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Any enquiries about this report should be directed to: Stuart Broadley, CEO of the EIC stuart.broadley@the-eic.com EIC (Energy Industries Council) 89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP
134 energy supply chain companies participated in this year’s EIC Survive & Thrive 2024 Insight Report, our 8th edition, 40% up on last year, and 100% up on two years ago. Truly representing the global nature of our membership, we showcase inspiring success stories from an amazingly diverse range of companies ranging from the largest engineering companies, manufacturers and EPCs, to the smallest SMEs, one operator for the first time, and everything in between, and from more regions of the world than ever before.
Boom times accelerating:
• 2024 sees boom times continuing, and indeed accelerating, and companies are becoming saturated with work which seems hard to fathom given how tough the market has been for the supply chain over the previous 10 years. So far, companies are still trying not to turn away work, but they are faced with a plethora of opportunities to choose from. With boom in almost every market, every sector, every region and every growth strategy, the challenge for business leaders is picking the best opportunity, no longer just the only opportunity. Picking low hanging fruit therefore would be tempting, but is this approach fruitful, profitable? And, as 2024 progresses, are the positive market conditions softening with global elections and decreasing geopolitical stability?
Last year: the 2023 edition of Survive and Thrive research confirmed a strengthening of energy markets globally and the arrival of boom times, as well as hardening leadership as companies saw the need to make money now and leave niceties for another time. We also saw growing apathy for net zero and the gap growing between policy ambition and industry reality. So, what has changed this year?
Supply chain not to blame:
• The media, policy makers and the events industry in general, all seem to blame continued and worsening net zero delays on supply chain constraints. But this year’s research clarifies that the supply chain is not yet at capacity, although is very busy, is growing fast, and the net zero delays are more to do with policy and funding gaps, not supply chain gaps. The supply chain indeed is looking to policy makers to help them understand why the uncertainty seems to be worsening in terms of movement to energy transition and the relevant investments in projects as expected, as promised, are not in fact in line with net zero commitments.
EIC
No one listens to the supply chain:
• The supply chain voice needs to get louder to ensure policy makers hear it, and that needs to be a role that EIC plays going forward. Policy makers do listen to the supply chain but typically just to a handful of the largest players, as well as operators and developers. The thousands of smaller companies in the supply chain are not listened to, and this is the role that EIC needs to play.
Bad behaviours:
• With so much demand there is still a trend for customers to work hard to try and stay in control of pricing, which is getting harder. Supply chain companies are applying solutions approaches to attempt to avoid cost-only competition. We see bad customer behaviours though, where payment terms are worsening, not improving, and there are many stories of companies not getting payment for six months or longer, so this is the quandary; we now face boom times at the revenue and opportunity level, but this is not yet matched by boom times at the profit and cash generation level.
Stuart Broadley Chief Executive Officer at EIC
From UK to global:
• The 2024 edition of Survive & Thrive is the second year where we have interviewed an equal number of British companies and companies located elsewhere around the world and the differences in strategies will be discussed through this report; and there are differences.
Leaders conflicted:
• There is a growing sense of tension in philosophy at the business leader level, between the opportunity to make money, versus the sense of wanting to do the right thing in terms of net zero and behaving collaboratively, versus a growing sense of instability and uncertainty and caution about what the world will be like in the near future. Will there be an oil crash following this oil boom? What will be the outcome of all the elections around the world? Will there be further and escalating wars? Will there be another pandemic or some other unknown crisis that will stop us all in our tracks again? All these areas of uncertainty mean investment is not flowing as you would expect even though the markets are booming, and revenues are growing at record levels.
Key FINDINGS
01
Service & Solutions dominates
The single most popular growth strategy this year is the development of specific client-facing services and solutions by member companies, although in percentage terms it reduces from 33% to 28% due to the high number of companies in the study. This popularity reflects the very real need for companies to work as intimately as possible with their key end user clients, to cut out the middlemen, to reduce competition, to improve margins, to get their technology pre-specified, and to be ever present in their offices.
This strategy involves building more senior-level, long-term, one-stopshop, value-based relationships, even friendships, with these selected clients, to seed and root loyalty.
Historically the supply chain, the thousands of SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) that make up most of the energy supply chain, is managed by tier 1 EPC contractors, who work at the behest of the operators, to manage their large technical work scopes and project delivery requirements. This is designed to keep project costs to a minimum, to maximise the chances of projects being delivered on time, to avoid scope creep, to minimise unstructured supplier interaction with the busy operators who often have quite small teams, and to shift project risks to the tier 1 EPC contractors and then to the supply chain, and away from the operators.
Makes sense maybe, but it means the typical SME faces low margins, a lot of out-of-scope but low-priced competition, poor ability to apply negotiable leverage, no way to upsell their ideas and innovations, regular re-pricing exercises, and little
The truth though is that, although many companies are investing heavily in anticipation of muchpublicised and much-pledged green projects, the vast majority have not yet reached FID.”
understanding of how their part of the puzzle really can best add value to the operator and the project.
These SMEs have found a loophole, a way to sidestep the tier 1 EPC contractors and work directly with operators, building new types of relationships that mean the operators get to know the supply chain better, and value the specific innovations that the supply chain has to offer, specifying those specific companies in their projects now and over the long term.
This is reflected in the EICDataStream data revealing continued rapid growth in hydrogen and CCUS projects globally over the last five years. EIC’s FID (final investment decision) data clearly also shows substantial quantities of renewable and energy transition projects being announced globally, although there is still very slow progress in many of these projects getting to FID. See figures 1 and 2
Energy transition and environmental sustainability growing
Interest in energy transition and environmental sustainability has grown strongly, with 33% of companies choosing them as their preferred growth strategy, compared to 23% the previous year.
The truth though is that, although many companies are investing heavily in anticipation of much-publicised and much-pledged green projects, the vast majority have not yet reached FID, and as such are not “real” to the majority of the supply chain. Unless the economics and geopolitics improve, we may see the % of companies choosing these categories for growth reducing in future years, as they lose patience waiting for ambition to become reality, instead switching to more lucrative and ready-now markets like oil & gas, defence and infrastructure.
Perhaps not surprisingly companies are looking more at strategies around their people, to either drive growth, or protect their business against the loss of key people and skills. Although most companies do not yet talk about having to turn away work for lack of capacity of skilled personnel, they are almost all talking about being close to ‘at capacity’ and needing to find ways to grow capacity to meet burgeoning demand. And to do this now.
At 28% of companies, this strategy has grown steadily over the last three years, and of particular note is the trend to develop internal Academies.
As companies recognise the urgency of building skilled capabilities inside their business to meet the growing project work that’s coming, they are faced with three challenges: firstly, how to protect the people they have from being poached by others; secondly, how to hire external people with the right skills to meet the needs of projects, at the right time; and thirdly, how to minimise the cost of people.
Companies are marching in harmony towards this Academy option, which entails designing internal training programmes for often younger, less experienced people, who come into the business and then get trained over 1-3 years. They learn the culture of the business, also the business-specifics and technical skills so that they can take on the work at the right time, at the lowest possible cost.
Companies are typically unable to hire the people they need at the right time, with the proven skills, and such skills in the industry come at a premium. There’s a shortage for many critical technical roles already, and these come with high salary expectations, and low company loyalty.
