Veritas’ UK unit has benefitted from the apprenticeship levy as well as R&D tax credits

For industry • A strategy is a journey, not a destination • Constantly look for the next solution

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a global leader in testing, inspection and certification, delivering high quality services to help clients meet the growing challenges of quality, safety, environmental protection and social responsibility. The company is active in a range of markets, including infrastructure, oil and gas, marine, power, chemicals, commodities and automotive, among others.

The Bureau Veritas Group has around 75,000 employees located in more than 1,400 offices and laboratories around the globe.

Our Marine and Offshore division is one of the world’s leading ship classification societies and offshore safety and verification bodies, with 2 650 experts worldwide and 11,400+ BV Classed Ships. We globally count 180 survey centers, 19 Local Plan approval, 6 Operations Centers and 8 remote survey centers.

Bureau Veritas at a glance: Key products and services: testing, inspection and certification services Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 12% • Offshore wind – 6% • Solar power – 1% • Others – 81% Headquarters: Paris, France Year established: 1828 Number of employees: 75,000 Revenue: €5bn Revenue from exports: 90%

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EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Cargostore Worldwide Prospering through a proactive pandemic response How is Cargostore thriving?

Thanks to a proactive strategy underpinned by product investment, global expansion and an unwavering commitment to diversification, Cargostore has successfully navigated a series of economic hardships and logistical challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, consolidating its position as a leader in the supply of containers. For Cargostore, it has been a 12-month period defined by innovation, agility and resilience.

The challenge As might have been expected, one of the most significant talking points in this year’s Survive & Thrive Report has been the wider impact of COVID-19 on energy industries across the globe.

For Cargostore, a leading global player supporting the energy sector in the sale and leasing of containers for both intermodal and offshore use, this same trend holds true.

Thanks to diversification efforts that began seven years ago, Cargostore to some extent had a platform from which it could build resilience in the face of the economic hardships of 2020. Having focussed attentions on the offshore wind sector, the firm had already established presence in several European countries, including an 80% market share in providing containers to offshore wind projects in Germany.

That said, much of the company’s revenue was still derived through the provision of containers and associated services in the offshore oil and gas industry – a sector which came to experience an 18-year low in prices come May 2020.

The resulting situation for Cargostore

was one of extreme turbulence. Many of its containers were positioned on offshore oil platforms where operations had come to a grinding halt. In order to weather the storm, the company not only needed to relocate its assets, but reconsider its entire strategy moving forward.

The solution In response, a two-pronged plan was immediately instated to safeguard the company’s future.

First, it opted to take the calculated risk of investing in new products to consolidate its position in offshore wind. In order to ensure that the relocation of units from oil and gas projects wouldn’t hamper the expansion of the firm’s renewables portfolio, Cargostore upgraded its fleet, purchasing 50 heavy duty half height offshore containers – units ideally suited to offshore wind.

The company also took the opportunity to bolster its supply of reefer units, its position as the world’s largest supplier of DNV reefer containers being

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the ideal footing from which it could capitalise on the growing demand emerging for such containers as a result of the logistical strains placed on them from the pandemic.

Existing offshore units were also redeployed to support its intermodal division and the UK’s fight against covid. Regarding the latter, its containers were provided to UK covid testing sites – a move that enabled both societal wellbeing and the integrity of Cargostore’s balance sheet.

The second prong to the firm’s pandemic response strategy involved expansion plans targeted towards Taiwan, Mexico and Mozambique, markets which would serve to accelerate its diversification efforts.

By June 2020, Cargostore was able to announce a new partnership with Rhenus Offshore Logistics and local agent Maxlines New Energy & Project Logistics in Taiwan, in turn opening a depot in the port of Taichung.

Resultantly, it established itself as the first locally based supplier of DNV containers in the region.

Success stories

A further announcement came in December following reform in the Mexican energy sector that opened up oil and gas production and distribution activities to foreign investment. Here, the company partnered with Harren & Partner and established a depot in Ciudad del Carmen along the country’s eastern coast.

More recently, Cargostore has established a presence in East Africa, supplying a range of container types to both onshore and offshore projects in Mozambique, including the country’s flagship LNG development, since January 2021.

Albeit a bold strategy to pursue such extensive investments during a period economic downturn, the company’s asset upgrade and expansion efforts are already beginning to pay dividends.

Significantly, Cargostore has diversified its revenue streams, bringing new products to new sectors in three new regions in just 12 months, mitigating profit losses caused by major project postponements in the oil and gas sector.

easy transition. The company has faced numerous challenges along the way, the blockage of the Suez Canal in February 2021 having been the latest in this saga, exacerbating logistical issues. Yet despite unintended and unavoidable setbacks, the firm has emerged stronger than ever.

Having built an already firm position in renewables, with an unrivalled DNV Reefer fleet globally, and increasingly diversified revenue portfolio both in terms of product and geography, it has not only survived the pandemic but is set to thrive in the future.

About Cargostore Cargostore Worldwide is one of the world’s leading suppliers of ISO shipping containers and DNV 2.7-1 certified CCU’s for on and offshore projects. With offices in London, Abu Dhabi, Holland and depots across the globe they provide a seamless and fast service with the flexibility to meet any client requirement.

supply companies. All equipment is designed, built and certified to the DNV 2.7-1 standard. Cargostore has invested in a wide range of regular and specialist products which are available via their location network in the US Gulf, the North Sea, the Arabian Gulf, Middle East, East Africa and Taiwan.

Its ISO division supplies ISO certified storage and shipping containers for hire or sale including bespoke container conversions and specialised equipment. We support clients in mining, stability and aid, Government, international relief agencies, catering, and logistics.

Indeed, it has been by no means an

Cargostore’s Offshore Division provides a complete range of CCU’s to service the oil, gas and offshore renewables industries, project movers and offshore

Cargostore has offices globally with staff that collectively speak over 12 languages; enabling them to provide the very best in customer service for our clients worldwide. With constant availability, faster delivery, and local representatives, we make buying, renting and modifying ISO and DNV containers a quick and simple process.

Story type

Key findings

Cargostore at a glance:

#collaboration (main category)

For industry

#export, #resilience

• When dealing with customers, phone calls are preferable to emails.

Key products and services: Supply DNV 2.7-1 cargo carrying units to the offshore energy sector

Benefits • Much quicker process to expand into a new country • US$2m in expected revenues

For government • Fix issues caused by Brexit.

Companies are being tempted to move out of the UK due to VAT issues.

Government support?

The company has joined DIT trade missions.

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Main industries served: • Offshore oil and gas – 40% • Onshore oil and gas – 2% • Renewables – 35% • Non-energy – 23% Headquarters: Wimbledon, UK Year established: 1993 Number of employees: 15 Revenue: £12m Revenue from exports: 98%

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EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Crondall Energy Spearheading the UK’s CCUS proficiency

How is Crondall Energy thriving?

Faced with an unpredictable oil and gas market experiencing record price dips and exacerbated turbulence through the pandemic, Crondall Energy identified the need to diversify. Through an unwavering commitment to energy transition, the company is now helping to spearhead the UK’s development of carbon capture, utilisation and storage through a two-year technical advisory contract with BEIS, extendable to four-years.

The challenge The previous half decade has been an extremely difficult period for the oil and gas industry. Owing to a growing supply glut, per-barrel prices fell from $106 in mid-2014 to a low of $26 in 2016, this 70% drop representing one of the largest oil market declines in recent memory.

Prices rebounded somewhat in the

years that followed, reaching a perbarrel high of $74 in August 2018.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to another collapse in 2020 that saw oil slip into negative pricing for the first time in its history.

Such dramatic market volatility has forced industry players like Crondall Energy to respond rapidly and adapt to changes in order to survive. For Crondall Energy, the volatility of 2016 saw its subsea revenues fall from £2 million to £1.4 million, and its growth has remained relatively flat ever since as the oil and gas market’s modest recovery has provided little in the way of compensation or reason for optimism.

There has been a mindset shift at Crondall Energy, however. The company has since recognised that its traditioinal oil and gas market is both unattractive to future generations of engineers, and has become the ‘sick man’ of the global economy – one that is ultimately destined to wither over time.

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The solution Crondall Energy resultantly took the decision to focus on energy transition in 2020, identifying carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) as the most natural path to take in realising this ambition.

It was a transition motivated by suitability and longevity. Not only did CCUS provide an easy way to effectively leverage the existing skills of Crondall Energy’s engineers, but it equally offered exciting, long-term career prospects to better attract and retain talent and a means of securing a more stable and sustainable financial future for the company. The organisation’s structure meant it was also well placed to pursue such a transformation – as a smaller entity, it benefited from its innate flexibility, for example.

That said, it should be noted that CCUS was previously unfamiliar territory for the company, and without previous case studies or industry

Success stories

legacy data to refer to, starting from scratch was unavoidable.

engineering design (FEED) and towards implementation.

Through an unwavering commitment to achieving its planned energy transition, Crondall Energy set about overcoming this hurdle by embracing collaboration with other experienced industry partners. Here, the company joined a consortium alongside WSP and Geoenergy Durham that is providing engineering and technical advice to the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in relation to progressing the development of CCUS in the UK.

For Crondall Energy, this contract is a fundamental part of the energy transition strategy. Not only does it present the opportunity to become a leader in the field of CCUS and take huge strides towards its overall energy transition goals, but it also comes with significant financial support over the initial two-year period, with the potential for ongoing work until 2024.

Consortium leader WSP has been tasked with exploring the onshore scope of CCUS, Crondall Energy is exploring the near shore and offshore pipeline and subsea scope, and Geoenergy Durham the subsurface and storage scope. Together, they are helping BEIS to build engineering readiness and understand feasibility of proposed CCUS clusters across the UK, moving potential projects from concept through front end

Impressively, Crondall Energy has achieved consistent revenues in the past three years – a great outcome given the pressures of both COVID-19 and the oil market’s precarious position in general. As a result, the company has so far been successful in navigating a period of major internal and external change, while remaining profitable and protecting the vast majority of its workers’ jobs.

All factors considered, the company has reason for great optimism in 2021 and beyond. Implementing its energy

Story type

Key findings

#energytransition (main category)

For industry

#collaboration, #diversification

• Get involved with organisations that actually believe and work towards energy transition

Benefits • Contract award supporting approximately 10% of company turnover.

transition strategy is well underway, underpinned by the flagship BEIS contract that has placed the firm at the forefront of the UK’s CCUS ambitions, and with stable revenues helping to support its new ambitions, Crondall Energy is well on the way to achieving a stable and sustainable future.

About Crondall Energy Crondall Energy is a leading independent provider of commercial, strategic and technical consulting services for energy projects using floating production and subsea technologies.

The company works with a range of project stakeholders, including upstream energy companies, investors and law firms. Founded in Crondall, Hampshire, in 2001, the company today is present in London, Southampton, Aberdeen and Newcastle, in addition to an international presence in Houston, Singapore and Stavanger.

Crondall Energy at a glance:

For government • The government has a role to play when it comes to creating value in energy transition segments such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen and offshore wind.

Government support?

Key products and services: independent engineering & consultancy services Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 80% • Carbon capture – 20% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 2011 Number of employees: 32 Revenue: £7m Revenue from exports: 60%

Crondall Energy has benefitted from R&D tax credits. The company has also received support from Scottish Enterprise.

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Deep Down Championing cultural change

How is Deep Down thriving?

Deep Down has transformed itself through a cultural overhaul, its previously top-down environment replaced by the embrace of ideation and innovation among all stakeholders.

During a period of extreme hardship brought about by the pandemic, instilling such change with successful buy-in from all employees has been significant.

The challenge It is often said that being outside your comfort zone is beneficial, and for good reason. While change of any kind can either be positive, negative, or indeed a combination of both, it is also often a catalyst for learning.

This premise forms much of the basis from which the story of US-based

subsea solutions specialist Deep Down can be told when reflecting on the past 12 months.

Like many firms serving the offshore oil and gas industry, Deep Down was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owing to a steep trough in industry demand, projects around the globe grinding to a halt, travel restrictions and exacerbated logistical issues, the company was faced with revenues that dropped from $19 million in 2019 to $13 million in 2020.

It was a sobering experience. With contracts having to be renegotiated, the company was in a position where it had to reflect and restrategise.

The question was, could it emerge from such a precarious situation reenergised, and pave a new path towards sustainable growth and a prosperous future?

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The solution For Deep Down, the solution already partly existed prior to this latest challenge.

Enter Charles Njuguna, the company’s President, CEO and Director. Upon being appointed to his current role in September 2019, he immediately set about optimising all facets of the firm, evaluating its core product and service offering, switching up its personnel and shutting down certain segments of the organisation that were deemed unnecessary.

It was a stark change in leadership approach. Njuguna’s predecessor was the company’s founder – an individual with immense experience and specialising in inventing and engineering products. The new CEO, meanwhile, was a Kenyanborn immigrant with a hospitality

Success stories

background, bringing to the table new skillsets, ideas and ideals.

Njuguna advocated a cultural overhaul, inviting employees to step forward with their ideas and criticisms in an attempt to build trust and encourage a more open and proactive environment.

Come March 2020, and COVID-19 offered a silver lining in some respects – it provided both the evidence and opportunity for this continued internal dissection, albeit on accelerated and deeper terms.

Ideas and opportunities such as a shift towards energy transition that had once only briefly been discussed were embraced. Here, Deep Down is now looking to diversify away from reliance on its flagship hydraulics solutions, owing to discussions around its elimination which could result from electrification. Non-oil and gas opportunities have also become a key focus, an outcome of a wider rethink of the company’s core competencies.

About Deep Down

While Deep Down’s adaptation may be less tangible than that of others in this survive and thrive report, it is by no means less significant. Having

Deep Down, Inc. is a leading US-based oilfield services company providing subsea solutions for the world’s energy and offshore industries. The company’s primary focus is on complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas production system products and support services between the platform and the wellhead. The company provides a wide range of subsea engineering, manufacturing, installation, commissioning and maintenance solutions. Their products include loosetube steel flying leads, riser and subsea isolation valve systems, infield umbilicals, a broad range of umbilical accessories, and installation buoyancy. They also offer umbilical retermination, subsea equipment rental and storage, and systems integration testing services.

Story type

Key findings

Deep Down at a glance:

#culture (main category)

For industry

#reslience

• Be authentic • Do not be afraid to make decisions

Key products and services: Design, engineer, manufacture, install subsea energy production equipment.

Deep Down required immediate yet brutal honesty to better address its shortcomings and adapt, survive and thrive as best as possible in the face of extreme hardship. As a result, the CEO instilled a policy of vigorous internal debate, ensuring any strategic change would have binding commitment from all stakeholders.

It was not an easy transition to execute. Everyone had agreed change was needed, yet the majority were accustomed to adhering to direction from above. The outcomes of flipping this status quo on its head, however, were optimal.

Benefits • Improved retention of staff • Positive feedback on new leadership

Staff retention has improved significantly with zero unplanned exits in 12 months, despite earlier salary cuts, jobs cuts and furlough arrangements that have been required in order to keep the company afloat. If anything, the company has been able to attract very strong candidates from other companies during the downturn. A confidential management assessment has also taken place for all senior management, the feedback from which has been overwhelmingly positive, demonstrating success in the change process throughout all layers of the company.

successfully galvanised its workforce, instilled a culture of idea embracement from within and with ambitions to diversify, 2021 will be an exciting year for the company. Indeed, it is very much a case of watch this space.

For government • US government should dedicate resources to help companies make progress in countries with local content requirements

Government support?

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 100% Headquarters: Houston, USA Year established: 1997 Number of employees: 47 Revenue: US$13m Revenue from exports: 25%

The company has benefitted from R&D tax credits.

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Success stories

Deugro Inspiring logistics innovation for offshore wind How is Deugro thriving?

Recognising the benefits of diversification in securing a more sustainable future, Deugro has gone above and beyond for Siemens Gamesa, developing and deploying an innovative offshore wind logistics solution that has not only cut process costs by 18 percent but critically ensured that the handling of sizeable and highly valuable components is safer, more reliable and more efficient.

The challenge Deugro Group, like many others, was challenged by the volatile nature of the oil and gas industry, yet just five years ago, 70 percent of its business was derived from activities associated with the sector.

The solution Low carbon, sustainable sectors were quickly targeted, yet operationalising these goals was easier said than done.

With its portfolio leaning too heavily on this segment, the 2014-2016 crisis sparked a decision to better balance its wider offering in order to secure the company’s long term future.

Enter Siemens Gamesa – a company that Deugro Group already had proven track record with, it now presented a vital opportunity for it to solidify its foundations in these diversified sectors.

Indeed, this was by no means an easy task. With a history spanning almost a century, Deugro Group had developed a sound yet somewhat entrenched reputation as a one-stop shop for complex logistics services in the oil and gas market, capable of delivering vast quantities of cargo for sector players every year.

The two companies’ relationship spans 15 years, Deugro having previously assisted Siemens Gamesa on cost reduction and efficiency where it had been experiencing challenges in relation to tariff-related pressures.

The need for change was clear – the company was both struggling to manage the unpredictable peaks and troughs of the oil and gas sector yet had huge potential to overcome such challenges by being situated on the doorstep of the UK’s booming offshore wind sector.

The question was, could it successfully innovate to consolidate its position as a leading offshore supply chain solutions provider in other key regional energy segments?

This was a vital foothold. Not only did Deugro have a strong understanding of Siemens’ footprint in Hull, but it also had productive working relations with the company’s supply chain team in Esberg, Denmark.

Leveraging this cohesion, Deugro proposed plans to assist Siemens in reducing its offshore wind logistics costs.

As a leading wind turbine manufacturer, Siemens Gamesa’s supply chain was highly complex, requiring the movement of huge numbers of significantly large components such

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as nacelles, towers, and blades – all heavy, all fragile and all highly valuable.

To date, its component handling had been suboptimal. The organisation had built its logistics systems around a risky, time consuming and expensive lift process using a jack-up vessel in Esberg. Not only did this entail the use of overly complicated and inefficient equipment such as cranes, but its lifts could often not be completed under high-wind conditions, resulting in unpredictable delays on its scheduling.

Through collaboration with Deugro, however, Siemens Gamesa’s approach to component handling has been drastically transformed.

The two companies worked in an almost indivisible manner, developing a new transit system between Hull and Esberg centred around specifically designed vessels built with the purpose of minimising risk through the elimination of lifts altogether. In the newly optimised process, trailers are rolled directly onto these bespoke vessels which themselves have been built to maximise overall storage potential for Siemens’ stowage capability towers, nacelles and blades.

It was by no means an easy undertaking. The trailer-based solution

Success stories

was a radical and innovative logistics concept that required two vessels to be designed and built from scratch. Further, as wind turbines and their associated components have continued to increase in size, Siemens Gamesa has committed to modifying Deugro’s ships, editing both their length and width in order to accommodate larger components.

Indeed, these are fantastic foundations from which the firm can further diversify away from oil and gas. And Deugro isn’t planning on stopping at offshore wind, the company now also marketing its logistics solutions within segments such as cabling, subsea infrastructure and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).

The impact of these efforts cannot be understated. Siemens’ Gamesa has benefited from an 18% reduction in offshore wind supply chain costs as a result of Deugro’s bespoke and innovative solution, while unpredictability has been significantly reduced where cargo no longer needs to leave the ground.

Oil and gas activities now account for just 50% of company revenue, and while the Siemens Gamesa contract is the company’s largest in the renewables space, it is a milestone that simply outlines the edge of new horizons for the firm moving forward.

The deugro group is comprised of four independent companies that offer farreaching competence, experience and know-how in their fields of business: deugro - Project freight forwarding; dship - Global Ocean transportation; dteq - Transport engineering solutions; dhaulage - Specialized transportation

assets. Their specialities include Freight services, Logistics solutions, Ocean freight, Vessel chartering, Project cargo, Port captain services, Surveying and supervision, Project consulting e Special equipment. The deugro group redefines the one-stop-shop concept for complex logistics services and unifies the dedication, synergies and competences of all group companies.

It stands for entrepreneurial, dynamic, best-in-class service and have a solid reputation for our client-centric and best minds approach. All group companies operate according to the highest QHSES and compliance standards. The deugro group originates from deugro, the first company founded in 1924 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Today, the deugro group continues to be a family-owned enterprise with a strong financial foundation.

Story type

Key findings

Government support?

#collaboration (main category) #innovation (main category)

For industry

The company has benefitted from trade missions and export financing.

For Deugro on the other hand, the successes have been equally significant.

As a result of its efforts, the company secured a five-year extension beyond the initial agreement, consolidating its position as Siemens Gamesa’s long term contract partner for the movement of large components between Esberg and Hull for the foreseeable future.

#diversification, #optimisation, #serviceandsolutions

Benefits • Single biggest contract awarded to Deugro in years • 18% reduction in supply chain costs to the customer

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About Deugro

• In logistics, everything is possible.

Solutions of the next 5-10 years have not been designed yet.

• The UK has shown it can lead in the low-carbon segment, but the country needs drive, commitment and innovation For government • UK Export Financing (UKEF) is too focused on UK manufacturing. Value should also be allocated to logistic services.

• A tangible path is needed for energy transition, not vague 20-year commitments.

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Deugro at a glance: Key products and services: deugro delivers value-added services and products relating to supply chain and logistics for the energy industry Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 50% • Renewables – 30% • Conventional power – 10% • Others – 10% Headquarters: Pfäffikon, Switzerland Year established: 1924 Number of employees: 1,400 Revenue: US$1bn Revenue from exports: 90%

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Success stories

DNV Shifting from services to solutions How is DNV thriving?

Having been in operation for well over 150 years, DNV has always approached the market in a progressive manner: following on from a strong track record in the maritime industry and with the advent of oil production in the North Sea, DNV entered the oil & gas industry bolstered by extensive experience and a strong understanding of hazardous and unique offshore conditions. After the oil crisis sparked in 2014 and with the growing momentum being gathered by energy transition activities, the company was ahead of the game and was already positioned as the road to achieve the goals of the Paris agreement became prevalent for all energy companies. Cue the creation of a ‘lifetime solutions’ approach to business – a move which is still ongoing but already delivering some promising yields.

The challenge Even the most established of servants to the energy industry have had to adapt, in recent years, as a result of fluctuating market forces. The oil crisis of 2014 coupled with the seemingly unstoppable march of energy transition has brought into question the longterm viability of firms which once almost exclusively catered to the oil and gas industry.

Whilst adapting to the shift, and recognising the opportunities to support oil & gas companies in their decarbonisation challenges. DNV also realised it had to better understand the client journey in order to shift away from a clearly defined service provider into a multi-service solutions company capable of solving complex problems.

The solution Recent years have seen DNV shift to

what it refers to as a lifetime solutions approach to business.

It is very much a gradual process that is still ongoing, an important milestone being the formation of a new Energy Systems division to reflect the changing market where the oil and gas business area was combined with the growing onshore / offshore wind, solar, hydrogen, CCS, power, and energy storage businesses.

The inspiration for the lifetime solutions approach came from listening to existing clients, a process which has revealed the importance of understanding a wider scope of their challenges to present a more relevant, tailored, enticing offering.

Institutionalising the shift in working mindset involved a multi-departmental approach coupled with a recognition of the customer challenge and an ‘all out’ desire to pull the best resources and focus on an efficient result, whilst maintaining a high level of safety and quality.

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It was a cultural change that needed to happen for the move to be successful, and benefits were soon realised. The newfound synergy across services removes duplication and enables greater levels of productivity. For example, witnessing traditionally required input from departments such as marine warranty, verification and inspection departments – today, this work can be carried out by one DNV employee, in close collaboration with content experts.

The establishment and development of the Energy Systems division, using this project based cross service way of working has opened up many new opportunities.

An example is the work with a Londonbased Energy from Waste company, who are licensors of technology which converts waste plastics back into household grade plastics.

The cooperation with DNV GL started in 2018, when DNV worked with them to help secure funding from financial

Success stories

institutions. Since then, the scope has broadened to include operational work, such as assessments of the company’s technology at its facilities.

Another project kickstarted in 2018 and remains ongoing today with a North Sea operator Here: DNV assisted the company in the early stages through provision of traditional oil and gas FEED services, including safety studies, verification and marine warranty services for the platform, pipeline and terminal.

In completing this early-stage work, the firm built up trust and soon realised it could add lifetime project value.

Their customer also saw the potential for DNV to add greater input beyond quality and safety services, and DNV in turn began to ask questions, guide and support the client as the nature of the relationship evolved – this proved invaluable in navigating the challenges presented by COVID-19 throughout 2020. The approach has

paid dividends, with DNV now also supporting with specific challenges.

A third key customer project is not only providing a range of off-the-shelf services. With ongoing discussions and improvement initiatives in operation, DNV is also engaged in solving specific challenges as part of the customers bid to build environmental, social governance (ESG) compliance.

DNV, with these and several other case studies under its belt, is now wellpositioned to attack energy transition challenges head on with a lifetime solutions mindset. The approach is truly collaborative

About DNV An organisation present in more than 100 countries with experience dating back to the 19th century, DNV has grown to become one of the world’s leading quality assurance and risk management players.

The company provides classification,

Story type

Key findings

#serviceandsolutions (main category)

For industry

#energytransition, #culture, #decarbonisation

• Market awareness and ability to rapidly adapt to change • Understanding customer challenges and whole project lifecycle is paramount • Organisational culture - identifying how to rework and accustom service offerings to provide a solution orientated service.

• Consistently push your comfort zone • Ensure you have a solid foundation

Benefits • Meeting customer challenges head on • Envisioning the bigger project objectives • Efficiency gains • Able to assist customers in energy transition and decarbonisation projects

For government

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A company that invests 5% of its revenue in R&D, DNV is engaged in several joint industry projects (JIPs) in collaboration with customers with a view to develop solutions, standards and practices that help solve industry challenges. JIPs related to the role of natural gas in the energy transition process include the development of a risk evaluation tool for FSRU-to-power projects and the introduction of a quality assurance protocol for the use and transport of CO2, among others.

Government support?

• Government should continue to be supportive of the oil and gas decarbonisation strategies

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technical assurance, software and independent expert advisory services primarily to the maritime, oil and gas, power and renewables industries. Focus areas also include digitalisation, ocean space, cities and ports, and life sciences.

In the UK, DNV has received R&D tax credits.

DNV at a glance: Key products and services: large technology advisor to customers in maritime, O&G and energy businesses Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 22% • Renewables – 18% • Maritime – 36% • Certification – 17% • Others – 7% Headquarters: Oslo, Norway Year established: 1864 Number of employees: 12,000 (700 in the UK) Revenue: 20.9bn NOK (£150m in the UK) Revenue from exports: 25%

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EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Success stories

EnerMech From service provider to problem solver

How is EnerMech thriving?

By sticking to its strengths and increasing the value it offers to core clients, EnerMech has ridden out the worst of the pandemic storm and is beginning to look upwards once again.

Indeed, a subtle shift to position and extend its offering beyond services to become a solutions provider and solver of problems is starting to reap rewards.

The challenge EnerMech’s remit and purpose is relatively simple – to make sure many of world’s most sophisticated production platforms, manufacturing centres and energy facilities operate at their best.

In years gone by it had done so by providing critical services across 10 core lines and covering the entire lifecycle of locations, including asset optimisation, upgrades and decommissioning.

The oil and gas market is a key segment of business for the company, and recent years have been turbulent, the impact of the price crash of 201416 having been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. EnerMech’s value proposition is centred around its

highly skilled and experienced people, whose travel and access to sites has been severely hampered by public health restrictions.

Such pressures have sucked confidence out of the industry and created an atmosphere of caution.

Investment decisions have stalled and reversed, with EnerMech client investment down by as much as 3060% versus expected values.

The firm was thus faced with an extremely challenging backdrop within which to operate, one which required tough decisions to be taken at all levels, testing the mettle of the people to stand by the company, show loyalty and work harder.

The solution Last year represented something of a step change for EnerMech. Although a solutions and problem-solving focus had always been a part of the company’s DNA, the need to formalise this and build a relationship-based approach to business was quickly realised.

By offering greater value and insight to

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clients during difficult times, EnerMech saw a way of navigating through the turbulence, and several steps were taken to institutionalise this shift in modus operandi.

First and foremost, quality of performance was not to be sacrificed in the name of efficiencies and surviving the pandemic period. Client needs came first, an ethos which EnerMech trusted to keep its reputation intact.

As a result, business development personnel were reduced to retain a full suite of technical expertise and maintain high standards.

The company’s core clients became a key focus, EnerMech exploring how it could carry out more work for them, including smaller scope projects, in order to add value to their relationships.

Alongside the shift in strategy, the firm’s senior leadership knew that staff communication and engagement was paramount to its successful delivery.

Regular meetings and engagement helped to reinforce key cultural values such as viewing opportunities out of adversity – a determination to make the best out of challenging situations.

Success stories

Indeed, a common denominator throughout this period has been trust both within the organisation and between EnerMech and clients.

The results, so far, have been extremely promising. The company has gained larger shares of work with core customers such as Balfour Beatty, building on the work already completed in the renewables sphere to cover a wider infrastructure scope. Such has been the standard of EnerMech’s delivery on the renewables work, the firm achieved a perfect 100% FPAL score.

This shift in mindset has also resulted in EnerMech bidding on work for HS2, the UK’s flagship rail scheme. Here, it is tendering in partnership with Alstom and Eneco, something it would not have entertained prior to 2020.

In South Wales, the firm is working on a five-year project involving mechanical handling, lifting and operational services across a site for Dow. The scope of the relationship has extended to include assessment of spares, plant and equipment, oversight of stock, equipment maintenance, and planning of future activities.

power and technological smartness.

For instance, several digital tools are being utilised to aid predictive maintenance and monitoring activities.

SIMPRO, for example, is an EnerMechdeveloped solution which captures real time performance data and presents it via a visual dashboard, allowing Dow to assess the status of various equipment.

Projects such as these with Dow have helped EnerMech to recover revenues back to pre-pandemic levels. Indeed, the company is involved in 20 new non-oil and gas bids which represents a fourfold growth when compared with just a year ago, while 90% of staff have been retained through this extremely testing period.

