BRUSA & BRCA November 2015

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NOVEMBER 2015

GAME CHANGERS

The

concern

with cloud computing

TECH PIECE ON CLOUD COMPUTING

Special Report Niagara-on-the-Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant

EDITOR’S COMMENT

Just like on the football field, there are plenty of “game changers” in the corporate world.

Game changers throughout history have been known for inspiring entrepreneurs to create products that revolutionize the way customers interact. It’s what drives people to find the next big thing.

It reminds me of an old quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

In this month’s issue of Business Review USA, we’ll take an in depth look at the world’s top 10 “game-changing” companies that have reshaped the way we consume and live our daily lives. Netflix, one of my personal favorites, graces the cover of the magazine this month. Can you guess the other nine?

Also, within every great company, there is an executive structure that puts it in position to succeed. This month’s leadership piece revolves around the corporate format of some of the largest companies in the world, and examines if one particular system outshines the rest.

We’ll wrap up the November issue by delving into the concern with cloud computing, as well as a feature on our company of the month, Canada-based Niagara Region, and its Niagara-on-theLake wastewater Treatment Plant.

Enjoy!

ERIC HARDING Editor eric.harding@businessreviewaustralia.com

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CONTENTS

FEATURES

18 TECHNOLOGY The biggest cloud security concerns for senior IT executives

6

LEADERSHIP Successful setups

COMPANY PROFILES CONSTRUCTION

SUPPLY CHAIN

32 Strukton

74 SDI

46 Niagara-on-theLake Wastewater Treatment Plant

84 Canarail

ENERGY 54 North American Power

24

TOP 10

Game Changers

74 SDI 84

Canarail

54 North American Power

64 ESCO Advisors

5

LEADERSHIP

SUCCESSF

HOW THE WORLD’S TOP COMPANIES ARE POS

W R I T T E N B Y: E R I C H A R D I N G , C U T T

FUL SETUPS

SITIONED TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

TE R S LAG LE A N D R E B E C CA CASTR EJ O N

LEADERSHIP WITH THE EVER-CHANGING corporate landscape, it has become harder and harder over the years to keep track of who does what in the executive structure of a large company.

Which style of corporate governance is most successful?

Which method is most popular?

Should analysts and observers be more interested in news surrounding a company’s CFO or vice president?

With those questions in mind, here is a look at some of the world’s top companies and how its top-level management is set up.

Apple Just three days after its launch, U.S.-based Apple reported selling more than 13 million of its new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which is a new record.

In the process, the tech giant has become the first company to reach a market capitalisation of over US$700 billion, while its stock has soared from US$54 to US$126 since co-founder Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. Its market value is more than double that of either Exxon Mobil or Microsoft, and Apple’s revenue has tripled to over 8 November 2015

Hadrian / Shutterstock.com

US$150 billion since 2010.

Apple’s executive structure is basically a traditional hierarchy, but takes away some aspects of other organisational structures to meet both market and industry demands. The company’s set up gives the CEO and senior VPs the majority of control, while the lower levels of the system has little say in market demands and business needs.

TIM COOK- Apple CEO Marco Prati / Shutterstock.com

Apple CEO — Tim Cook The first openly gay CEO in the Fortune 500, Cook joined Apple from Compaq Computer in 1998. Coming from an operations background and spending several of his most influential years of his career at IBM. Some of Cook’s best moves have been creating a market in China, introducing Apple Pay, and the continued

successful adoption of Apple’s newest operating system, iOS 8.

But Cook isn’t what company executives like to call a “subjectmatter expert” on such critical areas as product development, design, and marketing. Because of this, he behaves much more like a coach who trusts his players compared to Jobs.

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RBC’s CEO – David I. McKay

RBC The Royal Bank of Canada is all about helping its clients and communities build a better future. With more than 79,000 client-focused and committed employees, the company currently services 16 million clients worldwide.

Starting at the very top, the RBC has an independent chairman who leads a board that is composed 10

November 2015

RBC rmnoa357 / Shutterstock.com

of independent, well-informed directors. To differentiate from others in the industry, the RBC believes in having opening communication with its shareholders, as well as encourages these shareholders to express their views.

The Royal Bank of Canada gives top priority to strategic planning to help ensure that standards exist to promote

SMART BUILDINGS COMBINE TECHNOLOGY WITH HUMANS

ethical behavior throughout the entire organization. In addition to, the company continues to better itself by maintaining different ways to improve its governance practices, as well as adapt industry-leading standards.

Degree in Mathematics, McKay has been the CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada since 2014. He has experience in retail and business banking, group risk management and corporate banking.

RBC’s CEO — David I. McKay Having earned both a Master’s of Business Degree and a Bachelor’s

Grupo Carso Carlos Slim’s conglomerate in one of the most powerful business groups 11

LEADERSHIP

Grupo Carso

SUCCESSFUL SETUPS

worldwide. Also known as Grupo Sanborns SAB, it had a capital growth of more than US$12 billion, only in 2014.

The group incorporates four different industrial divisions that have more than 30 major players in mining, retail, construction and telecommunication services, such as Sears Mexico, Televisa, CompUSA, Walgreens, etc.

The conglomerate follows the essential 10 principles to maintain the human force of its many shares worldwide, including minimal hierarchies and internal training on management functions for every executive “Our premise is and has always been that we leave with nothing; we can only do things while we are alive and that entrepreneurs are creators of the wealth they temporarily manage,” said Slim as part of the Grupo Carso mission statement.

Sanborns, América Móvil and Teléfonos de México. An entrepreneur since first deciding to purchase shares in a Mexican bank at the age of 12, it’s no surprise that by age 76 his current worth is more than US$72 billion.

Slim’s most recent innovation within the talent management aspect includes an initiative called “Global three-day work” that basically specifies a new schedule among his companies worldwide. The upside is twice as much leisure time; the downside is longer days and workers carrying on into their 70s.

BHP Billiton Australia’s biggest and most successful global company, BHP Billiton is an enterprise that continues to be the nation’s biggest taxpayer, and is a storage of future wealth for just about every Australian with

Grupo Carso’s CEO — Carlos Slim He graduated in Business Administration from Universidad Anahuac, and aside from Grupo Carso, he is the COB of Grupo 13

LEADERSHIP a superannuation account and a retirement to pay for.

BHP’s top four executives under its CEO include a chief financial officer, chief legal counsel, a president of petroleum and potash as well as a chief information officer.

Dean Dalla Valle was named Chief Commercial Officer in June, and now is responsible for Potash after previously being president of health, safety, environment (HSE), as well as marketing and technology. This allows the president of petroleum Tim Cutt to focus solely on increasing the value of the company’s important petroleum business.

BHP Billiton CEO — Andrew Mackenzie

BHP Billiton CEO — Andrew Mackenzie

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November 2015

Mackenzie has over 30 years of experience in oil and gas, petrochemicals and minerals. He joined BHP Billiton in 2008 as Chief Executive Non-Ferrous, and commenced as Chief Executive Officer in 2013. Prior to BHP Billiton, Mackenzie was Chief Executive of Diamonds and Minerals at rival Rio Tinto, and held a number of senior roles at BP, including vice president for Technology and Engineering, and vice president for Chemicals.

Tencent A Chinese investment holding company whose subsidiaries provide media, entertainment, internet and mobile services as well as operate online advertising services, Tencent is a US$139 billion company with nearly a billion users. It essentially functions like Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, and Uber combined into one.

Tencent continuously strives for excellence in today’s competitive world and hardly ever seems satisfied.

