View From the Top

Francisco Torres

CEO | Veolus

Efficient O&M Saves Costs and the Environment

Q: What is the history of Veolus in Mexico and what sets it apart from its competition?

A: Veolus is a 100 percent Mexican company. We mainly focus on operation and maintenance (O&M) of technical infrastructure, such as combined heat and power (CHP) engines, air conditioning, escalators, generators, power plants, lighting, substations, fire protection networks and, of course, energy efficiency. We provide all of these services across the country and have more than 20,000 pieces of equipment under maintenance, as well as over 2.5 million square meters in operation. In 2001, Veolus started business in Mexico as an affiliate of Dalkia, which today is part of power producing giant EDF. The company was the result of a coinvestment with EDF and Veolia, a leading sustainable utility. In 2014, the two companies decided to exit several countries, including Mexico. From that point onward, Veolus became a fully Mexican company, providing its world-class quality services to the local market.

What sets the company apart from the competition is the close relationship it has with its clients. We believe in focusing on operational excellence, as well as a sense of urgency to respond in a timely manner to our customers’ needs. Equipment can fail or be damaged if it is not correctly used. That is why it is important for us to provide O&M services by applying technical infrastructure because it is considered the basis of energy efficiency. Equipment that is not wellmaintained consumes more energy, making energy saving measures futile without proper O&M.

Veolus has over 750 employees who share the same principles: sense of urgency, high quality of service, transparency, honesty and innovation. I believe these principles have been key to our successful collaboration with customers for the past 15 years. Veolus participates in all industrial sectors and economic activities in the country. We are present in the retail, health, logistics, education, telecommunications, manufacturing, tourism and public sectors.

Veolus offers services through a variety of schemes. For smaller companies, it could be less feasible to have our staff on site, which we often provide. Instead, we program groups of engineers who travel and provide regular maintenance. We always offer tailored solutions to our clients because every facility is different. Since Veolus does not manufacture its own equipment and has no exclusivity, it is able to work with all brands when it comes to equipment.

Q: What are the main services Veolus can offer Mexico?

A: Veolus focuses on three main business lines, starting with energy efficiency. We help our customers save money via electric or thermal energy. We provide solutions beginning from the earliest stages, which include engineering, procurement of equipment, installation, commissioning and O&M in order to guarantee savings. These measures can be implemented either through customer investment or through an investment scheme that we arrange, since we are one of the two Mexican Energy Services Companies (ESCOs) selected by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to participate in their program.

Read the complete article

More about this person The company also generates energy. For example, we have been providing O&M for the aerospace sector. We installed CHP to provide energy and we were in charge of O&M for seven and a half years. When the contract came due, we offered our customer the right to acquire back the CHP installation so that we could sell the energy to them at a cheaper price than Mexico’s main energy supplier.

Veolus just signed contracts involving four CHP engines in the pharmaceutical industry. We will arrange the engineering, procurement, installation, commissioning and finally O&M. Veolus also installs photovoltaic panels. Our goal is to decrease a client’s CO2 emissions. We, therefore, aim to generate heat and energy with options that are both cheaper and cleaner. In the energy generation segment, we are able to provide financing through our partners as well.

Our customers do not need to invest in what is not a core business. We sell and install equipment and look forward to operating and maintaining it afterward. We also look to see where we can further improve energy efficiency after the equipment is installed.

Another business segment Veolus specializes in is O&M for infrastructure. Providing suitable maintenance is a priority for us. For instance, if you do not treat the water running through the air conditioning system, minerals in the systems will crystalize. Without proper maintenance, the equipment will struggle to produce the results needed and will consume more energy.

Q: What advantages will your solution for the pharmaceutical market bring to clients and what will be its impact in terms of savings?

A: The solution is for Grupo Neolpharma, a 100% Mexican company that has pharmaceutical laboratories that produce high quality medicines. They continued its process of implementing environmental sustainability policies by partnering with Veolus.

With this project, 8,000 CELs will be generated in four of Neolpharma’s plants. It will save CO2 emissions equivalent to the burning of 72,471 tons of coal, or the electricity consumed by 24,549 households for a year. This is equal to planting 2.4 million trees and their CO2 absorption for a 10-year period as well.

To achieve these savings, Neolpharma will invest more than US$9 million in equipment, which Veolus will acquire, install and commission. This will create 250 new jobs, where 68 percent will be national. After construction, during the O&M stage, 70 jobs will be created of which almost all are local.

We are thankful to Grupo Neolpharma for having trusted us with such an important project. We look forward to create positive environmental and social impact in the communities in which we participate. We do this through energy efficiency and cleaner energy production projects, in order to actively contribute in decreasing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere and combat global warming. This leaves future generations a better and cleaner environment.