Looking ahead, with oil prices starting to recover and hints of investor confidence returning, EnerMech is better placed than ever to assist new and existing clients with urgent upgrade and replacement work, and essential maintenance of critical infrastructure and assets.

lifecycle, from pre-commissioning to decommissioning. The company’s broad range of services include mechanical, electrical and instrumentation solutions, which can be provided individually or as part of a fully integrated package.

EnerMech’s capabilities are varied, and the company is able to offer the appropriate tools and services, including an extensive range of cranes and lifting, hydraulics, valves, electrical and instrumentation, pipeline and umbilical, industrial, process, training, inspection, integrity and equipment rental services. Active in the whole spectrum of the energy market, the company offers services to operators, plant and asset owners, EPC contractors, subsea contractors as well as drilling contractors.

This has involved a blend of people

EnerMech is a global services company specialising in critical asset support across an asset’s entire

Headquartered in Aberdeen, EnerMech employs 3500 staff and is present in over 40 locations around the world, including Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Caspian, Middle East and AsiaPacific.

Story type

Key findings

EnerMech at a glance:

For industry

Key products and services: integrated services provider

#serviceandsolutions (main category) #culture, #resilience

Benefits • £5m contract award with Dow

About EnerMech

• Necessity is the mother of invention – market conditions will make you adapt fast to a new business reality

Government support?

The company has benefitted from the Apprenticeship Levy and R&D tax credits. Enermech has also joined DIT trade missions in the past.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 80% • Conventional Power – 10% • Renewables – 8% • Nuclear – 2% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 2011 Number of employees: 2,250 Revenue: £350m Revenue from exports: 77%

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Success stories

Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy (EEC)

A veteran’s legacy

How is Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy (EEC) thriving?

Drawing on more than three decades of experience in the oil and gas sector, Mr Mohammed Sahoo AlSuwaidi has broken precedent within the industry by gaining almost instantaneous traction with his 2018-established start-up, the firm now approved by ADNOC and able to tender for its contracts.

The challenge A leisurely retirement isn’t for everyone.

Mr Mohammed Sahoo AlSuwaidi, better known as Mr Sahoo, has been in the oil and gas industry for more than 32 years – from a local operator and project manager to the CEO of an ADNOC Gas Directorate with a $55 billion budget and 6,000 employees, he has seen and experienced it all. Add in a later appointment as acting CEO of Nawah Energy Company (Nawah), the operator of the first peaceful nuclear energy plant in the UAE, as well as the government’s business start-up ambassador, and you could well argue his contribution to the sector was worthy of a well-earned retirement.

Far from it. Mr Sahoo is still determined to make a difference, especially in the private sector. He grew up in a family of workaholics with seven US-educated engineer brothers and a late father who worked until the final day of his life.

Rather than retire and take things easy, he was determined to use his energy on a new business venture. In 2018, Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy (EEC), provider of technical and strategic solutions for various major and minor projects across the engineering spectrum, was born.

However, starting up a business in the UAE energy space is far from easy. Approval to bid to tender for ADNOC contracts is essential, and proven experience is key to achieving this. Add in the challenge of attracting the experienced personnel needed to a start-up with no proven track record, as well as a risk averse pool of potential clients, and the challenge in front of Mr Sahoo was clear to see.

The solution Despite the hurdles before him, Mr Sahoo threw himself headfirst into the creation of EEC. He drew on his personal profile and

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esteemed reputation in the energy sectors, a CV which contains tenures at 20-plus Abu Dhabi organisations in senior positions and huge accumulations of experience within governance, project management and engineering. Mr Sahoo was able to attract suitably qualified employees, reassuring them (and clients) that he was here for the long-term with succession slated for 10-15 years down the line. Mr Sahoo, EEC’s Chairman & CEO, also drew on his own finances to build EEC into a position where it could deliver Engineering contracts.

As well as using his own track record, EEC needed to carry its own lucrative offering with a culture of care for

Success stories

employees and competitive incentive scheme. COVID-19 has crystallised these challenges, with strict safety protocols followed, especially those demanded by ADNOC in order to operate on its sites, vaccination playing a critical part.

Today, EEC stands tall as a company with its own reputation. To date, it has secured contracts with five key clients alongside a steady flow of smaller assignments to keep revenue ticking over, while only one member of staff has moved on since the company was founded. As projects are delivered on time, safely, and to high standards, EEC can stand on its own two feet with a demonstrable track record and client testimonies to prove it.

In early 2020, the firm achieved ADNOC qualification status following the successfully execution of a project in Tanzania which involved a team of 60 people. This helped EEC grow its staffing from 50 to 180 in the space of eight months – a remarkable achievement given the pandemic backdrop it was up against. This was made especially challenging given the requirement to hire locals and

expats already residing in the UAE due to travel restrictions, with major investment also made in building a formidably experienced management team made up of industry veterans, each with 30-plus years of experience.

Once more, Mr Sahoo’s own experience was critical in making these hugely important recruitment decisions.

With the upsizing complete and foundations now in place, EEC is steering its focus towards one key ADNOC contract. If successful, it will deliver half of the firm’s 2021 budget and catalyse the hire of another 25 staff in order to deliver the work successfully. The fact the company was invited by ADNOC to tender is in itself testament to how far Mr Sahoo and his latest venture have come in a very short space of time.

About Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy (EEC) Based in the UAE, Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy (EEC) provides technical and strategic solutions to its customers for various major and minor

Story type

Key findings

#startupsuccess (main category)

For industry

#growth

• A strong reputation will attract more business opportunities • Understand your client’s needs

Benefits • Staff number increased from 50 to 180 in eight months

For government • Support local content

Government support?

Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy is part of ADNOC’s In-Country Value (ICV) programme.

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projects across a wide engineering spectrum, including: Hydrocarbon Exploration & Production, Reservoir Engineering, Oil & Gas Processing, Refining, Power Generation & Distribution, Hydrocarbon Transportation (Rail and Pipeline), City Gas Distribution, and Refining. The company provides a comprehensive range of services including: Corporate Governance; Strategic Advisory Services; and Feasibility, Conceptual, Pre-FEED, and FEED studies across all engineering disciplines. EEC has the capability to provide consultancy services and to support clients during all project stages from concept to commissioning, as well as during the subsequent handover stages with a “Right First Time StartUp” approach. The company also has the expertise to carry out specific duties related to HSE Impact Analysis, Risk Analysis, Energy Conservation, Optimisation and Asset Integrity.

Equilibrium Engineering Consultancy (EEC) at a glance: Key products and services: engineering consultancy services for the energy industry Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 90% • Nuclear – 5% • Conventional power – 5% Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, UAE Year established: 2018 Number of employees: 180 Revenue: £2.5m Revenue from exports: 50%

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Success stories

Essem Breaking down siloes to drive growth How is Essem Group thriving?

Thanks to a comprehensive consolidation exercise in response to the oil crisis of 2014–16, Essem Group has successfully pooled its resources and knowledge to create an organisation that is now greater than the sum of its parts. Today, it stands as a multi-specialist group of companies able to tender for larger, more complex projects in Malaysia and abroad.

The challenge The middle of the 2010s was a dark period for the global oil industry. After the crisis of 2014-2016, activity up and down the value chain shrank as companies retreated into survival mode in order to weather the storm.

In Malaysia, Essem Group had been proudly providing maintenance and support services to the country’s oil and gas industry for the best part of 30 years, speciliasing in actuated valve and wellheads, field instrumentation, mechanical, pipeline, marine automation work, and preventative and corrective maintenance for surface and sub-surface equipment.

Amid the 2014-2016 crisis, market rates dropped and clients started to consolidate scope of work for contracts, a perfect storm which dented Essem’s profit margins, shrank its contract pipeline and created cashflow problems.

A new approach was needed in order to maximise the knowledge and expertise spread across the group.

Essem’s board of directors, made up of three family members and two non-family members, each had different experiences and stories to tell – in order to turn the corner, the group needed to synergise into a more centralised operation.

The solution Indeed, before the 2014-2016 crisis struck, Essem Group was an investment of individual Petronaslicensed supply companies – while they were all part of the same group, they were siloed and very much operated separately.

2016 marked the beginning of the consolidation process. All Essem companies were first consolidated under Essem Group Sdn. Bhd, and subsequently physically relocated to operate under the same office roof, while working processes were reformed to take advantage of the new physical closeness between entities.

For example, general managers began to hold weekly meetings and compare notes across their various divisions and specialisms – this led to greater awareness of opportunities to be exploited through cross-collaboration.

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The consolidation exercise also precipitated a cultural shift, a process which smoothed out once significant contract wins were announced to prove the new formula was working.

The other key internal change centred around governance. Essem leadership were determined to impart standards akin to those demanded by publiclylisted entities – processes became crystalised, and a new, more consistent way of doing business was instilled into the now-evolved corporate culture.

Externally, moves into export markets with higher margins such as Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar helped to cushion the margin losses in Malaysia, while acquisitions of exciting startup firms set up by experienced industry professionals also fed into the Essem growth journey. This included investments into new expertise in the likes of UAV (drone) inspection,

Success stories

pipelines, power generation, downhole solutions and manufacturing of API 6D Ball, DBB, Gate and Check Valves.

Tying all this together was a fresh communications strategy designed to build on the company’s already trusted reputation built up over several decades which was instrumental and has helped drive high impact visibility – customers and markets are aware of the joined-up capabilities housed across the nine Essem subsidiaries, which have all benefited from this cobranding exercise.

Indeed, this acknowledgement has enabled Essem to attract larger contracts. In January 2020, for example, the company started work on a RM16 million valve repair and maintenance project for Petronas Carigali in Sarawak. The situation was perfectly made for this newly consolidated business model – whereby the sterling achievement of its main subsidiary (Matco Malaysia) managing the actuated valve services in Borneo since 2017 and the long standing contract of surface wellhead maintenance by Essem Corporation between 2012 and 2018 lent credibility on the group’s strength in facilities and resources in Borneo

providing cross-industry solutions for advanced analytics and AI. As core oil and gas and maritime markets begin to pick up their pieces, it is well-placed to support operations both at home and abroad.

About Essem

And given the nature of the company’s work, Essem has been able to weather the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its latest investment also includes a local specialist company

Incorporated in 1984 and based in Kuala Lumpur, the Essem Group has a balanced portfolio of highly specialised products as well as internationally recognised service offerings for the oil and gas and maritime industries.

Companies under the Essem Group are Petronas-licensed entities, and registered trading and service vendors for all major operators and EPC contractors in Malaysia. They have provided various solutions to the local and international oil and gas and maritime projects and assets since the group’s creation in 1984.

Story type

Key findings

Essem at a glance:

#optimisation (main category) #scaleup

For industry

Key products and services: supply and maintenance of mechanical and instrumentation products

The results, so far, have been impressive. In the crises years of 2014-2016 the group struggled to reach RM80 million in revenue, a trend which was spectacularly reversed in 2017 when the organisation broke the RM100 million mark for the first time.

Although 2020 saw revenues drop from 2019’s record-breaking levels (falling from RM129 million to RM110 million), the group is a considerably larger financial power than it was when operating in siloes.

Benefits • RM100m (£18m) 4-5 year contract (actuator parts and maintenance) • RM25m (£4.7m) 4-year contract award (subsea wellhead maintenance) • RM16m (£3m) 3-year contract award (Valve Maintenance) • RM15m (£2.8m) 3-year contract award (wellhead maintenance) • RM13m (£2.4m) 1+1 year contract award (pipeline inline inspection) • RM10m (£1.8m) 4-year contract (sand monitoring services) • RM5M (£0.94m) 3 year contract (genset rental)

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Essem ticked all the boxes, and clients started to view the group as an entity capable of delivering across multiple specialisms.

• Never underestimate the importance of a good finance leadership team • Build credibility with banks by starting with small loans • Branding and visibility are key • Build a retaining culture • A company is never too small to start corporate governance

Government support?

The Essem Group has received grants from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) as well as Market Development Grants from MATRADE.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 70% • Commercial maritime – 20% • Others – 10% Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Year established: 1984 Number of employees: 355 Revenue: RM110m (£19.5m) Revenue from exports: 5%

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Success stories

EthosEnergy Emerging from a crisis with a OneEthos culture

How is EthosEnergy thriving?

Having just embarked on a root and branch cultural transformation, EthosEnergy was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, by seeking out opportunity in a crisis situation, the company propelled its OneEthos agenda to new heights, the acceleration of the programme helping it to achieve extraordinary results across the board.

The challenge Growing a business to hundreds of millions in turnover inside seven years is no mean feat. Starting out in 2014, EthosEnergy has swelled into a truly global organisation made up of 4,000 employees spread across 94 locations.

It has become a worldwide go-to provider of rotating equipment services and solutions for players in the power, oil and gas and industrial markets, specialising in asset management and long-term maintenance alongside the

provision of parts and repair services.

However, while EthosEnergy had grown somewhat exponentially, it had also morphed into a machine that was becoming increasingly difficult to manage. By the time new CEO Ana Amicarella joined in December 2019, the business was held together by an unwieldly and complex structure made up of 40 profit and loss lines, 12 business units and overheads that were unsustainable. To compound the problem, opportunities to secure more work with clients were being missed due to a lack of cohesion among different areas of expertise within the company.

A few short months later, the world was shaken by the coronavirus pandemic. EthosEnergy entered into survival mode.

The solution Despite the immediate crisis created by the pandemic, EthosEnergy was already well on its way to reversing its

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fortunes before it arrived. The silver lining (if it can be called that) was that COVID-19 served as a catalyst to accelerate the OneEthos project: the firm’s bid to simplify the business, transform its culture and build closer ties with clients.

Amicarella had already collaborated with upper management to detail the company’s position and plans for reform. A wholesale listening exercise (with staff and customers) kicked off at the start of March 2020, a process that involved interviews and data gathering, and resulted in the idea to restructure and simplify. Board approval of the three-year plan soon followed, before the strategy was unveiled throughout all layers of the company.

On July 1, 2020, two months ahead of schedule, the new structure officially went live. The most senior personnel across EthosEnergy started new roles as the business quickly adapted to new ways of working – indeed, relaying the message that this transformation stretched far beyond

Success stories

revised organisational charts was a key priority.

So, what fruits have such a huge transformation exercise bared so far?

The crux of the simplified OneEthos business plan is a laser-like focus on what the firm does best. Loss making activities were cut out as much as possible as part of a back to basics reset which also involved the implementation of straightforward processes and principles.

Financially, EthosEnergy is in a far healthier position. By the end of 2020, profits had risen by 40% and cash reserves were boosted significantly.

This is in part driven by impressive rates of repeat business – among the firm’s existing clients, 80% typically offer repeat work and carry high praise for the way in which services are delivered.

Such principles encompass several cultural keywords, namely engagement, relentlessness, nimbleness, and inclusivity.

Furthermore, an uncompromising approach to quality and consistency was instilled through rigorous training on standards and client relationship building.

Another key outcome has been in the realm of capex. Today, EthosEnergy views capex through the lens of ESG and energy transition, the ultimate objective being to become the partner of choice for energy industry players who need support in sustainability-led areas. Helping clients with end-of-life equipment issues and carbon footprint reduction has become a key value proposition.

Indeed, such relations are becoming more contractual as opposed to transactional, with new clients being handled in this manner. For example, last year saw a new customer in Israel pen a contract for $72 million of work.

On the cultural front, staff are routinely feeding back on how EthosEnergy feels like an entirely different company to be a part of. Survey results are 30% more positive than ever recorded!

While EthosEnergy will be the first to admit that more needs to be done, it can now realistically work towards its state long-term ambition – cooperating with all partners to make energy

Story type

Key findings

#transformation (main category)

For industry

#culture, #innovation, #optimisation, #resilience, #serviceandsolutions

• Think big – believe in the mission and do not let anybody tell you you cannot do something • Explore all ideas

Benefits • Profits increased by 40% in 2020 • US$72m contract with Israeli client • Improved employee survey results

sustainable, affordable and available for everyone, everywhere.

About EthosEnergy EthosEnergy is a global leading independent service provider of rotating equipment services and solutions to the power, oil & gas, and industrial markets.

The company has depth and experience in asset management and long-term maintenance agreements, whilst offering transactional, factory-based parts and repair services across all industry sectors. Globally, its services include power plant engineering, procurement and construction; plant start-up; facility operations and maintenance; design, manufacture and application of engineered components, upgrades and re-rates; repair, overhaul and optimisation of gas and steam turbines, generators, pumps, compressors and other high-speed rotating equipment. In 2019, KTR-EthosEnergy was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC) for valuable HSSE contributions, high quality work and timely delivery.

EthosEnergy at a glance:

Government support?

The company has not received any type of government support.

Key products and services: Independent service provider of rotating equipment, providing services and solutions to power, oil & gas and industrial markets Main industries served: • Conventional power – 50% • Oil and gas – 25% • Industrial – 25% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 2014 Number of employees: 4,000 Revenue from exports: 85%

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Success stories

Fulkrum Adopting a culture grounded in trust How is Fulkrum thriving?

Energy transfer, carbon reduction and general politics have led to significant project postponements across the energy sector leaving many companies with no clear directive of where to focus resources. Fulkrum has channeled its focus onto key internal processes and structures, underpinned by a seismic cultural shift centered around devolved divisional autonomy and trust. Has it worked? 2020, thanks to COVID-19 disruptions, provided a critical stress test…

The challenge With energy projects waiting for political leaders to provide a clear narrative to shape the new and unfolding landscape of greener energy, Fulkrum Technical Resources, provider of inspection and expediting services to the energy industry since 2011, realised that a critical crossroads has been reached.

While the company has grown a strong global presence and established itself in key oil and gas markets around the world, recent market pressures have brought the issue of operational focus to the boardroom.

Fluctuating oil prices and political uncertainty have impacted projects ranging from the Keystone Pipeline in Canada and the United States to LNG terminals waiting for final investment decisions from private equity firms – decisions made almost impossible by the need to demonstrate 100% prefund capacity uptake.

Fulkrum therefore needed to adopt a clear focus on financial management, collecting payments and gathering key market intelligence to better safeguard itself against these market pressures, the company deciding that a root and

branch cultural shakeup would also be a timely move. Investing in people and their team was a tier one priority.

The solution For joint owners Andrew Bethel and Owen Gibbons, it was clear that Fulkrum had to optimise their operational efficiencies and develop more robust strategies.

Accuracy and efficiency in financial operations would be key to successfully managing cash flow, however without a strong team, even the more tried and tested strategies can fail. Meanwhile, key market information would inform strategic decisions, and help shape direction; something which the EIC assisted with by providing data on new projects.

A key strategy, called TAMAR (Talent Acquisition Management And Retention), was developed by Bethel and implemented with the key objective of transforming Fulkrum into a more flexible, agile organisation able to respond to fast changing business environments such as those already described. Bethel and his leadership knew how to build teams

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to successfully execute strategies – the new challenge was to build teams which could adapt and allow autonomy, support and accountability.

This need prompted a distinct pivot in recruiting criteria, focusing less on CV credentials and giving greater emphasis on character and personality types.

The process has been deepened to examine far beyond details on covering letters and CVs, delving into how candidates work in both close and global teams, exploring their values and drivers, ultimately assessing whether they will be a suitable cultural fit. At the company’s base in Houston, Texas, Bethel’s first recruit was somebody who sold him an AT&T cell phone – he knew little about oil and gas, but his can-do attitude shone and won him a place on the team and now he stands as one of the company’s key team members.

Leaders across the company have been given far greater autonomy since 2018 as part of project TAMAR. They have the freedom to run their division as if it were their own business, carrying ultimate responsibility for profit and loss.

Bethel and the senior leadership knew

Success stories

they had to let go in order to unlock the potential of its people and move faster, and although they admit to some initial anxiety, he was prepared to let minor mistakes happen and allow their new leaders to learn and develop with freedom and support.

The shift has created a culture of collaboration and galvanised performance, with clients such as Total routinely praising the quality and personality of the people handling their relationship. Revenues have risen also, up from £10 million in 2018 to £16 million in 2019 and £25 million in 2020, and tracking towards £35 million for 2021.

Furthermore, NPS (Net Promotor Score) results are in the top quartile across every sector with an average score of 79, with attrition rates at zero despite all the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

on the ground and use of digital tools to support remote inspection where needed.

June 2020 also saw the integration of Oceaneering’s third-party inspection division, a move which has resulted in increased work with the likes of Shell and Chrysaor in Aberdeen. Gibbons recalls some initial concern about integrating Oceaneering’s people into the Fulkrum team, especially given the lack of opportunity to meet them face to face because of pandemic restrictions. However, the transition has been a huge success, with client feedback very positive.

Fulkrum Technical Resources

(FTR) is a technical consultancy specialising in the provision of quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC) and inspection services to the upstream and downstream oil and gas industry, as well as renewables.

The company offers three distinct services: permanent recruitment, contractor recruitment and executive search services. Fulkrum has provided QA/QC personnel and inspection services to clients covering all types of work locations, including but not limited to vendor sites, fabrication yards, shipyards, plate mills, pipe mills, coating plants, client offices, offshore construction vessels and onshore construction sites and refineries.

Fulkrum is headquartered in Corby, with additional UK offices in Corby and Aberdeen. The company has an international footprint, with offices in Brazil, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Guyana, India and the USA.

Story type

Key findings

Fulkrum at a glance:

#culture (main category)

For industry

#optimisation, #scaleup

• Do not be scared to try new possibilities • Leverage as much resource from experts as you can

Key products and services: inspection and expediting services, as well as QA/QC personnel to the energy industry

Indeed, last year represented a crucial stress test for Fulkrum and its reshaped culture. The newly flexible business model allowed for adapted working conditions and fast adoption of new processes – collaboration across borders strengthened and work continued relatively unhindered thanks to Fulkrum’s network of local people

Benefits • 150% revenue growth in two years

The next priority for Bethel, Gibbons and the Fulkrum leadership team is to explore a more diverse revenue base, moving away from heavy reliance on hydrocarbon projects. With the cultural foundation set, the future looks bright for the business in a post-pandemic world as Fulkrum works with its current and inbound clients in the energy transition process.

About Fulkrum

For government • Do not cut off support to O&G export too quickly

Government support?

The company has benefitted from the apprenticeship levy and R&D tax credits.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 80% • Renewables – 20% Headquarters: Corby, UK Year established: 2011 Number of employees: 400 Revenue: £25.5m Revenue from exports: 75%

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Success stories

GAC UK Turning the tide with Project Poseidon How is GAC UK thriving?

In taking the difficult decision to holistically review its operating model, GAC UK has transitioned to one with market-leading expertise on the ground in key locations – a move that led the company out of five years of declining profitability, despite the onset of COVID-19, with greater productivity, talent retention and cost-effectiveness.

The challenge Many energy companies are currently encountering one of the most difficult periods in their history. With much of the sector heavily reliant upon a volatile oil and gas market, downturns caused by a supply glut and lacklustre demand in 2016 followed by a second price crash in 2020 off the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, and commiditisation due to technological advancements pushed many companies to the brink.

For many, the focus has been on surviving as opposed to thriving during this period.

Circling back to 2018, shipping, logistics and marine services specialist GAC UK was one company that found itself in a relatively precarious situation.

This market unpredictability and fluctuations in both price and product had led the company to consistently see depressed margins that had set it on a downward trajectory.

Further pressures were added due to a lack of standardisation and sporadic peaks and troughs in different local regions. From 2016 onwards, GAC UK had consistently found itself either over or under resourced locally, resulting in a constant battle in trying to balance capacity.

Action was needed, leading to a renewed focus on the importance of effective internal governance.

The solution While on the face of it GAC UK’s establishment in various markets would have made it the envy of many of its competitors, it could perhaps have been argued that the GAC Group was too global to be able to effectively serve local clients.

Customers were increasingly demanding local presence and expertise and GAC companies all over the world strengthened their strategies to meet those needs.

GAC UK quickly developed a series of new strengths and differentiators in its local markets, but new challenges were equally presented. Greater focus had to be placed on governance, IT, crosstraining and new career paths for staff to successfully run localised operations

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while maintaining standards and quality in all its markets.

To this end, Project Poseidon was deployed – the spearhead for GAC UK’s transition.

Mandated to holistically review the company’s entire internal structure and led by a committee of five individuals in HR, commercial, QHSSE and operations, it was launched in October 2018 and deemed complete at the end of 2020.

In this two-year period, the project enabled a more consolidated shift from central to local, and became a melting pot of ideas related to productivity, decision-making, people engagement, skills management, customer service and more.

The UK became Project Poseidon’s test case. Six managers were trained and entrusted to lead 100 UK employees across the country’s six

Success stories

key regions to deliver all work within these areas first before assisting other regions during quieter periods.

In essence, this new strategy served to smooth the spikes and troughs in demand and activity by turning fixed local costs into variable ones.

The result? Business outcomes led to an improved ability to attract and retain key talent. Arguably the key takeaway, however, was GAC UK’s emergence from a market with diminishing returns to again become profitable in 2020 where others had struggled and continue to struggle.

pandemic somewhat played to GAC’s advantage.

Often the greatest obstacle to internal change is culture and employee mindsets. Yet, in the face of restricted travel and global lockdowns, operational change was not only more accepted but normalised, making adoption of the transition to GAC UK’s new locally focused model much more seamless. In addition to classic upward career path opportunities, staff also enjoy sideways career paths helping them to build new competencies and to aid staff retention.

the ongoing disruption caused by COVID-19.

About GAC UK

It is also worth noting that the new global normal brought about by the

Indeed, the company’s ambition has tilted 90 degrees on its axis, now moving upwards instead of sideways, paving the way for many more successes to come despite

GAC UK is part of the privately-owned global GAC Group, which specialises in the delivery of high-quality shipping, logistics and marine services to customers worldwide. GAC UK employs over 200 experts across more than 23 staffed offices covering the UK, Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. The company offers a range of integrated shipping, logistics and marine services to the energy and shipping industries and serves specialised sectors such as marine leisure, sports and events, automotive and aviation by providing complex and time-critical logistics solutions.

Story type

Key findings

GAC UK at a glance:

#culture (main category)

For industry

#optimisation, #resilience, #transformation

• It’s all about people - invest in your team and obtain results

Key products and services: shipping, marine and terminal services

Benefits

For government

• Profits amid the COVID-19 pandemic • Productivity has increased by 15% • Improved customer service from 95% to 99% • Improved staff retention from 90% to more than 95%

• The industry needs a roadmap to net zero, laying out commitments and stages • Focus is needed on making the UK supply chain more competitive in export markets

What is particularly interesting is that revenue in fact fell 5% in 2020.

Profitability was achieved not because of greater activity, but because of the numerous improvements in relation to cost-effectiveness and productivity efficiencies and the ability to do more with less, thanks to the changes brought about by Project Poseidon.

As a result, the stage is set for GAC UK to further thrive in 2021. Company optimism can be taken from multiple sources, be it a more sustainable business model, increased profitability and more engaged staff.

Government support?

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 50% • Renewables – 20% • Events industry – 10% • Others – 20% Headquarters: Grangemouth, UK (GAC UK), Dubai, UAE (GAC Group) Year established: 1989 (GAC UK), 1956 (GAC Group) Number of employees: 250 Revenue from exports: 50%

GAC UK benefits from the Apprenticeship Levy. The company is also part of the Customs Grant Scheme.

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Success stories

Hendrik Veder Group UK Showing sustainability to be a sound investment

How is Hendrik Veder Group thriving?

Hendrik Veder, in response to numerous and varied challenges over the past year or so, has realigned its business model to focus on providing cost-efficient sustainable solutions, a marked departure from its previous modus operandi as a product orientated company. By repurposing its already formidable base of expertise and high-quality product offering, the firm is looking ahead to a brighter future.

The challenge When Bertwin Zonneveld joined Hendrik Veder Group as its UK Managing Director, the company had reached an important crossroads.

With more than two centuries of

history behind it and a reputation for producing the highest quality steel wire and fibre rope products, the path forwards looked as though it would simply involve playing to these strengths and falling back on its formidable standing in the industry.

However, a combination of challenges merged in 2020 to create a cocktail that threatened the longevity of even this most established of firms.

The global COVID-19 pandemic brought vast swathes of industrial activity to a standstill and continues to impact economic activity, a backdrop which has caused oil prices to fall. Add in the ongoing global transition to alternative forms of energy, and the status quo (i.e., the product-focus which had kept it going since 1800) was no longer a sound pillar for Hendrik Veder Group to rely upon.

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The solution In the second half of 2019, before the pandemic took hold, the company replaced the whole of its board and began plotting a new course – a journey towards becoming a sustainably-driven service-based organisation. Today, Hendrik Veder Group supplies fantastic steel wire and fibre rope products, technologies, expertise, services and innovations to clients in both the UK and abroad.

Zonneveld and his management team realised the company could no longer rely on its standing as a manufacturer of high-quality products. In order to stand out from the crowd, a focus on delivering services with a costefficiency and sustainable edge was needed. In the UK especially, a growing demand for wind power prompted a channelling of energy towards fibre

Success stories

ropes, Hendrik Veder realising its longstanding experience could be put to good use.

The firm’s group workforce grew by 25% in the space of six months to boost sales power and quality levels alongside heavy investment in new IT software, all geared towards a vital message – that sustainability and cost efficiency are inseparable outcomes.

Hendrik Veder therefore positioned itself as a dual-benefit enabler of carbon footprint reduction and financial sustainability. A key part of this offering has been a major focus on re-using the products it delivers. Thanks to its sophisticated asset management tools, it is able to take inventory and maintain/refurbish lifting and or rigging equipment for use at all times, with no materials lost or wasted. Further still, the company is stimulating the hiring out of materials from both its own stock and that of its clients, the rental option being pushed hard to both reduce the need for new equipment and generate extra income.

By conducting a thorough inventory assessment of a customer, it discovered 25% more material than their books showed – such material could and has been refurbished and rented out. And while convincing its client base that sustainability and cost efficiency go hand in hand has been a challenge, Hendrik Veder Group has proven doubters wrong by taking on several large customers. By the end of 2021 it anticipates having at least five such clients on its books having started out with just one in 2019.

This approach has already paid palpable dividends for both Hendrik Veder Group and its clients.