Its executive team is very dedicated with corporate social responsibilities and focuses on educating youth, setting up initiatives for providing care to impoverished and disadvantaged

F E AT U R E A R T I C L E S H O R T E N E D H E A D L I N E

SABIC sections of society and disaster relief.

The company also has a CIO, Daniel Xu, who oversees the strategic planning and development for the website properties and communities, customer relations and public relations of the Company.

Tencent CEO — Pony Ma (Ma Huateng) One of the core founders of Tencent, Ma oversees the strategic development, overall direction and management of the Group.

Before he co-founding Tencent in 1998, Pony was in charge of R&D for Internet paging system development at China Motion

Telecom Development Limited, which is a telecommunications services and products provider in China. He also has over 20 years of experience in telecommunication and Internet industries.

Sabic A global company with a large part of its business based in the Middle East, Sabic is the largest and most profitable non-oil company in the region, as well as one of the world’s largest petrochemical manufacturers.

The company’s four corporate departments include finance, human resources, corporate control and research and technology, which 15

LEADERSHIP

Yousef Al Benyan Vice Chairman and CEO-SABIC

equally assist with Sabic’s drive to consistently invest in technology and innovation.

Sabic’s CEO — Yousef Abdullah Al-Benyan Known for his marketing and leadership success, Al-Benyan has an Economics Degree and a Master’s Degree in Industrial Management.

Before becoming CEO of Sabic, he held a variety of senior positions within the company.

MTN Group As a leading emerging market mobile operator, MTN Group is at 16

November 2015

the forefront of the technological changes that continue to sweep the world. With a vision to lead the delivery of a bold, new digital world to its customers, the company has numerous operations throughout Africa.

Backed by a board of directors, executive committee and a good corporate governance structure, MTN Group leads its industry by enhancing and aligning its organization, policies and procedures to completely support its operating environment and strategy.

Furthermore, the company is all about promoting a team environment,

SUCCESSFUL SETUPS

with a clear division of responsibilities assigned to each group to ensure a balance of power and authority.

MTN Group’s CEO — RS Dabengwa With a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Business, Dabengwa has experience in sales, customer service, electrification and distribution technology. He began his career by working as a consulting electrical engineer in the building services industry and in the mining and railway sectors.

MTN Group’s CEO — RS Dabengwa

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T ETCE H C NN OO L OL GO Ă? AG Y

The biggest c concerns for sen

Although cloud computing has adoption brings s

WRI T TEN BY: SA N 18

November 2015

INTELIGENCIAS EMPRESARIALES

cloud security nior IT executives

s delivered many benefits, cloud several challenges

NDR A L UZ PL ATA 19

TECHNOLOGY Hitachi Data Systems Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), recently announced results of an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study, “Preparing for nextgeneration cloud: Lessons learned and insights shared,” which found that 87 per cent of the organizations surveyed indicated their senior management was concerned with security and privacy of corporate data for cloud implementations.

Responses also indicated that outages and failures of public cloud implementations were twice as likely to occur when compared to private cloud.

Almost half of the respondents indicated the biggest risk of a failed implementation to be loss of customer data.

Cloud computing continues to transform the entire IT industry. It has created new market opportunities, adjacent product or service opportunities and new lines of business for many organizations.

It has also given IT organizations, providers and integrators more agile, streamlined and cost-effective ways to deliver services to users and customers. While cloud computing has delivered many benefits, cloud adoption also continues to challenge 20

November 2015

even the most nimble of companies.

By gathering lessons learned from cloud implementations of 232 global IT executives, the 2015 Economist Intelligence Unit report identifies five best practices that can help organizations make the most of their cloud opportunities. These best practices can help drive greater business agility, improved data access and a more productive, mobilized workforce: • Ensure cloud providers can meet corporate business and IT requirements.

• Choose the right cloud service for

Cloud computing continues to transform the entire IT industry.

greater control over security and data protection.

• Use cloud architectures that enable connections from cloud services to existing IT infrastructure.

• Consider factors beyond costs, such as cloud’s potential to improve business operations and boost innovation and employee efficiency.

• Define business requirements for IT to offer cloud services and act as cloud brokers.

In alignment with these best practices, the Hitachi Content Platform (HCP), rated the No. 1 most secure object storage solution according to

Gartner in their Critical Capabilities report, delivers distinct advantages that can accelerate cloud adoption for organizations.

This family of products lets you build your own secure, scalable and easyto-manage cloud. It includes HCP, an object-based cloud storage platform; HCP Anywhere, an enterprise-class file sync and share solution; and Hitachi Data Ingestor (HDI), a cloud storage gateway.

These three solutions are tightly integrated, offering maximum data mobility so organizations can avoid being trapped by traditional 21

TECHNOLOGY

The 2015 Economist Intelligence Unit report identifies five best practices that can help organizations make the most of their cloud opportunities.

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November 2015

CLOUD SECURITY CONCERNS FOR SENIOR IT EXECUTIVES

technology silos. Taking data mobility a step further, HCP provides a hybrid cloud architecture that enables organizations to move data to and between their choice of public clouds for the datasets and workloads they deem appropriate to move offsite.

The rich data management and hybrid capabilities of HCP provide IT with the tools to become internal brokers for their organizations’ cloud services, while maintaining full control and visibility to ensure that proper data security, sovereignty and compliance are upheld. This means IT organizations can provide secure data access for their users anywhere, anytime, on any device.

The industry-leading HCP portfolio for content mobility empowers workforces and maintains visibility and control with an agile hybrid cloud.

It is cloud neutral with no lock-in, and manages data globally for secure flexibility to stay ahead of cloud and mobility trends.

Poised for outstanding efficiency gains and new business innovations, the HCP portfolio promotes faster time to value, and adaptability to market changes. Organizations can meet compliancy demands with automated

data retention policies and proactive responses to storage capacity management much easier.

“One of the reasons we chose Hitachi Content Platform was for its integrated architecture that is ready for cloud,” said Giuseppe Alibrandi, chief technology officer at Banca Popolare di Milano in Italy. “It is extremely flexible and scalable, eliminates the need to run daily backup procedures, provides synchronization and file sharing, and ensures a high level of security, which are all key requirements for us.”

Finding a balanced approach between flexible workplace mobility and corporate control and visibility of the data is now possible.

About the Report “Preparing for next-generation cloud: Lessons learned and insights shared” is an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) research program, sponsored

by Hitachi Data Systems. The report surveyed 232 global IT executives in 2015 to explore companies’ experiences with cloud adoption.

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TOP 10

TOP 10 G A M E

What makes them so successful?

Written by: Cutter Slagle

C H

H A N G E R S

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TOP 10 Some companies stand out, not because they were the first to develop a product or launch a service, but because their products and services transform the lives of users. Take a look at some of the most innovative, well-known, and highly successful companies today. These are companies that have changed the world.

Facebook Started by a college student looking for an easy way to connect with his friends on campus, Facebook has become the social connectivity and marketing tool of the world. Mark Zuckerberg began his quest to link people while an undergrad at Harvard. Transformed into a simple, free social media site in 2004, the company has grown to include one billion daily users. Zuckerberg is using it as a stepping-stone to improve education and connect people worldwide by establishing universal access to the Internet. The company’s success stems from the need to connect in a digital 26 November 2015

world, the ease of use of its software, and its free access to make this $245 billion company more than just a simple social network.

Netflix Netflix evolved from a rent-bymail program for movies on disc to a powerhouse of programs and content. Once the company launched its low-cost app-style streaming service, the platform allowed viewers to choose when and where they caught their favorite shows — even on smartphones and tablet computers.