Therefore, companies have no choice - if they want to grow, they must find alternative ways to build their pool of skilled talent. What is interesting, as you look at different companies and their approaches to Academies, is that there is no standard model, and most do not take an outsourcing approach to training experts as you might imagine, preferring to develop and trial internally,
the outsource option is perceived as too expensive and would mean sharing the company’s precious IP and DNA with a third party, which is best kept a mystery, and very much in-house.
04
Diversification down and diluted
This year only 19% of companies chose to diversify to grow, the lowest rate recorded since Survive & Thrive research started eight years ago. Why is this?
Diversification was most popular in the years 2018-2021, with 38-49% of companies preferring it, as companies learnt that they could no longer rely upon a previously lucrative oil & gas industry and needed to find alternative revenue streams. This did not mean they were
looking for additional revenue streams to provide them with insurance for the lean years, while also delivering the options for real and profitable growth.
The renewable energy sector was seen in those years to be the market with the most promise and this was stimulated by policymakers making broad ambition statements around the criticality of renewable energy growth, to electrify the power sector, to make great strides towards achieving net zero goals. Indeed, the UK went on to be the first G20 nation to halve its emissions at the start of 2024, from a starting point in 1990, as a direct result of such policies, and the world saw record offshore wind installations in 2023 too.
So why has the diversification strategy become so unpopular in more recent years? Firstly, many that looked at the renewable sector back then have now shied away from it, disappointed by the
indeed the introduction of AI as a new disruptive innovation perhaps means that traditional digital is now going to go into a holding pattern while the impact of AI reveals itself.
of contract awards, the delays in final investment decisions, and the high levels of competition. Secondly, the oil & gas industry has switched from being in a ‘lower for longer’ / ‘lower for ever’ crisis to now being in a long-term boom.
05
Innovation, Technology and Digital down
With markets around the world booming companies are shying away from Innovation as a means of growing their business, down to a consolidated (Innovation + Technology + Digital strategies) popularity of just 33% compared to more than 60% five years ago. Why is this?
time. Developing a new idea, a new technology, a new digital solution, all require investment, R&D teams, test facilities, client trials, often lengthy TRL (technology readiness level) schedules, all with uncertainty at the end that the innovation will be successful or will be adopted by a wide range of clients.
Although some companies see their core business being innovation, for most it is but one part of a portfolio of growth options available to them at a time when all regions in all sectors and most clients are looking for support from the supply chain, and hence innovation is dropping down the popularity list.
If we take digital as an example, at just 12% of companies preferring this approach for their growth, this is its lowest result so far. Digital has always suffered from three problems; being hard to scale, hard to sell, and low margin. This has not changed and
As well as the obvious dilution effective of companies having so many opportunities to grow right now, and therefore favouring the lowest hanging fruit, there is another problem of course with technology development, that of funding. Funding is normally most readily available at the early stages of TRL development, and as it approaches commercialisation the funding dries up, even though the value of funding needs to grow exponentially. Most new technology developments continue to fall at this hurdle.
Different strategies, different regions
This being the second year when the Survive & Thrive research has had equal numbers of companies based in the UK and internationally around the world, we can analyse the preferred growth categories by region.
The number one growth strategy globally was Service & Solutions, and this is true in North America, Latin America, the Middle East and UK. Indeed, Latin America picks this category as its sole number one, underpinning the entrepreneurial culture there. In Europe, it was the second most popular strategy. But, in the APAC region, Service & Solutions does not feature at all, perhaps reflecting the more difficult and stand-offish National Oil Company (NOC) culture there.
APAC’s two most popular strategies were Resilience, which talks to the continued issues in the Asian region with COVID hangover, lagging net zero policies, and the lagging energy market boom there, and People & Competency, as companies start to ramp up for the market growth and want to protect their skilled people.
In the Middle East Resilience featured strongly, as companies continue to suffer from poor payment terms, delayed project awards, high levels of competition and of course contracting terms which require race to the bottom pricing in many cases.
For 2023, 78% of companies said that they had achieved record growth in 2023. For 2024, that jumps up to 96% of companies expecting to achieve record growth this year.”
Interestingly, because of COP28 being based in the region in 2023, Environmental Sustainability has risen to also being one of the top strategies for growth in the Middle East, and this is only seen in one other region, namely Europe/UK where the related strategy of Energy Transition is preferred. This makes sense because the COP phenomenon applies there too with COP26 in Scotland two years earlier. It seems having COP in your region has a major campaign outcome of stimulating green investments and net zero company leadership commitment, that cascade throughout the supply chain.
It is also possible that Energy Security plays an equal role is driving green agendas more quickly than in other regions, and it is true that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Gaza conflict are factors at play here too.
07
Record years
Last year’s edition of Survive & Thrive highlighted a return to boom times, so we decided to ask companies in this edition about their resultant growth rates, and whether these were at record levels or not, and the findings are startling.
For 2023, 78% of companies said that they had achieved record growth in 2023. For 2024, that jumps up to 96% of companies expecting to achieve record growth this year. Perhaps what is the most startling is that the 2024 growth rate is forecast to be an average of 24%.
Further cementing the feeling of boom times are the research findings
around the typical ‘survival’ strategies of optimisation, resilience and transformation – all of which were at record low levels of activity in this year’s research, except in APAC which seems to be lagging behind in its recovery rates.
Finally, we perhaps would have expected these growth rates to result in a jump up in the popularity of the ‘scale up’ growth category, but not the case yet. We certainly do expect scale up to feature more heavily in the next two years as companies see year on year record growth rates convert to proven revenue and profit growth in the future.
08
New
export crisis continues, globally
Out of 134 respondents to the Survive & Thrive research, 113 (84%) said that they are already exporters.
84% seems good, but when asked the question about developing brand new international or export markets, this growth strategy remains, stubbornly and worryingly, the least used growth strategy at just 7% of companies preferring it. New export market development is clearly still the hardest growth strategy, and this applies to all countries of the world.
Surely, this presents an opportunity for one country to grasp the nettle and lead in new export market development.
Special FEATURE 1
Member feedback for government
AFunding and financial support and financial issues
42% of participants highlighted issues related to funding and financial support, including export finance support, grants, financial incentives, subsidies, and challenges like high costs, currency issues, and lack of funding.
On export finance, some companies said that navigating different regulatory environments is a major challenge. They said that the complexity and variation in regulations across countries make it difficult to manage export finance effectively. This is part of a broader issue of inconsistent regulatory paradigms, which can prevent companies from accessing export finance support smoothly. In most cases, nothing can be done about cross-country regulatory differences, but participants pointed to multiple solutions that could lessen the impact of these discrepancies. These solutions include building and strengthening diplomatic relations with key markets, shoring up the role of trade missions, and providing information about markets of interest in relation to financing options and regulations but also other business-related matters such as local content requirements.
Calls for financial incentives are certainly a major theme of what the participating companies have told us. One participant summed it in the following words, “Grants, subsidies, and tax breaks are important tools that local companies can access to overcome the costs of international expansion.” Other companies pointed to a lack of
financial incentives tailored to specific industries such as carbon capture and nuclear energy. “Pushing forward carbon capture incentives – need to start releasing budgets for these”, one company said. Another said, “Funding programmes in specific segments for global growth. These would be for Energy Transition and Nuclear markets”. Participants said that generic incentives don’t address the unique needs and challenges of each sector.