One of them is a well-known vessel and heavy lift contactor based in northwest Europe. Secured in 2019, the project tender started out with the client being purely focussed on reducing costs. However, by demonstrating the value to be extracted from additional asset management services such as refurbishing, re-use, faster access to stock, finding unknown stock, and obtaining rental income from surplus stock, the client quickly discovered the sustainability-cost relationship. This change in mindset not only enabled it to reach its own carbon footprint goals while also saving money, and has also helped secure additional projects

Story type

Key findings

#serviceandsolutions (main category) #innovation

For industry

Benefits • Cost savings to client • Expanded portfolio of clients

because of its now demonstrable commitment to sustainability.

The momentum is gathering for Hendrik Veder Group, and 2021 will no doubt see it continue to hammer home its core message of sustainable and financial symbiosis.

About Hendrik Veder Group Hendrik Veder Group was established in 1800 and is present in the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. The company specialises in steel wire and fibre rope solutions, projects, products and services. In addition to the wholesale of steel wire and fibre rope, Hendrik Veder’s product offering includes single laid wire rope slings, cable-laid slings and grommets as well as other lifting and rigging materials. Services provided include proof load and break load tests, spooling, reeving and unreeving of cranes and winches, as well as reconditioning and overhaul.

Hendrik Veder Group at a glance:

• Human capital is key to success

Government support?

Hendrik Veder Group has not received government support.

Key products and services: steel wire and fibre rope solutions, projects, products and services Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 50% • Renewables – 15% • Marine and industry – 35% Headquarters: Rotterdam, Netherlands Year established: 1800 Number of employees: 180 Revenue: £50m Revenue from exports: 5%

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Success stories

HFI Driving the energy transition in the Middle East with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) How is HFI thriving?

Hugh Fraser has been on a rollercoaster journey with HFI. Having sold up in 2013 after 10 years, he re-acquired the business in 2017 amid the fallout of the mid-decade oil crisis in 2014-2016. Determined to re-inject a clear focus and direction into the business, the decision was taken to diversify its client base and to extend it service offering to relevant areas of the energy transition, leveraging its already formidable standing in the GCC.

The challenge Not many entrepreneurs can say they have built up a business from scratch, sold it, and reacquired just a few years’ later.

For Hugh Fraser, who splits his time between Dubai and Aberdeen, this is exactly what happened in regard to his legal and consulting services company HFI. Initially set up in 2003, it deals exclusively in the Middle Eastern energy market and soon established itself as a go-to niche implementor of business expansion projects in the region.

In 2013, Fraser sold the firm to a major US law firm, committing to a fouryear handover in order to support the transition of the business to its new owners – what Fraser did not anticipate was the oil price crash that would follow within a year.

The crisis had a profound impact on HFI and its business serving clients in the GCC oil and gas sector, with clients shifting from growth to survival strategies. The challenge was laid bare.

HFI would need to diversify and offer more to both its traditional customers and those driving energy transition efforts.

The solution Fraser completed the buyback in August 2017 and set about steadying the ship.

Part of the refocussing came in the choice of clients to support. Prior to the oil price plunge, HFI had routinely provided services to SMEs operating in the Middle Eastern oil and gas market, helping them to place a foot on the ladder of a very difficult industry for new players to break into.

Furthermore, pricing was set at prefixed levels to ensure fewer client conflicts and tensions, along with greater certainty on forward sales. HFI also utilised specialist applications software to a much higher degree, allowing a whole tier of personnel costs to be removed.

In response, Fraser and HFI carried out a major strategic review in Q2 which uncovered two key priorities.

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First, to re-intensify advanced oil and gas technology driven work with private equity clients and, second, to penetrate into the energy transition channels.

The first priority led to the creation of HFI Petroleum Technology, built to target advanced energy technology ventures of clients with Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi within the relative safe haven of ARAMCO and ADNOC operations.

Regarding the move into energy transition, Fraser had seen firsthand from Aberdeen the traction gained by offshore wind in western Europe. However, the conditions in the Middle East are far better suited to solar power, a subsector that did not correlate to the HFI clients and connections base.

The focus, therefore, was to be placed on carbon capture and storage under

Success stories

the banner of HFI Net Zero Legal Solutions, a move which was also part-inspired by the work of the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI) and International Energy Agency.

At the end of 2020, the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute, the works leading think tank on CCS, reached out to Fraser through ex-Shell Carbon Projects specialist Angus Gillespie, who found HFI through Scottish Development International’s GlobalScot network.

The collaboration represented HFI’s breakthrough into the carbon capture and storage space, and began with planning how the Institute could penetrate the Middle Eastern market.

GCCSI is comprised of 80 member organisations and is member-owned – all specialist businesses with eyes on the region.

The potential for HFI and its newfound client-based to thrive here is enormous, with billions of dollars set aside to drive towards these lofty ambitions.

Story type #energytransition (main category) #diversification, #serviceandsolutions

Benefits • Successful breakthrough into energy transition with HFI Net Zero

Key findings For industry • Maximise homework on marketability, positioning and pricing of the product/service • Set and stick to a rigid, gross profit, EBITDA and net profit model

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Qatar Petroleum’s $30 billion North Field Expansion Project has a carbon capture and sequestration system at the heart of its wider CCS scheme in Ras Laffan which, once operational, will have the largest capacity in the LNG sector at a projected five million tonnes of CO2 capture per year.

ADNOC’s Al Reyadah Project in Abu Dhabi is equally capturing up to 800,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the flue gas of an Emirates Steel production facility, injecting the CO2 for enhanced oil recovery in nearby oil fields.

Further, the United Arab Emirates is targeting carbon capture hydrogen with the aim of becoming one of the most prolific producers in the world, while Saudi Arabia and Germany also recently signed a hydrogen MoU. If HFI can tap into these plans through its Qatar Ventures initiative (QATVI), Abu Dhabi Ventures Initiative (ADVI), or Saudi Arabia Ventures Initiative (SAVI) – each aimed at supporting local communities in accelerating CSS

• Be realistic on timelines, sales and costs projections. Manage cashflow aggressively • Invest in good people and don’t be afraid to let go of personnel who cannot add value • Be independently minded, resilient and brave – “it’s your business not a democracy” • Balance up entrepreneurial risktaking with managing the downside For government • Support bridgehead cluster ventures and similar business models for SMEs.

deployment – its foothold in the Middle East CCS market will surely become permanent.

About HFI HFI Consulting International is a group of specialist professional services businesses led by Hugh Fraser, a Scottish corporate/energy lawyer and member of the Scottish Development International GlobalScot international trade ambassador network. The company provides specialist consulting and legal services for international business ventures with advanced technologies in the oil & gas, power, renewable power and water sectors in developing high growth markets. Its businesses comprise: HFI Bridgehead Solutions, HFI Net Zero Legal Solutions and HFI Petroleum Technology Legal Solutions, HFI’s Net Zero Legal Solutions.

HFI is based in Aberdeen and Dubai.

HFI at a glance: Key products and services: Legal and consulting services Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 80% • Carbon capture and storage – 20% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 2017 Number of employees: 4 (in addition to six consultants) Revenue: £750,000 Revenue from exports: 100%

Government support?

The company has not received any type of government support.

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Success stories

HKA Leveraging existing expertise to create new opportunities

How is HKA thriving?

Following a management buyout in 2017, consulting, expert and advisory services provider HKA needed a new edge. Its knowledge base was formidable and growing into new areas, but increasing competition sparked concern that market share could dip if new differentials were not offered to customers. Through the launch of CRUX Insights and continued diversification of its work, that cutting edge has been found.

The challenge No matter how well established a company might be, standing still for too long can carry fatal consequences.

HKA has been provisioning leading consulting, expert and advisory services for the engineering and construction industry since the early 1970s; for decades the company has been anticipating, investigating and resolving project disputes, allowing the best possible outcomes for clients in the public and private sectors.

However, while it had grown a formidable reputation, new challengers had also entered the market and threatened the company’s market share if it did not respond with something different for customers to extract value from.

The company’s management realised this when they completed a buyout of the firm in 2017.

They acknowledged the need to command a broader geographic reach, strengthen the depth of technical capability and target new clients. This prompted an expansion into the solutions arena through forensic technical services – its depth in expert witness and forensic knowhow was to combine with cost, accounting and time appraisal expertise.

But there was another concern.

How could HKA retain its arsenal of knowledge as valuable and marketable IP? This, in the leadership’s eyes, was the critical question that needed answering.

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The solution Enter CRUX. An integrated ongoing research programme reviewing projects around the world in a range of market sectors, it is designed to capture and use data to showcase the masses of in-house tacit knowledge held by HKA experts, data that could be translated into explicit knowledge for sharing with clients.

As a result of its ongoing research, HKA produces an annual CRUX Insight Report. This well regarded research has grown to a point where reviews of more than 1,100 projects across 88 countries have been carried out by HKA. The Report serves as a critical benchmarking tool for clients and ranks the causes of claims and disputes around the world – indeed, the third annual instalment provides a regional analysis with actionable advice to preempt these recurring problems, with insight from expert consultants in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East & Africa.

The CRUX Insights shed light on the

Success stories

eye-watering amounts of capital and time being lost to disputes (593 years and $48.6 billion across the 1,185 projects studied), as well as root cause trends which, during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, have become increasingly spurious. The pandemic has highlighted the dangers facing those contractors without the means to enact corrective actions.

HKA has worked tirelessly on making the data more accessible through a public access dashboard on the company’s website, subdivided into regions, sectors and other important filters. While a basic taster of information is provided free of charge, the CRUX Insights have turned into an important revenue stream, with many choosing to pay for the full amount of knowledge on offer.

Meanwhile, CRUX has greatly added to what HKA can offer in terms of benchmarking with clients, a fact which has led to significant revenue increases. The mass of knowledge across different sectors and territories has also aided companies looking to transition into new markets as part of energy transition strategies.

Combined, these factors have facilitated a shift towards HKA performing more pre-emptive as opposed to reactive work – in other words, anticipating disputes and dealing with them before they arise.

And as the company continues to raise its profile in 2021, both virtually and face to face, as the world begins to open up and out of the pandemic, it will be better placed than ever to support clients through what are sure to be testing times ahead.

and construction industry. From construction and manufacturing to processes and technology, the company anticipates, investigates and resolves project disputes, allowing the best possible outcomes for clients in the public and private sectors.

HKA has over 1000 professionals operating from 47 offices in 17 countries across the world. It has over 40 years’ experience in dispute resolution and was formed as an independent company in 2017.

HKA is one of the world’s leading providers of consulting, expert and advisory services for the engineering

HKA was named Construction Expert Witness Firm of the Year at the Who’s Who Legal Awards in 2020 and 2018 and topped the list of WWL Construction Expert Witness Analysis for the last five years. The company has consistently ranked highly in the GAR Top 100 and is the world’s largest Corporate Provider to The Academy of Experts.

Story type

Key findings

Government support?

#serviceandsolutions (main category)

For industry

#digital, #diversification, #innovation

• Identify need in a growing and dynamic market and be ready to be flexible and adaptable to address those changing needs • Innovation is required to stay ahead of the game

The company has not received any type of government support.

Furthermore, it has provided a layer of protected IP and lowered the risk of losing key people and data via a business sale and generated broader press coverage and awareness of the HKA brand.

Benefits • Significant increase in new revenues

About HKA

For government • There is room for better coordination between UK and EU authorities when it comes to the status of UK staff providing services to clients in continental Europe.

• A clear policy direction in the context of energy transition is necessary for companies to make firm investment commitments

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HKA at a glance: Key products and services: consulting and advisory services Main industries served: • Renewables – 15% • Oil and gas – 12% • Conventional power – 4% • Nuclear – 2% • Others – 67% Headquarters: Warrington, UK Year established: 2017 Number of employees: 950 Revenue: US$200m Revenue from exports: 80%

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Hunt Thermal Securing a scalable future in multiple markets

How is Hunt Thermal thriving?

Building on a strong history and reputation for delivering high quality oil and gas engineering solutions, Hunt Thermal has successfully secured its own future through a sound diversification strategy spanning the chemical, power generation, nuclear and defence industries. Key contracts and a £1.5 million investment in stateof-the-art manufacturing equipment underpin what is an upbeat story.

The challenge Planning, in all aspects of life, can be difficult. With economic, social, political, health and technological factors constantly changing globally, governments, businesses and individuals alike are consistently having to adapt in response to external influences.

Never has this been more obvious. The coronavirus pandemic fundamentally changed our lives with travel restrictions, social distancing and lockdowns. Yet flexibility is frequently required in the face of other adversities – albeit usually less dramatically.

products. Yet, as a result of the 2014 oil price crash – and the lacklustre recovery that followed – the firm was faced with a harsh reality of declining revenues.

The oil and gas industry a case in point. The market’s success is almost entirely reliant on the global price of oil, the significant decline of which has forced many sector stalwarts to alter their offering in order to survive, let alone thrive, in recent years.

Diversification was, therefore, identified as a necessity in 2016. Under the ownership of industry counterpart of TP Group, this strategy was directed towards the nuclear defence market.

This neatly describes the situation that faced Hunt Thermal in 2016.

A company specialising in the design and manufacture of shell and tube heat exchangers, air coolers, pressure vessels and vacuum condensers, it had developed a sound reputation as a provider of high quality, reliable industry

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The solution

It was an all-encompassing transition for Hunt Thermal, requiring key mindset and cultural changes at all levels to succeed. The lifelong reputation that had served the firm so well in the oil and gas industry could not be transferred so easily to its new market, but the company was successful in accumulating numerous tailwinds that supported its expansion plans.

Success stories

Investments into a new £1.5 million advanced manufacturing centre enabled it to deliver best-in-class machining and measurement capabilities that ensured higher tolerances could be met and more complex requirements adhered to. Of this £1.5 million, £200,000 was helpfully covered by a UK government grant.

External recruiters were also consulted to bring in people with expertise in complex sectors spanning automotive, defence and aerospace. This served to widen the team’s knowledge base, with its newly onboarded employees bringing with them optimised process knowhow that instilled renewed confidence.

Additionally, the firm already had welding and fabrication capabilities in-house – highly transferable skills in a nuclear and defence context – and it also benefitted from numerous referrals from parent company TP Group.

Valued at £1.6 million, the firm completed the initial works with 97% on time in full (OTIF) delivery in 2020, and resultantly was awarded a new £6.4 million contract that spans the period 2020-2024.

Indeed, this two-part deal has been, and continues to be, significant. Not only has it provided substantial value to the company over a prolonged period, but it also earmarks the success of key diversification efforts, being a major contract with a new client in a new sector.

It also begs an important question.

What of the future? How does Hunt Thermal intend to build on its successful diversification strategy to date?

expand from two to four, while the coronavirus pandemic continues to provide hardships and challenges in many varieties.

However, Hunt Thermal’s outlook today is significantly more optimistic than it was less than half a decade ago - it is now ready to embark on yet another exciting journey that will serve to secure its future in multiple markets.

About Hunt Thermal

This will not be entirely plain sailing. It will require another period of significant transition as the firm’s target markets

Hunt Thermal Technologies is an ASME U-stamp accredited designer and manufacturer of shell and tube heat exchangers, air coolers, pressure vessels, vacuum condensers. Based in the UK and working for a global client base, the company’s service portfolio includes engineering consultancy and design, manufacturing services and on-site installation and upgrade activities.

Hunt Thermal’s capabilities serve a range of sectors including defence, oil and gas and petrochemicals.

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Key findings

Hunt Thermal at a glance:

#diversification (main category)

For industry

#collaboration, #culture

• Be confident in your abilities • Never be too scared to ask for help

Key products and services: Thermal, mechanical design, engineering, and manufacture of heat exchangers, air coolers, condensers and boilers

Through these advantages, Hunt Thermal was able to secure a first major contract win in the nuclear and defence domain in a matter of months, supporting a major multinational customer in a significant engineering project for the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

Benefits • Contract awards totalling £8m

As of October 2020, the company was acquired by private equity group RCapital – a company that plans to provide the means to expand the scope of Hunt Thermal’s diversification plans beyond oil, gas, defence and nuclear into the chemical and power generation industries.

For government • UK SMEs need support from both government and large corporations.

UK content should be encouraged.

Government support?

The company has received government grants and R&D tax credits.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 50% • Nuclear/Defence – 30% • Chemicals – 30% Headquarters: Dukinfield, UK Year established: 1938 Number of employees: 48 Revenue: £5.8m Revenue from exports: 20%

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Success stories

Indra Standing strong in difficult times

How is Indra thriving?

By staying true to its can-do culture, Italian piping & instrumentation valve and interlocking manifold manufacturer Indra has continued to support customers despite the challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, by keeping the lights switched on throughout 2020, the company has managed to grow its business and make critical investments to secure its long-term future.

The challenge When COVID-19 struck Europe, all eyes were on northern Italy. Distressing scenes showing overwhelmed hospital wards sent shockwaves through its European neighbours and indeed the world – the ensuing lockdown policy adoption being echoed widely barring a few notable exceptions.

Economic activity ground to a halt, people stopped moving, and workplaces went mobile save for those who could not operate from home or were deemed essential. For Indra, a

company at the forefront in the design and manufacture of instrumentation and piping valves, as well as interlocking manifolds since 1987, the challenges laid in front of it were clear.

With 60% of its business dependent on customers in the oil & gas industry, 2020’s economic shutdown and resultant oil price drop was cause for concern. How could the company continue to operate at full capacity amid COVID-19 uncertainty and explore further opportunities abroad?

The solution The short-term aim was simply not to give in. Important team meetings were moved online as part of moves to ensure operations continued as safely as possible, and the message very much was one of resilience and a determination to serve customers and make new investments as planned.

Last year was, by Indra’s own admission, a tremendous test of company culture. The company has always pushed itself by designing and

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developing customised solutions to meet specific client requirements, and this drive to exceed expectation has served it tremendously well during the pandemic uncertainties. It is an attitude stems from the top – a one team approach has seen management offer encouragement and support, as well as hard graft with leadership working every day to push Indra’s growth plans forward.

Indeed, contrary to the general economic narrative, the company was able to make significant investments in 2020. For example, new machinery was acquired which has enabled it to manufacture everything in house, removing uncertainty caused by COVID-19 related closures in the supply chain.

The new machine is a DGM MORI machining centre, a 5-axis milling machine that can work rough pieces on several faces at the same time, thus optimising production times and costs, and reducing waste material.

Meanwhile, more investment was

Success stories

poured into marketing advertising – a push to broaden Indra’s profile outside of Italy and secure more export business.

This, along with its agent-based approach in international markets, has paid dividends. In Egypt, for example, Indra with the support of the local agent has achieved important goals such as qualification with the state oil company ENPPI. This means that the company will be able to directly receive requests for offers from the Egyptian market. In Spain, with the support of the local agent, in addition to obtaining the qualification at the EPC Técnicas Reunidas, it supplied the same company with nr. 14 SIL 4 interlocking manifolds for the HIPPS system for the BU HASA Integrated Field Development project.

This was possible thanks to all the hard work to strengthen its brand and the resulting new contract acquisitions.

Among the new projects, the most significant were those for the Brazilian market, for the supply of DBB and SB valves for EPC Modec’s FPSO Almirante Barroso MV32 project located in Buzios, an offshore oil and gas field off the coast of Brazil; and MARLIM I FPSO Anita Garibaldi MV 33, an oil field located 150 kilometres off the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro & BACHALAU-Equinor, all projects for the national oil company Petrobras. Especially for Bachalau project it is noted that the application involved DBB valve rated at very highpressure API 10.000 & 15.000.

still, Indra has pressed ahead in 2020 and built a strong foundation from which to base its long-term future.

About Indra

By adopting a simple message – that we will be there for customers during difficult times – and making bold investments while others were standing

Set up in 1987, Indra is at the forefront in the design and manufacture of instrumentation and piping valves as well as interlocking manifolds; strictly produced in accordance with the most stringent safety and efficiency quality standards. The company’s products are widely used in a variety of energy segments, including chemical, petrochemical, oil & gas, offshore and power generation. Indra’s experience in understanding applications requirements, combined with a high flexibility, allows the company to develop customized solutions designed for customers’ specific needs. Indra’s headquarters are located in Magenta, within Milan’s metropolitan area, from where the company supplies products to customers around the world.

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For government

Indra at a glance:

#optimisation (main category) #resilience (main category) #scaleup (main category) #export

• The supply chain expects effective decisions and guidelines that allow companies to carry out their business while protecting the environment.

Key products and services: manufacturer of ball and needle valves in different configuration (DBB, SBB, SB & custom design); SIL4 interlocking manifolds for HIPPS System; Special items

Customers both at home and abroad have been able to rely on Indra during the most challenging of times – a fact which enabled the firm to grow its revenue by 20% in 2020 despite the difficulties and limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Benefits • 20% turnover increase compared to 2019.

Key findings For industry • Believe in what you are doing and do it with conviction.

• Failures should be seen as an opportunity to understand and correct mistakes.

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Indra is also working hard to diversify its revenue streams by growing in other markets such as LNG and hydrogen. In Mozambique, for instance, it secured a contract to supply valves to a major LNG project.

Government support?

No financial and/or consultancy support was received by Indra from the Italian government and / or from Italian government organizations for penetration into the global oil & gas, energy, LNG, etc. market. All activities and investments are planned on the basis of own resources and carried out at different times.

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Main industries served: • Oil & Gas (Upstream) – 60% • LNG – 20% • Petrochemicals – 15% • Power generation – 14% • Hydrogen – 1% Headquarters: Magenta, Italy Year established: 1987 Number of employees: 62 Revenue: €14.4m Revenue from exports: 33%

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Success stories

JoBird A drive towards diversification opportunities How is JoBird thriving?

Award-winning life safety storage solutions specialist JoBird has made unwavering progress in its strive for diversification, increasingly turning attention towards renewable power segments. After securing a circa £900,000 contract from Orsted and championing the use of recycled materials, the company is determining its own future – a future defined by sustainability and scalability.

The challenge The seemingly inevitable peaks and troughs within the global oil and gas market remain a key challenge for all industry players, and Fire and Lifesaving equipment manufacturer Jo Bird is no exception to this rule.

The company’s revenues have fluctuated as much as 50% in recent years as a result of unavoidable market expansions and contractions, while a growing trend towards subsea projects in the North Sea with little topside work has created additional pressures owing to a fall in demand for its primary products.

Indeed, market unpredictability has caused many headaches, and JoBird has often found itself in the difficult position of relying heavily on a market which peaks and troughs regularly.

During boom periods when production capacity dedicated to oil and gas projects has been high, the firm’s entry into diversified markets has been slowed. Most of the manufacturing process requires specialised skilled labour, which means rapid expansion of production isn’t possible. This has meant lead-times increase in busier times, as stock building in quieter times isn’t practical, due to the bespoke

nature of much of the business. This is something now being address with new production processes aimed at reducing manufacturing time and incorporating sustainable materials.

The solution After holding a 5-year strategy review, It was decided to increase marketing focus on the renewable sector.

JoBird took the decision to proactively focus on diversification into offshore wind, having first entered this segment in 2011 with the supply of offshore wind evacuation cabinets to Harland & Wolf’s Gwynt Y Mor wind farm, and large offshore wind projects such as Hornsea Phase 1, Borselle and Kriegers Flak. The goal was to offset reliance on the Oil and Gas sector by both expanding its global standing through exportation activities and diversifying its target markets as far as possible.

A team of 25 employees took up the mantle on this front. Sales and manufacturing staff adjusted activities accordingly while the company also began exhibiting more actively at offshore wind events – a strategy that led to Orsted approaching a JoBird distributor regarding a new package idea.

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Being an offshore wind farm specialist, Orsted’s request was specific to the storage and protection of new safety equipment on top of the nacelle including descent devices and coldwater immersion suits. Its goal was to ensure safe descent into cold North Sea and escape harm, independent of damage to the nacelle and tower in event of fire.

Initially through a small contract series with values between £3,000 and £40,000, JoBird was able to deliver storage units successfully, effectively, efficiently and in line with Orsted’s expectations.

The result? The company has now been awarded a £900,000 contract for 2021 to install safety cabinets across Orsted’s entire UK and Dutch wind farm portfolio comprising 846 wind turbines.

Success stories

Through these cabinets, Orsted will be able to prioritise health and safety by ensuring fully independent, safe descent and cold-water immersion.

JoBird’s evacuation cabinets are IP56 compliant and are designing to withstand wind speeds of up to 45-metres-per-second. Equally, they require little to no maintenance over 30 years, whereas other cabinets in other materials may require regular maintenance such as re-painting or issues with corrosion.

Albeit a key milestone in the company’s diversification efforts, this sizeable contract hasn’t been without its challenges.

Additionally, JoBird’s focus on sustainability has been significant.

For instance, the firm’s composite cabinet structure includes the use of recycled PET foam material originating from plastic bottles, aligning with the offshore wind farm specialist’s own environmentally conscious efforts. Jo Bird have also recently signed a Net Carbon Pledge to focus on reducing carbon emissions and eventually achieving net zero carbon. This has been organised through Future Net Zero (certificate ref FNZ1001021).

As a result of these endeavours, offshore wind has become a much larger part of the overall business, the company targeting 14% of total income from such activities this year – up from the 5% seen in 2019. And a continual transformation is likewise underway at JoBird, the firm having undergone a valuable learning experience regarding the need for detailed specification review and prototype R&D of late.

much greater ability to achieve longterm stability.

About Jo Bird

Looking towards 2022, the ambition is to have a quarter of business stemming from offshore wind – a figure that is both attainable and offers a

JoBird is an internationally recognised leader in the design and manufacture of life saving and fire safety equipment storage cabinets. Since its establishment as a manufacturing business in 1986, the company has developed its products to meet the demands of a range of industries and environments. JoBird’s Firebird composite and Toughstore cabinets are used by major energy and marine clients globally. Headquartered in Bason Bridge, Somerset, JoBird has a network of international distributors present in the five continents.

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Key findings

JoBird at a glance:

#diversification (main category)

For industry

#export, #innovation, #sustainability

• Keep up to date with business opportunities in emerging markets

Key products and services: manufacturers and designers of composite storage solutions for life saving and fire-fighting equipment

The level of detailed specifications required for such a project, for example, were unprecedented for JoBird, and significant work had to be carried out to address several bespoke specification requests.

By successfully working at pace to ensure all technical questions were thoroughly researched and addressed, JoBird ensured that Orsted had full confidence in it’s ability to complete the contract.

Benefits • Revenues from offshore wind to increase from 5% to 25% between 2019–22 • Two-year £900,000 contract award

For government • New exporters need support when it comes to tariff and customs advice • SMEs require more generous grants to join trade delegations

Government support?

Jo Bird has benefitted from the apprenticeship levy, R&D tax credits and government grants. The company has also joined trade delegations.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 75% • Commercial marine – 10% • Offshore wind – 9% • Coastal water safety – 6% Headquarters: Bason Bridge, UK Year established: 1986 Number of employees: 25 Revenue: £2m Revenue from exports: 55%

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Success stories

Johnson Controls Succeeding through transformation and diversification How is Johnson Controls thriving?

Caught at a crossroads, Johnson Controls was faced with a critical decision – whether or not to continue to play in the oil and gas sector.

Thanks to the efforts of Chris King and his teams’ willing embrace of transformational change, the company has successfully grown its existing business and forward pipeline in oil and gas markets in the UK and beyond, as well as diversifying to secure its first contracts in renewables within 12 months, a breakthrough that has provided the foundations for future growth, insuring against cyclical downturns within oil and gas.

The challenge To say recent years have been difficult for oil and gas industry players would be an understatement.

It has become an intensely competitive landscape, not least because of the infamous oil-glut induced priced crash between 2014 and 2016, and more recently as a result of the economic hardships brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Between 2010 and 2014, oil prices would routinely be found hovering well above the $100 per barrel mark. In the past six years, however, this figure has not surpassed $80, and typically it has been much lower.

Couple such a prolonged trough with tighter margins, fewer opportunities and underinvestment, and it is easy to see why firms in this sphere are struggling to make headway. Indeed, a focus on industry survival has perhaps never been more fitting.

Albeit a large enterprise benefitting

from a diversified portfolio, Johnson Controls is one such entity attempting to fight this uphill battle in this sector, by leveraging its broad capabilities and strong track record across multiple product and service lines in buildings, including digital. The company hasn’t attempted to mask the truth – rather, it openly recognised roughly 12 months ago that it could no longer continue in the same way if it wanted to succeed.

The solution Chris King was tasked with a driving transformation in Johnson Controls O&G business as, whilst individual oil and gas businesses were succeeding in the market previously, there was not a focus on driving these as a single focused vertical. Having previously been a part of the firm’s Fire and Security division, he was appointed General Manager of UK & Ireland for Johnson Controls Oil, Gas and Marine in February 2020.

It was a timely appointment. Not only faced with stagnation and an

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imperative need for change, but it was also immediately prior to the exacerbation of the pandemic – various factors which all tied into plans for immense reformation.

Johnson Controls have reinvented the entire structure of the business unit. Previously comprised of product focused, traditional offices that operated as autonomous businesses, the team facilitated a shift to a more centralised approach built on experienced project and service leads to give a better view of customer requirements, business opportunities, efficiencies, and costs.

It was an overarching process of optimisation geared towards combining CAPEX and OPEX functions that would provide full lifecycle support to customers. Digital likewise rose to the fore of company conversations, Johnson Controls considering how it could leverage key technologies to improve asset performance with capabilities such as predictive maintenance, remote operations and

Success stories

critical asset monitoring – all aligned to the wider sector aspirations for energy transition, efficiency and decarbonisation. Johnson Controls focus on Healthy Buildings, People and Places aligns absolutely with the energy transition and the oil and gas sectors decarbonisation strategies.

By spring 2020, a full-scale transition was underway.

Organisational health was transformed, both from a client and employee perspective, thanks to modernisation initiatives and improved overall governance. What was a somewhat stagnant environment changed to a forward-moving one, where experimental failures were encouraged and learning experiences became abundant. 90% of its transformation initiatives succeeded, and legacy expertise within the company began to be applied in new ways – namely, with a keen eye towards renewables.

compressed air foam systems (CAFSs) in the space of just 12 months.

