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Success Success Stories SuccessStories Stories
EIC Survive & Thrive X EIC Survive &&Thrive 2026 Survive Thrive 2026
July 2026 July 2026 July 2026
Story type #export (main category) #service & solutions
Benefits
Superheat From flying visits to a permanent fixture in the GCC heat treatment market Steve McDonnell Regional Manager UK, IRE and Middle East at Superheat How is Superheat thriving? Three years after opening its Abu Dhabi office, Superheat has established itself as the GCC’s leading provider of advanced on-site heat treatment, enabled by wireless remote operation and digital technologies. Since 2023, the company has achieved consistent 20% year-on-year growth in the region, with global clients following its proven methods into new markets and local teams now embedded in some of the Gulf’s most technically demanding energy projects. The challenge - Superheat is a global leader in on-site industrial heat treatment, specialising in weld preheating, post-weld heat treatment and advanced induction heating for clients across the energy, industrial and infrastructure sectors. Its proprietary digital platform, including the Superheat SmartCenter™, enables real-time remote monitoring and control of heat treatment operations, replacing a traditionally labour-intensive, low-tech discipline. Despite its capabilities, Superheat faced a market that had made few advancements over the past decades. In the GCC, heat treatment was routinely treated as a low-priority, price-driven afterthought – one of the last contracts awarded on any project, with clients defaulting to deploying large numbers of personnel rather than investing in smarter methods. The risks are real: poor heat treatment can compromise weld integrity and cause significant long-term operational problems. For over 13 years, Superheat had served the region by flying specialists in and out, knowing that to genuinely change mindsets, it would need to be permanently embedded on the ground. The solution - When Superheat opened its UAE office in Abu Dhabi in 2023, it did so with a clear purpose: to be present and integrated locally, changing how heat treatment was perceived and procured across the GCC. The strategy had two interlocking elements. The first was proving, in the region rather than just talking about it, that Superheat’s digitally enabled approach delivered measurably better outcomes. The second was building local capability alongside it, training and embedding GCC-based teams in its methods rather than relying on imported expertise.
Central to both was the SmartCenter platform, which enables operators to remotely monitor and control heat treatment activities in real time. Through their companion Superheat SmartView™ digital project management and quality assurance platform, field staff can upload wrapping specifications, track live heat cycle data and access QA documentation from any location, replacing the traditional model of stationing large numbers of expat technicians on site. Their SmartWrap™ service extended this further, enabling client workforces to self-perform heat treatment under Superheat’s remote supervision, guided through virtual training and supported throughout by the SmartCenter team. The approach had already proven itself under pressure. When an international contractor in Abu Dhabi required solution annealing on complex pipework during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, travel restrictions made it impossible to deploy Superheat’s own personnel. Instead, the company shipped its SmartPoint™ heat-treating consoles to the site and trained the contractor’s workforce virtually – multiple live camera streams, mockup piping exercises and real-time feedback from Superheat’s UK team. After 11 days of intensive remote preparation, the client’s newly formed on-site team completed the turnaround with a 100% weld success rate, earning a formal commendation that rated Superheat across every measure as ‘superior’. That project demonstrated what Superheat could offer well beyond a straightforward service contract. Crucially, it also illustrated the in-country value opportunity. By equipping client workforces with the skills and tools to self-perform heat treatment to a world-class standard, Superheat enables GCC operators to build genuine local capability, something increasingly valued across the region and aligned with broader nationalisation ambitions. Alongside its digital offering, the company undertook targeted demonstration projects and bespoke trials conducted within existing yards to provide stakeholders with clear, practical evidence that the digitised approach delivers measurable efficiency gains. Some resistance remained: outdated attitudes take time to shift, and heat treatment contracts are still often awarded on price alone. But the results spoke for themselves. Global clients who had experienced Superheat’s methods on projects elsewhere began requesting the same approach in the UAE, with purchase orders following the company into the region.
▸ Achieved consistent 20% year-on-year revenue growth since establishing a permanent Abu Dhabi office in 2023. ▸ Completed a complex turnaround project with a 100% weld success rate by using digital platforms to virtually train the client’s on-site workforce.
Key findings For young people ▸ Believe in yourself, take the initiative and
never wait for opportunities to come to you.
For industry ▸ Be adaptive and embrace innovation.
For government ▸ Support evidence-based change and
stand with organisations that invest in their technology and their people, giving them a voice.
Superheat at a glance: Key products and services: The Superheat SmartWay™, weld preheating, post-weld heat treatment, induction heating services and equipment leasing, rentals and sales. Main industries served: ▸ Oil and gas – 55% ▸ Conventional power – 25% ▸ Nuclear power – 15% ▸ Offshore renewable energy – 5% Headquarters: New Lenox, US Year established: 2000 Number of employees: +500
The growth figures reflect this momentum. Since establishing its Abu Dhabi office, Superheat’s GCC region has achieved 20% year-on-year revenue growth consistently, with 2025 another record year and 2026 forecast to match it. With 16 staff now permanently based in Abu Dhabi and further expansion into Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain in its sights, the company has moved decisively from a periodic presence to a longterm, sustainable force in the region.