With 65 million members spread over 50 countries, Netflix has viewers watching more than 100 million hours of TV shows and movies on demand each day. As the world’s leading TV “network,” Netflix now dominates the industry

TOP 10 GAME CHANGERS

and has even launched its own original shows such as “Sense8” and “Orange is the New Black” to increase viewer loyalty.

Amazon Amazon sold its first book about 20 years ago. Since that time, the Internet retail company has revolutionized not only its business model, but also the way people shop.

The company, worth an estimated $175.1 billion, allows consumers to buy just about anything they desire right from home. Amazon also extends its reach by engaging with customers who include consumers, sellers, enterprises, and content creators.

The company handles the promotions and marketing, as well as the distribution of many products, including the launch of Prime Now, a one-hour delivery service in select cities.

Never before has a company created an everything-in-oneplace retail outlet on such a scale. Amazon allows consum-

ers to have better control over what they buy, how much they pay, and where they shop — right at home.

IKEA IKEA, founded in 1943, operates 360 stores in 47 countries and continues to grow. What makes IKEA so successful, enough to sell $36 billion worth of product each year, is its ability to stream-

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TOP 10 line purchasing decisions of the average furniture consumer. IKEA took the frustration out of furniture buying by targeting young people with their high-quality, durable products that were still affordable enough to sell and replace within a few years. The company also developed a name for itself by paying its workers fairly and being far more transparent than other companies in the industry. In short, people knew they were getting a good value at IKEA. Now, the average IKEA store is more of a destination than just another department store, where consumers go to immerse themselves in the specific culture the company offers.

Nike Nike is more than a fitness apparel and accessory company. Founded in 1964, the company designs and develops, markets, and sells products ranging from footwear to equipment and even offers some services to professional organizations. This $86.2 billion company took off when it named Michael Jordan as a paid sponsor, 28 November 2015

along with the Nike Jordon line of products. Nike set out to create products that would improve the performance of the world’s most noticeable athletes. They were aggressive from the start and provided high-quality products, linked with key endorsements, and developed a consistent brand identity. Nearly anyone — regardless of their native language — can recognize iconic swoosh mark on products, a priceless commodity in today’s saturated retail market.

Tesla Sustainability is a global trend, and finding ways to use the Earth’s resources in a more environmentally friendly way is growing in importance. Enter Tesla, a company with vocal Elon Musk at its helm. Worth about $25.5 billion,

TOP 10 GAME CHANGERS

the company designs, manufacturers and sells fully electric cars as well as other electric systems. Its name is immediately associated with the first electric car back in 2008, while its lithium-ion battery packs are spreading further than the automotive industry. Tesla is the first to offer this cutting-edge technology, but the company’s success also comes from its forwardthinking viewpoint. The American manufacturer continues to sponsor programs to improve electric energy technology and beyond.

Twitter

What can you say in just 140 characters? A great deal when you look at the success of Twitter, a social media site developed to let people express themselves briefly to friends and followers around the world.

What makes Twitter so valuable is that the company allows anyone, from world leaders to teens, to communicate news, updates, opinions, and thoughts immediately. Using hashtags, it’s easy to find people who share a common thought or topic. This innovative company has 316 million active users, sends 500 29

TOP 10 million Tweets each day, and has been valued as high as $30 billion. Twitter opened the door for instant communication and information sharing, but sets itself apart by not requiring users to “friend� each other.

M-Pesa Located in Kenya and Tanzania, M-Pesa made strategic moves as a small company to make it big.

A mobile-phone based money transfer company launched in 2007, M-Pesa also offers microfinancing as a way to differentiate itself.

Users deposit money into their account, which is stored on their mobile phone. They then use a

30 November 2015

PIN number to text messages to other users to make real-money transactions without having cash in hand. With more than 17 million accounts just in Kenya, this financial tool has helped provide important funding and monetary access to people in numerous developing countries. Because it offers a safe method of moving money, it’s helped to support growing economies and reduce crime.

Kickstarter Founded in 2009, Kickstarter caught on nearly as quickly as some of the most successful fund-raising campaigns its

TOP 10 GAME CHANGERS

hosted. The company allows everyday people to get fast and secure funding for their ideas and projects from investors around the world. These projects span a wide range of industries, and include items like smart watches, educational initiatives and scientific innovations. With more than 257,000 projects launched through the platform, and more than $2 billion worth of pledges, Kickstarter has helped individuals compete against large companies and development firms, incubating innovation at a micro-level and re-imagining the American dream on a global scale.

and processing of foods. Its modern drip irrigation system has transformed the lives of some three million farmers around the world by creating a shift from traditional methods to scientific and sustainable agriculture. With its products, farmers can produce more food with fewer resources.

This increases contract farming and production, and it continues to help developing regions to source sustainable food.

Jain Irrigation Systems Jain Irrigation Systems is based in India, but its agriculture methods span the world. What makes this company so unique is that it creates micro-irrigation systems for drip and sprinkler systems using photovoltaic systems. Its systems allow for solar water heating, bio-fertilizer use, greenhouse development,

Zuckerberg – Photo Cred Frederic Legrand - COMEO

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In-house expertise helps Riyadh transform its city centre Interview by John O’Hanlon Produced by Jordan Platten

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STRUKTON

Strukton, as a member of the FAST consortium, has been awarded a contract by Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) to construct three of the six lines of a fully automatic, driverless metro system to be launched by the city of Riyadh Tunnel break through

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© 2014 -Gitte Spinder Construction Photography

E

stablished in 1921, Strukton provides cross-border solutions in the fields of rail infrastructure, civil infrastructure and technique & buildings markets. As a leading player in the global market for railway projects and comprehensive infrastructure projects Strukton focuses on transport systems in densely populated areas, opening up ports, airports and mining areas, and generating and distributing (sustainable) energy. Through almost a century of construction involvement, maintenance expertise and technological development the company has successfully adopted, created and connected past, modern and future best practises.

Privatised in 2010, today the company boasts expertise in the fields of operational asset

FREYSSINET SAUDI ARABIA CO. LTD. (FSA) was founded as a limited liability company in 1978 by H.E. the late Sheikh Kamal Adham. Since its inception, FSA has completed numerous turnkey projects in Saudi Arabia covering various fields and amounting to several Billions Saudi Riyals. The success of the company stems from a positive and dynamic approach, incorporating advanced technology and a natural aptitude for innovation and optimized solutions. This can be attributed to a highly qualified and dedicated team of technical and administrative staff, backed by extensive resources of proficient manpower and modern equipment. FSA is committed to providing its clients with the highest quality of services in the construction sector. It is our policy to develop and maintain client satisfaction.

Today, FSA is considered as one of the leading general contracting and engineering companies in Saudi Arabia active in all aspects of the contracting business including value engineering, design optimization, project management and project execution.

Tel +966 12 6602365 Fax +966 12 6695503 E-Mail info@fsa.com.sa Web www.fsa.com.sa

STRUKTON

CONSTRUCTION

management, monitoring systems (POSS), rolling stock systems, signalling systems, energy solutions, training and certification, and highoutput equipment.

“We aim to improve all aspects of mobility and accessibility on a permanent basis. Our extensive experience with the construction, project management and maintenance of high-quality infrastructure systems – covering railways, ports, roads and airports combined with our in-house technical specialisations helps us achieve this,” says Business Development Director, Chris Raijmakers. “We operate on an international basis and have long-term operations in the Netherlands Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Italy and Australia.

We are now expanding this network to the Middle East, the Far East and Latin America”.