A dedicated sales team was also introduced, mandated simply to explore new, enticing opportunities within the renewables arena. Previously there was little appetite for pursuing fire protection solutions in wind. Yet, having consulted the market and other suppliers, there is now a rising number of requests for such solutions and Johnson Controls have a fast-growing pipeline of opportunities.

over and above more traditional fire and gas detection/protection and HVAC projects.

About Johnson Controls

Here there had previously been a glaring gap in Johnson Controls’ product portfolio – one that was bridged with the introduction of

It is worth mentioning that not only were these expansive changes made during a period within which many of Johnson Controls’ competitors were cutting their headcounts, but equally its ambitions allowed it to begin delivering in new markets, with new products, and new contracts.

The company’s previous successes had occurred across the enterprise independently based on existing (local) client relationships. The new initiatives implemented by Johnson Controls is now more centrally owned and delivered against a defined go-to market strategy. This has led to increased project wallet-share, including the CAFS system offering,

Set up in 1885, Johnson Controls provides life safety and asset integrity solutions. The company offers a wide range of services including energy and efficiency solutions, design, security maintenance and more. Services are applied in a variety of sectors, including energy, industrial manufacturing and data centres. Johnson Controls’ headquarters are located in Cork, Ireland, and the company has seven additional offices in North America, Asia and Europe. Johnson Controls has been awarded multiple awards, including the 2020 E&E Leader Project Award, the “Most Intelligent Building” IBcon Digie Award and two FCA US Qualitas Awards.

Story type

Key findings

#transformation (main category)

For industry

Johnson Controls at a glance

#diversification

• Change can be intimidating and scary, but ultimately that’s where opportunities are • Create an environment that does not fear failure, but rather turn failings into informing future success

Benefits • Significant contract awards • Fast time to market: new product developed and sold in less than 12 months

Government support?

The company has benefitted from the apprenticeship levy as well as R&D tax credits.

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Key products and services: life safety and asset integrity services Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 5% • Nuclear – 2% • Renewables – 2% • Energy from waste – 1% • Others – 90% Headquarters: Cork, Ireland Year established: 1887 Number of employees: 100,000 Revenue: US$22bn Revenue from exports: 25% (UK business)

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Success stories

KBR From conversation to commercial transformation How is KBR thriving?

Following a somewhat chance discussion with a key customer, KBR Project Solutions has taken on a wholly new dimension in the form of automated engineering solutions for electric vehicle charging sites. Part of a transition to develop smart solutions for a sustainable future, the risk taken

by Project Solutions to invest in this innovative application of capabilities is already looking like a sound one.

The challenge KBR is a well-known global giant in the professinal services and technologies sphere, serving clients in the government, technology and energy sectors. The Houston-based group turned over $5.56 billion in 2019, around 20% of this deriving from clients operating in the energy space.

KBR Project Solutions, although a very small divison of the company with 2019 revenue of $13 million, is helping the energy side of the KBR business to shift into renewable and energy transition markets. Having started out as a small start-up with minimal funding in 2017, today it represents a creative engineering environment where the use of innovative solutions help to deliver results for clients.

Last year, naturally, presented serious challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with headcount having to be cut and revenues reduced due to project cancellations. Against these difficult circumstances, KBR Project Solutions was determined to continue developing its brand and build upon its track record.

The solution A major focus for the division has been

expanding its automated engineering solutions into new markets, developing new innovations to solve the pressing issues of the day in the energy sector – all geared towards the transition to a greener industry.

Leveraging its competencies already successfully deployed in the oil and gas sphere, KBR Project Solutions has turned to the likes of offshore wind and electric vehicle charging to diversify its activities, creating what it calls a connected capability triangle to optimise assets, streamline processes, create efficiencies and cut costs for clients. Indeed, the company recognised that early adopters of digital technology are also early adopters of decarbonisation technology.

The latter of these newly targeted subsectors – electric vehicle charging – surfaced almost by chance.

KBR Project Solutions were already

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using their algorithm tool for automating design in its oil and gas business, and when questioned by a client to develop a “North Star” proposal, an ideal world solution of what the electric vehicle charging market could look like it was a gamechanging question.

Project Solutions founder and Director, Dave Cole, took a risk investing internal funds. The pitch was helped by the existing customer relationship, the rate at which the EV market is growing internationally and that the computer programmers were already in place and ready to investigate the question put in front of them.

Moreover, the Projects Solutions team operated with the kind of SME mentality and authority within KBR to be trusted to move fast and handle risks. Likewise, Cole realised the potential for this to be the foundation of much larger opportunity should it be pulled off.

Success stories

The early signs are extremely promising, a £500,000 contract in place and the opportunity to scale up in 2022.

The project involves using laser scanning of a proposed site for electric vehicle charging and applying modelling tools to create optimised site layouts, with safety and compliance fundamental to the automated design process. Construction cost calculations are also provided with the design for each site, with KBR Project Solutions aiming to cut design expenses by as much as 50% per site. Scale this up for the proposed growth in EV across Europe, and the automated solution has the potential to save millions as well as making government targets for 2030 achievable.

The bigger picture also looks bright.

Having demonstrated the value of its automated engineering solutions outside of the oil and gas arena, there could well be other sectors beyond the electric vehicle charging market that KBR Project Solutions can apply its everevolving expertise to. And as more and more use cases are demonstrated, the company will strengthen its brand as a go-to for smart, sustainable solutions.

KBR Project Solutions has core

competencies which span engineering, computer science, and energy transition as well as creative, forward thinkers, who collaborate and challenge the expected to deliver disruption and create a new normal at KBR. Started as a small start-up with no funding in 2017, KBR Project Solutions is a creative engineering environment where the use of innovative solutions to deliver results for clients is encouraged. This has included ideas such as; Mulit-Objective Design Analysis (MODA) Solution, OPTI-VENTUS, BarBox ©, mobile app development, VR capability for training and process simulation, and automated engineering solutions amongst others.

Story type

Key findings

Government support?

#digital (main category) #energytransition (main category) #innovation (main category)

For industry

The company has benefited from the Apprenticeship Levy and R&D tax credits.

This serves as a highly effective case study for KBR Project Solutions to put in front of other prospective clients internationally within the EV charging market.

#diversification, #serviceandsolutions, #technology

Benefits • £500,000 contract award related to EV charging • Potential for multi-million pound in client savings • Delivers the required EV infrastructure to meet the 2030 goals

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About KBR KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies. The company employs approximately 28,000 people worldwide, with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries. Operating across the asset and programme lifecycle, KBR operates in the two synergistic global businesses of: Government Solutions and Technology Solutions.

• A good grounding is needed in digital and technology, as well as engineering • Build a team that understands the fast pace of changing technology • The synergies between competencies demanded by old and new energies should not be underestimated • Never stop learning For government • Carbon taxation is needed • 2030 EV goals can only be achieved if the infrastructure is supported and in place • Silos between energy, transport, mobility, and protecting our environment need to be broken down if true “smart cities” and “smart grids” are to be realised

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KBR at a glance: Key products and services: government technology solutions business Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 15% • Nuclear – 4% • Renewables – 1% • Others (government, IT, etc) – 80% Headquarters: Houston, USA Year established: 1998 (KBR Group) Number of employees: 28,000 Revenue: US$5.6bn Revenue from exports: 80%

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Success stories

McMenon Engineering Services

Finding purpose in export-led proactivity How is McMenon Engineering Services thriving?

In the space of just three years, McMenon Engineering Services has transformed the ABB product manufacturing facility that it acquired into an independent global leader in the supply of flow meters and temperature measurement products. Thanks to an unwavering commitment to exportled growth and a proactive approach, the newly-formed subsidiary has successfully secured its future in the face of pandemic related challenges.

The challenge While it doesn’t necessarily apply in absolute sense, proactive companies are often better equipped to deal with challenges and cut above the noise than their reactive counterparts. Those taking the initiative are typically the backbone of innovation in any industry, not only excelling themselves but driving positive change more generally.

McMenon Engineering Services acquired ABB’s product manufacturing facility in Workington, in North-West England in 2018.

While previously the facility had been an internal ABB feeder factory for DP flow meters and temperature measurement products, McMenon planned to leverage the company’s in-house expertise to build a business based on external sales. Postacquisition, attention turned towards a proactive export-focused growth strategy, signifying the shift from being a product manufacturing unit to a proactive global manufacturing business and brand.

It was by no means an easy task. It was nothing less than a cultural and operational overhaul, with every aspect of the organisation’s operations and expansion plans reviewed meticulously to ensure growth was both maximised and indeed sustainable. Which markets offered the most potential? Would the company need to develop local bases in key regions? How would it compete in markets more price competitive than that of the UK? Throw Brexit & COVID-19 into the mix come 2020, and these ambitions became fraught with obstacles.

The solution To succeed, the company paved its path using two key points of reference from 2018 onwards.

First, the goal was to increase its overall market share, and this was to be achieved through its export-centric strategy. Second, the business’ key selling point was one of quality and engineering solutions, the foundation of its success having been built on an esteemed reputation as a UK product manufacturing unit run by a global automation leader.

Arrowing in on these all-important

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factors, the company was successfully able to establish presence in a number of new markets.

One such example comes from its efforts in Damman, Saudi Arabia, where McMenon Engineering Services established a local joint venture with Gulftek Arabia.

It was by no means a straightforward task. While ABB’s Workington plant had previous ties with Saudi Aramco, the facility’s rebrand under the McMenon umbrella meant that the enterprise had to be recertified – a long diligent process.

As a result, McMenon opted to establish an in-country presence to comply with Saudi Arabia’s inKingdom Total Value Add Program (IKTVA) requirements that advocated greater localisation. Indeed, COVID-19 has slowed the process here, and McMenon continues to await Aramco accreditation, yet despite these setbacks, McMenon in 2020 formally launched the first British manufacturing facility of flow and temperature instrumentation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Following this success in 2020, the facility manufactured the first ISO Wedge flowmeter in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The venture

Success stories

represents a key milestone in the firm’s global growth strategy of investing in supporting capabilities locally in selected countries with the Workington, UK facility serving as the mothership.

McMenon, which exports to over 60 countries, recently landed a contract win in China to supply wedgemeter and other flow instruments. Valued at nearly $1 million and beginning in 2021, it is not the company’s first China-based contract, yet it is the most significant. Not only is the primary client a Tier 1 multinational, but the end client is among Asia’s largest energy companies. Indeed, this success speaks volumes about the extensive efforts that went into ensuring McMenon, from its UK manufacturing facility, would be able to export competitively, securing the signature ahead of rival firms in Asia and Europe.

capability to engineer solutions. The order was won because we sat with the client to engineer the solution giving them the confidence that we were an extension of the client’s team.

The wedge instrument assemblies will provide flow measurement in one of the most challenging operations in refining with operating temperatures greater than 500° C and in the presence of elements that are detrimental to flow instruments.

Through these proactive endeavours and brilliant support of its team which mostly comprise of people who transferred as part of the acquisition process, McMenon Engineering Services has helped to secure its own future.

And the export statistics speak volumes with export-led revenue driving 85-90% of sales each year.

And the export success has been across the pond too. McMenon engineered, manufactured and delivered Delayed Coker Wedge Flow instruments for a major energy client in the USA. This contract valued around $500,000 is a testament to McMenon’s

To this end, not only has the company succeeded in its ambitions for achieving export-led growth, it has equally demonstrated sound resilience during a period of extreme hardship – a solid base from which it can thrive in the future.

Story type

Key findings

#export (main category)

For industry

#resilience

● It is more challenging to win business in the UK than overseas

Benefits ● Contract awards exceeding US$1mn

For government

Key products and services: manufacturer of flow and temperature measurement instrumentation Main industries served: • Energy – 80% • Water – 15% • Others –5%

● Promote and help SME manufacturers

McMenon Engineering Services has received an Analysis for Innovators (A4I) grant for product development.

The company has also benefited from R&D tax credits.

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McMenon Engineering Services is a premium manufacturer and global distributor of differential pressure (DP) flow meters and temperature measurement products as well as a trusted partner for complete contract engineering and manufacturing services. The company’s main sector is energy with increasing supply into other sectors including water, food and beverage, nuclear and renewables. McMenon’s Workington site has a 74-year track record of manufacturing industrial instrumentation. Starting out as a greenfield site owned by Fischer & Porter, the location was later transformed by ABB into a world-class facility for the design and manufacture of flow and temperature measurement products supplying products globally.

The product manufacturing facility was acquired by McMenon Engineering Services in February 2018 from ABB.

McMenon Engineering Services at a glance:

Government support?

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About McMenon Engineering Services

Headquarters: Workington, UK Year established: 2017 Number of employees: 70 Revenue from exports: 90%

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Success stories

NRL Group Delivering NDT Expertise to Nuclear New Build

How is NRL Group thriving?

Thanks to its start-up mentality and continual strive for disrupting the norm, NRL Group has successfully diversified its nuclear non-destructive testing (NDT) away from reliance on radiography – a move which has secured significant project awards and, ultimately, helped to futureproof the business.

The challenge Nuclear represents a third of NRL Group’s business. The North Westbased firm has been a stalwart in providing specialist NDT, recruitment, workforce management, and rail contracting services since setting up in 1983, its 118-strong team deployed all around the UK and Ireland.

At Sellafield nuclear facility, on the Cumbrian coast, NRL has been providing managed service radiography for many years as part of the site’s construction, reprocessing and decommissioning activities.

However, with UK nuclear new builds making their way back onto the agenda and the safety and disruption risks linked to radiography being closely scrutinised, equivalent and safer options are being used more extensively. With the sustainability of its longstanding nuclear capability potentailly under threat, NRL needed to show it is keeping ahead of the curve. Succeed here, and the prospect of participating in the UK’s first new nuclear project for decades (Hinkley Point C) could turn into a reality.

testing is seen as a potential viable alternative.

The solution

NRL was back in start-up mode.

It had to prove its new Inspection Qualification and Technical Justification capabilities merited critical nuclear assessment in the most heavily regulated sector. And the diversification into the ultrasonics space is already paying dividends.

Aware of the requirement to broaden the scope of services, NRL’s leadership team began exploring other volumetric testing methods five years ago. At the start of the previous decade, radiography was the predominant volumetric testing method in the sector, but it is predicted to account for a much lower proportion of nuclear NDT activity in the future. The need for safer, less disruptive testing methods was clear, and phased array ultrasonic

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A formal strategy to establish Inspection Qualification and Technical Justification capability within the ultrasonics arena began in 2018.

The first step involved sourcing and onboarding the expertise required, with NRL looking for specialists with previous civil nuclear experience.

Thanks to its formidable network, the company found a match who was eventually recruited to develop this new offering for the market.

In early 2020, NRL Group secured a breakthrough contract at EDF’s Hinkley Point C that amounted to a significant 2-year project. This involves conducting the inspection qualification

Success stories

for ultrasonics inspection techniques, training procedures, and the scanners and associated equipment that will ultimately be applied on the HPC site to inspect the welds on the critical main steam pipeline. Like many large-scale projects, EDF have a desire to engage with the SME market throughout the supply chain. The agile approach of the new NDT offering from the NRL Group supported these SME goals.

The contract is part of a raft of activities at NRL as it looks to build on this project, and scale its new nuclear NDT offering. The team is now five-strong and growing, while an investment of £500,000 has been made in a brand-new ultrasonic NDT facility at Portishead, Bristol.

But Hinkley Point C is not the only new project on the horizon for NRL’s nuclear business. The company has also taken on new clients since the breakthrough contract was signed – among them is a British multinational aerospace, defence and automotive manufacturer who is a principal stakeholder in the emerging SMR sector.

NRL group is also looking further afield in what would be another diversification drive away from reliance on UK-based clients. Indeed, the wider NRL Group has already grown its export business from 1% of revenue to 10% in the space of 5 years, a trend it wants to continue pushing in the future. Given its success in deploying nuclear NDT services, the international nuclear market could be a lucrative avenue for the firm to explore in the coming years.

About NRL Group A technical services company with 38 years of experience, NRL Group’s vision is to be the most trusted, collaborative and innovative service provider in the technical sector.

The company provides technical recruitment, workforce management solutions, rail maintenance, training and non-destructive testing (NDT) services in the UK and around the globe.

The ultrasonic story has reinforced some of the key mantras which has helped NRL to navigate its near 40year journey to date – chiefly, to be constantly on the move and looking for the next innovative breakthrough.

The NRL Group’s strategic focus is on several core sectors where they demonstrate a considerable pedigree.

These sectors include nuclear, renewables, advanced facilities, built environment, infrastructure (including its Rail contracting division), conventional power, oil, gas and petrochemical and finally transmission and distribution.

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Key findings

NRL Group at a glance:

#diversification

For industry

Benefits

• Avoid complacency. Challenge norms and strive to improve continuously.

Key products and services: recruitment, workforce management solutions, rail contracting and NDT services

Hinkley Point C represents the future of UK nuclear power. It will be the first nuclear power station to be commissioned in the UK since 1995 and promises to be a new-breed site built on state-of-the-art technologies and techniques. Once completed, it will deliver 3,260 MW of capacity.

• Significant Inspection Qualification contracts secured at HPC • Expanded client list • New facility with bespoke, fully automated phased array ultrasonics equipment • Larger team with new capabilities

For government • UK content rules would address the lack of competitiveness in the supply chain • COP26 should pave the way for a large pipeline of utility-scale projects rather than pilot developments

Government support?

NRL Group has utilised the Apprenticeship Levy as well as R&D tax credits.

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Main industries served: • Nuclear – 33% • Renewables – 20% • Infrastructure – 20% • Oil and gas / petrochemicals – 10% • Rail – 10% Headquarters: Wigan, UK Year established: 1983 Number of employees: 118 Revenue: £155m (2020) Revenue from exports: 10%

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Success stories

Online Electronics A story of streamlining to counter competition How is Online Electronics thriving?

Having held sway in supplying solutions to pipeline pigging activities for the best part of two decades, Online Electronics faced something of a perfect storm with the 2014 oil sector crisis and entry of competition into its previously unchallenged market space. By streamlining its operations and focussing efforts on new markets and products, the company is now presenting a wider, more relevant and cost-effective offering to new and existing customers alike.

The challenge In the pipeline transportation world, pigging is something of a specialist art.

Defined as the practice of using pipeline inspection gauges – devices generally referred to as pigs or scrapers – to perform various maintenance operations like cleaning and inspections, it is conducted without stopping the flow of the product in the pipeline.

For more than 25 years, Aberdeenbased Online Electronics has been designing and manufacturing pipeline pig locating and detection equipment to enable such activities, chiefly pipeline testing, data logging and remote communication solutions.

The company had cornered a niche and operated as a legacy business with little to no competition – it set the market rates and was the go-to for customers, reacting to their needs as and when they arose.

This comfortable existence, unfortunately, was prone to two major occurances that could derail it, and both events arrived in the middle of the 2010s.

First, the emergence of competitors began to disrupt the market, in some cases offering similar products and services at costs 30-35% lower than Online Electronics’s going rate.

Second, the oil market crisis triggered in 2014 drastically shrank the pool of customers and projects on offer.

If Online Electronics was to emerge from this perfect storm intact, it had to streamline and offer higher volumes at lower prices to compete. Furthermore, new geographies and product categories had to be explored with greater vigour.

The solution A key turning point arrived at the end of 2015 when now-Managing Director Andy Marwood arrived as General Manager following the acquisition of Online Electronics by IK Group.

Marwood is a self-proclaimed data enthusiast with LEAN manufacturing experience and OEM background, and immediately set about strategising how to optimise several facets of the business, including identifying pig signallers as a product with growth

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potential.

The decision was made to lower prices and target new customers, even before enhancements had been made to claw back margins. This meant taking control of its own destiny and shifting focus directly to main contractors and end users as opposed to working for OEMs. It was a process that involved a substantial amount of pre-qualification work, but Marwood and the Online Electronics leadership knew this would be a worthwhile exercise.

Another key stakeholder emerged in 2017 in the form of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS). The organisation works to help manufacturers plot a course to take advantage of new opportunities to increase productivity and boost competitiveness, and this is exactly what the ensuing years have involved at Online Electronics.

The company moved to a larger facility with greater workshop and store space, leading to almost immediate efficiencies and a broader scope of in-house capabilities – it now stands as a one-stop shop beyond specialising in

Success stories

pig tracking and signalling devices, for example. New product versions to suit new markets are also being developed, such as signallers certified for the American market.

The implementation of these changes has, naturally, required a marked shift in culture and ethos for the people within the organisation, and that transition had to be managed carefully.

It took perseverance, with Marwood determined to entrench these positive new working behaviours.

The results so far have been impressive. The involvement of SMAS has already been calculated to have delivered £1.27 million in improvements, with production times reduced from a typical eight to nine hours to just three hours, with material costs cut by 25%.

market by a factor of 10, with EPCs and operators turning to the company in greater numbers.

In a few short years, Online Electronics has reinvented itself as a LEAN, agile competitor able to challenge at levels it previously would have seen as impossible.

Overall revenues rose from a low point of £3.17 million seen in 2017 to £5.03 million in 2020, largely thanks to great success in this diversification shift. Indeed, revenue derived from pig signalling expanded from £606,000 in 2016 to £2.92 million in 2020.

About Online Electronics

Volumes have thus increased, and pig signalling has now taken over from legacy pig tracking as Online Electronics’ major money spinner.

Meanwhile, the onshore market has superseded the traditional offshore

Online Electronics (OEL) was formed in 1996 and was acquired by the IK-Group in 2015. Its head office is based in Aberdeen, UK, supported by international offices in Dubai, Singapore and Houston. OEL’s range of products utilise a wide range of technologies to provide an

Story type

Key findings

#optimisation (main category)

For industry

#diversification, #export

• Do not believe what you are told – make your own judgement • Never give up • Elevator pitches don’t work

Benefits • Export revenues grew from £1.9m in 2016 to £3.8m in 2020 • Pig signalling business expanded from £606,000 in 2016 to £2.92 million in 2020

innovative and flexible approach to pig locating, monitoring and signalling including ATEX certified options through all of the stages of a pipeline.

In addition, the company provides products and services to support clients from the energy industry with pipeline pre-commissioning activities including pressure & temperature data logging, smart gauging systems and automated pipeline discharge analysis. Online Electronics benefits from an in-house Research and Development team with an average of 17 years’ experience and a team of Field Technicians with an average of 16 years’ experience. This allows the company to have the capability to undertake custom projects incorporating custom designs and have the flexibility to modify and change equipment to suit client specific requirements.

Online Electronics at a glance:

For government • Clear direction is needed on climate change so that the supply chain can take better informed decisions on which technologies to specialise

Key products and services: Design and manufacture of pipeline pig locating and detection equipment Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 100% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 1996 Number of employees: 46 Revenue: £5m Revenue from exports: 77%

Government support?

The company has benefitted from R&D tax credits, grants and DIT trade missions.

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Success stories

Petrofac Meeting changing global energy needs

How is Petrofac thriving?

Long-established in the design, build, management and maintenance of infrastructure for the oil and gas sector, Petrofac began translating it’s services in the offshore sector a decade ago.

Building on its early mover advantage, the company has continued to channel tremendous resources and efforts into diversifying its offering to serve the energy transition. By embracing new expertise, upskilling its existing workforce and establishing a dedicated new energy services team, the company is making promising inroads in CCUS, hydrogen and waste to energy.

The challenge With more than 10,000 employees spread around the globe who help to generate $5.5 billion in annual turnover, Petrofac is understandly categorised as an industry heavyweight.

For four decades the firm has provided

leading deisgn, building, management and maintenance services for clients’ infrastructure, most of them operating in the oil and gas sector with key markets including the UAE, UK, Algeria, Oman, India and Thailand.

But the world is changing, and so too are attitudes towards fossil fuels.

The energy transition is gathering momentum all around the world, and companies which rely too heavily on traditional energy markets risk being left behind.

For Petrofac, the need to diversify was clear.

Indeed, it has already built up a strong offshore wind portfolio.. The landmark 1,075MW Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm project located 27 kilometres off the coast of Angus in the North Sea firth (Scotland, UK), is one such example. A US$300 million contract secured in December 2019 involves the full EPC works for the HVDC and HVAC substations which will provide power to more than a million homes.

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Yet, while growing its European wind portfolio, company leadership realised potential in the sunrise industries. All of which require the same best practice engineering, project management and operations experience as the upstream, downstream and established renewables markets.

The solution The past year has seen a marked ramping up of activity aimed at utilising Petrofac’s abundant FEED capabilities and applying it to the new energy space. A new purpose was launched – to enable clients to meet the world’s evolving energy needs.

John Pearson has been put in charge of maximising these transferable skills, taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer, for its New Energy Services division and establishing a brand-new dedicated team to uncover and exploit new opportunities.

Starting in the early part of 2020, much of the initial work involved gathering

Success stories

data, examining the competition, engaging taskforces and testing ideas with external stakeholders. Alongside this knowledge gathering exercise was an internal upskilling effort, built on Petrofac’s centre of engineering excellence in Woking, UK. Here, the company has reassigned and recruited subject matter experts in new energy categories.

Elsewhere, resources have been scaled up and repositioned in order to respond to new opportunities, with the business development team conducting the early client conversations which have helped generate FEED work on numerous projects which, if successfully concluded, could land Petrofac deeper involvement in these developments.

One such project is the Acorn carbon capture and storage in Scotland, coordinated by Pale Blue Dot. In June 2020, Petrofac was selected to provide ongoing engineering and project management office support for the development. In March 2021, on announcement of Scotland’s Net Zero infrastructure (SNZI) programme,

Petrofac secured a contract to drive the offshore pipeline and subsea activities to develop the project.

It is the perfect vindication of the company’s new approach and strategy, the firm hopeful of converting more front-end involvement into full cycle work in the near future.

For example, in Australia it has been conducting the FEED work for Infinite Blue Energy’s green hydrogen project named Arrowsmith since summer 2020. Post-FEED involvement has already been secured by Petrofac’s Perth team, with UK engineering personnel to be assigned the project execution.

Another project, this time in the waste to energy space, was also secured.

Here, Petrofac has provided FEED input to a scheme which will recycle waste tyres and cooking oil into fuel at a former refinery site in London, UK. It promises to be the largest facility of its kind, with Petrofac once again securing post-FEED involvement.

from its traditional core oil and gas activities, Petrofac continues to secure its future by providing valuable input to new energy projects, its early commitment to these already paying dividends and building up its pipeline.

And with the internal upskilling exercise gathering pace, early successes in these markets will only continue to multiply.

About Petrofac Petrofac is an international service provider to the energy industry. It has been supporting the industry for over three decades.

By leveraging its transferable expertise

It provides a range of operations, maintenance, engineering and training services to the oil and gas sector. It has been supporting the SNS area from its hub in Great Yarmouth for more than 10 years, providing manpower support services as well as O&M, Engineering, Duty Holder and, more recently, Service Operator services.

Story type

Key findings

Petrofac at a glance:

#energytransition (main category)

For industry

#diversification, #transformation

• Break out from the conventional way of operating – adopt an independent focus • Clients are different – keep this in mind when diversifying

Key products and services: The company designs, builds, manages and maintains infrastructure for the energy industries.

Benefits • US$300 million contract award associated with offshore wind

For government • Align with other nations and deliver a consistent approach to energy transition

Government support?

In addition to the Apprenticeship Levy and R&D tax credits, the company has received export financing.

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Main industries served: • Upstream oil and gas • New and renewable energy• Refining and petrochemicals Headquarters: London, UK Year established: 1981 Number of employees: 10,400 Revenue: US$4bn Revenue from exports: 90%

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Success stories

PetrolValves Group Embracing new experience and new expertise

How is PetrolValves thriving?

In 2018 PetrolValves turned a corner. A new leadership team with fresh ideas embarked on a cultural journey which has seen the Italian manufacturer embrace new methods and bring a game-changing new product to market.

The challenge For many family businesses, it is hard to let go of tradition and embrace innovation shaking off old habits.

In the town of Castellanza in Lombardy, Italy, PetrolValves has been operating

since 1956, building a formidable reputation and brand through its tried and tested technology over generations. The company is a manufacturer of valves and actuators for the oil and gas industry, engaging in the design, production and service of both its own and third party products.

It has offices and customers all over the world, selling into all the major oil and gas markets.

After TBG Holdings’ becoming a shareholder in 2016, PetrolValves embarked on an innovation drive in a bid to push the boundaries of technology and boost customer service. New plants have been built and pioneering technologies have

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been invested in, but more recent challenges have highlighted the need to go further.

In response to the 2014-2016 oil price crash, customers are increasingly looking to cut their costs and focus on local supply chains. Meanwhile, the gathering momentum of energy transition programmes has created new needs in the form of technological innovation and sustainability.

The solution In 2018, a new leadership team was formed, headed by CEO Cristiano Tortelli and bolstered by a team of top-level managers with extensive

Success stories

experience in the oil and gas and energy industries but also bringing expertise from other cross sectors.

First on the agenda – company culture and embracing a changing market environment. In order to drive any meaningful practical change, internal culture had to be realigned, and with this arrived a new ERP system, structure, processes, people and attitudes in regards to customer service, innovation, continuous improvement and collaboration. The message was clear – all employees can and should be motivated by creating value to customers.

The new strategy and mindset also brought new ideas on product development, adding to the already formidable pool of industry-leading engineers, not least because they designed the first ever valves to be used in HPHT applications.

PetrolValves quickly jumped on the opportunity to cross-pollinate ideas between existing engineers and new recruits from the rotating equipment industry. The status quo was challenged, with trailblazing machining capabilities invested in, and new ideas began to emerge.

on the idea that a valve could be effective without bolts, the project was quickly initiated with subsea and surface prototypes developed in almost total secrecy at the company’s Varese plant. In place of bolting is a compressor seal joint, a swap which reduces valve weight by 25%, cuts costs by 20% and reduces assembly time by 30%.

PetrolValves was a sure-fire winner, although it was not all plain sailing from this point. Convincing customers so used to the industry standard model, especially given how visibly different the boltless BRAVA appears, required perseverance and multiple demonstrations. Meanwhile, design fine tuning was needed to ensure compliance with API 6D standards, an important step as this removed the ‘new design’ tag. The COVID-19 pandemic also led to testing delays, although the work did continue in secure conditions to alleviate any health and safety concerns.