When it comes to subsidies, one company said that their availability and accessibility are often inconsistent. They said that while subsidies can significantly aid in reducing operational costs and encouraging growth, the process to apply and qualify for these subsidies is often cumbersome and unclear. This leads to underutilisation of available financial aid, ultimately impacting their financial stability and expansion plans. A few participants talked about the importance of participation in international trade shows, with one company saying, “Subsidies for participation in international fairs, summits, and seminars are extremely important for small companies like ours”.
High operational costs were another recurring theme in the comments. Companies detailed how high costs in their industry, especially related to regulatory compliance and market entry, pose substantial financial burdens. One participant noted, “Navigating different regulatory environments across countries is a significant challenge. Each country has its own set of regulations, which can be complex and vary widely”.
They said that without adequate financial support or incentives, these costs can become prohibitive,
potentially stalling business development and market entry efforts. The challenges of cash flow were also highlighted, with one participant stating, “Cash flow is becoming an increasing challenge for us and I’m sure other supply chain businesses. This is not about a lack of work but a protraction in payment terms which is an increasing phenomenon in many jurisdictions. The concept of ‘early’ payment for discounting is becoming more popular yet early is now what we considered standard and discounting means profit reduction. This cash flow is hampering investment for technology as well as expansion”.
B
Regulatory issues
Regulatory issues featured in 19% of interviews. One company commented on the challenges of navigating different regulatory environments. They said, “Navigating different regulatory environments across countries is a significant challenge. Each country has its own set of regulations, which can be complex and vary widely, making it difficult to standardise processes and ensure compliance. Market access barriers also pose a problem, as some regions have protectionist policies that restrict entry and competition from foreign companies”. The idea for these companies is that inconsistent regulatory frameworks can and do prevent companies from expanding their operations internationally. What we are seeing is that differences in regulations force companies to adapt their business practices continuously,
increasing operational complexity and costs, which calls for governments to engage in more knowledge-sharing and long-term political agreements that can reduce some of the regulatory discrepancies, especially those with an air of protectionism.
Several companies discussed the need to continuously adapt to regulatory changes. One comment highlighted that staying compliant with evolving regulations requires constant monitoring and updating of business practices. This dynamic nature of regulatory frameworks demands that companies invest in dedicated compliance teams and systems to keep up with changes, which can be resource intensive. The need for fast-paced adaptation also introduces uncertainty in business planning, as companies must be prepared to respond to new regulatory requirements at short notice.
Government involvement was seen as crucial in mitigating these challenges. One company said, “Government involvement can be pivotal in accelerating the adoption and implementation of innovative technologies. Through their regulatory and policy-making capacities, governments can expedite processes that might otherwise face delays due to bureaucratic or legislative obstacles”.
The complexity and variation in regulations, regulatory compliance burdens, and the impact of inconsistent regulations are significant barriers that companies face. Addressing these issues requires a coordinated effort to harmonise regulatory frameworks, provide clear and consistent guidelines, and reduce the compliance burden on businesses. What the participants discussed are real-world challenges where regulatory complexities and inconsistencies can create operational and financial strain and discourage companies from exploring new markets.
CInternational collaboration and political environment
Political and diplomatic and political environment issues were key recurring issues as highlighted by 17% of interviewed business leaders. A key lesson here is that governments could
Through their regulatory and policy-making capacities, governments can expedite processes that might otherwise face delays due to bureaucratic or legislative obstacles”
always do more to build more robust international partnerships and establish long-lasting relations that are conducive to business and trade.
For some participants, it was a nobrainer that governments need to leverage their diplomatic and consular networks to provide crucial support for businesses to expand internationally. “The government can leverage its diplomatic and consular networks to provide support and assistance to [companies] in navigating foreign markets”, said one business leader. For some, there’s a catch – the work and services of these trade missions are not always advertised. “Publicity on trade missions [is needed]”, one participant said. The same business leader said this communication should be a two-way street, meaning that the government should inform trade missions of the capabilities that can be utilised for exports.
For others, sanctions presented another layer of complexity. “Sanctions can make doing business difficult, perhaps some provisions to allow businesses to continue with understanding more what the business is about”, suggested an entrepreneur, hinting at the need for nuanced approaches
that balanced regulatory compliance with business continuity.
Free trade agreements (FTAs) emerged as a critical factor in smoothing the path for businesses abroad. “Free trade agreements … this helps to lower barriers and reduce tariffs and smoothen processes for local companies to export”, stated one participant.
Maintaining strong relationships with key global players like China was also seen as a conducive environment for trade. “Maintaining good relationships with China is important”, one participant said.
Market access barriers and protectionist policies in certain regions restricted competition and posed additional challenges. “Market access barriers also pose a problem, as some regions have protectionist policies that restrict entry and competition from foreign companies”, one participant said, highlighting the ongoing struggle against restrictive policies that hindered free trade.
Brexit-related issues figured highly with UK-based companies, but the need for political stability was not restricted to the UK. As one executive noted, “Political instability in the USA really hurts investment. USA won’t make solid commitments to offshore wind for instance [due to the pending election results]. Whereas Azerbaijan made strong commitment to offshore renewables in Caspian – much better to deal with”. This comment points to a stark contrast between countries willing to make commitments to renewable energy and those hindered by political fluctuations.
However, the expectations following Brexit included a surge in efforts to develop new markets, yet the reality was different. “Off the back of Brexit, [we] expected more work to be done to develop new markets and opportunities, but the old UK trade missions have not been resurrected. [There is a] lack of outgoing support to enter emerging markets”, reflected another participant.
The necessity for clarity and communication about Brexit’s impact remained key. “Help British businesses post-Brexit. Clarity and communications around Brexit impact still could be improved”, in the words of one participant.
DSupply chain and skills support
Supply chain and skills related issues were key for some companies and addressing them, in their view, would contribute directly to expanding their export markets. Innovation was highlighted as a key area for maintaining a competitive edge. One company noted that continuous innovation is essential for staying ahead in the market. This view was echoed by another company which spoke of the necessity of government commitment to foster innovation and technological advancement, particularly in the context of new energy challenges: “Not getting research innovation funding to support new technology development for new energy challenges”.
Related, support for research and development (R&D) was brought to light. One company pointed out that investing in R&D is crucial for developing new products and improving existing ones, but securing funding for these projects can be challenging. Companies called for government grants and incentives to boost innovation. As one executive puts it, “Subsidies and innovation funding [are needed] to encourage the private sector when looking at new markets – market entry, new technology”.
Access to robust technology support is vital for enhancing operations and productivity. Companies said there was a need for government and industry collaboration to provide technology support and resources, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). One company stated that tech funding is essential for implementing new technologies and staying competitive, advocating for more accessible funding options and incentives. This was further supported by the call for clarity on government positions: “Clarity on government position in investment in carbon capture – [we are] investing in own technology but need government commitment”.
Digital and AI transformation is another key focus for companies. However, transitioning to digital platforms poses challenges, including high costs and the need for skilled personnel. Companies called for support in navigating these challenges to leverage digital technologies effectively. In the words of one executive: “Government involvement can be pivotal in accelerating the adoption and implementation of innovative technologies. Through their regulatory and policy-making capacities, governments can expedite processes that might otherwise face delays due to bureaucratic or legislative obstacles”.
