September - October 2009
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A Renaissance Services SAOG Group Newsletter
vol.0 issue 6
Renaissance Board visits Fujairah
Two Topaz facilities had prominent visitors recently. The Renaissance Board members were in Fujairah and visited the Port of Fujairah, attending the inauguration of the new Al Hayl facility. Mr. Samir J. Fancy, Chairman of the Board and Chief Guest of the event, cut the ribbon during the inauguration ceremony. The board members were treated to presentations and site visits hosted by Bhagchand Motwani, DGM of Topaz Fabrication and Construction, John McFadyen, GM of Topaz Marine Repair and Tom Bower, GM of Topaz Ship Building. As a special treat, the Board and the Topaz senior management team were taken for a boat ride on the brand new Topaz Fujairah, the newest addition to the Topaz Marine MENA fleet and the pride of Topaz Ship Building. Ron Clark, GM of Topaz Marine MENA and his team hosted the boat ride and a lunch on board.
internal newsletter
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In brief
Mr. Samir Fancy inaugurates the new Topaz Engineering facility October - Topaz takes home two Seatrade awards October - CSG kicks off large-scale training and employement drive October - Renaissance sponsors the Muscat Rugby Football league
November - Q3 financial results announced and published November - UPP publishes its Oman country book in recognition of the 39th National Day of the Sultanate
October - Happy Diwali!
please visit www.renaissance-oman.com
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Inside
Topaz sponsors the Flying Angel... CSG trains 245 new recruits... HSE and Safety matters... Make a green contribution... all inside!
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Renaissance Values
Customers
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From the Chairman’s statement Renaissance has consistently followed a policy of matching loan maturities to asset profile; using only long term sources of funds to acquire capital assets. This prudent strategy has been a significant source of comfort even in the most turbulent times. Renaissance and its subsidiaries continue to be a preferred customer for banks who prefer to lend to asset backed industries with sustainable cash flows such as ours. The strength of our business model, our track record of performance, our transparency and our balance sheet are among the reasons why financial institutions continue to choose to support us on new projects at a time when they are rigorously selective in making choices for new lending.” Samir J. Fancy, Chairman of Renaissance Services
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We commit to serve our customers so well that we will merit a volume of business from them relatively as great or greater than that enjoyed by our competitors. To give our customers what they want, not what we think they want or would prefer them to want. To deliver projects, products and services on time, in cost and in compliance with customer specification. To foster non-confrontational contract relations with customers. We commit to exceed customer expectations, safely, efficiently and profitably.
CEO message - Nothing fails like success
Dear Colleagues, I had a great conversation with our Chairman, Samir Fancy, recently in which he was questioning me on the company’s ability to change and adapt to the significant challenges arising from the global financial and economic crisis. While the challenges are serious, the conversation was optimistic. Why? - Because we believe in the people and leadership skills at every level of the organization that have demonstrated resilience to challenge throughout the company’s history. But a history of success is no cause for complacency and I felt it would be worth sharing the stimulus of Samir’s question with colleagues throughout the group - hence this note. I was reminded of a famous quote from the renowned historian Arnold Toynbee, who said “Nothing fails like success”. Then two coincidences occurred that are worth repeating: First I read a paper from Standard Chartered on ‘Growing Stronger from the Crisis’. The messages were the same: The world economy is undergoing profound changes. No market will be exempt from the
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affect of those changes, including the robust markets in which we operate. Companies with financial clout, market-leading business relationships, and flexibility to adapt will grow stronger and win. Then I read a blog from renowned management guru Dr. Stephen R. Covey, who was himself quoting Arnold Toynbee’s words, whose, along with
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Social Responsibility In CSR activity this month, two very large-scale projects from the Marine and Contract Services businesses are on the way to realizing a better standard of living for thousands of people. Find out more about the Flying Angel project and the Safety Signage initiative inside.
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Contract Services to
Topaz appoints new COO
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Topaz Energy and Marine recently announced the appointment of Bill Bayliss as the Chief Operating Officer of Topaz Engineering, the company’s engineering division. He replaces the outgoing COO Jim Masterton who remains with the company in an advisory capacity through to retirement. Jim had been with Adyard for the past 5 years and has seen the company through its monumental growth. A 20 year veteran of the oil & gas industry, Bill has had a successful career with industry names such as KBR and Petrofac. He has joined Topaz to head the Engineering division that encompasses Fabrication and Construction, Marine Repair, Ship
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The Contract Service Group is launching an employment campaign to train 245 Omani nationals in CSG-related employment opportunities at various locations all across Oman, including major cities and at oilfield facilities.