Suitable for upgrading existing assets as well as making for sound CAPEX investment, BRAVA can save up to US$1m up front on a typical API 6D ball valve spend for one FPSO or platform. Further cost efficiencies can also be made, as associated pipework and lifting will also cost less due to BRAVA’s properties.

The important progress made by simplifying the design, makes the valve installation and maintenance faster and easier, minimising the execution risks. As a result, the finished product ticks three key boxes: high valve reliability and service; lower lifecycle cost of ownership; and a more sustainable solution.

The most significant is BRAVA. Based

The valve functionality stays the same, as well as material selection or sealing

By producing cost-effective, sustainable alternatives to previously unchallenged industry-standard products, PetrolValves is helping to not only secure its own future, but also ensure oil and gas operations continue to deliver value and work more sustainably.

Story type

Key findings

PetrolValves at a glance:

#technology (main category)

For industry

#innovation, #energytransition

• Dedicate to solving real problems, providing tangible industry benefits

Key products and services: flow control solutions

Benefits • 20% cost reduction for client (approximately US$1m for a typical FPSO project)

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Fast-forward to July 2020, and BRAVA has been launched and is being marketed as a cost-effective, lowerweight and sustainable alternative to traditional API 6D ball valves.

solutions. This technology aims to drive new benefits without compromising valve performance.

Government support?

In Italy, PetrolValves has benefitted from initiatives such as apprenticeship levy, export financing, R&D credits as well as government grants.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 80% • Conventional power – 20% Headquarters: Castellanza, Italy Year established: 1956 Number of employees: 600 Revenue: €200m Revenue from exports: 97%

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Success stories

Proserv Repositioning to add greater value to clients

How is Proserv thriving?

Taking stock of its challenges and pain points, Proserv has successfully positioned itself as a leading contractor in Abu Dhabi, collaborating with local partners to offer full-scope topside life extension and asset optimisation solutions that put the requirements of its clients above all else.

The challenge The overall dynamic in the oil and gas market has changed in recent decades.

Between downturns in the 1990s through to more recent price crashes such as in 2014 and 2020, the mindsets of many industry players had gradually moved from one of buoyancy to caution.

For Proserv, a company then supporting oil and gas companies with drilling, production and decommissioning through the use of

its market-leading control technologies, this shift was quickly becoming one sharp side of a double-edged sword.

Typically operating as a supplier to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors, the company also faced the challenge of increasing market saturation.

Quality had become secondary to cost, while the supply of possible solutions had outgrown demand as more and more companies competed for contracts. Add in the stop-start nature of projects which exacerbated issues around supply chain, planning, and cashflow to this challenging cocktail, and Proserv took the decision to go back to the drawing board.

The solution The decision was taken in 2014, with Proserv employing a team to see how

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it could approach the market in a new way. Extensive resource was dedicated to lobbying and listening to national oil companies (NOCs) in order to identify their issues, targets and where Proserv might be able to add value.

It was an intense yet fruitful learning experience. Proserv realised it could position itself as a holistic partner – one that would work to supply appropriate solutions to meet the end client’s needs, at their convenience, for both the present and the future.

Through this collaborative approach came more comprehensive dialogue with a major regional operator.

While Proserv Controls (one of the company’s two primary divisions) had already been providing services to this client for control and instrumentation upgrades, the plan was to expand this scope to deliver a full turnkey package

Success stories

based on the customer’s specific requirements.

In 2019, Proserv was mandated to provide the full topside hook up of this leading Middle Eastern producer’s new wells. Instead of scrapping and replacing its 45-year-old systems – a process that would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars – the operator opted to employ Proserv to upgrade and extend their life instead.

This was significant. While Proserv had traditionally worked as a partner in assisting EPCs, here it became the EPC itself and began working with its own partner companies which could support the requirements of the contract. These partners were selected based on their in-country value (ICV) score, with Proserv having made a clear and firm commitment to support the local supply chain in the UAE.

mechanical hook up from the bulkhead to the Christmas tree, and the second delivered the necessary electrical works.

The results? While 14 days of downtime had initially been anticipated, Proserv and its valued partners were able to complete the works with just one hour of downtime, resulting in drastic cost savings for the client.

For Proserv, the benefits have been equally monumental. Its service contracts have increased significantly.

Ultimately leading to a 40% rise in revenue for Proserv Controls Abu Dhabi in 2020.

incredibly bright for Proserv moving forwards.

About Proserv Proserv is a controls technology company incorporating two divisions: Proserv Controls, which encompasses innovative subsea controls solutions, alongside topside, IWOCS, sampling, measurement and offshore wind diagnostics offerings, right across the energy sector; and Gilmore, a Proserv Company, known for its globally renowned control valves.

It was this collaboration that was the key to unlocking success for all project stakeholders.

Proserv was resultantly able to open a new flagship facility in Abu Dhabi and invest a seven-figure sum into state-of-the-art equipment that would support its newly expanded capabilities. Its headcount on the ground there has also grown, up from 43 at the beginning of 2020 to over 100 today, despite the headwinds of the pandemic.

Leveraging its internal expertise, Proserv initially delivered on the controls upgrades and flowlines to the bulkhead, before acting as the architect on the full topside scope. Meanwhile, its first selected partner performed the

Indeed, with greater presence in Abu Dhabi, a growing relationship with this major local client, and proven capabilities in taking on more significant projects and leveraging local supply chains for support, 2021 looks

Proserv has an extensive brand heritage spanning nearly 60 years.

Headquartered in Aberdeen, the company has a global footprint with offices in 14 locations across the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Story type

Key findings

Proserv at a glance:

#collaboration (main category) #serviceandsolutions (main category)

For industry

Key products and services: subsea and topside controls; field and design services; measurement; IWOCS; sampling and offshore wind diagnostics

#culture, #resilience, #scaleup

Benefits • 40% revenue increase for Proserv’s Abu Dhabi operation between 20192020 • OPEX savings of approximately US$4.5m in Abu Dhabi

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• Listen to your clients and work with them • Patience is key – success does not happen overnight

Government support?

The company has not received any type of government support.

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Proserv’s technology and industry experience improve reliability, maximise production and enhance asset integrity.

By combining technical ingenuity with design, engineering, manufacturing and field service expertise, Proserv creates state-of-the-art solutions that can be applied to standardised systems.

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 85% • Renewables – 15% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 1963 Number of employees: 800 Revenue: Well over US$100m Revenue from exports: 80%

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Success stories

Quanta Remaining resolute in times of crisis

How is Quanta thriving?

Having transitioned to a full EPC services provider in 2016, Quanta felt the full force of COVID-19 and its resultant shutdown in oil and gas activity. However, thanks to an agile can-do culture and determination to stick to its five-year Balanced Roadmap, the company is starting to harvest the benefits of its newly streamlined processes and diversified offering.

The challenge Quanta had, for the best part of 30 years, operated as a highly specialised engineering deisgn house serving the upstream oil and gas market.

Based in Newcastle and Aberdeen and headed up by CEO Nick Oates, the company took the opportunity in 2016 to broaden its horizons and move into full EPC services – aimed at agile and lean Tier 2 clients. The move, it seemed, was paying off with

oil and gas prices recovering and the sector still harbouring a critical role in the UK energy mix despite loudening conversations around green industrial strategies and energy transitions.

When 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic arrived, the situation changed markedly. Revenue growth forecasts quickly changed from +1015% to a reduction of 20-25% due to the economic standstill caused by varous shutdowns of activity, and the inevitable oil price plunge.

Oates and the company reached an important juncture – how would they respond to the COVID-19 crises and what would this mean for its recentlyformulated five-year plan?

The solution Thankfully, Quanta was already well-positioned to deal with the practical disruptions brought about by the pandemic. Home working was adopted relatively seamlessly,

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with employees already tuned into a culture that embraced change because of its niche in working for Tier 2 clients, who themselves operate agile, fast-moving business models.

The opportunity was also taken to invest in new in-house digital systems, with the firm achieving ISO14001 accreditation alongside its carbon footprint reduction. Critically, despite the revenue slump, Quanta maintained a strong cash positive position and strong Balance Sheet throughout the course of 2020.

But this is to tell only half of the story.

Oates was determined to implement his Balanced Roadmap and use it as a means to navigate out of the pandemic challenge and into a brighter longterm future. He realised the strategy had to be suited to a small business and not be bogged down in corporate processes and bureaucratic layers – the SME-style can-do dynamism had to remain.

Success stories

The resultant strategy therefore focused on four core areas. First, and perhaps most significantly, the company expanded its remit beyond EPC to also cover asset management and advanced consulting services.

Alongside this, Quanta moved away from near total reliance on oil and gas upstream work to target the midstream and downstream segments.

Thirdly, Oates initiated a restructure in order to optimise sales and engineering processes within the company – newly appointed directors assumed fresh responsibilities and brought with them valuable skills and focus. Steven Brett was appointed Commercial Director and has helped transform sales processes and identify more opportunities to drive growth.

Louise Amerigo took up the position of Engineering Director, responsible for streamlining EPC delivery via a faster, leaner process underpinned by empowered decision making at team level.

pegged back by COVID-19, it was to be used to navigate through the crisis and assess the impact the pandemic has had on the business.

Indeed, the early signs are extremely promising. As well as securing two new major midstream contracts at the start of 2021, Quanta has also been taking on more asset management and advanced consulting services work, and has experienced a significant increase in the number of inquiries being received by prospective customers. Indeed, the start of 2021 has seen more inquiries into Quanta services than the preceding two and a half years.

These inquiries are now easily analysed via an upgraded dashboard series which has shed a light on other successes – bid ratios have improved, while the value of inquiries has increased alongside the larger volumes.

have been laid for a significant scale-up in the years ahead.

About Quanta Quanta delivers end-to-end engineering, procurement and construction services to the energy industry, covering the full life cycle of clients’ assets from concept to decommissioning. The company’s capabilities include brownfield modifications, flowlines and tiebacks, life extension and decommissioning and underground gas storage, among other areas.

Finally, the plan was made irreversible.

Rather than get bogged down or even

It is thanks to its agile and adaptable culture, and determination to execute its Balanced Roadmap undeterred by the COVID-19 pandemic, that Quanta looks set to thrive – the foundations

Quanta traces its origins from 1988, when it was known as Techmac Barton. The company was acquired

by Fabricom in 1999, which was then acquired by GDF Suez (currently Engie).

After a time operating as Fabricom Offshore Services, the company was rebranded as Quanta following a management buyout in 2018.

Story type

Key findings

Government support?

#innovation (main category)

For industry

#diversification, #optimisation, #resilience

• Turn your risks into opportunities.

Business is about risk, and how you manage and respond to it.

• Build the best team around you

Quanta has benefitted from the apprenticeship levy.

Benefits • Two major midstream contract awards • Additional asset management and advanced consulting services work

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For government • The supply chain needs a realistic and pragmatic approach to energy transition, with a roadmap that is smart and achievable.

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Quanta at a glance: Key products and services: engineering, procurement and construction services Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 100% Headquarters: Cramlington, UK Year established: 1988 (as Techmac Barton) Number of employees: 100 Revenue: £15m (2018) Revenue from exports: 5%

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Success stories

Re-Gen Robotics A safety-first approach to tank cleaning

How is Re-Gen Robotics thriving?

After witnessing first-hand the dangers involved in cleaning industrial tanks with confined space crews, Fintan Duffy decided to do something about it. His new company Re-Gen Robotics has developed a one-stop robotic tank cleaning solution, a system which is rapidly winning over clients and building a track record which soon nobody will be able to ignore.

The challenge Robots have, undeniably, had a profound impact on the way we work.

From the laboratory to factory floor and many workplaces in between, these automated machine assistants have cut the time spent on manual, repetitive tasks and reshaped the makeup of the labour force.

New use cases are being discovered all the time, especially where robotics can enhance the health and safety of industrial activities.

For Fintan Duffy, working in engineering and construction settings running confined space crews had exposed many industrial accidents waiting to happen. Cleaning chemical tanks, for example, involved personnel relying on controls and personal protective equipment to keep them safe, and were always at risk of human error leading to accidents.

With 200 people in Europe losing their life in these sorts of confined spaces every year, there had to be a better way, and so Duffy took the plunge and decided to set up Re-Gen Robotics.

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The solution Duffy had started looking into the concept of a robotic tank cleaning solution some 10 years ago, but was unable to find anything capable of ‘zone 0’ – explosion proof and intrinsically safe inside a fuel tank.

He explored the idea again five years later, identifying manufacturers in Slovakia and Italy who between them had the potential to develop a suitable solution – indeed, Duffy was determined to prove it could be done having been told numerous times that his ambitions were impossible to achieve.

A year-long R&D process with Italian partner Gerotto kicked off in February 2018. Gerotto had the setup needed to design key robotic system elements such as the chassis and jetting compliant with zone 0 conditions.

Success stories

With a 100% zero-man entry system developed, it was down to Re-Gen and Gerotto to find and work with key suppliers to produce the components required to build the tank-cleaning robots – Volvo is responsible for the ADR-specification chassis, Valley Tankers UK supplies water and vacuums, and Fassi Cranes Italy provides equipment for lift and install.

There were bumps along the way, not least in getting the system operational and road legal, a stumbling block which prompted many changes to be made to the initial design. The challenge, however, was met.

Re-Gen, with its completed system, is now its exclusive user and is taking the solution to market, armed with formidable numbers to put in front of prospective clients.

robot. In manhours terms, it has cut the requirement from 280 manhours of confined space man entry to zero hours, carrying with it an enormous safety benefit.

This has proven particularly attractive to clients during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has enforced numerous additional safety measures to be taken by organisations undertaking industrial activities. Social distancing rules make it difficult for a team of eight to operate in harmony, making the option of using a two-person and robot team much more viable. Further still, the reduced time taken also cuts the amount of water used as well as emissions.

Its robotic system on average completes a job 40-80% faster than a manned crew. For example, a white oil tank which would ordinarily take eight days to clean with an eight-person team can now be cleaned in 2.5 days with just two people operating the

Re-Gen is currently fulfilling its largest contract to date for Philipps 66 at the Humber Refinery on the northeast coast of England. The £1.1 million project involves cleaning three heavy duty oil tanks, each with 50-metre diameters and containing 300-500 tonnes of sludge that requires removal.

A landmark contract win, the work will help Re-Gen towards a forecasted revenue of £2 million for 2021, building on the £1.1 million made last year.

Story type

Key findings

#innovation (main category)

For industry

#collaboration, #serviceandsolutions, #technology

• Do not bring innovation in search of a problem. Bring a problem and use innovation to solve it • All solutions need to provide value for money at the end of the day

Benefits • £1.1m contract award • Improved safety • Reduced carbon footprint and water usage

And the future looks even brighter if the intentions of multinational giants are anything to go by. Shell has committed to end manned tank cleaning across its operations by the end of 2022, with other majors looking at 2025. Duffy’s instinct, it appears, has been proven correct.

About Re-Gen Robotics Re-Gen Robotics is the first and only Zone 0 EX certified, remote controlled, ‘No Man Entry’ robotic tank cleaning company, in the UK and Ireland. The company places a high premium on workplace safety and with bespoke, state of the art equipment, workers are not exposed to the dangers posed by operations carried out in hazardous confined space environments, including refineries, pharmaceutical plants, industrial and agricultural sectors.

Re-Gen Robotics at a glance:

For government • A better EU agreement is necessary to remove barriers for SMEs wanting to export services

Key products and services: robotic tank cleaning solutions Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 100% Headquarters: Newry, UK Year established: 2019 Number of employees: 11 Revenue: £1m Revenue from exports: 10%

Government support?

Re-Gen Robotics has received R&D tax credits.

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Success stories

Rotork Energised by ESG How is Rotork thriving?

Faced with a cohort of clients rapidly turning attentions towards energy transition projects under growing ESG-related pressures, Rotork has methodically adapted in order to thrive. By identifying the potential in repackaging its existing products for deployment in new sustainable markets, the firm has successfully installed thousands of its electric actuators and instruments across hydrogen, CCUS and methane emission reduction projects.

The challenge Arguably no word has been more influential in the past decade than sustainability. These six syllables have risen to the top of the agenda in corporate, governmental and social spheres as company and consumer awareness of the long term impact of certain actions and choices continues to grow.

Enter environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) – the key criteria used to measure the size and shape of footprints being left by organisations on the world around them.

In the energy industry, ESG has become a defining standard. Shareholders and investors today demand ethical operations, a reality that leading missioncritical flow control and instrumentation solutions provider Rotork has become to witness firsthand.

An enteprise that continues to innovate in response to the roadmaps and challenges of its clients, Rotork has seen ESG rise to the fore and become a central pillar of many of its customers’ strategies.

In this face of this changing dynamic

and in order to support the ambitions of its clients, Rotork has had to follow suit and adapt its own offering, repurposing its technologies for a growing swathe of energy transition projects. Indeed, failure to do so would almost certainly result in declining revenues.

Through its unwavering curiosity and extensive evaluation, the firm identified a set of key focus areas upon which its energy transition strategy could be built: hydrogen, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and methane emission reduction.

The solution

In these three segments its existing product portfolio could make immediate contributions – its electric actuators, for example, could improve methane-emitting skid conversion processes versus pneumatic or hydraulic alternatives.

To better understand this shift in sentiment and the resultant changes in the market, Rotork commissioned a study on energy transition last year, the core purpose of which was to discover how energy transition may impact the firm moving forwards.

Starting from this base, the firm initially needed to answer some key questions.

What would be the long-term implications? Where did the company need to consider adapting? Were there areas in which Rotork could expand its offering in order to participate? And others where its existing portfolio might be well placed to offer an immediate contribution?

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The key challenge was delivering this shift in a balanced manner. While many of the company’s clients were looking towards energy transition projects, many were small scale, pilot operations that provided limited revenue opportunities.

A methodical approach was therefore taken among internal departments to prevent distraction from core operations. A handful of sales staff and a small portion of the marketing team were tasked with identifying

Success stories

pilot projects either under technology assessment or pursuing the conversion of existing methane-emitting assets.

Meanwhile, an initial value proposition focusing on the pre-FEED and FEED stages was developed.

Indeed, the firm has succeeded in securing a number of new contracts as a result.

Many of its electric actuators are now being used in hydrogen, CCUS and methane emission reduction applications, the company having replaced thousands of choke valve actuators with innovative, solar-powered alternatives.

actuators which are mounted on globe valves and regulate the pressure and level of the water that is at the heart of the process. In order for the process to be completed successfully, very precise control is needed. Here, its CVL-500 actuators have paid dividends.

Not only were they chosen for their high movement frequency and their quick reactivity, but the fail-safe functionality of the actuators is equally important in preventing potential disaster on loss of power. Additionally, their ATEX IIC certification was a further requirement – essential in an environment where hydrogen is present. The robust design of CVL actuators also ensures that they will have a long lifetime in this application, helping to mitigate the cost by reducing the need for replacements.

Combine these efforts with a potential decline in COVID as vaccination programmes gather momentum, and the future for Rotork looks increasingly bright.

About Rotork

Rotork has equipped each of its electrolysis skids with multiple electric

Indeed, this is just one example of many that stand the company in good stead to accelerate its diversification and energy transition efforts moving forward. For 2021, further innovation is already underway, the company looking to digitalise its water applications, grow its position in the chemicals market, and expand presence in high growth emerging markets.

Rotork is a market-leading global provider of mission-critical flow control and instrumentation solutions for the industrial actuation and flow control markets. These include oil and gas, water and wastewater, power, chemical process and industrial applications. The company operates across three different divisions: Oil & Gas, Water & Power, and Chemical, Process & Industrial (CPI).

Rotork’s headquarters are located in Bath, England, and the company is present in 39 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Rotork has won the “2009 Flow Control Innovation Award”, as well as the “2006 Innovation and Design Excellence Award”, “Britain’s Most Admired Companies Award” and others.

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Key findings

Rotork at a glance:

#energytransition (main category)

For industry

#diversification

• Drive culture of focusing on the customer’s requirements • Do not be afraid to experiment

Key products and services: Leader in mission critical flow control applications

Indeed, its major contract win with AREVA H2Gen is a prime example.

AREVA H2Gen has a unique method of producing carbon-free hydrogen through water electrolysis, which involves the use of proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology. It is the first French manufacturer to make hydrogen generators using this method.

Benefits • Contract win rates increased • Larger installed fleet of electric actuators powered by clean energy

For government • Governments must consider energy equality when proposing and committing to energy transition goals

Government support?

The company has benefitted from the Apprenticeship Levy as well as R&D tax credits.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 48% • Chemical, process and industrial – 26% • Water – 17% • Conventional power –7% • Renewables – 2% Headquarters: Bath, UK Year established: 1957 Number of employees: 3,400 Revenue: £605m Revenue from exports: 90%

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Success stories

Samuel Knight International Riding the 2020 rollercoaster How is Samuel Knight International thriving?

Little did Samuel Knight International realise how important scaling up in the US in 2019 would prove to be in light of 2020’s events. Having refinanced the business in 2018, it looked like years of hard work may have been about to come to an abrupt and devastating end when COVID-19 struck, until a major breakthrough arrived from across the Atlantic.

The challenge Headline after headline throughout the course of 2020 has, rightly, shone a light on the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on employment across the world. As lockdowns and travel restrictions put the brakes on economic activity, entire industries were put and remain on hold, and the inevitable consequences have, unfortunately, borne out.

Businesses have been forced to make cuts and in many cases close their doors, resulting in major upticks in unemployment and contractions in job openings – a recruitment firm’s worst nightmare.

Relatively little attention has actually been paid to the grave impact this has had on recruiters. For Samuel Knight International (SKI), which specialises in managerial direct hire solutions within the infrastructure and energy sectors, the pandemic created something of a perfect storm.

To add further angst to the unfortunate situation, CEO Steve Rawlingson had just started to bear fruit from a refinancing exercise carried out in 2018, when he raised £6 million by selling 15% of the firm to an institutional investor. A war chest to fund future growth, a tangible asset in the form of

a new office – decked out with a £1.5 million makeover – was officially moved into at the start of 2020.

When COVID-19 arrived, Rawlingson understandably feared the worst.

The solution The short-term plan was simply about ensuring survival. All non-critical costs were removed, and headcount was reduced during what became the first period in the firm’s seven-year history where it wasn’t looking to scale up.

With clients themselves pursuing cost efficiencies, and travel bans presenting further barriers to recruiting processes, SKI was forced to think on its feet.

Rawlingson was determined to stand side by side with clients and provide support where needed – it was a case of being there for them in the hope a corner would soon be turned.

That corner arrived thanks to an

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unlikely white knight – US President Donald Trump.

Following two months of industrial shutdown across large swathes of the country, the President declared US energy sector workers as exempt.

It was the news SKI was desperately waiting for, the company having only established itself in the market in August 2019, going fully live as recently January 2020 with new locally-based leader Sam Forest in place.

SKI had decided to set up in the US thanks to one long-term client which had asked for help in filling a senior VP of operations and construction position. The candidate was placed within six weeks, leading to more work. Rawlingson was also excited about the American renewables boom, something he was seeking to exploit in the years ahead – COVID-19, however, dramatically brought this forward.

Success stories

SKI was helped by the fact its top five clients were all global heavyweights in the form of Siemens, GE, Mitsubishi, Nordex and Halliburton, companies which it already had deep working ties with in the UK, Europe and Middle East. With activity about to be ramped up again in the US, SKI’s service offering that is designed to remove HR, payroll, onboarding, equipment, recruitment and financial paperwork burdens in order to scale up activity, suddenly became glaringly relevant.

SKI’s new institutional investor also arrived with deep knowledge in the renewables space and provided project finance access that enabled the company to bid on large projects.

Such financing strength is also now being used by end-user clients to help them secure work, a USP of SKI which is proving to be a winner.

There were, however, obstacles to getting off the ground, especially against the COVID-19 backdrop.

Rawlingson had to jump through many hoops to acquire a working visa and had little time to get used to the US market. He had to quickly grasp employment law and renumeration structures, find the right people to run

the operation, and create a new supply chain.

Thankfully, these issues have been overcome. SKI now has seven staff stationed across the country with plans to scale quickly to 25, a reflection of the extraordinary revenue success which has seen the operation grow to $10.2 million in turnover in the space of a year.

This is down to several major contract wins involving four onshore wind projects – two in Texas and one apiece in North Dakota and Denver, developments for which SKI placed 218 contractors at a retention rate of 98.2%.

Its success to date has led to more work being secured, this time to supply another 425 contractors across a new wave of American projects, helping to build on the 5GW of renewable energy power the company has supported across both the US and UK. A year on from the COVID-19 nightmare, and SKI is very much looking upwards once again. Revenue is forecast to reach £38 million for 2021, more than double what it achieved last year, rounding off a

Story type

Key findings

#scaleup (main category)

For industry

#export, #resilience

• Be resilient, tenacious and adaptable.

Benefits • Successful scale-up in the US: from zero to US$10.2m in revenues within one year

SKI is a global recruitment and project manpower specialist, providing skills and project solutions to the energy and rail sectors on a permanent, contract and project basis. In the energy sector, SKI covers the renewables, power generation, transmission and distribution, nuclear and oil and gas segments. The company’s contractor services offering includes mobilisation of contractors, payroll, immigration, registration, taxation as well as contractor care and localisation. In addition, SKI also provides bespoke skills testing, competency-based interviewing as well as industry and market trend insights.

SKI has offices in Newcastle, London and Bristol, in addition to US offices in Houston, Dallas and Chicago.

Key products and services: provider of specialist technical and engineering manpower

For government • Clarity is needed around energy transition plans.

The company has received support from the Department of International Trade (DIT) to set up a presence in the US.

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About Samuel Knight International

Samuel Knight International at a glance:

Government support?

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rollercoaster story which is hurtling towards a happy conclusion.

Main industries served: • Renewables – 55% • Infrastructure – 30% • Oil and gas – 7.5% • Conventional power – 7.5% Headquarters: Newcastle, UK Year established: 2014 Number of employees: 70 Revenue: £19m Revenue from exports: 70%

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Success stories

Serba Dinamik Resilience, diversification and digital transformation

How is Serba Dinamik thriving?

Serba Dinamik has taken a proactive approach to ensuring its own longevity and sustainability in the face of challenging markets, its success underpinned by three key pillars – diversification, digital transformation and economic resilience against COVID-19.

The challenge The oil and gas industry is one which constantly has to grapple with myriad of challenges and unavoidable risk. A vast number of varied, impactful and uncontrollable factors have historically had huge bearings on the success of sector players, be it international politics and geology or price volatility and supply and demand fluctuations.

Owing to such external influences, 2020 quickly became a period of hardship for oil and gas companies. Major supply and demand imbalances stemmed from the global industrial slowdowns and travel restrictions brought about

by COVID-19, resulting in a depressed

need for refined products. The share price of oil and gas companies plummeted and ultimately failed to recover as the pandemic rolled on through 2020, with average per-barrel prices dropping from US$63.30 in 2019 to US$41.92 in 2020.

And 2021 is unlikely to offer much in the way of improvement. The World Bank estimates that per barrel prices will only rise to $44 this year – an outlook that provides little nearterm respite for an industry already struggling to sustain itself.

If nothing else, the pandemic has highlighted the importance of diversification, and those that had already spread their revenue models between oil and non-oil activities have been much more successful in coping with unforeseen pressures.

The solution Serba Dinamik is one such company that approached diversification proactively.

Founded in 1993, the Malaysian

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company spent the first two decades of its existence mostly focused on providing integrated engineering and maintenance solutions to the oil and gas and petrochemical industries. Eight years ago, however, the decision was taken to diversify the risk for its shareholders and ensure a more sustainable future for the business. Growing global trends such as coordinated action against climate change were pre-empted, and the firm began to adjust accordingly.

This was not an overnight overhaul.

Rather, Serba Dinamik has been pursuing a gradual, organic transition over recent years, focused on building internal expertise over time.

Fast forward to the present day, marked progress has been visible on multiple fronts.

The firm has continuously upskilled its core pool of talents and rolled solutions out to new sectors such as power generation, utilities and wastewater, information and communication technology. Its transition has also seen an increased focus on building technological proficiencies in key areas

Success stories

such as artificial intelligence, finance technology, cybersecurity and data analytics, a move that has ensured its ability to offer superior solutions.

When the latest oil market shock struck in 2020, many companies were forced to streamline, cut costs and find new ways of enhancing productivity – actions Serba Dinamik has taken well in time thanks to these newly consolidated technological capabilities.

Where determining the health of industrial equipment previously took up to two weeks, the company is now using AI to source even more accurate insights in just two days. Through this transformed predictive maintenance, it has helped asset owners avoid periods of unplanned shutdown and significant productivity losses.

act locally” has been very apt and equally important. By localising many of its global operations in key markets, the company has benefited from improved internal governance and uninterrupted project delivery.

With key people and core competencies assigned locally, Serba Dinamik was able to honour existing contracts despite borders being shut as it already had its resources where they needed to be. Its technological efforts have also been helpful on this front, the company able to provide expert advice and key training remotely as required via visual demonstrations.

The shift is needed to enable the company’s longevity, durability and sustainability be protected for many years to come.

About Serba Dinamik

Undoubtedly, Serba Dinamik’s commitment to diversification and digital transformation have been key to its success in 2020. Moving forward, however, the organisation plans to further transition from a position of sustainability and resilience to one of growth.

Established in 1993, Serba Dinamik Holdings is an international energy services group providing integrated engineering solutions to the Oil & Gas, petrochemical, power generation industries, water and wastewater as well as utilities. The company’s main business is in operations and maintenance (O&M), and engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC), Information Communication & Technology (ICT) and Education & Training.

The firm’s philosophy of “think globally,

While 75% of revenues were still driven by oil- and gas-related activities in 2020, it set a target by 2023/24 shift this balance so that other activities account for 55% of overall business.

Headquartered in Malaysia, Serba Dinamik has operational offices in Indonesia, UAE, Switzerland, Netherland, Qatar, Singapore, India, the UK and the USA.