Technology adoption is crucial for business growth and competitiveness, but it comes with challenges, including the need for skilled personnel and financial resources. One company noted that support for technology adoption, such as training programmes and funding, is essential for integrating new technologies into operations.
incentives to drive the development of capabilities through research and development and innovation and the building of a robust, well-trained workforce. As one company suggested, “Governments could allocate more funding for research and development initiatives aimed at enhancing the competitiveness and innovation capacity of welding companies in international markets”.
EMarket entry and competition
Companies have identified market entry challenges and competitions as key challenges that the government could step in to support them with.
One company noted that regulatory hurdles and compliance requirements are significant barriers to market entry. Navigating different regulatory environments can delay entry and increase costs, with obtaining necessary licenses and approvals being a protracted process. “Not easy to enter new markets – a ready-madenew market toolkit would help and if it existed, but I’m not sure how to find it”.
Competing with established local players, who have better market knowledge and customer bases, is particularly challenging. This pressure necessitates innovative strategies and significant investment. Financial barriers, including high setup costs for operations, marketing, and distribution, further complicate entry, with calls for more accessible financing options and incentives.
Subsidies and innovation funding [are needed] to encourage the private sector when looking at new markets –market entry, new technology.”
Workforce training and skills development are critical for maintaining a skilled and competitive workforce. Companies said there was a need for continuous training programmes to keep employees updated with the latest industry trends and technologies. Apprenticeship programmes were also noted for their value in bridging the skills gap by providing handson experience and training for new employees. Companies called for comprehensive labour training programmes to equip employees with the necessary skills.
What these insights reveal is that governments can support growth by providing the right environment and
Some companies said governments can help with finding reliable partners who understand local market dynamics and regulatory requirements. There is “lack of outgoing support to enter emerging markets,” one company said.
Special FEATURE 2
Supply chain not being listened to
AUnderstanding of the supply chain
Our supply chain is typically made up of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but we continually hear from our members that a better understanding of the challenges SMEs and startups face is missing from our policy makers.
While they hear from the easy to engage with EPCs, developers and operators, meaningful discussions with small business owners, exports and innovators is sadly lacking. The value of the SME innovators and their role in driving the transition is being lost.
Funding needs to be addressed, but so does the issues of being an SME and exporting, the value of Free Trade Agreements, the importance of a stable environment policy on a global scale and the policies and framework required by these companies for the transition are underrated.
There needs to be policy relevant for the entirety of the value chain, off takers, infrastructure and all stakeholders, clarity in funding for the future and a clear understanding of business models.
We explore some of these below.
B Finance
Regardless of where you are based or where you have manufacturing bases, gaining access to finance to
grow your footprint in these areas is difficult. The movement toward ‘green’ finance goes against our members and penalises them for not having a greater stake in ‘renewable’ energy projects – essentially overlooking the fact that there is not yet the number of renewable projects around to finance the transition successfully.
This financing of good versus bad is making export agencies out of sync with the rest of industry. The hinge, the energy transition is missing from the understanding of the agencies.
Green is good, black is bad.
But grants, subsidies and tax breaks are all tools that companies can access to overcome the cost of international expansion, creating a more stable investment environment. Bringing these concepts together, that it is a transition which needs supporting, and this means, initially, supporting both sides, will allow our transitioning supply chain to transition properly and successfully.
Essentially, access to finance is critical to allow companies to grow, they are then able to meet the working capital needs of a project solutions approach which is so important right now. But we also need to look at that transition from SME to large company. The funding avenues available to start ups and SMEs is substantially more than those available to ‘large’ companies, therefore constraining competition again.
If we are serious about the transition, then we have to be serious about how we finance it, and that means we have to be serious about our understanding of the supply chain.
CTrade agreements
In terms of trade agreements, typically, these are what is best for governmentto-government work, not what is best for the energy sector, emerging markets or our members. And the potential for meaningful engagement is slim.
Our members want to see these trade agreements to help lower barriers and reduce tariffs, to smooth processes for local companies to export. These agreements, and on the ground access,
should make it easier to provide information, links to embassies and available funding bodies to help exporters, wherever they may be based.
Too often we see new markets excluded for the interests of the same large countries, but in emerging markets there is a real opportunity for export growth.
Agreements which allow for frictionless trade, to encourage cross border trade amongst African countries, to encourage international trade initiatives and market expansion. To reduce complexity and to increase competition.
That is what our members are looking for in trade agreements and international support.
D Stability
“We don’t expect government to help”.
That is a damning statement on the level of support and stability our members view current options.
We are in a transition state, but that doesn’t mean that we should polarise our current options and turn one against the other.
We need to support research initiatives in a way that private companies cannot and stimulate innovation in order to speed up the transition. Government needs to make it easier to do this, to fund more, look at more options. But, once a plan has been set, to stick to that plan.
The uncertainty over policy direction, of a lasting energy policy, of lasting achievable targets, of a stable and coherent crossparty granular roadmap have all been missing. And this is what business needs.
An industrial strategy is needed to link the overall energy infrastructure with a global energy strategy and the people required for this. Not just a countryspecific roadmap but a global one, to take into account all of the regions which our companies work within.
Canvassing their opinions, expertise and needs for this strategy and roadmap would be fundamental to making this achievable and ensuring that going forward government is seen to be helping, regardless of which government.
EBetter policies and framework for the transition
We just need to be better. We hear this a lot, regardless of where we are, which government is being spoken about or which region we are in. Our members just need things to be better in terms of looking at transition frameworks and energy policies going forward.
Things which our members are looking for are:
▸ Better policies and frameworks for SMEs and in-country manufacturers
▸ Better regulatory guidance and support
▸ Better planning and decarbonisation goals and targets
▸ Better infrastructure investment
▸ Better approval process to allow us to enable the full potential of renewable energy technologies
The technicalities of the energy transition have to be understood properly, by all players, and we need to engage with a suitable dialogue accordingly. Going hand in hand with this, we need to streamline the regulatory frameworks and remove unnecessary red tape, among all countries.
Finally, and most important for the overall energy transition, is that the oil and gas sector, worldwide, cannot be villainised. It is currently critical for everything we do and wish to become. It’s people and skills. Know-how is from one into the other. We need to step away from the red tape and politicisation of the oil and gas sector and enable the transition together, not edge them out and lose expertise and funds.
An industrial strategy is needed to link the overall energy infrastructure with a global energy strategy and the people required for this.”
Special FEATURE 3
Key Challenges and Strategies ahead
In the Survive & Thrive interviews, company bosses were asked to share their key thoughts about what lies ahead, particularly their key growth strategies they are investing in, and the key challenges that they expect to face in the short to medium term. The results are below and will resonate with many in leadership positions in the energy supply chain.
FIGURE 3 – KEY CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES AHEAD
AEnergy transition: key challenges and strategies
The supply chain finds itself challenged in keeping up with the pace of change against a backdrop of insufficient funding to meet such energy transition strategies. Technology needs scaling such as hydrogen and floating offshore wind, to overcome high costs, and address technological advancements which are currently hindering energy transition. For those supply chain companies looking to diversify from oil and gas to renewables, they need to collaborate to find effective solutions whilst gaining needed revenues. Finally, it needs to find a way to transfer existing excellence and know-how instead of developing entirely new solutions which will require collaboration.