Bill Bayliss, newly appointed COO for Topaz Engineering
Building and Maintenance Services. At the helm of Topaz Engineering, Bayliss will lead a team of more than 5,000 skilled staff located all over the Middle East and the Caspian Region. Fazel Fazelbhoy, CEO of Topaz announced, “We’re very excited to have Bill on board. He has a demonstrated capability of successfully managing large divisions and possesses exactly the kind of drive and ambition required to deliver our engineering business to the next level of growth.” Training has commenced at the National Hospitality Institute (NHI) where the applicants undergo Safety and Hazard Protection courses, as well as basic job skills tailored according to the different job responsibilities. CSG currently employs over 1160 Omani nationals and has won the prestigious Omani award for Omanisation Programme for six years. Attractive employment packages and benefits await the successful candidates who qualify for the openings. To know more please contact NHI: (+968) 99319250 or jobs@nhioman.com. Providing employment opportunities to local workforces, applying a policy of nondiscrimination, and having the best team in each field of business are just some of the guidelines among the Renaissance Values and within our company philosophy.
Topaz sponsors the Mission to Seafarers’ Flying Angel project
The Flying Angel provides communication and support forthousands of seafarers
Fujairah Port is the third largest offshore anchorage in the world and hundreds of vessels are parked there awaiting their next destination. Each year, thousands and thousands of seafarers can become stuck on their ships in Fujairah waiting for either fuel or cargo, with nothing to do and often with no real possibility of contacting anyone outside the ship. In 2006, the Flying Angel project was started to improve the quality of life of seafarers in Fujairah Port. One million dollars was raised to construct a purpose-built seafarer support vessel, the Flying Angel, which visits the ships and allows 75 seafarers per day to come on board the vessel and enjoy its
satellite telephones, internet connection, entertainment facilities and library. The Mission to Seafarers works to improve the quality of all seafarers’ lives, irrespective of color, race, faith or belief. With their sponsorship, Topaz will use its considerable vessel management infrastructure to manage the Flying Angel and absorb the operating and running costs for the entire vessel, which last year was close to US$ 400,000. In doing so, many thousands of mariners will continue to enjoy the opportunity to contact loved ones and the company can give something back to the sea and the seafarers that have given us so much. CSG operations at the SQU Hospital Patients Trayline
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Topaz bags double honors at regional Seatrade Awards
Congratulations to Topaz Energy and Marine for winning two Seatrade Middle East and Indian Subcontinent Awards this year. During the grand award ceremony held in Dubai and in attendance of over 600 maritime executives, Fazel A. Fazelbhoy, CEO of Topaz Energy and Marine was awarded for the ‘Personality of the Year’, while Topaz’s Marine MENA fleet received the ‘Workboats’ award. The ‘Personality of the Year ’ award presented to Fazelbhoy was one of three special honors on the night, while the ‘Workboats’ award was given on account of the MENA fleet’s cuttingedge specifications, young and diverse fleet size, blue-chip client base and laudable safety track. The company’s engineering division was also represented by its Topaz Marine Repair unit as a finalist in the ‘Ship Repair/ Shipyard’ category. Fazel A. Fazelbhoy, CEO Topaz (left)
Ron Clark, GM of Topaz Marine MENA (right)
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Contract Services Group invests in Safety signage
Road accidents are the leading causes of fatalities in Oman’s interior, and road accidents in Oman have become a matter of serious concern to the community at large. To support safe first practices, the Contract Services Group has developed a series of Life Saving signs of international highway quality to reinforce Road Safety at the five PACs which it owns and operates for PDO in Oman’s oil-
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fields. The Life-Saving Rules emerged from a long and intricate international study that measured LTI across hundreds of companies, and it was found that by following these Life-Saving Rules then near zero accidents and injuries would be the result. The Safety signs have been designed in Arabic and English to reach the workers, residents and visitors of the PAC
HSE Statistics
locations specifically, and the local community as well. The signs have recently been implemented at Fahud, Nimr and Qarn Alam, and will soon go up in the PACs under construction at Marmul and Bahja.
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PAC Qarn Alam celebrates Eid with residents and staff
PAC Qarn Alam was filled with festivities and decorations to mark the Eid occasion last month. Residents and staff were invited to a morning buffet in a lively decorated dining hall, and celebrations continued into the evening with games and competitions, as well as an evening buffet and cake dessert for all attending.
With staff strength of over 5,500 employees, the Contract Services Group has reached over four million man-hours with Zero LTI for the months of August and September. Congratulations on being a step closer to Goal Zero: No harm to people or the environment.
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UMS hosts Iftar gathering
United Media Services organized an Iftar gathering at Al Maasa Hall. Sandeep Seghal, CEO of UMS (center), is seen in discussion with other members of the UMS Team.
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Feedback Please send your feedback to Hala Srouji, Corporate Communication Manager, via email: hala@tawoos.com or phone: 24796636 (ext.303) Thank You!