Story type

Key findings

#resilience (main category)

For industry

Serba Dinamik at a glance:

#digital, #diversification

• Success is a journey, not a destination. It is a process of continuous improvement.

• Always innovate.

These strides have been invaluable in allowing Serba Dinamik to achieve resilience in the face of the economic hardships brought about by COVID-19.

Yet such endeavours have not been the sole factor behind its enhanced durability.

Benefits • Successful diversification to ICT segment • OPEX savings of US$6m

Government support?

In Malaysia, Serba Dinamik has benefitted from government grants.

Key products and services: operations and maintenance (O&M), engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC), ICT Solutions and Education & Training Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 75% • Chemical – 5% • Others – 20% Headquarters: Shah Alam, Malaysia Year established: 1993 Number of employees: 5,500 Revenue: US$1.5bn Revenue from exports: 70%

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Success stories

Speedcast Finding inspiration in adversity How is Speedcast thriving?

Communications solutions provider, Speedcast, has a story full of extreme resilience, with the company’s recapitalization process becoming a catalyst for holisitic structural change and innovation within its value offering.

The result? The leading provider of mission-critical communications for remote and challenging locations has initiated a comprehensive transformation, strengthening and expanding its global network platform and enhancing its offerings of full-suite solutions to enable the digital journeys of its customers, as well as increase their overall operational effectiveness.

The challenge Mergers and acquisitions are commonplace in almost any industry.

While companies look to boost organic growth by increasing output and enhancing sales internally, inorganic growth by way of mergers, acquisitions and takeovers is often used as a means to which companies can achieve these same ends.

Such was the view of Speedcast, with the company having completed an impressive 16 acquisitions between 2010 and 2018. However, such an ambitious growth plan naturally came with significant challenges.

The company weathered the 20142016 oil price crash, but was further impacted by shifting market dynamics at the start of 2020. These included the global COVID pandemic, along with volatile Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) activity and price wars among two of the biggest exporters, Russia and Saudi Arabia. These crises ultimately led the company to enter into Chapter

11 recapitalization proceedings in April 2020. However, with a change in leadership and ownership, along with a clearer vision, the question became whether the companycould be successful in turning a corner.

The solution Despite being faced with significant hardships and debt, Speedcast drew upon the positives – it learned from its failures and opted to move forward in a different direction with a reinvigorated approach.

The newly instated leadership team, who had not had the chance to make a proper impact since their appointment in 2020, set about making the case for the company’s second chance, developing plans for holistic structural and operational overhauls that would make it leaner, more effective and more efficient.

Primarily, focus was shifted towards supporting the digital journeys of Speedcast’s customers, marking a

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distinct enhancement of Speedcast and its legacy companies’ traditional service model solely focused on providing the communications infrastructure. Adding full-suite solutions and advanced technologies, the company continues to partner with its customers to increase their overall operational effectiveness, building on the communications infrastructure at the core.

In order to bring its offering into the modern age, it began to work towards developing technologically empowered solutions such as a predictive maintenance and condition monitoring to help clients make informed decisions and better determine equipment health.

Through honest conversations and significant transformation, Speedcast’s value offering has become more selective, more logical and significantly improved. Having previously been an traditional provider of mission-critical communications in remote locations, it is now built on foundations of an ROI-centric, hybrid network, ‘cradleto-grave’ model, capable of supporting

Success stories

the management of entire connectivity chains with bespoke customer dashboards.

Specialties now extend far beyond communications, as the company supports customers with their connectivity, processing, cybersecurity, edge computing, sensing, web serving, analytics, dashboard and hosting requirements.

team was successful in convincing the company’s loyal lenders that plans for a digital-centric model would pay dividends – employee capabilities and skills that were previously hidden have been unlocked to add value wherever possible, and its overall offering has become more client-focused and diversified.

Speedcast’s turnaround has been immense. Its experienced leadership

Speedcast is a leading communications and IT services

provider, delivering critical communications services to the Maritime, Energy, Mining, Media, Telecom, Cruise, NGO, Government, and Enterprise sectors. The company leverages its global network platform to provide fully connected systems that harness technologies and applications to transform what remote operations can achieve. With the world’s most comprehensive network, Speedcast enables faster, seamless pole-to-pole coverage from a global hybrid satellite, fiber, cellular, microwave, MPLS, and IP transport network with direct access to public cloud platforms. The company integrates differentiated technology offerings that provide smarter ways to communicate and distribute content, manage network and remote operations, protect and secure investments, and improve the crew and guest experience. Speedcast is based in Houston and serves more than 3,200 customers in over 140 countries.

Story type

Key findings

Speedcast at a glance:

#transformation (main category)

For industry

#digital, #serviceandsolutions

• Be resilient, but be flexible • Always be ready to spot lessons from most unlikely places • Surround yourself with inspirational people

Key products and services: Major provider of mission-critical communications for remote and challenging locations.

Its technical reinvention is arguably best underpinned by its core competency: VSAT (very small aperture terminal) connectivity.

Here, the company delivers satellite capability on well-designed, robust equipment for mission-critical communications. This is a ‘game changer’ for customers in remote markets – the company is able to support a truck fleet in the Middle East with remote diagnostics, devices, connectivity, data movement and more, for example.

Benefits • Increased share of digital solutions in sales pipeline

While its revenue per annum is down, its profit margins are now much higher thanks to a streamlined approach.

Further, the company’s sales pipeline was solely driven by traditional communications just one year ago, yet it is expected that one fifth of revenue in 2021 will be derived from its newlyestablished, full-service suite and digital solutions.

Speedcast is now in a much more sustainable position, both financially and in relation to its technical expertise.

Indeed, the future looks incredibly bright.

About Speedcast

For government • Closer collaboration with national bodies and enablers across countries would help shape future strategy and structure for energy transition

Government support?

The company benefits from the Apprenticeship Levy.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 23.75% • Renewables – 1.25% • Maritime – 35% • Infrastructure/mining – 25% • Government – 15% Headquarters: Houston, TX Year established: 1989 Number of employees: 1,300 Revenue: Not disclosed Revenue from exports: Not disclosed

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Success stories

STATS Group Reaping the rewards of localised resilience

How is STATS thriving?

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, STATS Group successfully achieved year-over-year growth in 2020, thanks to a strategy driven by the localisation of operations in key international markets. Not only has this model been vital in building resilience during a challenging period, but it equally offers a bright, scalable, sustainable future for the company.

The challenge STATS Group, like the vast majority of businesses globally, was forced to adapt during a highly volatile period in 2020.

For STATS, the closing of borders and travel complications brought about about by the pandemic was a key challenge. Internationalisation has been a core strategy of the company for

over a decade, although successful operations in certain markets relied on the ability to fly competent teams around the world.

Of its 285 employees, 160 are UK based, with 65 in the US and Canada, 52 in the Middle East and just eight in Asia. The hindered mobility of staff in the face of the pandemic, therefore, posed a problem as lockdowns swept the world.

The solution Indeed, the scenario which quickly unfolded highlighted the importance of localisation. While STATS had established itself internationally, the company lacked significant operational presence in certain markets – best reflected by its footprint in Asia.

Here, the company had just eight onthe-ground employees, and as a result regional revenue dropped significantly

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from £6 million in 2019 to a little over £2 million in 2020.

Yet, overall, 2020 can actually be considered a success story for STATS, marked by a rise in revenue and staff numbers, with its total headcount rising from 250 at the end of 2019 to 285 a year later.

While the company had not yet substantially localised operations in Asia, significant progress had been made to this end in the Middle East and North America where it had shifted to more locally-autonomous operating models.

A significant emphasis was placed on in-region investment and training competent core local teams to ensure that regional activities were largely delivered by regional employees.

Centrally defined standard operating procedures (SOPs) formed the

Success stories

foundations of this upskilling strategy so as to ensure STATS’s high standards would not be dropped in any market globally – a scalable approach.

Through this transition to localisation in key international markets, the company became much more resilient to the economic and social challenges posed

by COVID-19.

Localisation of STATS’s North American operations are well advanced where over 95% of its employees are local.

While regional revenue stumbled in Asia it boomed here, rising from £13 million in 2019 to over £18 million in 2020. In the Middle East, meanwhile, where partial localisation was achieved, revenue remained stable at £9 million year over year – an achievement in itself given what was a testing period.

Regional leadership teams are provided with the trust, authority, and autonomy they need to deliver success, and staff are better engaged with overall strategy which is delivered on-the-ground in localised markets.

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The shift towards localisation has enabled STATS to be closer to its customers, ensuring faster response times, a more personalised service, and an improved way of marketing its pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping and plugging services to the global oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

Indeed, further localisation efforts will be required in Asia and the Middle East moving forward, but the success realised in North America points to a bright future for STATS. 2020’s revenues suggest the rewards of the firm’s commitment to pursuing a sustainable growth model are beginning to be reaped, and the company is now better established in its priority market of North America.

About STATS Group STATS Group are market leaders in the supply of pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping and plugging services to the global oil, gas and petrochemical industries. Their primary

#resilience (main category)

• In the current remote working reality, take advantage of smart digital solutions

#export

For government

Benefits • £5m revenue growth in North America • +10% increase in staff numbers during 2020

• An expansion of the key worker definition would support exporters in times of COVID • A sensible, managed transition to clean energy is needed in the context of climate change

Key findings

Government support?

For industry

STATS received support from UK Export Finance (UKEF) in 2018. The company has also benefited from the Apprenticeship Levy and R&D tax credits.

• Invest in market research • Resilience is key • Focus on quality • Set challenging goals, but make sure your plans are adequately funded

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services are isolation and intervention of hydrocarbon piping and pipelines which enhance worksite safety and reduce system downtime during repair and maintenance activities.

Furthermore, environmental impact can also be minimised through reduced venting and flaring of pipeline inventory.

The company has its own proprietary technology, providing DNV GL type approved, double block isolation tools, for use in onshore, topsides and subsea pipeline infrastructure. STATS Group’s vision of producing specialist tools and technology services for a safer oil and gas industry is carried out by 285 employees, spread across the world. With headquarters in Aberdeen, the company operates globally with operational bases in Canada, Malaysia, Qatar, the USA, UAE and Oman.

Export Lessons • Localisation is a key enabler of growth in export markets

STATS Group at a glance: Key products and services: pipeline isolation, hot tapping and plugging services to critical infrastructure in the oil and gas industry.

Main industries served: • Oil & Gas – 100% Headquarters: Kintore, UK Year established: 1998 Number of employees: 285 (160 in the UK) Revenue: £42.5m Revenue from exports: 80%

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TEXO A one team transformation How is TEXO thriving?

While COVID-19 has posed innumerable challenges in the past 12 months, it has been something of a catalyst for transformation at TEXO. By diversifying and making the most of new opportunities, the company, previously an oil and gas sector specialist built on siloed divisions, has successfully reinvented itself to become a collaborative, diversified, profitable business with a one team culture at its core.

The challenge When current Chairman, Hayden Smith, took the helm, he knew there were clear opportunities to make more of the skills and experience within the teams. At that point, the company was solely involved in the oil and gas industry and needed a fresh pair of eyes to spot potential opportunities and drive profitable change.

TEXO, based in Aberdeen, had the potential to expand its working base and to look at other industrial sectors. It was the goal to develop a multi-disciplinary engineering and construction company providing services to the oil and gas, renewable energy, nuclear energy and marine sectors in north east Scotland and beyond.

TEXO had diversified into a group driven by eight different disciplines, and on the face of it appeared to be a success. In 2019, Hayden Smith brought his son Chris in to manage the business – Chris has significant management expertise in the construction sector – and he was able to see where the organisation could be more effective and more profitable.

At that time, TEXO’s eight subsidiaries were operating as fractious, siloed

enterprises. They had become difficult to manage and the business was struggling to maintain profitability. It was a situation that needed rectifying, and quickly.

The solution Chris Smith set about drastically streamlining the organisation, the goal was simple – take one step back in order to take two steps forward on firmer foundations.

Chris began by looking at which service areas could be made more efficient, take advantage of market opportunities and begin to be more profitable. A fairly in-depth restructure resulted in four core business areas: engineering, fabrication, rope-access and temporary accommodation.

The restructure resulted in a streamlined headcount, falling from 90 at the end of 2019 to 40 by March

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2020. Yet, for Chris, this was a vital part of a focused and transparent plan that he knew would result in a business that had the right skillsets and attitudes, ready to take advantage of clearly defined new business opportunities.

Of course, restructure brings difficult decisions about the people working for the company. But a good leader understands that culture matters, and that where the structure and the culture of a business no longer supports its long-term goals, things have to change.

It was at this point in the process that the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing the business to complete its restructure during some of the toughest times in living memory.

It was, however, the catalyst required to accelerate TEXO’s transformation.

The furlough scheme bought the

Success stories

company time, facilitating an acrossthe-board expenditure cut that allowed the firm to weather the storm, and for the creation of a newly invigorated one-team model and culture that embraced collaboration, cooperation and collective effort.

As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, TEXO is now putting its new model to the test.

with clients on complex projects and its market reputation and influence is growing as a consequence.

It has been a monumental undertaking.

By going back to basics, Chris has successfully rebuilt secure foundations on which the business has begun to thrive.

About TEXO

Recent client wins include SAIPEM for the NnG offshore windfarm, and TEXO has also completed work on the Orbital O2 tidal turbine – the company has demonstrated its ability to work closely

For 2021, the plan will be to expand capabilities while keeping operations under one roof and one identity.

This expansion includes new service offerings, port services, recruitment, DSI and Livestream. TEXO is also planning overseas expansion – the company is ambitious, but that

TEXO is an Aberdeen-based multidisciplinary engineering and construction company that provides services in the oil and gas, renewable energy, nuclear energy and marine sectors.

The company’s team is made up of engineers, constructors, surveyors, designers, creative thinkers, servicegivers and problem solvers. TEXO offers six distinct services: Engineering & Fabrication, Workspace Solutions, Asset Integrity, Recruitment, Port Services and Land & Aerial Surveys. Between them, these services support customers both onshore and offshore to design and complete essential projects on time and on budget. In 2019, TEXO won “Young Business of the Year” at the Courier Business Awards 2019.

Story type

Key findings

TEXO at a glance:

#transformation (main category)

For industry

#culture, #diversification, #resilience

• Surround yourself with trustworthy people – build a good team ethos • Diversify into different sectors • Invest in your staff

Key products and services: Engineering, construction, fabrication, rope access, temporary accommodation, port services with rapid response, complex operations, survey and inspection, drones, recruitment and live streaming services.

Today, the firm operates as a single enterprise, with one central support and administration team and cultural initiatives tying its varied services together. Where the managing directors of the disparate business units had previously been given shares in their individual businesses, they have now been provided with group shares, emphasising the importance of group performance above all else.

Benefits • Successful diversification away from O&G • Revenue and staff numbers have rebounded

Headcount has risen back up to 80, while revenues now stand at £30 million – a figure that has allowed the organisation to become profitable.

While 100% of cashflow was generated from oil and gas related activities in 2019, 40% of its income is now sourced from non-oil related activities in renewables, construction, power grid and nuclear.

ambition is built on a skilled workforce and a can-do, will-do attitude.

Government support?

The company has received R&D tax credits

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 60% • Renewables – 20% • Construction – 8% • T&D – 8% • Nuclear – 4% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 2018 Number of employees: 80 Revenue: £30m Revenue from exports: 0%

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TP Group Gaining traction in the UK rail sector How is tpgroup thriving? tpgroup is a company unwilling to stand still. With a history of supplying submarines with key carbon capture, electrolyser and fuel cell technologies, the firm has successfully diversified to win its first rail sector contract, applying 50 years’ experience to deliver hydrogen fuel solutions.

The challenge For many companies, diversification can often be the difference between long-term sustainability and short-term success, scalability and stagnancy, even survival and collapse. While one successful business model, product, service or innovation might work today, there is every chance of it being superseded by the next great idea tomorrow. tpgroup’s survive and thrive story is an exemplary one that demonstrates the benefits of proactive diversification.

Prior to 2017, the organisation was an established name serving the space and defence markets with bespoke engineering, consultancy and digital advisory services. One of its specialties was, and remains, the development and supply of cutting-edge atmosphere systems for submarines, its expertise in this domain spanning more than half a century. It is a business that provides tpgroup with a consistent and stable income owing to its high market share.

This was the challenge for tpgroup – with a steady submarine market sector, how could it leverage its market leading capabilities and technologies in new ways to avoid complacency and keep the business moving forward?

The solution This key question came to the fore in

2017. Through market analysis, tpgroup recognised conversations surrounding energy transition and hydrogen technologies were beginning to spread like wildfire, and that its submarine expertise in carbon capture, electrolyser and fuel cell technologies could bring tremendous value to the table.

The potential was clear, but so were the risks in 2017. Following further market research and analysis of established players, it was agreed that early entry would be unwise owing to stiff core competition and limited immediate opportunities. Yet, a review in 2019 quickly reinvigorated conversations.

Clean energy had begun to embark on a steep growth curve global climate targets and the UK government’s pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

The firm engaged its clients, partners, trade associations and cluster groups and deployed a ‘tiger team’ headed up by Group Technology & Innovation Director Jon Constable that focused

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on engineering and bid writing – technicalities that would enable it to more effectively seek out potential contracts.

By 2020, tpgroup had finalised a golaunch plan. It had spotted a gap in the rail market thanks to the appointment of key consultant, Kathryn Clamp.

Rail is a sensitive industry with intense regulatory scrutiny, where highly vetted, reliable and safe systems are of paramount importance. Indeed, with 50 years’ commercial experience commercial experience that has involved working closely with the government to deliver electrolysers for complex projects and safety critical applications in tpgroup’s life support systems division, the company had the extensive track record needed to succeed in such a sector with the right approach.

For tpgroup, this manifested itself in strong partnerships with key entities including the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, rail industry bodies, and

Success stories

MAKE UK – organisations with vital experience that could support its ambitions.

Fast forward to 2021, and this approach has proved to be vital. tpgroup has secured its first contract to develop hydrogen fueling systems for a UK locomotive business, the company’s ethos of evaluating the bespoke needs of each project having served to delight its new client thanks to emphasis on solving its specific problems.

While the client had already committed to building a hydrogen-powered train using an electrolyser, there was an additional opportunity to support the integration of motive force fuel cells.

Here, tpgroup is acting as a consultant, helping the client to select appropriate assets and associated technologies to best shape the overall solution.

prices, long delivery times and a lack of experience, while the coronavirus pandemic has impacted its ability to get initial conversations off the ground and build momentum.

Yet much optimism can be taken from the progress that has been made in such a short space of time.

As of now, the firm is well ahead of its five-year success plan in the energy domain, with a pipeline of five potential contracts on the horizon and overwhelmingly positive feedback to date from prospects and its latest client company alike.

Is it a survive and thrive success story?

With establishment in a new market, using a new technology application for a new client, undeniably so.

About tpgroup

across the three value streams. Within Consulting, the company works in partnership with national government bodies, international institutions and global prime contractors on enterprise transformation, feasibility analysis, system engineering, programme delivery and support. tpgroup’s Software & Digital Solutions segment, meanwhile, involves developing mission and safety critical systems, software tools, artificial intelligence and decision support for autonomous navigation, constellation management, collision avoidance, resource optimisation, intelligence analysis and asset management.

Indeed, the company’s drive for diversification hasn’t been without its challenges. A legacy embedded in the defence industry has seen it struggle to shake certain stereotypes such as high

tpgroup is a global leader in Consulting, Software & Digital solutions and Atmosphere Management Systems across the full lifecycle of defence, space and energy programmes. With world class innovation, expertise and experience, the company employs approximately 450 people in six countries, with customers in more than 30 countries

The company’s Bespoke Engineering Solutions domain includes life-support systems in critical workspaces, hydrogen based renewable energy solutions, water purification, rugged electronics for harsh environments and precision engineering of high-integrity equipment. tpgroup works globally with governments, institutions and leading commercial businesses to add value and deliver successful programmes on land, sea, in the air and in space.

Story type

For government

TP Group at a glance:

#diversification (main category) #energytransition (main category)

• Recognise the strong capability of the UK supply chain and provide support to UK business overseas

Key products and services: Consulting, digital and technology business

Government support?

Main industries served: • Defence • Space • Hydrogen

Set to be concluded later in 2021, the significant contract award marks a valuable first foot on the rungs of the energy transition ladder.

#collaboration, #serviceandsolutions

Key findings For industry • Business is about perseverance: do your homework, understand where markets are and believe in it • Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to achieve results

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The company has benefitted from various government support initiatives, such as the apprenticeship levy, DIT trade delegations, export financing and R&D tax credits. tpgroup has also received support from Innovate UK.

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Headquarters: Reading, UK Year established: 1996 Number of employees: 400 Revenue: £58m

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EIC (Energy Industries Council)

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Success stories

TRS Staffing Solutions Rebuilding trust and opening new doors

How is TRS thriving?

Amid the oil price slumps of recent years, Mexico’s TRS Staffing Solutions has had to focus with a steely determination on managing their resources to best advantage. By adopting a new results-driven culture and branching out into new sectors, the company has built on the trust of its existing clients, and opened doors to new lines of business.

The challenge There is no denying that since the 2014 price crash, the oil and gas sector has endured a tough time. It has created challenges up and down the value chain and in some cases has strained or severed relations between contractors and suppliers.

For specialist industry recruiting firms, these challenges are also all too familiar.

Globally, TRS Staffing Solutions provisions a range of services including temporary, contingent worker and direct permanent staff recruitment for managerial, professional, engineering and technical roles. Supporting services cover key business functions such as payroll, HR, admin, logistics and agency supply chain management.

In 2018 when Monica de Prada took over as Country Manager for Mexico, the company was facing challenges in

its strategic direction, along with the sector wide slump that had reduced demand for staffing.

De Prada’s brief was set. TRS needed to grow its customer base to reduce reliance on a narrow selection of clients in the oil and gas sector.

Recently, the government has implemented additional employment legislation, which TRS has quickly adapted to, implementing a new business model.

The solution

scorecard approach, reflecting a desire to grow a ‘results driven’ culture throughout the company. As a global recruitment business, TRS wanted all staff to share a common philosophy.

This has helped increase trust with clients, so much so that TRS Mexico was recently awarded a new service contract for the provision of direct hires with one of its leading clients.

The balanced scorecard and results driven culture naturally steered the company towards seeking out

In 2018, the immediate strategy was to re-engage with clients, especially HR and operational units such as engineering. De Prada quickly realised how critical it was to gain a much deeper understanding of customer needs, not just in this instance, but across the board.

opportunities in new markets. Although not prescribed as part of the new strategy, it soon became clear that diversification could open new doors and deliver results – a new can-do culture would drive TRS to explore areas that previously the firm would not have touched.

Following a small restructuring of the TRS Mexico team, the company was able to shift focus from operations support for contractors to improving its recruitment service, providing more choice and quality of candidates.

Likewise, the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have also mandated the firm to adopt a more adaptable approach to business, an ethos which has created a heightened willingness to open up to new ideas.

Another key development came in 2019, when de Prada met with fellow country managers to identify all the areas of the TRS business that could be improved to drive growth. This led to a decision to adopt a balanced

This led to a breakthrough contract worth $2 million with a US tech firm in the middle of 2020.

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The company was looking for 100 recruits to develop applications for its

Success stories

technology, manage its website and run other day-to-day operations.

Based in California, Mexico served as their base from which to access Latin America, and found TRS through a simple Google search for Mexico staffing solutions.

TRS quickly had to scale up to find bilingual candidates in Mexico with specific IT experience, a new challenge which it embraced with open arms.

The success of this successful venture into a new sector (one of many) is reflected in the financials with over 100% revenue growth achieved between 2019 and the end of 2020.

This despite the practical difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic, which hit Mexico particularly hard.

By the end of 2021, the company expects to generate 40% of revenues from non-energy clients, a huge shift from 2019 when 95% of business came from this narrow field of clients.

By taking time out to develop a fresh approach to business, TRS has unlocked opportunities that look to have secured its future.

About TRS TRS Staffing Solutions is a USbased and world-leading engineering recruitment and staffing business specialising in the recruitment and supply of professional, engineering, technical and field talent. With 23 offices around the globe, the company finds and connects the best talent with businesses and organisations active in a variety of industry sectors such as oil and gas, chemicals, infrastructure, life sciences, manufacturing, automotive, mining, power, renewable energy and public sector. TRS Staffing Solutions provides a complete range of staffing solutions designed to address every need from recruitment through to contingent workforce management and consultancy and places candidates across six continents on a contract, direct hire or permanent basis.

Story type

Key findings

TRS at a glance:

#diversification (main category)

For industry

#resilience

• Always look for an opportunity to solve a customer challenge

Key products and services: Recruitment services

Benefits • US$2m contract award

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Government support?

Apart from deferred taxes, the company has not received any type of government support.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 60% • Renewables – 10% • Chemicals – 10% • Industry/IT/Manufacturing – 20% Headquarters: London, United Kingdom Year established: 2010 Number of employees: 226 (13 in Mexico) Revenue: US$380m (US$11m in Mexico) Revenue from exports: 70%

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TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory

Aiding the UK’s transition to clean power How is TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory thriving?

As the UK’s industrial strategy shifts towards clean growth and away from reliance on oil and gas to power the nation forward, TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory realised the imperative to remain relevant. By developing new flow measurement tools and techniques, it has secured its own future by aiding the transition to a greener economy.

The challenge The UK’s dialogue on energy has seen a marked shift in tone in recent years. It is no longer centred around a question of if a transition to clean growth should happen, but how quickly it can be achieved.

With oil and gas reserves diminishing and the opportunities to generate power through renewables such as hydro, tidal and wind, backed up by a revival of nuclear, many organisations are having to adapt in order to remain viable.

For TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory, the holder of the UK’s National Standards for flow and density measurement, the case to diversify away from a narrow focus on oil and gas was plain to see.

The company is a world-leading independent provider of calibration, testing and consultancy services, offering guidance and practical support on all aspects of flow measurement.

Up to 2017, almost all of its revenue derived from the oil and gas sector,

be it through direct contract wins or the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), whose new industrial strategy signalled a major shift towards cleaner power generation, and thus a likely change in funding conditions.

This, combined with a rapid and significant drop in commercial oil and gas revenue, changed the picture drastically.

Add in the volatility created by the 2014-2016 price crash and mounting public awareness of sustainable issues, culminating in a series of high-profile Extinction Rebellion activities, and it was clear that the company needed to diversify.

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The solution Martin Hanton was appointed as the Technical Director in 2018 with a clear mission statement – to spearhead the company’s diversification and, ultimately, secure its future as a viable business.

This began with an examination of the UK’s new industrial strategy, particularly how energy transition and decarbonisation was going to be enacted. How could flow measurement fit into these new plans, and how could they participate?

The answer? Hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, water industry

Success stories

and life sciences. For the hydrogen market, flow measurement is a critical enabler to monetising energy systems, and so the decision was made in late 2019 to set up a new clean fuels team centred around diversifying from an oil and gas bias to also cover hydrogen gas meter testing.

construction by 4 months, a state-ofthe-art, unique hydrogen domestic gas metering test facility was completed in February 2021. The facility can conduct tests with pure or blended hydrogen, taking decades of oil and gas flow measurement knowledge and applying it to clean fuels.

One early industry need that was identified, was testing of domestic gas meters and a facility for this was conceived. A critical factor in achieving lift-off was convincing the BEIS to support it financially, through the National Measurement System mechanism, approval for which was granted in February 2020. Meanwhile, the company had never handled hydrogen, meaning new knowledge was required to create new workflows, processes and safety protocols.

In another forward-thinking development, the company is also pioneering a new portable primary standard to test hydrogen refuelling stations for dispensed quality at the nozzle. Once complete in mid2021, it will support the automotive and transport sectors by allowing filling stations to prove regulatory compliance.

By May 2020, TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory was ready to start. Although COVID-19 delayed

Story type #diversification (main category) #energy transition (main category)

Benefits • Ongoing diversification away from oil and gas to hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and other industry sectors lowering business risk • Taking existing skills and capabilities and translating them to new sectors, helping to accelerate the energy transition

Key findings For industry

As the UK emerges out of the COVID-19 crisis and renews its clean industrial drive, the firm looks set to play an important role in making hydrogen a critical component of its strategy.

• Don’t expect immediate success – be prepared to persevere.

For government • Energy transition strategies must be backed up with financial mechanisms

Government support?

TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory has benefitted from ongoing BEIS support, through the National Measurement System mechanism. The company has also received support from Scottish Enterprise, joined SDI trade delegations and received R&D tax credits.

• Dedicate time to understanding energy transition and its diversification opportunities

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About TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory As holder of the UK’s National Standards for flow and density measurement, part of the UK’s National Measurement System funded by BEIS, TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory ‑is one of the leading authorities on flow measurement issues in the world.

The company is an independent provider of calibration and testing services, in addition to consultancy services offering theoretical guidance and practical support on all aspects of flow measurement. In addition, their research and development work is at the forefront of research into flow and density measurement at the UK, European and global level.

TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory at a glance: Key products and services: independent consultancy, on-site measurement, testing, R&D and training services Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 40% • Hydrogen / CCS – 30% • Water, Life Sciences, Emissions – 30% Customers: • Government – 50% • Industry – 50% Headquarters: East Kilbride, UK Year established: 1995 Number of employees: 85 Revenue: £10m Revenue from exports: 20% (overseas consulting)

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UCT Fluid Solutions Inspired to innovate

How is UCT Fluid Solutions thriving?

UCT Fluid Solutions (formerly Ham-Let Group following a recent acquisition) has rapidly transitioned from being a high quality commodity manufacturer to becoming the leading light of innovative valve and instrumentation products for the process and LNG markets.

Up until April this past year, Ham-let group initiated strategic developments that lead to a dramatic shift in culture, significant market research, acquisitions and a new R&D arm. The company has now developed a technologically empowered suite of solutions capable of delivering vast savings, lower emissions, enhanced product efficiencies and reduced risk.