BThe people problem
Addressing skill shortages, especially in the UK, Europe and the US, is a must especially if planned investments come to fruition. This includes mechanical and electrical contractors, welders, scaffolders, general construction workers, engineers, administrators, and leaders. To do this, industry needs to get its messaging right; to attract young talent and the brightest individuals. To get it right, companies need to hire the right people and retain them through personal development and growth opportunities.
CGeopolitics
Energy security concerns have risen due to geopolitical challenges and election instability. Navigating the uncertainty of energy policies and de-risking operations is a major challenge. This is especially relevant around major elections across the UK, Europe, and the US. Companies will need to watch closely and integrate any new regulatory measures into their business strategy.
The supply chain finds itself challenged in keeping up with the pace of change against a backdrop of insufficient funding.”
DDiversification
To bring to fruition resiliency, the supply chain will need to diversify its products, services, and markets. This will provide a balanced portfolio as the energy transition moves along. Companies may need to look at commercialising products and services, and identify the right portfolios for the right market.
EExporting is not one-size-fits-all
In addition to political uncertainty, the export journey is not the same for every company, or for every market. Companies will face the challenge of uncertainty that comes with expanding into new markets against a backdrop of oil and gas project opportunities in emerging economies, and energy transition opportunities across the West. It is not only energy sectors which have their own cultures; understanding culture, ways of doing business, regulations, tax, etc., are all challenges to be addressed.
F Innovation
Focusing on technology and innovation involves commercialising new technologies, adapting to rapid advancements, and addressing
challenges in AI, IoT, and other emerging technology integrations.
GSustainability
To maintain and grow initiatives at a faster pace, the supply chain needs to anticipate and adapt to upcoming legislation, such as the EU CSRD or a potential change in the US IRA, which will likely increase the requirements around reporting. It must also focus efforts on its own sustainability strategy to build and maintain trust and respect (and upcoming requirements) from clients. The supply chain will also need to improve its transparency around material sourcing, ensuring net zero emissions to clients.
HMoney problems
Companies are trying to secure funding to expand internationally and deliver strategies profitably, while demonstrating added value and significant savings to clients. There is also an aim for significant growth in gross margin and overall revenues, with a substantial increase in energy sector revenues. There is a challenge to business infrastructure to achieve major revenue goals and significantly expand the workforce through both organic and acquisitive growth. To do this, careful money management throughout the any business initiative is essential.
IAdditional challenges
Additional challenges the supply chain is facing are around brand awareness, optimisation, time constraints and competition. Companies will need to take specific steps to overcome these challenges such as personalising client approaches, simplifying systems, reducing costs, managing project timelines efficiently, and resource management. Companies will also need to address competition especially in light of the influx of Chinese materials, as well as market shifts such as increased duties in the US and EU.
02 Overview of COMPANIES
03 Overview of STRATEGIES
GT Aero Ltd. (Alba Power)
TÜV Rheinland Industrial Services
TÜV SÜD Energietechnik GmbH
Vaz e Dias Advogados Associados
04 Comparison TABLE
* not including People & Competency
EXPORT | DIVERSIFY | GROW
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expressed direct or indirect added value from EIC membership
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Senior Global Tender Manager VP of Sustainability & QHSSE
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Managing Director
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Service & SOLUTIONS
82% of supply chain companies interviewed now work directly with operators compared with 68% working directly with tier 1 EPC contractors, which is a surprising pivot.
The classic scenario is that the supply chain, particularly SMEs, work most commonly with tear 1 EPC contractors, who are appointed by the operators directly to oversee the wider supply chain series of relationships, on a project by project basis.
This new and important trend, with the supply chain pushing hard to work directly with operators is a new finding and protentially provides a threat to tier 1 EPC contractors, diluting their role and influence on operators, and providing these operators with a fascinating and valuable lens into the world of the supply chain.
Operators now increasingly recognise it’s a race to secure the best supply chain solutions, capacities and prices, before more projects reach FID and the supply chain dries up completely.
The supply chain continues to work across all client types, not just with operators and tier 1 EPC contractors, including with project developers at 33%, tier 2 service companies at 45%, and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) at 37%.
Interestingly, 21%* of companies are also working, as they diversify, with non-energy clients as well, including government organisations, finance organisations, ship owners, universities, steel companies and insurance providers, emphasising again the wide range of opportunities that present themselves to companies now, underlining the broad range of diversification opportunities available to the supply chain.
TYPICAL CUSTOMERS
*21% “OTHER” CLIENT TYPES (NON-ENERGY) - IN ORDER OF POPULARITY
Government
Finance
Drilling
Ship owners
Universities
Steel
Insurance
Crown
Regulator
Build to print licensors
Airport
Fire brigades
06 Diversification
87% of the 31 companies that did diversify came from the oil & gas industry, diversifying into other sectors. As EIC’s Supply Map database details, the energy supply chain heavily relies on oil & gas still today, so this move from oil & gas to something else is logical, and even in boom times, companies remember the oil downturn vividly and know that must keep their options open.
Where are target diversification markets that companies are moving to?
You might think that the number one market would be renewable energy and indeed you would be right with 23% moving into wind, and one moving into hydrogen, totalling 26% overall. 26% moving into renewable/transition is low though, with 74% consequently moving into non-renewable markets.
The top five target markets after green start with oil and gas, as companies move back into hydrocarbons to harvest the lucrative and buoyant field of opportunities.
Marine is popular, as that sector looks to decarbonise, as is conventional power, as surging demand pushes investors back into Combined Cycle Gas Turbines and LNG to meet growing population growth, and data centre spikes. Water and nuclear also feature. Beyond that companies are also looking at nonenergy markets like steel, telecoms and pharmaceuticals.
Overall companies are diversifying from just four origin sectors, into 18 destination sectors. Companies clearly see a wide array of market opportunities to consider we’re looking to grow into new diversified markets, explaining why no one market dominates, with all markets, all sectors and all regions booming, all at the same time.
Figure 4 reflects the 5-year trend of high level changes in sector involvment by companies interviewed. As can be seen, oil and gas remains the dominat sector over the period and indeed grew strongly in the last year.
Energy transition (namely, hydrogen, CCUS, energy storage and floating offshore wind) has moved the most over the period, whereas it did not feature at all in 2020 it has now grown to a third of companies being active in the sector. Renewables (namely, onshore wind, fixed offshore wind, solar and hydropower) is flat for the last four years, perhaps reflecting the low FID rates and low margins typical for that sector.
Finally, the power sector (defined as conventional power such as CCGT, as well as large nuclear and Transmission & Distribution) is steadily growing over the period, reflecting slow renewables investments and rapid global population and power demand growth.
FIGURE 4 - SHARE OF INDUSTRY SECTORS PER YEAR
07 Different strategies for DIFFERENT REGIONS
Interviews for Survive & Thrive this year were carried out by the regional directors as well as CEO Stuart Broadley, and this year we give them a chance to share their regional viewpoints on what they heard…
Amanda Duhon EIC Regional Director North & Central America
1. Service & Solutions + Collaboration
Companies are extremely busy, with majority focused on Service & Solutions, with strategic ways of operating, applying a collaborative approach with peers, clients, and sometimes even direct competitors, to ensure projects are delivered on time, cost, meeting needs of operators, providing something that nobody else can, meeting client needs while stopping competitors and improving margins. Companies are increasingly brought in as partners up front, assisting with internal transition of teams, where partnerships and technologies are critical to client success. Companies feel the urgent need to differentiate, to go beyond traditional offerings, by partnering, revealing a firm link between collaboration and the solutions approach. It’s not ‘one size fits all’, with delivery of solutions differing by region (GLOCAL).