Riyadh Metro Project Strukton, as a member of the FAST Consortium of companies, was awarded a contract by Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) to construct three of the six lines of a completely automated and driverless metro system to be launched by the city of Riyadh. The total contract value amounts to $8 billion and Strukton’s share represents almost $1.2 billion, which will generate a yearly turnover in excess of $200 million for the company.

This new metro will transform Riyadh, reducing traffic congestion, strengthening and driving the Saudi economy and improving living standards for citizens. The city currently has a population

Key Personnel

Bert Hoekstra Managing Director Bert has over 35 years of experience in the international construction business.

Graduated from Delft Technical University, Netherlands with a Master Degree in Civil Engineering he started at the Dutch Construction Company Ballast Nedam as a design Engineer and developed himself via the classical route of Field Engineer, Construction Manager and Project Manager into General Management functions.

He joined HOCHTIEF in 2006 and moved to Strukton in 2014.

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RECO thanks its customers for this growth. Customers who value and appreciate the wide product range, the reliability, the expertise and the experience of RECO. With a sophisticated range of rental equipment, RECO facilitates projects from A to Z! Whether your project requires the temporary use of accommodations and equipment or the construction of a temporary station concourse, RECO is the right partner and is more than happy to assist you!

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of 5.7 million, which is expected to increase to 8.3 million by 2030. The metro helps provide a solution to daily traffic problems: of 7.4 million daily commuters, only 2 percent currently use public transport.

The FAST Consortium’s contract includes the design and construction of three lines, including 25 stations. The lines will host 62 kilometres of rail, of which 34 kilometres of track will be on viaducts, 20 kilometres will be underground, and 8.2 kilometres at ground level. In total, the six lines that make up the Riyadh Metro will span more than 176 kilometres, making it the largest metro project under development in the world at present.

Completion of the project will be no mean

Cut & Cover Tunnel

€1.8bn Revenue generated

by Strukton

w w w. s t r u k t o n . c o m

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Al Bawani A general contractor in Saudi Arabia with over 27 years experience and backlog over US$ 1 billion diversified into Healthcare, Industrial, Residential, Education, Data Centers, Defense and Commercial buildings across the Kingdom.

Our Services • Preconstruction

• Program Management

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Construction Photography

feat and will require all of Strukton`s in-house experience and expertise to ensure it is executed successfully. The team Strukton selected for this major project has been involved in numerous tunnelling and civil works undertakings and has wide-ranging knowledge in the field of rail systems. They have been involved with the project from day one, working on the design and construction of all three lines. “We are very pleased to have been selected by the city of Riyadh to support this major project and to help make public transport an attractive and safe option,” says Strukton’s CEO Bert Hoekstra, who has taken upon himself the role of project manager for this strategic contract. “Having extensive expertise in both the rail and civil

Tunnel for station

w w w. s t r u k t o n . c o m

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STRUKTON

Oosterschelde Tidal Bridge

construction world, Strukton is the ideal partner for such integrated projects”.

ADA announced in July 2013 the winners of the three turnkey contracts for the construction of the six lines of the driverless metro network.

The official start of the project was in October 2013 and design work began immediately, with earth being broken on the construction site in the first quarter of 2014. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2018. The total 85 stations will all be air-conditioned, and the trains will offer first class, family class and single class carriages. The city hopes it will transform the way people move around, reducing the sheer 42

November

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volume of traffic on the roads and the ubiquitous congestion.

Delivering transformation Riyadh today is one of the world’s fastest growing cities and our citizens deserve a world-class public transport system to enhance their quality of life, according to Ibrahim Bin Muhammad Al Sultan, President of ADA and Member of the High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh.

“The Riyadh Public Transport Project will be a major driver of employment and economic development,” he says. “It will also help to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.

This is the biggest infrastructure project to be

6700k

Number of staff employed

by Strukton

Pre-cast beams

w w w. s t r u k t o n . c o m © 2014 Gitte Spinder Construction Photography

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STRUKTON

“Our experienced team has been involved in numerous tunnel projects, civil works and has broad knowledge in the field of rail systems. We are very pleased to have been selected by the city of Riyadh to support this major project to make public transport an attractive option” - Business Development Director, Chris Raijmakers

Riyadh Metro

© 2014 Gitte Spinder Construction Photography

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November 2015

undertaken in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is a cornerstone of the bold future we envision for our city.”

Considering Strukton’s impressive resumé, inhouse expertise and ambitious growth strategy, it is an ideal partner of choice to deliver such a transformational project. “Our mission is to contribute to the quality and safety of rail transport, road infrastructure and technical systems and buildings. We do so by making use of our integrated know-how and experience

CONSTRUCTION

Company Information INDUSTRY

Construction HEADQUARTERS

Utrecht, The Netherlands FOUNDED

1921 EMPLOYEES

6,700 REVENUE

EUR 1.8 billion

in the field of technology, civil engineering and cross-border solutions for rail infrastructure, rolling stock, mobility and information systems,” says Raijmakers. “Our vision is an attractive, safe and reliable rail system. Our operational asset management approach helps to prove, demonstrate and realise the reliability of the rail system. This approach will help position the Riyadh Public Transport Project correctly for mass uptake, future growth, and city-wide transformation,” he concludes.

PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Railway & Civil Construction

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Niagara

Niagara-on-the-Lake Was

Teamwork and progress

A new wastewater treatment plant brings together pa an important upgrade for the Ni

Written by: Sasha Orman P

a Region

stewater Treatment Plant

s at Niagara-on-the-Lake

artners from various levels of government to promote iagara-on-the-Lake community

Produced by: Tom Venturo 47

NIAGARA REGION

Aeration tank

G

rowth is essential for any region to thrive. But by mid2005, growth surrounding the municipality of Niagara-on-theLake had started to slow down.

One key factor was a wastewater treatment plant that had begun to reach full capacity, thus reducing its ability to effectively and sustainably serve Niagara-on-the-Lake’s growing population.

For the community to continue to thrive, the Niagara Region saw that change was imperative.

Now that change is underway, with the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant for 48

November 2015

Niagara-on-the-Lake. This $43.2 million infrastructure project, under construction 800 meters west of the existing facility, promises to increase treatment capacity by 40 per cent, reduce problematic noise and odours, and go further to preserve the environment of Niagara and Lake Ontario. With the support of the Canadian and Ontario governments, the new facility pledges to provide a better level of service for the residents of Niagara.

New innovations for a better tomorrow

CONSTRUCTION

Chemical building

As issues of climate change and the need for clean usable water continue to push to the forefront, environmental standards have become increasingly more rigorous. In such an era, the ability to meet—or even to exceed—these heightened standards is a critically important part of the construction of any new wastewater treatment plant.

With the construction of the new Niagara-on-the-Lake wastewater treatment plant, it’s a top priority.

“On this new plant, we are facing a lot of stringent regulations,” notes Sunil Sharma, M.Eng., P.Eng., project manager for the wastewater

treatment plant project. He explains that the new plant is being built with the latest technology to follow standards set by the Ontario government’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC).

A range of technology is being deployed across the new treatment plant site to meet these standards, from an anaerobic digester and a move toward more effective extended aeration technology, to LEED Silver specifications at the adjacent administrative site. The new site will be able to effectively handle both dry weather and wet

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NIAGARA REGION weather flows, minimizing the risk of problems in harsher weather.

Additionally, the plant aims to be as energy efficient as possible.