The challenge One of the hardest tasks facing many companies, no matter the industry, is differentiation. What is it that truly sets you apart from your competitors? It’s often a difficult question, yet one that is vital for many organisations to answer if they want to scale effectively.

In 2016, Israeli manufacturing firm UCT Fluid Solutions found itself at something of a crossroads. The firm

had established itself as a respected supplier of high-tech compression fittings and valves, yet, despite its reputation, had been experiencing low market share in the process industries.

The problem? UCT Fluid Solutions was ultimately competing with many other reactive manufacturing firms and reaping limited rewards.

To change this, the company itself had to transform. The decision was therefore taken to transition from simply manufacturing products to championing the innovaton of new, gamechanging technologies – a move that would provide numerous advantages and ensure UCT Fluid Solutions wasn’t just making more unremarkable drops in the oil and gas ocean.

The solution New ownership laid the foundations for this shift to occur in 2016 when UCT Fluid Solutions was acquired by private equity firm Fimi and Amir Widmann was appointed as CEO. This milestone marked a key change. A new culture was instilled, geared towards achieving these innovator aspirations, and UCT Fluid Solutions began to think proactively about industry challenges

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by listening to its clients.

It was a strategy deployed with a clear goal – not to understand current requirements, but to learn of the future goals of industry players so that plans could be made to support them with tailored, specific solutions.

The Fimi acquisition also triggered an acceleration in organic and acquisitive growth. Much of 2017 was spent focussed on market research, while 2018 saw the establishment of UCT Fluid Solutions’ research and development group in Singapore. While the company already had mechanical valve capabilities in house, new software, systems and electrical engineering capabilities were quickly added to its offering as a result.

Ultimately, UCT Fluid Solutions’ focus shifted from reacting to market demands to pre-empting them, leading rather than following in the way of innovation and taking the necessary steps to position itself as a first mover.

So, what were the fruits of these labours? Three key segments were identified as high potential – namely, emission-free valves, ball valves (the control panels deployed within valves) and the internet of things (IoT).

Success stories

Products in each of these segments were brought to market, resulting in new revenues streams and key contract wins, including a significant deal with a South-East Asian refining company in 2019.

In the past, the refinery had experienced significant on-site issues because of numerous remote and isolated sensing points across its vast facilities. Yet, through the installation of UCT Fluid Solutions’ new IoT-H800KL series smart valve, these problems could be overcome.

The benefit to its customers? IoTH800KL now saves the company $30,000 per day for its entire site, improving production output, enhancing processes efficiencies, and reducing unplanned downtime. This equates to over $10 million in annual savings at this one site alone.

About UCT Fluid Solutions

Indeed, the numbers speak for themselves.

Established in 1950, UCT Fluid Solutions is an Israel-based manufacturer of hightech compression fittings and valves.

The company’s portfolio includes tube, pipe and flare fittings, process valves, pneumatic actuators, manifolds, ultra clean valves, connectors and hoses, among other products. UCT Fluid Solutions is active in a range of industry sectors, including semiconductors, power generation, oil and gas, chemicals and petrochemicals, CNG/NGV, nuclear, pharmaceuticals and hydrogen, among other sectors. UCT Fluid Solutions is also present in the UK, USA, Singapore, Germany, and China.

In the ball valve product segment alone, UCT Fluid Solutions’ revenues jumped from $20 million in 2017 to $23 million in 2018 and $44 million in 2019. In the face of COVID-19, meanwhile, overall business grew 1015% through 2020 – an astounding achievement under the circumstances, and one that paves the way for an exciting future.

The significant transitions and mindset that UCT Fluid Solutions rooted in the company were imperative to lead them to where they are today. Post-acquisition with UCT, the company is broadening technology and engineering expertise to support new designs and solutions.

With this new approach, customers are exposed to a wider portfolio of advanced products and services.

Story type

Key findings

#serviceandsolutions (main category)

For industry

UCT Fluid Solutions at a glance:

#digital, #innovation, #technology

• Provide differentiated solutions to current and future market needs

Key to this was the product’s wireless capabilities that enable the completion measurements without a power connection. Further, its devices can transmit information over 1-2 kilometres without cables.

IoT-H800KL also delivers the most accurate possible readings by placing sensors within the valve, not after the valve on the line, while integrated pressure, humidity, temperature and vibration detectors are programmed to complete automatic shut off should it be required. Meanwhile, an additional technology layer allows for deep learning of the data and valve behaviour so as to inform predictive maintenance.

Benefits • Cost savings of US$10m p.a. for client

UCT Fluid Solutions meanwhile has been able to change both its own narrative and that of the entire industry. While the oil and gas market has conservative undertones and is traditionally renowned as being reluctant to change, the company has helped demonstrate the value of technologically empowered solutions while experiencing significant internal gains in the process.

Government support?

The company has received government grants.

Key products and services: flow control products and solutions Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 55% • Semiconductors – 35% • Power generation – 5% • Others – 5% Headquarters: Nazareth Illit, Israel Year established: 1950 Number of employees: 1,100 Revenue: US$200m Revenue from exports: 95%

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Valor A new strategy for new times How is Valor thriving?

Valor Group has adapted to a challenging M&A climate by maximising the export potential of the assets it already has, and adopting a revised strategic approach to secure new clients in overseas markets which has so far yielded a number of contract wins.

The challenge Aberdeen-based Valor Group has enjoyed a rapid rise to success by acquiring and developing companies with high-growth potential since it founded in 2018 – underpinned by its mantra of Thinking Differently, Solving Collectively.

Focussing on pioneering industry technologies geared towards net-zero carbon, enhanced oil recovery and asset life extension, the organisation is made up of four companies: remote inspection specialist AISUS, electrical and procurement services provider V-TES, enhanced heavy oil recovery specialist Cavitas Energy, and asset integrity management business AIM Valor.

When COVID-19 brought large swathes of economic activity to a halt in early 2020, and with it a crash in oil prices and delays to projects, Valor had to rethink its growth strategy.

Opportunities to acquire high-growth and financially secure companies reduced considerably, causing the firm to look beyond M&A growth. Still eager to expand, it became clear that the best means of achieving this was through new technology development and export growth of its existing businesses – also a challenge given the volatile and unstable climate, exacerbated by the fact Valor’s companies are relatively unknown in

the regions where the most potential to expand lies.

The solution Valor, in short, redefined its meaning of business development to focus on internationalisation as opposed to mergers and acquisitions. Accepting the aim of growing the group to six companies in 2020 would have to be put on hold, an amended strategic process was developed to activate a shift from ad hoc export opportunities within its four companies to a far more targeted approach.

It should be noted that exports were always part of the original ‘plan A’ at Valor – the challenges presented

by COVID-19 and the subsequent shrinking of suitable M&A opportunities have propelled it to the forefront of the agenda. In response, several groupwide meetings were held to formulate a new plan, with specific actions allocated across Valor management, which was restructured to enable greater time and resource to be dedicated to export business development.

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By mid-2020, the group was ready to exploit the export opportunities across its four divisions. Operating with the mindset of a small business and the international standards of a large corporate, Valor found itself well-placed to support a global client base. Its high-end technologies are suited to the challenges faced by clients with ageing assets, while its in-house teams can develop bespoke solutions depending on specific needs.

While there have been hurdles to overcome from operating in new markets such as finding new prospects, new business cultures and administration, and entering as an unknown entity, early signs are that these have been overcome. Valor has successfully established itself in three new countries (US, Australia and Norway) and taken on four new clients including Repsol Norge and Woodside, helping generate new revenue in the space of 12 months.

This income derives from three contract wins. The first is with

Success stories

Australian energy giant Woodside in Perth, Western Australia. Here, AISUS carried out a major caisson inspection and clean campaign with its team and equipment sent from the UK, a scope which was carried out in one visit and represented a major success for both parties. Completed in mid-2020, the contract proved a profitable venture with no delivery issues, Woodside also benefitting from a trove of data on which it can base future decisions on.

Lastly, Cavitas Energy has secured a paid trial in the U.S for its innovative thermal heavy oil recovery (THOR) technology. THOR is an in-the-well device powered by electricity that heats passing water as it is injected into a heavy oil reservoir for the purpose of increasing oil production. Not only is this an industry first, but the trial itself presents Cavitas with an immediate opportunity to support other U.S clients upon completion of the initial project.

In Norway, AISUS completed another caisson clean and inspect project for a new client where the work was once more completed by a single team in the middle of last year. The third major contract win was delivered at the start of 2021 for Petrotec, one of the largest providers of products and services to the energy industry in Qatar. AISUS is currently represented by a dedicated sales manager and has kit based in the country, allowing efficient mobilisations as part of the goal to increase inspection projects here.

By securing and delivering these projects, Valor has grown its export business considerably in the past year and started the internationalisation campaign on a high. And the momentum will not stop here – the organisation is currently implementing a number of new strategies which provide alternative energy solutions including battery and geothermal projects. When M&A activity resumes in the post-COVID recovery era, Valor looks set for growth on multiple fronts.

Story type

For government • Industry players require support to make a quicker move to clean energy • Government support with overseas delegations and exhibitions is essential for companies to access new export markets

#export

Benefits • International revenue growth 202021 • New export markets • New clients

Key findings For industry • Be bold, set smart goals and make sure all risks are taken into account • Do not get downhearted when you get a ‘no’ – there will always be another opportunity • Energy transition provides diversification opportunities for the O&G supply chain

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Government support?

The group has received grants from Scottish Enterprise and the Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC), in addition to R&D tax credits. The company has also joined DIT trade delegations.

About Valor Located in Aberdeen, Valor is a specialist growth enterprise boasting a suite of oil and gas companies collectively working toward the highest of standards within the industry. With a common purpose of increasing performance, increasing production, and providing assurance, each of the subsidiaries within Valor has been specially selected to interlink their operations within the oilfield. Whether it be an innovation, technology or servicebased business, Valor offers an intrinsic platform to allow maximum company growth for those within the group.

Offering flexible investment frameworks, Valor will assist current business owners to progress the company’s operations whilst reaping many benefits from the group.

Valor at a glance: Key products and services: private equity group Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 75% • Renewables – 25% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 2018 Number of employees: 31 (29 in the UK) Revenue: £4.0m Revenue from exports: 40%

Export • While direct selling may work when doing business overseas, agents are beneficial in certain markets for ensuring a successful international campaign

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Venture Going digital to provider superior PRO services How is Venture thriving?

UAE-based Venture Plus has been providing a range of consultancy services to clients in the oil and gas sector for over a decade, a particular specialism being in the realm of Public Relation Officers (PRO) management.

Its in-depth knowledge has helped many customers to navigate their way through sticky situations, but stepping in to help has created its own challenges. Here, digitisation has helped to provide an answer for the betterment of both company and client.

The challenge Abu Dhabi’s Venture Plus Consultancy Services is operating in a crowded and hotly contested marketplace.

Provider of essential advisory services covering areas such as corporate sponsorhip, business set up, marketing entry, public relations and human resources, it serves clients in a range of industries from retail and fintech to oil and gas, the latter representing more than half of its income.

Since its foundation in 2009 as a spin-off of the Al Yaseah, Venture has advised more than 60 companies in the energy sector on matters including market entry, mergers and acquisitions, interim management, and operations.

A particular specialism is Public Relation Officers (PRO) management.

PROs are government certified professionals responsible for establishing a channel of communication between businesses and governing authorities. PRO management also establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between enterprises and the public, on whom its success and failure depend.

Venture’s in-depth market knowledge enables it to ease PRO difficulties for clients. Indeed, every day represents a new challenge as market demands change and new regulations and directives are published by the UAE government. These challenges are constantly analysed and handled

by Venture’s in-house admin and compliance analyst to ensure that its associates and clients are compliant in their activities.

companies turning to it to resolve legal compliance and public relations issues, problems which required considerable human effort.

However, having successfully navigated many challenges over the years, Venture realised it could make the process far more seamless for both itself and its customers.

Indeed, many of its cases were unique and took time to navigate, with Venture realising the benefit that could be gained from developing a system which could avoid occurrence of these types of compliance issues, establish quality checks and monitor and execute tasks digitally.

The solution The company’s leadership started considering how a digital platform could assist its work in 2014.

Venture was finding more and more

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Its clients were frequently calling with complaints of delays, and were often chasing paperwork to register and trade in the UAE. The process required more transparency whereby Venture and its partners could view and track progress.

This led to the development of a digital PRO management system, the first version being built by a developer called Fibrosis and launched in 2014. It

Success stories

was established to register companies and help run their admin operations once up and running, but was not the silver bullet solution.

In 2019, the system was upgraded to what is now known as D-PRO. Wholly owned and developed by Venture, it avoids the need for clients to chase progress via emails and drastically reduces the opportunity for legal compliance issues to arise.

Providing they grant mobile approval, Venture can manage these complex processes seamlessly and present progress via a client-facing dashboard.

This has delivered numerous benefits to clients. Prior to implementation, Venture’s customers would rely on their own PRO team using manual, time consuming methods, and approval of employee visas would take up to 30 days. Within a month of using D-PRO, that time has been cut to seven days.

All client records are stored centrally and are instantly accessible, with automated notifications sent to remind customers of their own obligations to comply with and approve various processes.

Venture believes its digital system can provide a 40% cost reduction, equivalent to savings of anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 per client per year – all on top of a superior service with fewer surprises, delays and uncertainty, and greater visibility via a dashboard interface.

And the signs look promising for D-PRO’s growth. So far, Venture has had zero dropouts of companies onboarded to the solution, of which there are 37 under the Al-Yaseah umbrella and agent network, and another 17 external organisations. This equates to more than 1,000 people being managed through the system, a high volume of traffic which is enabling Venture clients to collectively save in excess of $2,500,000 a year versus conventional PRO management methods.

development helping to navigate the new normal. The same approach has been taken with customers, some of which still remain reluctant to make the digital leap.

But as more and more discover the cost and quality benefits to be reaped, D-PRO will only continue to gather momentum through 2021 and beyond.

About Venture

Having calculated client PRO costs,

However, it took advantage of the COVID-19 situation to repurpose and realign its culture, with training and

Established in 2008, Venture Services is the centralised management and shared service center for the Al Yaseah Group of Companies. The company is based in Abu Dhabi and is currently extending these services to outside firms established in the UAE as well as companies who are keen to set up a presence in the country. The company aims to offer an exceptional level of service by facilitating company formation in the UAE and offering a broad range of legal, financial and business services for business operation and sales outsourcing.

Story type

Benefits

Venture at a glance:

#optimisation (main category)

• Client savings estimated US$2.5m p.a.

Key products and services: customised business solutions

Key findings

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 55% • Conventional power and desalination – 5% • Retail – 25% • Fintech – 15%

#culture, #digital, #innovation, #serviceandsolutions

The transition has required a sustained cultural shift from manual to digital, a process the company admits was the most difficult component of the challenge, both internally and with customers.

For industry • Implement new technology to keep your company sustainable

Government support?

The company has received support from the local government.

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Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, UAE Year established: 2008 Number of employees: 19 Revenue: 6mn AED Revenue from exports: 0%

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Success stories

VWS Westgarth A three-pronged strategy to boost performance for clients How is VWS Westgarth thriving?

By adopting an approach that arrows in on digitalisation, technology and optimisation, VWS Westgarth Ltd (VWSW) has enhanced the value it brings to clients.

Customers are increasingly looking for solution providers to partner on solving complex problems. VWSW’s new generation of membranes and smart membrane predictive analytics, have been a particular hit, enabling clients to make significant cost, performance and environmental improvements.

The challenge The oil crisis of 2014 forced the industry onto the back foot as new projects dried up and operators sought to make the most of existing assets by becoming more streamlined and efficient.

For companies serving oil and gas players, although the crash of 2014 was undoubtedly cause for alarm, it marked an important turning point – clients had shifted from procuring services to seeking solutions to problems, and those with the most innovative and effective answers would be called upon.

As part of Veolia Water Technologies, VWS Westgarth is a market leader in the design, fabrication and operation of water treatment plants for seawater injection and produced water in the upstream offshore oil and gas sector.

Indeed, Veolia as a brand is recognised by its peers and customers as having built a formidable in-house knowledge base in the realm of production technology and water injection.

But even the most reputable

organisations had to adjust their sails against the prevailing wind, and the mid-decade crisis proved such a moment. The company saw a real need for service solutions from its clients in order to optimise plant efficiency, and quickly recognised it had to address its own shortcomings if it were to remain relevant. The VWSW offering needed to go digital to provide the real-time, game-changing insights that boosting plant efficiency relied on.

The solution VWSW knew that it was already uniquely positioned to help clients address a whole range of issues covering environmental concerns, emissions targets, CAPEX and OPEX constraints and energy transition challenges – the question was how technology could be embedded within its formidable pool of human expertise.

The answer? A three-pronged approach that focuses on performance.

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The first of these key pillars is digitalisation, which is centred around the company’s Hubgrade offering. This enables VWSW to provide onshore operational support and reduce the need for personnel offshore by integrating real-time data with performance-based solutions – the end result being that clients can improve and sustain water injection performance remotely.

This couples with the second pillar, technology. Here, the company has brought a future-proof membrane solution to the market which carries a longer lifespan, helping to reduce waste and increase uptime.

Underpinning it is a smart membrane predictive analytics package, which facilitates predictive maintenance and increases the likelihood of identifying and fixing issues before they arise.

The new membranes are also designed to operate with new environmentally responsible chemical additives that are soon to be required by environmental

Success stories

legislation, and this feeds into the third pillar – optimisation. The focus here is to examine how the use of chemical additives, spares, training and engineering can be combined into a single service solution or one-stop shop offering for customers.

Although this R&D work began in 2014, it is subject to constant refinement and upgrades based on real-life deployment in the field, a key challenge being to convince clients to invest in making investments that will deliver long-term gains and financial returns.

However, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic appears to have tuned in VWSW’s audience to the undoubted benefits to be reaped. The company has had to battle hard to cope with sizeable operational issues, the most difficult being the restrictions of movement which has hampered the ability to provide on-site technical support. This has been partly offset by the aforementioned digital suite of capabilities, solutions which can be deployed remotely and will be subject to ongoing refinements and improvements.

A key indicator of the success of VWSW’s three-pronged approach has been the consistent business growth achieved in spite of the mounting industry challenges faced over the past seven years.

The firm continues to evolve its services for existing clients and has taken on a number of new projects, including an FPSO membrane upgrade project in Brazil which started in August 2020.

Covering operations and maintenance and spanning five years, it relies on the Hubgrade digital control system to deliver enhancements to vital processes such as membrane cleaning. The new membranes also carry all the aforementioned benefits relating to chemicals, lifespan and water injection losses. With this new service and technology, oil production availability has increased from around 80% to more than 90%.

The project will be worth millions of dollars to VWSW over the duration of five years, and is demonstrable proof

Story type

Key findings

#technology (main category) #sustainability (main category)

For industry

#collaboration, #innovation, #serviceandsolutions

Benefits • Contract award worth approximately US$500,000 • Greater equipment availability for client (80-90%, approximately)

that the change in tack initiated in 2014 and accelerated during 2020 is bearing fruit.

About VWS Westgarth A world leader in seawater sulphate removal systems, VWS Westgarth specialises in the design and fabrication and operation of water treatment plants for seawater injection and produced water in the upstream offshore oil and gas sector. As well as being part of Veolia Water Technologies (VWT), itself part of Veolia Environnement, VWS Westgarth cooperates with other VWT subsidiaries around the world in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Middle East and APAC. This allows VWT to cover the full scope of water treatment processes for the oil and gas industry (both upstream and downstream) and ensures they are able to satisfy local content requirements where needed by clients.

VWS Westgarth at a glance:

• In the context of energy transition, oceans represent a massive untapped potential, requiring the application of thinking and know-how For government • Promote successes of UK companies

Government support?

Key products and services: design, build commissioning and operation of offshore water treatment systems Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 100% Headquarters: East Kilbride, UK Year established: 1962 Number of employees: 150 Revenue: £70m Revenue from exports: 90%

VWS Westgarth has benefited from the Apprenticeship Levy as well as R&D tax credits. The company has also received support from the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board.

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Success stories

V-TES Going back to basics and putting the customer first

How is V-TES thriving?

V-TES is a well-established name in high voltage (HV) electrical engineering circles with a formidable pool of expertise. But this alone is not enough to thrive, something which Managing Director David Gray realised when he joined the company in 2019 – by going back to basics, improving internal processes and putting the customer front and centre, V-TES is maximising the value of its prowess and exponentially growing its project pipeline.

The challenge Almost all service businesses work by offering expertise that customers themselves do not have. From

carpentry and law to accounting and plumbing, mastering a niche (and doing so better than your competitors) is a surefire way to becoming a successful enterprise.

V-TES is a specialist electrical service provider, known for its competence in oil and gas, offshore wind and energy storage, often operating in niche partnerships and service areas.

It had done so successfully for many years thanks to its envied team of engineers – however, this team began to change as a contractor based business model was adopted. At the time, the company operated with a reactive short-term focus, as opposed to proactively planning for the projects which lay ahead.

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David Gray realised this when he joined the firm as Managing Director towards the end of 2019. Having previously interacted with the company as a customer, he was brought in to apply some much-needed leadership and steering from the top. Gray knew the company’s strengths and weaknesses and saw that an internal transformation was needed to secure and grow the company’s project pipeline.

The solution David faced a number of challenges, including a small client portfolio, limited market entry points, lack of industry spread, and loss of revenue to competition.

Gray quickly embarked on a crucial

Success stories

steadying exercise. In his first six months, major priorities included identifying and securing new clients, stabilising staff, training, aligned workflows, QHSE audits and opportunities for staff to provide feedback.

A similar strategy was adopted with clients, who were approached to offer valued input on V-TES and suggest areas for improvement. Meanwhile, the company’s network was leveraged to find new clients, something for which an appetite was previously lacking – the new V-TES was to operate within a culture of empowerment and trust as opposed to fear of failure.

while adhering to newly-instilled best practice parameters.

New strategic partners have also come on board, a change of tact that has proven to be a critical turning point.

The partnership has opened up new opportunities, no better proven than by a recent project expansion with a major FPSO operator. V-TES had already secured a small tender in August 2020, but, following a successful partial discharge monitoring project, the scope has grown to include seven technicians since the turn of the year, the contract with potential to expand further.

and open construction dialogue with customers.

Having always been home to a formidable pool of expertise, V-TES now has the internal business culture, processes and structures to back this up.

About V-TES

Indeed, new markets are beginning to be explored, with staff being provided the training and certification needed to work on different projects such as offshore wind developments, all the

Meanwhile, the company’s pipeline has grown by a factor of 10 with eight new clients being secured and another four former clients coming back on board.

This equates to 80% of 2021 revenue to date, a clear vindication of the efforts put in to explore new opportunities

V-TES, part of the Valor Energy Group, is a dynamic and progressive electrical engineering company proud to offer pragmatic, innovative solutions for both day-to-day and extraordinary challenges. V-TES delivers a range of electrical and procurement services in an efficient, safe and cost-effective manner throughout the Public and Private sector, Oil & Gas and Renewables industries. Their team of highly skilled Field Service Engineers and Technical Support professionals continue to supply electrical design, installation, maintenance, commissioning, training & assessments, procurement and troubleshooting in hazardous locations around the globe.

Story type

Key findings

V-TES at a glance:

#collaboration (main category) #culture (main category)

For industry

Key products and services: Electrical high-voltage engineering business

Importantly, COVID-19 and the resultant disruption has not deterred these efforts. In fact, it provided the time needed to bring the V-TES workforce up to speed and invest in upskilling the Engineering team.

Benefits • £700,000 in contract awards

Such endeavours, and the wider strategy adopted since Gray arrived, are starting to make an impact on the figures and financials.

• If you have an idea, have the courage to say it out loud For government • More support is needed around Brexit and COVID impacts • Raise Scotland’s profile as a renewables leader

Government support?

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 70% • Renewables – 12% • Others – 18% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 2012 Number of employees: 10 Revenue: £1.5m Revenue from exports: 15%

In addition to R&D tax credits, the company has received funding from the Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC).

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Success stories

Vysus Group Riding out a rollercoaster of change How is Vysus Group thriving?

With CEO David Clark having spearheaded logical and sustainable streamlining, restructuring and restrategising in the past two years, newly rebranded Vysus Group – freshly carved out from Lloyd’s Register – has experienced doubledigit percentage margin improvement, further diversifying beyond oil and gas into power, renewables and complex infrastructure, and creating an exciting vision and culture fit for the future.

The challenge Rewind just seven years, and Lloyd’s Register’s energy engineering and technical advisory division, LR Energy, was enjoying the height of its success.

The business had become a significant profit contributor to the overall group thanks to a combination of sustained organic and M&A-led growth, delivering multiple hundreds of million pounds in annual revenue, bolstered by the major acquisition of the Senergy business in 2013.

The solution

Like many companies operating in the oil and gas industry, however, the firm was seriously impacted by the 2014-2016 market crash. A sequence of cuts were made in an attempt to steady the ship, yet the firm struggled to adapt to the shift in client needs and buying patterns, leading to major underperformance.

With the new business strategy and operating model implemented in the first half of 2019, by summer, LR Energy’s global headcount had dropped >20%, and with a significant reduction in its overhead as the organisation moved to a matrix structure, operating multiple autonomous business units. By early 2020 the new strategy had made significant progress in delivering to its turnaround plan, growing year-on-year revenue by 15%, while significantly improving margin performance. Key to the turnaround was withdrawing from loss-making, now heavily commoditised markets, and with a renewed focus on renewables, energy transition and broader complex industrial segments in key target markets.

Come January 2019, the business was in desperate need of a major turnaround. The team, now led by David Clark, decided to tackle the challenge head on, making significnat changes to the organisation structure and market focus while building on the extensive expertise and experience base across its global workforce.

Thanks to COVID-19, however, such prosperity was cut short. The subsequent shutdown in client spend led to further downsizing efforts, and by June 2020, Lloyd’s Register had begun to explore the sale of the subsidiary as the significant market shift in its advisory and technical consulting expertise was no longer

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aligned to the maritime and certification core of the LR business.

Indeed, the latter materialised.

Following a competitive sale process, negotiations with private equity firm Inspirit Capital concluded with and Vysus Group was formed on November 1, 2020, with Clark staying on as its CEO. To say this was a silver bullet development would be false, however.

Vysus Group was immediately presented immense challenges relating to carving out the global business from the Lloyd’s Register structure – all being conducted remotely given the ongoing pandemic.

An intense process has followed over the last six months, the firm having established 11 new entities in 10 countries, renaming 17 companies in 12 jurisdictions, and now in the midst of transforming its global enterprise resource planning (ERP), HR, finance and IT systems.

It was by no means easy. Having gone through six years of cost-cutting and streamlining as LR Energy, Vysus

Success stories

Group has had to draw on the passion, commitment and resilience of its global team to navigate through this major transition, while doing so through Teams. During this time, the team has also defined new core values, a new brand and go-to-market strategy.

Vysus Group has found a new niche, operating in the space of complexity.

The company works tirelessly with its clients to understand specific challenges and bring independent thinking, bespoke solutions and technical innovations to the table.

Today, it assists customers through its four key value propositions: derisked technical innovation; optimised reliability and performance of assets; minimised operating costs; and the facilitation of more informed decisions through a combination of analytics and significant industry experience.

Its new bedrock has been formed. With the carve-out serving to propel the new venture forward, the future looks incredibly bright.

Now established as a fully independent business, the focus is on promoting and growing the Vysus Group brand during the remainder of 2021.

While revenue is anticipated to drop 25-30% from the £120 million 2019-20 levels, this is a modest fall considering the extent of the market shifts – it is now in a significantly improved position to grow as a sustainable, focused, streamlined and agile entity.

Diversification will sit at the heart of its plans. In the next three years, it is anticipated that a revenue portfolio of 30% upstream oil and gas, 30% infrastructure and 40% power and renewables will be established, driven by double digit percentage margin growth.

Vysus Group, standing on its own two feet, is one to watch.

About Vysus Group Vysus Group is a new standalone engineering, global energy and technical consultancy formed from

Story type

For government

#transformation (main category)

• Don’t underestimate the level of focus and support needed to keep production levels appropriate • Have a more informed debate and discussion around the complexity, scale and challenge of the infrastructure changes neededIntroduce carbon pricing to make CCUS a commercial viability

#resilience

Benefits • Increasing diversification • Increased margins (12% between 2019-20) • Greater staff retention

Key findings For industry

Government support?

The company has received R&D tax credits

• Creativity and resilience are key.

Be confident in creating new ways of getting things done and driving through that commitment.

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after a strategic carve-out from the Lloyd’s Register Group in November 2020. The company offers specialist asset performance, risk management and project management expertise across major industrial, transport, manufacturing and energy assets.

It supports owners and developers of energy, power and complex infrastructure – covering nuclear, oil & gas, renewable, onshore, offshore and non-hydrocarbons.

Headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, Vysus Group has a global reach of more than 20 countries, with key sites in Houston, Oslo, Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur. Vysus Group retains its entire legacy capability and continues to offer its full suite of technical, regulatory and operational expertise globally, driven by its purpose to help clients manage risk and maximise performance, blending deep technical knowledge and data-driven insights with hands-on expertise.

Vysus Group at a glance: Key products and services: Global energy, engineering and technical consultancy Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 50% • Conventional power – 12% • Renewables – 12% • Nuclear – 1% • Infrastructure and process industries – 25% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 2020 Number of employees: 650 Revenue: £110m Revenue from exports: 70%

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W-Maass (UK) Riding out storms to navigate towards a brighter future How is W-Maass (UK) thriving?

W-Maass has withstood a series of challenges throughout its 40-plus-year history. From ownership difficulties to fluctuating energy market fortunes over recent decades, the company has been able to retain its core competencies throughout and is now in a position to pursue new opportunities on a stable footing as a fully UK-owned organisation.

The challenge You could be forgiven for believing that a company with more than four decades behind it is an exemplar of stability. Well entrenched in the market and carrying a formidable reputation as a manufacturer / stockist of pipe flanges and subsea pipeline equipment, the challenge for W. Maass has lied beneath the surface.

Established as a business operating under a German parent firm in 1980, it was during the 1990’s that established both expansion and resilience connected to the Oil & Gas sector.