2. Sustainability
Seeing more focus on reducing environmental impact, providing competitive advantage through this approach early on, even though it’s not consistent or figured out yet.
Clarisse Rocha EIC Regional Director Americas
1. Different and brilliant strategies
I was inspired by the range of different and smart success stories, not just from large and experienced companies, but also from younger companies too, all showing impressive entrepreneurial spirit.
2. Human factor
Interviews revealed more about the individuals behind the scenes of business success, confirming that differentiators come from people, and how companies see their people.
3. Perseverance
Companies kept trying to make their strategies work, not stopping at initial failures.
Kim Stephen
EIC Regional Director UK
1. My strongest impression was how many companies talked about their people, and what their people were delivering as part of their growth plans. Often though, strangely, their people strategies were not crystallised.
2. Everyone wanted to include energy transition or environmental sustainability in their success stories, but for some this was too easily challenged. Those with tangible net zero success stories to tell were less common, but most confidently told.
3. There seemed to be more focus on digital, companies being keen to promote it and learning internally how to get their own people on the digital bus first, with this learning curve reflecting the reality of adapting to change and new technology.
Ryan McPherson
EIC Regional Director Midde East, Africa, CIS
1. Buoyancy in the market
2023 was record year for companies in the region and expecting more in 2024. This is universally stated.
2. Energy Transition
Companies are learning how to better commercialise and understand energy transition technologies and markets. A year on has helped with this.
3. Wide range of strategies
Companies are active across many growth strategies, not just services and solutions, and have seen a few precious new export stories.
4. Poor articulation
Many companies struggled to tell their story with simplicity and clarity, needing help to pull their key messages out. Great stories but lost in the fog. They then afterwards thanked EIC for the challenging process, writing up the case studies themselves. Some companies did not have fully prepared or approved testimonials to back up their success stories, did not always focus on their key sales pitch, and did not provide enough quantified benefits of the work they had done.
Azman Nasir EIC Regional Director APAC
1. Diversification
Companies are keener to diversify, many for the first time, and move away from energy (E.G. to infrastructure, telecoms, digital), as see risks growing to stay just in oil & gas, not so much into renewables (as energy transition opportunities are still not so prevalent, except solar and biomass, in ASEAN).
2. Increased competition / Service & Solutions
Strategies are needed to address tighter prices, having to convince clients of providing more value, not just cutting prices, with a more solutions approach. This strategy is working, even with National Oil Companies.
3. Growth
2023 was a good year, and 2024 will be another good year. Feeling is very optimistic. Not met anyone in network who feels pessimistic or had a bad year. Everyone so busy, not time to stop and think, lack of resource to take advantage of all opportunities.
4. People & Competency
Companies are paying attention to recruitment, trying to match the vision/culture of the individual to their organisational vision/culture – to get the right fit. Not hiring experienced ready-now candidates but hiring candidates with less experience but the right culture, and then training them, increasingly with academy-style approaches.
08 Record year for most –BUT A FEW STRUGGLED
For 2023, 78% of companies said that they had achieved record growth in 2023. For 2024, that jumps up to 96%.
But what of the companies that struggled to grow –can we learn lessons from them?
The number one reason for no growth was delayed delivery of energy transition projects; companies overextending themselves in anticipation of promised net zero work, to find those projects didn’t come through, or when they did, were delayed, or were not as substantial or profitable as expected.
Other reasons for ‘no growth’ range from a hangover from COVID, barriers to selling new technology, stiff competition, and being too busy, but I do want to highlight two additional reasons that were given.
The first relates to companies in the logistics and freight sector, who consistently reported low or no growth in at least one of the two years, reflecting the challenges that the logistics industry has faced in the last couple of years with disruption and delays around supply chain, crossing borders, access to key routes, and the cost of doing business.
The other item to highlight is that one company referred to having to pay the costs associated with a cyber-attack and this type of issue is perhaps something that companies assume will never happen to them, but this research has shown that it is now a fact of life for some businesses and the priorities around protecting against cyber-attacks cannot be emphasised enough.
WHY NO GROWTH?
Energy Transition Delays
Logistics company
COVID hangover
Barriers to selling new technology
Services up, new equipment down
Start up
Restructuring
Cyber attack
Reputation issues
Competition
Too busy
2022 windfall
Loss of large contract
Market volatility
FX issues
09 New export and international MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
Out of 134 respondents to the Survive & Thrive research, 113 (84%) said that they are already exporters. This seems good, but when asked the question about developing brand new international or export markets, this growth strategy remains,
stubbornly and worryingly, the least used growth strategy at just 7% of companies preferring it. New export market development is clearly still the hardest growth strategy, and this applies to all countries of the world.
▸ Companies were asked - where do you export to today?
FIGURE 5 - EXPORTING REGIONS
Another question must be whether there is a correlation between where we see the setting up of manufacturing bases versus where companies actually export to.
With the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US and the emergence of the Middle East as a renewable energy powerhouse, we are seeing more companies export to these energy markets.
With the effects of Brexit beginning to bite, we see more companies look to set up some sort of base in Europe to mitigate the regulatory burden of operating into the region from the UK. With these manufacturing bases developing, it seems that this then makes it easier to export into other markets – from Europe into Africa and the Middle East, for example. And once you are in the Middle East, it is easier to export out to APAC.
▸ Companies were asked - Where do you have manufacturing bases?
FIGURE 6 - LOCATIONS OF MANUFACTURING BASES
10 Member feedback for GOVERNMENTS
Five over-arching themes came through strongly and repeatedly from these detailed Survive & Thrive interviews with EIC member companies around the world regarding their asks from governments.
▸ Funding and financial support:
PERCENTAGE OF COMPANIES
EIC is the voice of the energy supply chain globally, and these themes provide valuable feedback for governments that, if followed by policy makers and regulators, will greatly assist the supply chain to plan, invest, internationalise and grow.
• Export finance
• Incentives and subsidies
• High compliance costs
▸ Regulatory issues
PERCENTAGE
• Navigating different regulatory environments across countries
• Overly dynamic changes to regulations
• Complex and burdensome regulations
▸ International collaboration and political environment
PERCENTAGE
• Build more robust international partnerships
• Provide more assistance to navigate new international markets
• Better publicise available international support
• Help sanctions understanding
• Free trade agreements
• Improve relations with China
• Reduce Brexit-related bureaucracy
▸ Supply chain and skills support
PERCENTAGE OF COMPANIES
• More innovation and R&D investment needed to retain competitiveness
• More clarity on government position on energy transition tech funding
• Digital and AI transformation
• Support for skills transition needed
▸ Market entry and competition
PERCENTAGE OF COMPANIES
• Ready-made market entry toolkit needed
• Means to compete or collaborate with established local players
• High set up costs and risks need support to encourage new entrants
11 Leadership LESSONS
Advice to people in senior positions:
▸ Collaboration and trust: emphasise the importance of collaboration over competition. Trust employees to perform their roles and listen to their input. Foster collaboration and a culture of listening and continuous development within organisations.