“One area that we’ve looked at as part of the design is efficiencies, both energy perspective and chemical utilization perspective,” says Paul Smeltzer, Director, Water and Wastewater Services for the Niagara Region. “We’ve put technology in place to minimize our energy cost and to minimize our chemical cost. It will be a more

cost effective facility once it’s commissioned.”

Sometimes finding the best technology for the job requires an extensive search, and the Niagara Region found that technology in wastewater treatment equipment company Fujiwara Industry Co. Ltd. Niagara tapped the Osaka-based company for its commitment to creating innovative, eco-friendly sludge and scum removal systems.

With this new system in place, the plant looks forward to significantly

CONSTRUCTION

improving the quality of effluence discharged into Lake Ontario, thus helping to protect the surrounding environment. “We are going to exceed project standards by using the new technologies and new processes,” says Sharma.

Cooperation to stay on target Cooperation can be found at the core of the most successful projects, and team effort is built into the timeline of the Niagara-on-the-Lake wastewater treatment plant project. The plant is the product of partnership between three stacking levels of government, each contributing a third of the bill: the Niagara Region; the Province of Ontario, with funding through its Building Together plan; and the Government of Canada, provided by Canada’s Economic Action Plan. At the heart of this is a shared vision for the benefits that the new plant will bring to the region, and thereby to the citizens of Ontario and Canada.

“Our Government’s support for public infrastructure has never been stronger,” said The Honorable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for Niagara Falls, in a press release announcing the project.

“We are proud to invest in the Niagara-on-theLake Wastewater Treatment Plant, as we focus on creating jobs, promoting growth, and building strong, prosperous communities here in Ontario.”

“Investing in infrastructure projects such as the Niagara-on-the-Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant, will help to create a new, modern facility

Paul Smeltzer, Director, Water and Wastewater Services

Sunil Sharma, Manager, Design & Construction, Water and Wastewater Engineering

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NIAGARA REGION

that provides safe wastewater treatment services for residents and businesses of Niagara-onthe-Lake,” added The Honorable Jim Bradley, member of Provincial Parliament for St. Catharines. “This modernized infrastructure will also help to create jobs, support economic growth in the region and strengthen communities.”

Of course there are also communal expectations along with this communal support, and one of the largest is the expectation that 52

November 2015

the project will be delivered on time and within budget. “There was a tight deadline—funding was based on the final completion date of the project,” says Sharma. To achieve this expectation, the Niagara Region relies on teamwork with partners such as general contractor Varcon Construction Corporation, chosen for their history of quality work.

From there, those involved commit to bi-weekly meeting with Niagara Region, Varcon Construction and Cole Engineering and monthly

CONSTRUCTION

meetings of the project team to stay on target and ahead of schedule.

Increasing the capacity for growth On a tight schedule toward completion, the Niagara Region fully expects to see the new plant completed by the end of 2016 and fully operational by early 2017. Meanwhile, the existing wastewater plant will begin its Environmental Assessment for decommissioning of the lagoons later this year, making way for the onset of major performance improvements.

“The technology is an upgrade from our existing facility,” says Smeltzer. “The treatment facility that we put in will be much more compliance friendly and much easier to operate for our operators.”

The construction of a new wastewater treatment plant comes with a wide array of benefits to surrounding businesses and community. With cleaner air and water on the agenda for Niagara, this new development will provide the region with yet another benefit—the unleashed potential for Niagara-on-the-Lake’s communities and economy to flourish. Already the project has created 500 jobs in the region, and the benefits are expected to continue unfolding for decades to come.

“The real issue at Niagara-on-the-Lake was a lack of capacity, which has prevented or limited the amount of growth—that was the primary purpose of the facility,” says Smeltzer. “With the completion and commissioning, Niagara-on-theLake will be able to grow again.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Regional Municipality HEADQUARTERS

2201 St. David’s Rd. P.O. Box 1042 Thorold Ontario, Canada L2V 4T7 FOUNDED

1970 EMPLOYEES

230 (water and wastewater group) REVENUE

$43.2 million PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Government - Water and Wastewater

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North Amer

The power o

By setting the bar high, one small company is qu retail energy s Written by: Cutter Slagle

rican Power

of exceptional

uickly becoming a powerhouse in the deregulated supply industry Produced by: Andy Turner 55

C O M PA N Y N A M E

North American Office

“North American Power is a unique opportunity for anyone that has the privilege to work here.”

Coming from an executive with over 40 years of industry experience, that statement from North American Power’s CEO, Deryl Brown, is really saying something about the company that has grown from a small handful of passionate people working in a 700 square foot sublet in 2009 to a top leader in supplying 56

November 2015

electricity and natural gas within deregulated markets today.

Why is North American Power so unique? In a recent interview, Brown, CIO Jim Crysdale, and CMO Greg Breitbart discussed North American Power’s success, detailing the company’s brand value proposition, emphasis on technology, and commitment to achieving “exceptional”.

SECTOR

Making energy easier goes a long way As one of the nation’s fastestgrowing energy suppliers, North American Power tackles a variety of obstacles and challenges that face the retail energy industry— one of which is the perception that the average consumer has a short attention span when it comes to the energy they use.

Greg Breitbart, North American

Power’s CMO, argues that it’s not that consumers don’t care about their energy use, but rather they are frustrated by how hard it is to understand why their energy costs what it does, and what they can do to use less..

“There’s a common assumption made in our industry that people don’t care about energy that much and they only spend a few minutes every year thinking about it,” he w w w . n a p o w e r. c o m

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Multi-Commodity Management Industry experience and vertical market expertise make Allegro solutions relevant for any commodity-based enterprise.

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continued. “We challenge that notion.

Every time you make a decision to turn off a light as you’re walking out the door or raise or lower your thermostat, you are subconsciously thinking about your energy consumption.”

With this in mind, North American Power is introducing a monthly energy report that will provide its customers with insights into how their home is using energy—including a percentage breakdown of their usage (e.g. 25% used for air conditioning, 10% used for lighting, etc.), and personalized steps they can take

NORTH AMERICAN POWER to reduce their energy costs. This report, which is a type of service that no other supplier outside of Texas currently offers, uses information provided during the enrollment process so that it can be tailored to the customer’s home and energy habits.

“At North American Power, we want our customers to feel okay — and maybe even good — about paying their bill, because they actually understand where, when and how their home used energy,” said Breitbart.

North American Power also dedicates an immense amount of effort to simplifying its customer experience. One way that the company is accomplishing this is through a complete redesign of their website and online enrollment process, which includes a reduction in the amount of text and pages a customer needs to read and click through to enroll. They are also focusing on an optimized mobile experience, as many customers visit napower.com via smartphone.

“A big part of our online customer experience is ease-of-use, which to us means interacting with customers

ENERGY

in a way that makes it easy for them to understand their choices,” said Breitbart.

North American Power also makes their phone-based customer experience a significant priority.

Intelesure plays an integral part in this.

“We’ve had our call center partner that we’ve worked with since the very early days of our company, Intelesure, collaborate with us to dramatically improve our customer experience,” said Breitbart. “Our sales and customer care teams hold calibration calls several times a week with Intelesure’s coaches to listen to several different types of calls, evaluate what was done well, what could have been done differently, and provide direction accordingly.

We’ll continue to strive for an exceptional customer experience on every single call.”

For North American Power, technology is key Crysdale noted the importance of technology and how its presence is further fueling the success of the company. North American Power is designing, constructing and implementing an entirely new endw w w . n a p o w e r. c o m

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North America Power Usage ipad

NORTH AMERICAN POWER to-end platform. This innovation will have a single system of record for all of the company’s data, allowing for all customer types (residential, small and large commercial) to run on the same platform.