Expansion in the UK was continuous meeting the high demand of the UK North Sea offshore build projects.

Re-location to St.Helens and further expansion of UK facilities directed the Company towards being a stand alone member of the Maass Group of Companies.

In the middle of this period was the 1994 oil crisis which led to tough measures to ride the storm and remain on an even footing until the energy sector picked up again. This process continued with further downturns in 2010 (financial) and 2014 (oil price), leading to the company successfully diversifying into the Defence Sector as an alternative to Oil & Gas.

Throughout the same period, the Maass family changed the structure of their business. The Maass Gobal Group of Companies was formed and several new companies were added with the focus of world expansion. In 2014 the UK business had a very strong order book and the German parent firm wanted to secure an exit, however, the oil price collapse changed the potential sale value so this process was cancelled.

Moving forward to 2020 the complications of Brexit and Covid 19 were the new subject matters, and the conversation about selling the business intensified once again.

The solution In 2020, the idea of a management buyout was again presented to the company’s leadership.

For CEO David Toone and his senior leadership team, it provided an opportunity to put to bed any potential conflicts of interest with the German owners of W. Maass, and would also grant the freedom to pursue new opportunities.

The buyout was completed in December

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2020, bringing complete ownership of the business into the UK, which also presented another interesting dynamic in the form of the UK’s departure from the European Union. Maass UK have developed many longstanding supply chain connections with Europe. Toone now sees Brexit as an opportunity for developing these connections further as a UK independent company. Europe will still wish to export to the UK, and Maass UK with their added resources and customer connections are the perfect solution.

Meanwhile, prior to the buyout’s completion, the company was grappling with the added difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thanks to diversification into the defence segment, however, it was classified as an essential supply chain player, meaning it could remain open for business during the various lockdowns. There was some disruption in terms of reorganising processes for social distancing purposes, but these issues were overcome.

The pandemic did however compound an already suffering oil and gas market, which still represented around 60% of

Success stories

W. Maass sales. Determined to retain the company’s expertise in this area and be ready to take on work once the sector was back on its feet, Toone did all he could to keep employees in their jobs. Staff were asked to work reduced hours, but this meant they would keep their employment in the anticipation that business would pick up again.

And it is starting to do so. The resilience demonstrated by W. Maass over these challenging years is starting to pay off – because it has retained core competencies, the company has been able to secure projects that otherwise would have been out of reach. This includes landmark export projects serving the oil and gas markets in Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia. The UK customer base also includes companies who export their end-products.

One of W. Maass (UK) Ltd’s regular customers demands a package supply solution which involves flanges, cut pipes, nozzles and fittings. All items require individual identification

referenced to certification packs and rigid material specification control.

Flanges and nozzles are all machined in-house from forgings purchased within a controlled Sub-Contractor List. Cut pipes are saw-cut in-house from pipe stocks, and fittings are manufactured to order. All items are further processed by in-house NDT, upgrade testing and marking with customer-required information. The key in competent project management combined with in-house resource to give the customer exactly what they demand for their purpose build requirements. This particular customer has been retained for 20+ years.

Today, enquiries are back up to what they were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, a clear sign that the firm has ridden out the latest storm and is looking ahead to calmer tides.

About W-Maass (UK) W. Maass (UK) Ltd are a specialist manufacturer and stockholder of

Story type

Key findings

#resilience (main category)

• Always have a back-up plan.

• Support UK manufacturing.

Benefits • Resilience and retained capability unlocking business opportunities • Tried and trusted supply chain resources • Flexible service providers

For industry • Always remain optimistic.

• Supply what your customer wants and how they need it.

For government • SMEs need support to finance working capital.

• Opportunity still exists in the Oil & Gas sector, in particular export.

Government support?

Pipe Flanges and Subsea Pipeline Equipment serving the needs of the oil, petrochemical and process related industries. Established in 1980 as a subsidiary to W Maass Global Group, a leading European forgemaster, W. Maass (UK) Ltd have continually expanded facilities in St. Helens to become one of the UK’s market leaders in the manufacture of flanges and subsea pipeline components. Following 40 years of expansion as part of W. Maass GmbH and now the Maass Global Group, the W. Maass (UK) Ltd management team have agreed a management buyout, and as from 24 December 2020 the company is now a 100% independent UK manufacturer. During 2021 Maass (UK) will be announcing a change of company name.

W-Maass (UK) at a glance: Key products and services: Manufacturer of pipe flanges, and stockiest/supplier of pipe flanges, pipes and pipe fittings. Project Management and design Verification (special components).

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 60% • Defence – 40% Headquarters: St Helens, UK Year established: 1980 Number of employees: 32 Revenue: £5.2m Revenue from exports: 35%

The company has benefitted R&D tax credits and export financing.

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Success stories

Walter Tosto Countering the competition through strategic investments How is Walter Tosto thriving?

With 60-plus years of experience and knowledge behind it, Walter Tosto, part of the TOSTO GROUP, has been able to navigate its way through numerous industry peaks and troughs, its products time and again providing the answer for its customers. In recent years, it has staved off increasing competition seeking to undercut its offering by making strategic investments and expanding its export activity.

The challenge Reliably serving energy markets around the world for more than six decades, TOSTO GROUP has established itself as Europe’s largest and leading manufacturer of critical long lead process equipment for oil and gas, petrochemical and power applications.

Proudly Italian, the company is a go-to provider of hydrotreating reactors, hydrocracking reactors, HP separators, HP pressure vessels, process reactors and HP heat exchangers, serving markets at home and abroad in the likes of the USA, Russia, the Far East and the Middle East.

In particular, TOSTO GROUP is recognised for its unique and stateof-the-art manufacturing capabilities, extensive manpower capacity, consolidated financial strengths and a very high reliability factor.

However, the company is not alone in its endeavours. In recent years the market has been characterised by a wave of competitors attempting to undercut Walter Tosto with low-cost manufacturing.

The challenge was clear. How could the company continue to differentiate

itself in terms of quality while competing with new market entrants?

The solution Walter Tosto’s response has taken many forms over the past five years, including the acquisition of two firms which are historical leaders in the manufacture of critical process equipment.

In August 2016, the Tosto Group acquired Belleli Energy CPE, a fellow Italian firm specialising in solutions for critical process equipment for the hydrocarbon, industrial and power industries.

BELLELI is one of Italy’s oldest and most experienced manufacturers of Hydrocracking and Hydrotreating Reactors, HP Heat Exchangers, Pressure Vessels and Columns including UREA proprietary equipment with over 75 years of history, consolidated know how and unique capabilities in manufacturing of critical items.

BELLELI Energy CPE and WALTER TOSTO integrate and complement each other in order to put together a production capacity suitable for any kind of Project and any type of critical item.

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A little over three years later, in November 2019, it announced the purchase of Maraldi, another Italian stalwart with origins dating back to 1947 and making its name among plant developers with customised products such as pressure storage spheres and low-temperature and cryogenic storage tanks.

These moves have resulted in Walter Tosto being able to offer price competitive, high quality equipment to a global market.

Indeed, the company has been broadening its export horizons for the best part of 20 years, carefully analysing opportunities abroad and approaching key stakeholders including the major EPCs, licensors and end users – here, its reputation and track record for delivering to highly demanding projects has shone through.

The past 15 years have shown consistent growth in export business, driven by a renewed customerfocussed engagement process based around quality, technical expertise, reliability and delivery capabilities – work which has resulted in approved

Success stories

supplier status with a range of licensors.

in accordance with the highest quality standards.

This has been backed up by internal investments in people and technology, the latter category being backed to the tune of €80 million since 2016.

The project represents a symbolic moment for both Walter Tosto and the industry, with new technological boundaries being drawn in the realm of pressure vessels.

The four Reactors were shipped from the Group’s waterfront workshops at the Port of Ortona and the Marghera Port on the Adriatic Sea, arriving in November 2020. These reactors were manufactured by adopting an innovative technology called MONOWELD. Such technology, based on a submerged arc welding process and a “one weld bead per layer” welding technique, which has been developed and patented by the Tosto Group for the fabrication of Critical Process Equipment and was the result of a lengthy R&D activity of the Group’s highly qualified and skilled engineers. While the overall weld quality has been improved, especially the creep properties, a significant reduction of the amount of weld passes has been also achieved.

Given the huge importance of this project to Thailand’s ability to meet its future energy needs, Thai Oil performed the most rigorous of selection procedures. The project posed engineering and fabrication challenges that very few companies could overcome, with Walter Tosto and its sister company Belleli Energy CPE standing out as capable of delivering

It rounded off what was an overall positive period, despite the obvious challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the year, Walter Tosto continued to collect important orders from prestigious customers and invest in new staff, activity which helped it to turnover more than €200 million while reaching a headcount of around 1,200 employees.

Over the last 60 years, Walter Tosto has evolved from a local tanks manufacturer to one of the world’s most important industrial constructors of pressure equipment. In the 1970s the activity evolved first into the fabrication of pressure vessels for LPG/fuel and subsequently into the manufacturing of long lead critical items for the international Oil & Gas, Petrochemical and Power generation markets. With a consolidated experience in the design and fabrication of critical items for the process industry, in particular Chemical, Petrochemicals, Oil & Gas and Energy, today Walter Tosto is recognised worldwide as a leading manufacturer of top-quality highpressure equipment and vessels.

Story type

Key findings

Walter Tosto at a glance:

#export (main category)

For industry

#resilience

• Understand international markets and ensure your offering is aligned

Key products and services: leading manufacturers of critical, long-lead process equipment

In 2018, TOSTO GROUP crowned its proactive efforts to open new doors by securing a record-breaking contract with Thai Oil. The project involves the supply of four hydrocracking reactors – the largest reactors in the history of refining, weighing in at more than 2,000 tonnes apiece and spanning 60 metres in length with a six-metre diameter.

Benefits • Expansion and growth in new international markets

Government support?

The company has not received any type of government support

The future looks equally bright. With economic and industrial activity beginning to resume as part of global efforts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, more and more clients will soon be in a position to utilise Walter Tosto’s ever-expanding capabilities.

About Walter Tosto

Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 65% • Nuclear – 25% • Renewables – 5% • Conventional power – 5% Headquarters: Chieti, Italy Year established: 1960 Number of employees: 650 (1,200 – TOSTO GROUP) Revenue: €200m (Tosto Group in 2020) Revenue from exports: 90%

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Success stories

Wasco Accept. Adapt. Advance.

How is Wasco thriving?

In the face of the extreme economic hardship brought about by two major oil price crashes in 2014-2016 and 2020, Wasco has proactively taken some vital steps forward where others have stood still. With an unwavering commitment to its newly instated mission of ‘Accept. Adapt. Advance’, the company’s service portfolio has been reenergised to include expertise in key renewable markets, underpinned by a series of new contracts.

The challenge It has been a testing half decade for many of those operating in the oil and gas industry. Between the 2014-2016 price crash and the more recent impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, projects and operations globally have been plagued by the unpredictability of adverse external factors.

Wasco is one company that has grappled with these challenges. A leading pipeline, engineering and fabrication services provider primarily catering to the the oil and gas sector, the company was forced into a three year investment freeze in the face of these market pressures back in 2014.

Traditionally CAPEX reliant, the company managed to survive the preceding period thanks to an investment backlog and the securement of a major lifeline – a contract to work on the Nord Stream pipeline project. By 2018, light had begun to appear at the end of the tunnel, with an increasing number of pipeline and infrastructure projects returning to the market.

There was huge optimism come the turn of the decade, and Wasco had in fact been gearing up for growth in 2020. However, such ambitions were

sideswept by the global social and economic disruption caused by the pandemic.

A new oil crisis ensued, the company once again having to implement a CAPEX freeze.

The solution Amidst the aforementioned challenges, Wasco knew that change was necessary in order to prevent splintering under further bouts of pressure from negative impacts on market conditions.

It was an eye-opening experience.

Where had the company had recorded annual revenues as high as $400 million pre-2014, these dropped to as low as $150 million in the five years that followed.

In weathering the storm, the company sought to maintain its EBITA margins of 10-12%, doing so by maintaining prices and streamlining, shutting facilities, consolidating and reducing

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overall capacity. Salaries were cut by 20%, furlough schemes were used, bonuses were frozen, and a successful, conscientious effort was made to retain all core staff and competencies.

Indeed, these were effective near-term solutions, but they were just that; they did not provide the company with secure foundations for the future. Here, a change in strategy was deployed.

Beginning 2018, attentions turned towards energy transition and diversification. Having only previously served the oil and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) markets, it was decided that establishing presence in key renewables verticals – namely wind, solar and hydrogen – would bolster Wasco’s long-term prospects.

It was a strategic shift underpinned by a new motto: ‘Accept. Adapt.

Advance.’. In accepting that its traditional work was subject to uncertainty, the organisation could begin to adapt to advance.

Success stories

Market opportunities were assessed via extensive consultancy, client cooperation and research initiatives, and resources reallocated in response.

Where Europe and the UK were identified as core renewables markets, the company transferred its best salesperson in Singapore to the UK, for example.

Indeed, it was a difficult transition, not least because of the implications of COVID-19. Not only did the firm have to quickly verse itself in new specialisms and products, and undertake a significant restructuring initiative during a period of extreme financial challenge, but the pandemic also created a series of hurdles such as the limited movement of people.

annually – a truly ground-breaking step for both the region and Wasco alike.

In the UK, the company is also providing fabrication-related services to a Scottish wind farm, as well as supporting an innovative powerplant that is leveraging the use of steam produced from petrochemicals to produce power. Solar has additionally become a market of expertise, Wasco having delivered two small projects at a photovoltaic substation.

should not be understated. They will be the first of many along the company’s path to securing a more diversified, more sustainable future.

About Wasco

Indeed, many of the company’s core activities do remain driven by its traditional markets. Yet these steps

Wasco Energy is a Malaysia-based integrated services group primarily serving the oil and gas industry. It provides cutting-edge technical services and licensed technologies with expertise crafted from years of experience working with energy technologists and large, industrial plants. Their business includes Pipeline Services, EPCC Pipeline & Facilities, Asset Integrity Services, Engineering & Fabrication Services, Med-Con and Field Construction and Maintenance Services and their operational network spans across 18 international locations.

Wasco Energy is a multi-awarded winner and has received awards from Statoil, Wartsila, Yinson/Kongsberg, Petronas, PetroVietnam and Chevron.

Story type

Key findings

Wasco at a glance:

#energytransition (main category)

For industry

#culture, #diversification, #resilience

• An organisation’s success is all about its people and culture • Give people guidance, support and belief that they can solve problems

Key products and services: integrated energy group providing pipe coating, engineering and fabrication services, manufacturing pipes, and more to the oil and gas industry worldwide

Wasco has, however, managed to prevail.

Where previously no revenue had been derived from renewable-related activities, today it has secured $50 million in orders for the 2021-2022 period from such avenues. In Australia, the firm is assisting in the deliverance of the country’s first hydrogen project that will produce 1MW of power

Benefits • Contract worth US$50m in 2021 • Green diversification from 0 to 5% of revenues between 2019 and 2021

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Thanks to this successful diversification, the next couple of years are shaping up to be extremely promising. Not only are oil prices beginning to recover, but Wasco has also begun to demonstrate proven expertise in a range of renewables markets that will broaden its overall scope moving forward. Where it is helping to deliver a novel hydrogen project in Australia, for example, the company will look to build upon this success by bringing its expertise to new regions around the world.

Government support?

The company has not received any type of government support.

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 95% • Infrastructure – 5% Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Year established: 1990 Number of employees: 2,000 Revenue: 750m MYR (£132.5m, approximately) Revenue from exports: 95%

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Waves Group Tapping into the power of data

How is Waves thriving?

Opting to innovate and cut above the noise in an increasingly competitive market, Waves has leveraged cutting edge technologies to provide state-ofthe-art marine casualty assessment.

Through its flagship CASPAR solution, the firm is able to offer rapid insight and comprehensive analysis to its customers with the smart use of data, digital visualisation and a multidisciplined approach.

The challenge Leading independent marine consultancy Waves Group was in by no means a bad situation come the end of 2018. As many energy companies struggled in the wake of the 20142016 oil price crash, Waves maintained an advantage where the majority of its revenue had already previously been derived from renewables activities.

Resultantly, the firm had retained a steady income driven by its two core

business units – marine casualty investigation and marine warranty surveys.

Despite this backdrop, however, there was an increasing feeling that the company would need to continue to innovate. While its casualty investigation business was very succesful, it was equally built on reactive foundations. Its warranty services offered a counterweight to this, providing a steadier stream of income. Yet this too was coming under pressure as the market sought to reduce costs.

Competitors previously focused on oil and gas related activities had been forced to diversify in order to secure their own futures, leading to further market pressure in Waves’ own areas of expertise.

Indeed, the landscape around Waves was evolving. There was growing demand for tech-led solutions such as remote surveying and other digital

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tools, and the competition for business had begun to hot up. In order to survive and indeed thrive, the company needed to respond and adapt quickly.

The solution The need to evolve was not only recognised but embraced. Waves was keen to differentiate by building added value on top of its historic, reputable consultancy services through the development of a more comprehensive product offering.

Attention duly turned towards leveraging big data, one of the organisation’s master mariners and a company director spearheading this initiative with their backgrounds in marine data analysis and associated skills. In the space of just a few months, the firm had developed and launched its new flagship product.

Enter CASPAR (Casualty Preliminary Assessment Report) – a solution providing focused insights in the

Success stories

wake of maritime incidents, spanning everything from marine charts, AIS tracking and environmental/weather conditions to port details, tides and local assets, all to give increased understanding of what is happening.

CASPAR quickly gained traction, primarily picked up by Protection and Indemnity clubs and maritime lawyers that are a primary source of revenue.

Through CASPAR, the company obtained both a significant competitive advantage and the building blocks from which other tech-centric ventures could be explored. Here, it has recently been pioneering the delivery of 3D visualisation solutions for wartime wreck surveys and the use of remote vessel inspections, demand for the latter having accelerated dramatically in the last 12 months within the context of COVID-19.

construction projects, including Mermaid, Seastar, Borssele A, Triton Knoll West, Triton Knoll East and numerous cable installation operations.

Further, the firm also approved the removal of a large North Sea platform Topside using the Pioneering Spirit.

As for CASPAR, the results very much speak for themselves.

Since its launch, Waves has delivered over 60 CASPAR-related projects combined with numerous voyage data recorder (VDR) reconstructions. These contracts span both existing and new clients, the company now capitalising on a broader scope of work thanks to its new technologies.

to expand overseas, it has equally helped the company to differentiate itself from a growing crowd, thereby helping to secure what appears to be a sustainable future.

About Waves

Not only has this improved the firm’s bottom line and accelerated its push

Waves Group is a leading firm of independent marine consultants, which has combined the Mwaves and Cwaves brands to provide an extensive range of specialist consultancy services to the shipping and offshore energy industries.

Waves Group combines their respective expertise to provide their clients with a greater range of bespoke technical advice, assurance and expert guidance on a wide range of marine and offshore matters. The company’s expert consultants are involved in a range of projects that gives them a breadth of experience whilst always advancing their individual specialisms. They work closely with clients to provide practical solutions, mitigate risks and reduce costs where possible. The company has its headquarters in London, with additional offices in Rotterdam, Aberdeen, Singapore and Houston.

Story type

Key findings

Waves at a glance:

#serviceandsolutions (main category)

For industry

#digital, #innovation

• Provide a quality service • Apply skills to new markets • Keep up with technology • Nurture your corporate culture

Key products and services: marine consultancy services

That said, like many others, Waves has experienced the adverse impacts of the pandemic. Yet the company’s determination to prevail against the hardships has been admirable.

The organisation has continued servicing its marine survey projects, navigating its way through national lockdowns, in its role as MWS on a number of offshore windfarm

Benefits • Revenues increased significantly in two years

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Through CASPAR, the company has been empowered to offer its customers greater situational awareness within the first hours of an incident, backing this up with subsequent consultancy and VDR analysis, including visual incident reconstruction using black box data.

The impact on Waves’ bottom line has been eminent. Critically, the company’s overall revenue has increased significantly in the space of just two years.

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Main industries served: • Commercial shipping – 50% • Renewables – 42.5% • Oil and gas – 7.5% Headquarters: London, UK Year established: 2005 Number of employees: 43 Revenue: £6.5m Revenue from exports: 50%

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Section header Success storieshere

Whitebeard Engineering Solidifying a presence through partnership

How is Whitebeard Engineering (WBE) thriving?

Having started out in 2016 as an unknown entity in Malaysia’s oil and gas sector, corrosion protection, coating and lining solutions specialist Whitebeard has built its reputation through a game-changing collaboration with a formidable partner in Singapore.

Still going strong today, the symbiotic relationship has yielded several major contract wins.

The challenge The oil and gas industry is known for being risk averse. Established supply chains are notoriously difficult to break into, making any opportunities that do arise hotly contested by new market entrants looking to place their feet on the ladder.

This was very much the case for Malaysian start-up Whitebeard when it founded in 2016. A provider of corrosion protection, coating and lining solutions, the Sarawak-based

company is on the doorstep of Malaysia’s NOC , a then potentially massive customer.

Initially seeking to establish a presence in the Malaysian oil and gas market through collaborations with local players, the firm quickly realised that its lack of presence and reputation was a problem. Whitebeards natural competitors had been in the game for 30 years or more, and were firmly consolidated, meaning the company had to find a way of standing out.

The solution A decision was made to go back to business basics – to offer a standout service at a low price.

To do this, the partnership strategy had to evolve and incorporate a more specialist offering that would provide a point of difference, and in 2017 Whitebeard found the answer in the form of Singapore’s Trans-Ocean Technology.

Trans-Ocean Technology is an established distributor of rubber products to the ASEAN region,

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operating as an exclusive distribution partner for a leading rubber OEM based in Japan and selecting Whitebeard as its local partner. The partnership involves a technology transfer agreement, with Trans-Ocean experts helping Whitebeard’s team to become rubber liner specialists, the terms initially covering Sarawak and Borneo before being expanded Malaysia-wide in 2019.

Last year, naturally, brought challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the region. National lockdowns and mandated 14-day quarantines disrupted project execution which relied on project engineers and technicians travelling in and out of Bintulu to serve clients. In response, Whitebeard is opening new offices across key regions of Malaysia, a move which will cut travel requirements and help it to better respond to customer needs.

Another 2020 success arrived in the form of a long-term contract with a local O&G player to supply rubber lining, a project which is helping feed rapid revenue growth. Indeed, last year

Success stories

saw income double to RM6.8 million, with 2021 revenue expected to follow similar trend.

differentiators that are helping it to compete against heavyweights in the supply chain.

This will be made possible by a second partnership. Activated in 2019, it is a joint venture with Kuala Lumpur-based O&G servicing company providing decontamination services for technological, enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM).

Its tireless efforts to build up competencies and break into the sector have paid off, making the company an attractive prospect for would-be clients and partners in the country and abroad. Many boxes are ticked – it is licensed by Petronas and carries licensed technologies; it can help companies obtain payments; and it can offer a local Malaysian presence with exclusive services.

Although it is early days, the company expects this business to yield in 2021, making it an important diversification of its portfolio and safeguarding Whitebeard against an overreliance on the oil and gas market.

In a few short years, the firm has transformed itself from a fledgling startup to an SME with a clear path to scale across multiple specialisms thanks to its willingness to change course and take risks. By refusing to stand still and wait for clients to arrive at its doorstep, Whitebeard has worked its way into a position of strength, one from which it will not be looking back.

Sulaiman. The company covers all areas of engineering supply and services in disciplines; civil, mechanical and electrical, as well as manpower and material supplies to support various industries, including Oil & Gas.

Having entered the Malaysian oil and gas market up against seasoned competitors with no distinctive competitive advantage, Whitebeard now carries a range of its own

About Whitebeard Whitebeard Engineering Sdn. Bhd. (WBE) was founded in 2011 and incorporated in 2016 by Mohd Amirul

Headquartered in Kuching with a network of locations in Bintulu, Miri, and Labuan, WBE is looking not only to expand growth in the industry within Borneo region, but is also aspiring to become one of the leading companies in this sector on the rest of Malaysia.

Incorporating technology, to improve efficiency on delivery, as well as communicating with their clients is part of their motto on being committed to providing highest quality of services and supply to meet client’s standards and requirements.

Story type

Key findings

Whitebeard at a glance:

#collaboration (main category)

For industry

#scaleup

• Challenge yourself, take risks • Don’t be afraid of seeking collaboration opportunities with major players

Key products and services: corrosion protection, coating and lining solutions for oil & gas, in addition to the supply of instrumentation, piping components and fittings

Thanks to its collaborative endeavours and change of tact from when it first established as a startup, the company is now better placed than ever to scale up and provide services to a greater array of clients in larger quantities.

Benefits • Revenues have grown from MYR 0.8m in 2017 to MYR 6.8m in 2020

For government • SMEs need support and grants when it comes to enhancing capabilities

Government support?

The company has not received any type of government support

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas – 98% • Government – 2% Headquarters: Kuching, Malaysia Year established: 2016 Number of employees: 12 Revenue: MYR 6.8m Revenue from exports: 0%

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Section header Success storieshere

Wood Unlocking solutions to the world’s most critical challenges

How is Wood thriving?

and down the value chain.

In a fast-paced and changing world, Wood is strengthening its position as a global leader in consulting and engineering across energy and the built environment, on its quest to unlock solutions to the world’s most critical challenges. Against a challenging economic backdrop and the intensifying necessity for more carbon responsible and sustainable industries, Wood continues to leverage its core competence, rich heritage and unrivalled experience to diversify its portfolio and strengthen its position as a trusted partner for its clients in the evolution towards a lower carbon and more resilient future.

For global consulting and engineering giant Wood, the imperative to diversify and reduce its reliance on traditional oil and gas was epitomised in a pivot point five years ago when 96% of revenues were derived from its heritage core market. Wood’s acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler in 2017 broadened the company’s base, unlocking significant potential across a much wider range of end markets.

But realising the potential of the major merger was no foregone conclusion.

The challenge Even pre-COVID-19 pandemic, global megatrends were already reshaping the energy industry. Ambitious, though essential, net-zero targets being set at industrial, national and international levels, combined with the need to accelerate digitalisation and drive a step change in the efficiency and optimisation of operations, have catalysed transformation within organisations up

The increasingly competitive landscape in the conventional energy space, together with the socio-economic and environmental pressures to transform the way industry does business, has created an opportunity for Wood to position as a leading partner for its clients as they navigate towards better, smarter, and cleaner operations.

The solution Wood has taken deliberate, and successful, steps to diversify its oilfield services roots and to evolve to become a broader engineering and consultancy

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business. Today, it offers lifecycle solutions across many markets, including life sciences, renewables, power, utilities, transportation, mining, and the circular economy, helping to design, build and operate projects and assets that enable a more sustainable and liveable future.

Tackling the company’s heritage perception with existing and new clients, evolving and strengthening a differentiated market position, realising growth in new end markets, and disrupting traditional client-contractor relationships have been key to realising success in the transformation and diversification of Wood.

The pandemic presented an opportunity to truly ‘do different’. In the last year, Wood focused on bringing its strategy to life; delivering resilience and agility in the face of unprecedented and enduring challenges.

As part of that focus, Wood has broadened and deepened its relationships with key clients. Taking meaningful and tangible steps towards disrupting traditional ways of working and focusing on achieving effective

Success stories

and value-adding collaboration, has represented a real differentiating point for Wood.

Broadening its clients’ perceptions of its capabilities is creating the opportunity for Wood to leverage the range and depth of its global experience and expertise to propel innovation and problem-solving. Using agile methods, Wood is working with its clients to break down longestablished and sometimes complex barriers to collaboration by integrating the collective competence, capability, and experience of both organisations to unlock transformative solutions otherwise not achievable.

for several North Sea assets.

With its diversification focus, Wood is delivering a more resilient income base. Its traditional oil and gas activity now accounts for 35% of revenue, with downstream and chemical (20%), renewables and other energy (25%) and sustainable infrastructure (20%) now accounting for significant shares of income.

However, this is not to suggest that Wood will forsake its core market.

Thanks to its now strengthened renewables expertise, Wood is supporting its traditional client base to develop novel and impactful decarbonisation roadmaps, incorporating carbon capture, platform electrification, offshore wind, and hydrogen. Once more, Wood’s diversified knowledge and expertise is combining with its formidable oil and gas experience to solve highly relevant and critical issues.

challenges of today and tomorrow.

Having safeguarded against the worst of the COVID-19 storm, Wood is better placed than ever to work with its clients to unlock solutions to their most critical challenges.

About Wood

As the world begins to emerge from the pandemic, Wood will continue to support its clients through the

Wood is one of the world’s leading consulting and engineering companies across energy and the built environment. The company operates in more than 60 countries, employing around 40,000 people, with revenues of around US$8bn.

It provides consulting, projects and operations green-to-green lifecycle solutions across a broad range of industrial markets, including: upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas; power and process; environment, transportation and infrastructure; clean energy; mining and minerals.

Story type

Key findings

Wood at a glance:

#transformation (main category)

For industry

#collaboration, #resilience, #serviceandsolutions

• Be willing to fail fast and learn faster • Think big, be bold, adapt and transform to remain resilient

Key products and services: consulting, projects and operations solutions

Embedding trust and sharing a willingness to fail fast but learn faster is unleashing a new level of creativity in solution development and innovation.

For example, taking this approach with one client resulted in the transformation of how their work offshore is approached, planned, and prepared, supported by a myriad of data that has been rejuvenated to create digital twins

Benefits • Transformation of Wood’s business has yielded a robust and diversified portfolio

For government • The pace of fiscal policies and regulations will determine our country’s ability to lead the global energy transition

Government support?

Wood has benefitted from initiatives such as R&D tax credits and the apprenticeship levy. The company has also received support from UK Export Finance (UKEF).

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Main industries served: • Oil and gas (upstream and midstream) – 35% • Downstream and chemicals – 20% • Renewables & other energy – 25% • Sustainable infrastructure – 20% Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK Year established: 1982 Number of employees: 40,000 Revenue: US$7.6bn Revenue from exports: 85%

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