▸ Customer-centric value: focus on how your offerings can make customers’ businesses better. Engage in active problemsolving for customer issues. Stay committed to client solutions and empower innovative roles. Build strong relationships with customers and understand the market.
▸ Data utilisation: prioritise data as a valuable asset from the outset. Use data-driven insights for operational efficiency and competitiveness.
▸ Understanding and innovation: clearly understand team needs for successful innovation adoption. Embrace new technology and prioritise AI investments. Conduct extensive scenario planning to navigate volatile markets. Be prepared to change strategies based on market feedback. Engage at ground level to address challenges directly.
▸ Inspiration and sustainability: The energy industry needs a sustainable drive for growth. Embrace change and challenge traditional working methods. Focus on reducing carbon footprints and leaving a positive legacy.
Advice to young engineers/entrepreneurs:
▸ Diversification in energy sectors: embrace a wide range of energy sectors. Diversifying your focus can open new opportunities and make your endeavours more resilient to market fluctuations.
▸ Sustainable future: prioritise sustainability in your projects and business models. Contributing to a sustainable future can align your efforts with global trends and customer expectations.
▸ Embrace resilience: view challenges as opportunities for growth. Stay resilient in the face of obstacles and use setbacks as motivation to move forward.
▸ Foster innovation: stay ahead by embracing new ideas and technologies. Innovate to address challenges and stand out from competitors.
▸ Build a strong team: surround yourself with talented individuals who share your vision. A strong team provides invaluable support and diverse perspectives.
▸ Focus on customer value: deliver value to your customers. Understand their needs and tailor your offerings to exceed expectations.
▸ Embrace the power of data: recognise data as a valuable asset that can drive decisions, improve processes and unlock new opportunities. Understand and harness the potential of data in your field.
▸ Transition to renewables: seize the opportunities in the renewable energy sector. Utilise available funding for upskilling and resources required for transitioning into renewables.
13 Strategies AT A GLANCE
Collaboration
Working with partners to bring your strategy to life.
Culture
Where business success is largely due to the beliefs and behaviours that determine how employees and management interact internally and with stakeholders.
Digital
The application of digital and data systems, analytics and technology to innovate.
Diversification
Expanding existing capabilities into other sectors, such as from oil and gas to offshore wind.
Energy Transition
The next wave of technologies, beyond mature renewables, that will deliver the 2050 net zero carbon goals of the UK.
Environmental Sustainability
Taking responsibility, as part of your business strategy, to conserve natural resources and protect global ecosystems.
Export
The development of new business growth by focusing on exporting and internationalisation in new countries/ regions.
Innovation
Enhanced products, services and strategies to meet specific client needs and build differentiation.
Optimisation
The focus on improving internal decision making, costs, processes, agility, structures and enhancing competitiveness.
People & Competency
The development, recruitment, training, retention and competency of skilled people, regarded as the key enabler of company growth, and also the biggest challenge to address.
Resilience
The capacity to adapt and recover quickly from challenging market pressures and events.
Scale Up
The increase of a company’s revenues and/or size, in a marked, rapid and continuous way, above normal growth rates.
Service & Solutions
The focus on adding value to customers in their OPEX and O&M value chain, and the specific broadening of scope of work to provide a one-stop-shop or customer centric approach.
Technology
Refers to the specific development and proven use of new or enhanced engineered technology to solve client’s problems.
Transformation
Company-wide step change actions, taken as part of a strategic approach to reposition.
13 Success STORIES
APO is the largest upstream producer in Tunisia, operating and maintaining two offshore platforms, two subsea pipelines, two onshore gas plants and an LPG terminal. Its products includes gas, propane, butane and natural gas condensate. Originally a joint venture between BG and ETAP; Shell acquired BG in 2016. APO looks forward to further success with the existing assets – to earn the right based on the company’s performance and reputation, to be the operator choice for ETAP and foreign investors in other fields offshore in the Gulf of Gabes.
Applica is people-centric, diligent, agile and innovative. The company’s head office, based in Manchester, serves both the UK market and acts as its global recruitment hub. Applica also has businesses registered in both Houston and Stavanger to support the energy markets of North America and Scandinavia and have solutions in place to support Europe and Asia.
AAL Shipping (AAL) is a multiple award-winning premium breakbulk, project heavy lift, steel and dry bulk commodity carrier which has since 1995 delivered competitive solutions for the world’s most dynamic industry sectors including oil & gas, mining, energy, construction and agriculture. It is one of the multipurpose shipping sector’s top five carriers by total fleet DWT and has built a reputation for dependability and going the extra mile for its customers.
ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. The company’s solutions connect engineering know-how and software to optimise how things are manufactured, moved, powered and operated. Building on more than 130 years of excellence, ABB’s 105,000 employees are committed to driving innovations that accelerate industrial transformation.
ABL Group is a leading global independent consultancy group delivering energy, marine, engineering and digital solutions to drive safety and sustainability in energy and oceans. The group operates along four distinct brands: ABL, AGR, OWC and Longitude. Together it provides the deepest pool of world-class expertise in renewables, maritime and oil & gas sectors, from more than 300 locations worldwide.
Airpac Rentals is the energy industry’s division of rental specialist Vp plc, specialising in compressed air and steam generation. It provides an expansive range of air compressors, steam generators, steam heat exchangers, nitrogen production units, sand filters, coflexip hoses and air treatment ancillaries. Each of Airpac Rentals’ service offerings can be tailored to suit virtually any application.
Airswift is an international workforce solutions provider to industries focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with an unparalleled global reach. For over 40 years, Airswift has been transforming lives through the world of work and is committed to serving as a strategic partner to its clients by providing a comprehensive workforce solution that ensures the recruitment and delivery of top talent to complete successful projects.
AIS is a global leader in the engineering, manufacture and application of insulation and passive fire protection systems, buoyancy and SURF (subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines) products. AIS’ advanced materials deliver mission-critical solutions for the energy, industrial, automotive, chemical and marine sectors.
Alderley is the end-to-end integrated solutions provider for the global energy industry. The company’s priority is to maximise the value and efficiency of its clients’ energy assets – from concept to operation and beyond. Alderley’s regional teams work closely with its clients to understand their needs and deliver the right solutions – with the flexibility, integrity, and customer service you would expect from a family business.
AMAL is a Sarawakian Bumiputera-operated oil and gas contractor based in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. Since its founding in 1994, it has provided top-quality mechanical and civil-related project management, turnaround and maintenance services to clients such as Petronas, Shell and many more. With proven track record in plant, pipeline and EPCC projects, AMAL have become a trusted partner in maintaining the onshore facilities of some of the biggest oil corporations in the East Malaysia region.
Aquestia is a world-leading provider of optimal solutions for surge protection, water loss reduction and pressure management, by integrating uniquely developed products with innovatively designed software. Aquestia brings together A.R.I., Dorot and OCV Control Valves - each a significant player in its field. Combining decades of experience, a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and a wide range of solutions and services, its offering is unparalleled in the industry.
ARC Marine is an eco-engineering company founded to enhance marine ecosystems on an unprecedented scale using patented concrete solutions enabling them to create sustainable, recycled reef structures anywhere in the world.