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Topaz Sponsors and Exhibits at MEWE
Topaz was an exhibitor as well as one of the sponsors for the Middle East Workboats Exhibition, which ran from 5 – 7 October at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, and included over 170 exhibitors. As it was a workboat show, the Topaz delegates at the stand primarily represented the Topaz Marine division, and Topaz Ship Building and Topaz Marine Repair units. Topaz had a great space selected which ensured good visibility and plenty of traffic around the stand. The organizers noted a 70% increase in the number of exhibitors which was seen as a powerful sign of the continuing growth in the offshore marine support sector in the region.
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Awareness Being green is more than a matter of sound business practice and an important moral issue; it is a cause for survival. It’s easy to think that we’re too small to make a global difference or that all the decisions are in the hands of our leaders. Turning off a standby light once won’t make a difference, but do it for the rest of your life and it will amount to something. And if everybody’s doing something, then we’re moving in the right direction. We can act at many levels and support the different existing organizations in your communities or start your own. One thing that all the leaders who provide inspiration and action have in common is the idea that in crisis lays opportunity. Here’s a small exercise to start with: Make a list of the little wasteful things that you do every day and stop doing them, and educate those around you to do the same.
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Nothing fails like success
Think about the electrical equipment we leave on every day, even when not in use. Have you left your computer on overnight? Or the lights on in your office when you were out for a meeting? How many times you left the water tap running while you turned to do something else? Have you left the air conditioning or heater on when you could have done without it? Do you throw leftover food away? Are you using the other side of printed paper that you do not need to print a draft document? Have you considered walking to places rather than driving? Renaissance encourages you to start making a change today. If you have an idea that you would like to share with us, please mail to hala@tawoos.com. It is through the great people within this company that our organization can respond to the significant issues of our times. We must all do our utmost to protect our planet and the life on it. Make protecting the environment a core personal and business value.
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Samir’s, were already busy agitating in my brain. This is what he wrote. 'Are you struggling to make changes or respond to changing conditions? I know many people right now are being forced to change the way they work or live because of our turbulent environment. What we might all consider in these times is what the great historian Arnold Toynbee once said: Nothing fails like success. What does that mean exactly? Well, if you consider the challenges you're facing, you might just be using an old approach that isn't equal to the challenge. In other words, when we have a challenge and the response is equal to the challenge, that's called success. But once we have a new challenge, the old, once successful response no longer works. That's why it's called a failure. We have to examine our paradigms (our view of things), our tools, our skills to determine if we're approaching the problem in the right way. As a first step, we may even step back and make sure we've correctly defined the problem. Then we need to see if, based on the evidence of results or lack of results, if we need a new approach. As you ponder your challenges, consider if you need a new mindset, a new skillset or toolset. You may need to adjust your view, try a different perspective or a new way to think about it. Then you may need to acquire some new skills or tools to tackle the problem. Whatever the case, you may need to find a new model to drive success. This can be an exciting proposition because you will most likely find new growth and development in the process - this is success! Remember: nothing fails like success. Be vigilant and be ready to continually learn and adapt to new challenges, which will surely come your way'. Three areas of thought emerged in my mind from all this: First, I am pleased how well most of our businesses have responded to the crisis – our collective results show considerable success and resilience. Well done! Second, as we enter the new business plan cycle, how aware are we of the profound changes in the market? – to succeed we have to
anticipate and satisfy changing customer needs efficiently and profitably; we may well have to manage the business somewhat differently. Third, the 2009 performance to date demonstrates the importance of individual and corporate leadership throughout the group in such unpredictable times. We know strong and sustainable businesses are characterized by committed and effective leadership at all levels of the organization. So, going forward, are we keeping our leadership knowledge and skills fresh and relevant in a rapidly changing world? Experience has taught me that answers and insights into all this will be abundant amongst the very bright and focused leaders running the businesses, divisions and departments throughout our group. I just want to be sure we capture those inputs to create a consistency of purpose and approach in our response to the challenges of 2010 and beyond. As such, as the bottom-up business planning process cascades upwards to the final plan, may I ask each of you to consider the following to include in the summary of your plans: First, an even deeper and more thoughtful analysis than usual on the changing business environment in your area of responsibility; giving serious consideration to how we may need to adapt or completely change our business model to sustain our growth and leadership ambitions. Second , what investment do we need to make in our leadership capital in 2010? - being sure to allow budget for the learning, training and motivational needs of leaders at every level of our group. Best wishes to you all for the business planning process. Thank you for all your efforts through to the end of Q3. Strength and stamina to us all for a significant push to get an excellent Q4 result to out-perform the crisis and give us momentum going into 2010. Sincerely, Stephen R. Thomas CEO Renaissance Services SAOG