Constructed with a true servicesoriented architecture in mind, the company will now be able to utilize independent layers to segment data and customers.

“Owning our technology from beginning to end will allow us to run an extremely efficient operations team,” said Crysdale. “We will also be eliminating the age-old issue of massive data persistence and reconciliation of data sets and reports,” he added.

“Now and going forward, there is a very strong emphasis on technology.

Automation, single system of record, workflow, work queue management, et cetera, allow us to manage the business effectively on a daily basis at a much lower cost and with a higher level of accuracy. Technology allows us to shift from reactive to proactive,” Crysdale said.

He added, “We will soon have the technology and data to measure the most granular KPI. We will not only

ENERGY

be able to measure effectiveness, but we will be able to proactively manage our business intelligently by analyzing our data and looking forward. We will have the capability to conduct ‘what if’ scenarios and understand how today’s decisions may impact tomorrow’s objectives.”

North American Power is also focused on purchasing energy at the best possible rate to further allow the company to offer customers competitive pricing. When it comes to its energy supply, Allegro Development and Adapt2 are two partners who have contributed to North American Power’s success.

Allegro provides the company with the commodity management software used to manage the electricity and natural gas books of business on a daily basis, while Adapt2 helps North American Power absorb the enormous amounts of data provided by the Independent System Operators.

“We place a huge emphasis on using cutting-edge innovations and efficiencies,” Brown said. “Allegro and Adapt2 help set us apart from our competition and give us true advantage in the marketplace.” w w w . n a p o w e r. c o m

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NORTH AMERICAN POWER

It takes the best to be the best With a goal to become America’s most admired retail energy company through exceptional growth, innovation and customer experiences, there is a lot of motivation to drive employee behavior towards achieving these objectives.

“It’s important to us that each employee understands how his or her individual contribution impacts the overall business,” Crysdale said.

“We work hard to promote a company culture that recognizes, attracts and rewards team members 62

November 2015

that make exceptional contributions,” said Brown. “It all begins with forming a team of dedicated, highperformance employees.”

“In one word, we value the ‘exceptional,’” he continued. “We foster a work environment that promotes curiosity and the courage to take smart risks, because we know that it’s exceptional innovation that allows us to deliver a customer experience that is compelling and differentiated from the experiences offered by our competitors.”

ENERGY

Charging towards the future As for the future of the energy industry, North American Power’s executive management predicts more innovative products for both residential and commercial clients. Further technical advancements and bundled product offerings are also on the horizon, allowing for easier integration across multiple providers of different services.

“Organizations in our industry will become much more adept at storing, managing and interpreting their data to make better and faster decisions,” said Crysdale.

Breibart added, “Retail electricity and natural gas markets are the future, and anyone who disputes that should go invest in New York City Taxi medallions. Consumers today and especially consumers of tomorrow are not going to settle for monopolistic business models like public utilities, cable or taxi companies. They demand excellent customer experience and innovation, which are two things that monopolies have absolutely no incentive to provide.”

“For me,” he continued, “it’s not a question of whether or not our industry is the future of energy — it’s a question of how long it will take regulators in states that have not yet deregulated to accept that.

“It’s really exciting to see what’s happening in the marketplace,” said Brown. “It’s a huge challenge for us to make sure we’re ahead of the pack, but it’s a challenge we embrace, and it’s what competition is all about.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Energy HEADQUARTERS

20 Glover Avenue Norwalk, CT, USA, 06850 FOUNDED

2009 EMPLOYEES

90 REVENUE

$370 million

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ESCO Advisors Software and services: The one-two punch for the energy industry With over 50 years of combined experience, ESCO Advisors is the leader in retail energy supply managed software solutions and consulting services Written by: Stephanie C. Ocano Produced by: Jason Wright

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ESCO ADVISORS

A

s the third largest industry within the United States, the energy sector can be tough to navigate. With an ever-growing consumer demand, advancements in technology and a rise in the amount of data acquired, supply companies can be left feeling daunted by even the simplest of tasks. With over 50 years of combined experience in the energy field, ESCO Advisors has the answers to many of the questions senior executives ask themselves when running operations and risk.

Founded in 2011 by a group of industry professionals, ESCO Advisors has since become the 66

November 2015

leader in retail energy supply managed software solutions and consulting services.

The company’s philosophy is simple, yet effective: grow energy supply companies by reducing overhead and increasing efficiency, margins and profitability by leveraging expertise. “Off-the-shelf solutions like ours are far more advanced than companies who have tried to build their own,� said Jon Parrella, chairman and founder of ESCO Advisors, during a recent interview.

With a driving vision and entrepreneurial spirit, Jon Parrella

ENERGY

and his brother Michael Parrella— CEO of ESCO Advisors—are growing the energy supply industry one company at a time.

From consultations to integration Prior to founding ESCO Advisors, Jon Parrella founded and operated a retail supply company. At the time, the market had much less competition, and as a smaller company Jon Parrella was able to compete with the larger companies.

As the field began to fill with competitors, the company was sold and Jon Parrella began to do

consulting work at the request of industry executives.

“I started working with one of the larger suppliers at the time alongside my previous VP of Sales (now VP of Sales at ESCO Advisors), just working on IT and sales consulting,” said Jon Parrella. “We then looked at each other and said, ‘Why consult with just one company when we can consult with many?’”

And, so, ESCO Advisors was born, with the company broadening its consulting services to sales and marketing departments, brokerage network development, IT architecture and risk management. w w w. e s c o w a re . c o m

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R

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ith ADAPTURE Cloud offering, we were able to leverage better overall

service, reduce our monthly costs, and generate ROI from day one. The best part was that there were no upfront costs, which is important to an emerging business like ours. We now can concentrate on delivering exceptional service and focus on company growth while eliminating complex IT issues.

- Jon Parrella, CEO ESCO Advisors

Strategic Partners Lifeline Datacenters Amazon Web Services (AWS) Microsoft F5 Networks Dell

www.ADAPTURE.com

ENERGY

“We started to take on more and more suppliers and we had to bring in additional expertise,” continued Jon Parrella.

Two years later, the company launched its first product and discovered a niche within the marketplace that wasn’t fulfilled by others. In 2014, at the request of Jon Parrella, Michael Parrella joined ESCO Advisors to optimize the company’s operations and run the company from its headquarters in Danbury, Connecticut.

“We were able to complement each others’ skills,” shared Michael Parrella.

By responding to the challenges

SUPPLIER PROFILE

that every energy supply company was facing, clients began to roll in for ESCO Advisors.

“Having been in the client’s shoes with my previous company, I was given the ability to see where there were voids in the marketplace and where there was opportunity,” said Jon Parrella.

The company now has two main products, one for customer and broker relationship management, and a demand forecasting system for managing risk. In conjunction with a billing system, these two systems provide the ability to automate the operations and risk of

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Website: www.ADAPTURE.com

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a retail supplier, optimize staffing, and ensure access and visibility to data is simple and efficient.

The second ingredient for ESCO Advisors’ recipe for success is offering not only state-of-the-art software, but services as well. The majority of the A competitive advantage energy industry still relies on Microsoft Jon Parrella’s previous success Excel spreadsheets to collect and with his retail supply company is interpret data, but as Michael Parrella definitely a factor for the insight puts it, “that’s a thing of the past.”

ESCO Advisors has for its clients.

“Once you get to a certain size of ESCO Advisors is able to build spreadsheet, it’s not going to work,” solutions based off of knowing what explained Michael Parrella. “The works best rather than having to amount of data you have to work with endure a learning curve. is too massive and inefficient to make “A lot of the time, we build a product business decisions. We provide an in anticipation for what the client efficient and scalable service.” requests,” said Jon Parrella. Knowing After working with more than 40 what a client needs is a specialty of clients, ESCO Advisors has seen ESCO Advisors and one the company what does and doesn’t work and has prides itself on. best practices that others simply 70

November 2015

ESCO ADVISORS don’t. By remaining focused on the systems and services they provide, along with the highest degree of professionalism, ESCO Advisors has the competitive edge that keeps clients returning for more.

Implementing continuous improvement strategies “If anything is true, that is,” answered Michael Parrella when asked if continuous improvement strategies were in place at ESCO Advisors. “We are constantly putting pressure on ourselves to improve in every way—from our products to our interactions with clients.”

ESCO Advisors is a strong believer in there always being room for improvement, and the company doesn’t follow a “rinse and repeat” model, but rather a “rinse, review and improve” one. In addition, ESCO Advisors has implemented performance measurements into its software to improve the quality of forecasts and the data transmitted to clients.

“We measure for accuracy every day for our clients, and if something goes wrong, we look into it, fix it and build a solution into our systems,”

ENERGY

said Jon Parrella.

Customer feedback is integral to the success of ESCO Advisors and the input received from clients is integrated into product updates and system procedures.

“You really get the best of breed in our software that not a lot of people have access to,” added Jon Parrella.

Technology Advantage ESCO Advisors has taken a different approach than most Software as a Service (SaaS) companies when it comes to hosting the application that has helped them grow quickly. ESCO Advisors works with Adapture to run a managed hosted solution that costs a quarter of the price of hosting in the cloud, while still allowing for the ability to architect a solution specifically designed for disk I/O. “With the amount of data we need to process every day, it was critical to architect a solution that was scalable and fast,” said Michael Parrella. “We have been able to grow quickly without having to have the IT overhead to manage our servers, and make sure we always have the latest and fastest equipment available.”

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Marketing through education It should come as no surprise that ESCO Advisors offers distinguished software.

But while those who are used to traditional models might fear overcoming technological hurdles, ESCO Advisors takes an aggressive approach to client care.

To aid suppliers avoid the pitfalls of the energy industry, the company assigns dedicated analysts and support representatives to each client.

“If a product is too difficult to use and your customer is not trained on it properly, they’re not going to use it,” said Jon Parrella. “If you thoroughly engage them with the product and show them the benefits and efficiencies of using it, you provide a much better 72

November 2015

ENERGY

working relationship and receive higher customer satisfaction.”

Product education is something that ESCO Advisors takes seriously. As a member of CCRO (The Committee of Chief Risk Officers), Jon Parrella and the organization are assembling a white paper on the best practices of risk management for the retail energy industry that is expected to be released within the next six months.

Following the release, the CCRO plans to offer continuous education based off of the white paper in a school environment where ESCO Advisors will be a main educator.

“It’s something that we take a lot of pride in after working hard to build the credibility to be able to do that,” shared Jon Parrella.

Looking ahead After extensive growth in such a short period of time, one can only begin to imagine what lies ahead for ESCO Advisors. What we can expect to see during the next 12-18 months is continuous expansion.

With plans to open an office in Houston, Texas and venturing into the natural gas sector and other vertical commodity opportunities where risk is inherent and predictive, ESCO Advisors is prepared for whatever comes its way.

“We are at a huge advantage thanks to the services and expertise we offer,” concluded Jon Parrella. “Most suppliers either haven’t realized it yet or are just beginning to, and we’ll only continue to grow.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Energy HEADQUARTERS

100 Mill Plain Rd 1st Floor, Danbury Connecticut United States 06811 FOUNDED

2011 EMPLOYEES

20 REVENUE

$5M

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SDI Managing risk to incre

reliability for fo

Through a more connected MRO supply chain, S

Written by: Sasha Orman P

Inc. ease productivity and

orty-four years

SDI Inc. is helping organizations grow and thrive

Produced by: Jason Wright 75

SDI INC.

SDI’s President & CEO, Andy Cvitanov, was the Master of Ceremonies at the inaugural Innovation Symposium this spring. The Innovation Symposium was a 2-day educational forum for the advancement of MRO

D

isruptive innovation, compressed product life cycles and changing consumer expectations are driving companies to become more efficient. With this comes an increased focus on enterprise asset management and reliability.

This has caused a shift in industry from a segmented, functional department perspective towards a fully integrated end-to-end model.

SDI is the first to develop a true end-to-end supply chain management platform that takes 76

November 2015

into consideration how MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) impacts the rest of the supply chain and the enterprise overall.

The evolution Traditional integrated supply simplifies purchasing and inventory practices by consolidating a company’s supply base through a single source, allowing the company to focus on core business activities and produce more efficient results.

While traditional integrated supply eliminates several steps in the

S U P P LY C H A I N

segmented supply model, there are still missing links in the supply chain — links that enable manufacturers to identify and correct redundancies.

Much like the supply chain for direct materials, the MRO supply chain includes the design, planning, execution and control (or maintain) components, as well as monitoring the supply chain activities. The MRO supply chain most often interacts with the direct supply chain between the planning and execution stages, with the objectives of mitigating risk, reducing costs and creating

measurable value. This strategic, collaborative approach in the supply-chain-as-a-service model delivers harmony between MRO supply and demand, supporting reliable production.

A holistic approach “We provide end-to-end supply chain management as a service, focused on MRO for large multisite clients that are capital intensive,� says Jim Owens, Senior Vice President of Business Development for SDI. But one key differentiator w w w. s d i . c o m

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SDI INC.

S U P P LY C H A I N

for SDI is that it does not just focus on certain elements of the supply chain.

“It’s a platform of people, technology, and processes that we provide to our clients as a service to manage the MRO supply chain holistically,” Owens continues. “It helps them achieve greater visibility and overall equipment effectiveness in a more sustainable way, whereas solutions that are designed just for one particular element in the MRO supply chain might only offer short-term savings and no long-term value.”

MRO in the hands of professionals According to a 2008 study by Frank Lynn and Associates, U.S. manufacturers spend approximately $125 billion a year on MRO purchases. The high demand mix of parts

SUPPLIER PROFILE

Jim Owens, SVP Business Development

IMPERIAL BAG & PAPER CO., LLC

Employees: Over 500 Established: 1935 Industry: Food Service Disposables, Paper Products & Janitorial Supplies Distributor Services: Food Service, Restaurants, Supermarkets, Education, Building Services, Healthcare, Sports Facilities, and more.

Management: • Robert Tillis, CEO • Jason Tillis, President • Paul M. Cervino, CFO Website: www.imperialbag.com w w w. s d i . c o m

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C O M PA N Y N A M E

The SDI Solution Center helps visitors understand all the different components of an MRO platform, how they’re tied together and how they impact one another—and the enterprise as a whole

required for increasingly complex production lines leads to a high incidence of obsolete inventory.

This, combined with a highly transactional market for low value, high volume spending makes for a fragmented, increasingly globally distributed supply base.

“For many large multi-site clients, often times MRO is a neglected, 80

November 2015

underfunded and under-resourced area of the business,” Owens says, adding that in situations like this the MRO process can become fragmented and decentralized— and processes like this are often not operating at their best or most efficient.

“We strip all that out and focus on delivering value from an end-to-end

SECTOR

perspective,” he explains. “The value comes from eliminating waste and defects in supply chains, reducing costs substantially, and enabling reliable production by making sure the right parts are there when they’re needed and in the right condition,” Owens says.

Working with the client’s best interests at heart How does SDI set itself apart from the competition? One of the most important factors is its 40-plus years in business, which have given the company expertise in a number of key industries. Another is its deep commitment to working alongside clients as true partners. w w w. s d i . c o m

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SDI INC.

undertake a root cause analysis and tackle the issue from multiple angles, whether it’s finding an alternative or re-engineering an existing part.

SDI serves its clients through a pure play relationship: This means they are supplier neutral and are not a distributor, but rather an extension of their clients’ businesses. They sit side-by-side with clients to understand their business process to better assess and meet their MRO needs, without bias or any internal conflict. SDI’s goal is to lower the total cost of ownership of their production assets, improve overall equipment effectiveness and lower parts consumption.

“We have a dedicated staff of This differs greatly from other reliability engineers that work integrated MRO providers whose directly with our clients in a primary business and revenue collaborative fashion, helping clients models are focused on making enable sustainable production by money by selling specific lines of eliminating unexpected equipment products to clients, regardless of downtime and improving MRO need or expanding inventory levels. process reliability — all while “Our business model today is a reducing the total cost of MRO,” supply-chain-as-a-service platform says Owens.

— we’re not selling parts, we’re If a part is failing and needs not selling supplies, and we don’t maintenance, SDI is able to make money off transactions,” 82

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S U P P LY C H A I N

says Owens. “We like to think we sit on same side of the table as our client, driving continuous improvement and creating value year after year and decade after decade.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Supply Chain

What’s next Looking toward the future, SDI sees plenty of potential in its capacity to create value for an everexpanding clientele.

The industrial internet of things, 3D printing, cloud computing, machine learning and predictive analytics are driving changes in manufacturing processes and technologies that are leading to an even more complex and dynamic MRO supply chain.

“Manufacturing is going through an evolution, and our clients and prospects are looking for more than just service: they want us to be able to impact their business outcomes directly,” says Owens, noting that its operations must become more predictive to anticipate where problems could arise within their clients’ supply chain systems. Added efficiency measures like remote monitoring, 3D scanning and 3D printing on site are already going a long way toward improving productivity while cutting down on costs, saving time and money for SDI and its partners.

As the market continues to evolve and grow, SDI is committed to observing trends in manufacturing in order to anticipate and meet the future needs of its clients.

HEADQUARTERS

1414 Radcliffe Street, Suite 300, Bristol PA, USA, 19007 FOUNDED

1971 EMPLOYEES

Not disclosed REVENUE

Not disclosed PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Supply chain management

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Leadin en

Canarail

ng the Canadian railway ngineering industry with integrity and versatility Learn how this Canadian company provides reliable and efficient solutions to fit all of its clients’ needs Written by: Cutter Slagle Produced by: Andy Turner 85

C O M PA N Y N A M E

A

s a leading Canadian railway engineering consulting firm since 1990, CANARAIL’s main focus has always been quality and providing reliable and efficient solutions tailored to the client’s objective. Because of this, the company has achieved recognition in international markets.

With experience in a range 86

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of areas that include track and infrastructure, rolling stock, railway operations, signaling and telecommunications, manage consulting and much more, CANARAIL has had the opportunity to work on a variety of transportation projects in North America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and Latin America.

SECTOR

Due to the company’s great reputation, word-of-mouth recruitment, design technology skills and strategic management, CANARAIL continues to maintain excellence.

A team effort CANARAIL prides itself in providing innovative and customized

solutions, which the company is able to do because of its diversified team.

Miguel Valero has been the President of CANARAIL since 2011, overseeing a variety of consultants that include alignment and track engineers, rolling stock engineers and technicians, workshop designers and more.

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CANARAIL

Joseph Sarkis, photo cred LINKEDIN

The entire CANARAIL team is known for listening to its clients, allowing them to analyze problems and find appropriate solutions, which then lead to the development of projects and measurable results.

Acting as CANARAIL’s senior vice president, one of Joseph Sarkis’ responsibilities is leading the engineering teams, which assist in providing technical support to the network of field offices throughout the world.

It is through the efforts of the entire company that CANARAIL has earned and maintained a great reputation, as well as accomplishing many achievements. This include the ongoing feasibility

www.door-spec.com

1225 Industrielle, La Prairie, (Quebec) J5R2E4 T 450-444-6994 F 450 444 9347 290 Margaret Srteet Plattsburgh, NY, 12901 T 518-324-7177 F 518 324-4490 I N T E g R AT E D D O O R S Y S T E M S

DSTEAM@DOOR-SPEC.COM

On the Rails Of

innOvatiOn

S U P P LY C H A I N

study for a 330 multi-user mining railways in Northern Quebec, the ongoing refurbishment of the Rocky Mountaineer fleet’s GoldLeaf cars in Western Canada, and the feasibility study for the improvement of the accessibility of rail services in Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, which was completed in 2014.

Further ongoing projects for CANARAIL include the engineering, supervision, and a feasibility study of construction for a new 2,400 kilometers rail link in Saudi Arabia, the feasibility study for a new 600 kilometers rail link in northern Afghanistan, and the feasibility study of seven different railway projects to improve the Trans-Asia connectivity in Bangladesh.

Skills and services The CANARAIL team has a wide collection of skills and services that has led to a list of impressive projects.

The company’s consulting, engineering and project management services have resulted in more than 800 projects completed throughout the world with major clients that include mining companies, rail operators, world financial institutions and public and parapublic sectors.

Specifically, CANARAIL’s special expertise in heavy haul railway operations and the company’s overall support in the mining sector to plan and transport products allows it to stand out among others in the industry.

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CANARAIL

With over 800 projects carried out all over the world, Canarail has made a name for itself in the industry.

Photo Cred: Shutterstock_Mrak.hr

CANARAIL also utilizes a range of tools to aid to their skills and services. These innovative tools include various commercialized software packages such as AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Matchhcad 14.0, Planimate, Raster Design and SAP and customized Excel Visual Basic Applications. CANARAIL has even developed numerous spreadsheet90

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based models to facilitate the analysis and design of the most efficient rail-based transport systems for its clients.

Current events Recently, CANARAIL has closed on an agreement with Reli Assest Holding Company (RAHCO), the rail infrastructure manager in Tanzania

S U P P LY C H A I N

for the Inspection and Capacity Rating of Railway Bridges.

The objectives of this project are to update the existing bridge and culvert register for Tanzania’s Central and Mwanza lines, as well as identify the structural rehabilitation work that is needed to allow operations of inter-modal container trains with 15 tonne axle loads.

In gaining control of the project, CANARAIL will be able to both strengthen its position as a leader in railway disciplines and as an important industry player in Eastern Africa.

This new project will be the first for CANARAIL since the company completed its preliminary engineering study, which explored the construction of a new railway line between Isaka, Kigali and Musongati (Burundi), and the upgrading of the existing infrastructure between Dar Es Salaam and Isaka.

Company Information INDUSTRY

Supply Chain HEADQUARTERS

1140 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, Suite 1050 FOUNDED

1990 EMPLOYEES

500 REVENUE

100 million

Moving towards the future As a member of the Systra group of companies led by Systra France, a leading European company specialized in railway, urban, high speed and light rail transit systems, CANARAIL will continue to pursue international growth.

Moving towards the future, the company will maintain its objective to be the absolute best, accomplishing this task with its unique approach in bringing together the most talented people and focusing relentlessly on its railway engineering core business. w w w. c a n a r a i l . c o m

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