For over a century, Armstrong International has been solving thermal utility problems and preventing them for satisfied customers in more than 100 countries. The company helps to maximise efficiency, lower energy use and reduce environmental emissions better than anyone in the world. Armstrong International manufactures product solutions in factories in the US, Mexico, Canada, France, Italy, Belgium, India, China and Korea.
Dedicated to sustainable development, Arup is a collective of designers, consultants and experts working globally. Founded to be humane and excellent, Arup collaborates with clients and partners using imagination, technology, and rigour to shape a better world.
ASCO is a leading logistics and materials management company for the global energy industry. ASCO’s safe, lean, efficient, and sustainable end-to-end solutions include logistics, transport and freight, supply base management, warehousing and storage, materials management, fuel and bulk provision, marine services, training, lifting and assurance, personnel and environmental services.
asset55 is a software engineering technology company. It brings together highly experienced industry engineers with leading software developers to drive real and positive change within the energy sector. Established in 2012, asset55 has grown organically to become a leading and trusted provider of SaaS technology to the wider energy market whilst maintaining clear objectives to support customers on critical operations.
For almost 30 years, AsstrA has been providing global customers with logistics and transport solutions tailored to their unique business requirements and cargo characteristics. The company’s team of experts from 26 countries delivers efficient transportation solutions that eliminate logistics worries and free customers to focus on planning and implementing longterm development strategies.
ASYAD Group provides integrated logistics solutions across ports, free zones, and shipping. It comprises three deep ports, two free zones and an economic zone supported by Oman’s five airports, and a world-class road network. In addition, ASYAD operates full maritime services with one of the largest drydock in the middle east and a diversified fleet of more than 60 vessels, supported by a sea transport network that connects Oman to key ports across the region and the globe.
Atmos International was originally founded in 1995 with a primary focus to detect pipeline leaks reliably on operational pipelines. This technology has been successfully applied to over 1,500 pipelines across more than 60 countries. Atmos is deeply passionate about technology, innovation and customers, that’s why its purpose is to deliver the best pipeline leak detection and simulation solutions with the best customer service in the industry.
The ATPI Group provides world-leading corporate travel and events solutions to organisations operating in a variety of specialist sectors around the world. Comprising of ATPI Corporate Travel, Direct ATPI, ATPI Marine & Energy, ATPI Corporate Events, ATPI Mining & Resources and ATPI Sports Events, each brand is united by the aim to deliver what really matters to every single customer.
Avantis Group, headquartered in the UK, is a global leader in the energy and transportation sectors, with a presence in Canada, Brazil, the UAE, and Singapore. It specialises in sustainable technologies and lifecycle management services to drive environmental improvements. Its mission is to lead in low-carbon innovations and reduce environmental impacts through strategic decarbonisation. Its services range from engineering design to global aftercare, all geared towards enhancing sustainability and efficiency.
AVEVA is a global leader in industrial software, sparking ingenuity to drive responsible use of the world’s resources.
The company’s secure, agnostic, industrial cloud platform and applications enable businesses to harness the power of their information and improve collaboration internally as well as with customers, suppliers and partners.
Bilfinger UK is a leading engineering and maintenance provider, supporting customers across the chemical and petrochemical, nuclear, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and biopharma, power and energy, utilities and renewables markets. The company enhances the efficiency of assets, ensuring a high level of availability and reducing maintenance costs.
Blue Water Shipping is a global provider of tailor-made transport and logistics solutions specifically designed to meet the requirements of its clients. The heart of Blue Water is +2,500 specialised employees from over 80 offices around the world.
BMT is a leading international design, engineering, science and risk management consultancy with a reputation for engineering excellence. Active in the oil and gas, defence, renewable energy, ports, risk management and maritime transport sectors, BMT has around 1,300 professionals located in 27 offices in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.
CALGAVIN works in partnership with some of the largest global businesses to provide robust heat transfer solutions to the process industry. Based in the heart of the UK, CALGAVIN’s dedicated manufacturing facility encompasses a comprehensive engineering team and research development laboratory, ensuring a robust quality and trusted experience across the oil and gas industry.
Combining the longstanding market presence of wellknown trusted brands with the drive and vibrancy of a new highly-focused operation, Celeros FT represents a major force in flow control technology The company fully concentrates on serving key market sectors where its solutions will have maximum traction. These are the oil and gas, power, energy transition, chemical processing, water treatment and marine/defence industries.
CEVA Logistics, a world leader in third-party logistics, provides global supply chain solutions to connect people, products and providers all around the world. Headquartered in Marseille, France, CEVA Logistics offers a broad range of end-to-end, customised solutions in contract logistics and air, ocean, ground and finished vehicle transport in 170 countries worldwide thanks to its approximately 110,000 employees at more than 1,300 facilities. With 2023 revenue of US$15.1 billion, CEVA Logistics is part of the CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions.
Clariant is a focused specialty chemical company led by the overarching purpose of ‘Greater chemistry – between people and planet’. By connecting customer focus, innovation and people, the company creates solutions to foster sustainability in different industries. Clariant conducts its business through the three business units – Care Chemicals, Catalysts and Adsorbents & Additives – and has its headquarters in Switzerland.
Cokebusters is an international energy and utilities services business specialising in the provision of mechanical decoking/descaling, intelligent pigging and associated integrity management advisory. From its world headquarters in the UK and regional bases in the US, the company is able to consistently deliver high-quality services to the energy and utilities sector across the globe.
Crescent Engineering provides specialised maintenance, equipment upgrade, revamp and engineering services to the oil and gas, refining, chemical, power and other asset-intensive industries with a comprehensive portfolio of industrial maintenance, modification and shutdown works.
Crowcon is a global manufacturer of gas detectors and air quality monitors that protect people and places so that operations run efficiently and safely. The company has been making the world safer, cleaner and healthier by detecting gas and saving lives since 1970, with high-quality fixed and portable gas detectors and air quality monitors that provide protection and process insights.
Danamin is committed to become the first choice and preferred service provider in its field. For NDT & Inspection services, it aimed to be a reputable and preferred service provider not only in the upstream and downstream for oil and gas, but also in other industries sectors such as Energy & Utilities, Petrochemical, Oleochemical, Manufacturing, Marine, Aviation, Construction & Theme Park.
With multiple production and manufacturing facilities across the world, Deepsea Technologies provides topside, diver-less and diver assisted engineered technologies for the offshore energy sector. These technologies are bespoke designed, built and installed by Deepsea UK’s team in some of the harshest offshore environments.
deugro is a highly specialised project freight forwarder with a strong focus on turnkey logistics solutions for various industries. The company was founded in 1924 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and has seen a proven track record in successfully executing projects of any magnitude, even under the most challenging conditions and requirements.
DNV provides assurance to the entire energy value chain through its advisory, monitoring, verification and certification services. As the world’s leading resource of independent energy experts and technical advisors, the assurance provider helps industries and governments to navigate the many complex, interrelated transitions taking place globally and regionally in the energy industry.
Ducatus Partners is an industry-leading executive search and leadership advisory firm operating across the global energy, industrial and private equity sectors. Ducatus Partners provides executive search, leadership advisory and interim management solutions for the global energy and industrial markets.
Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. Eaton makes products for the data centre, industrial, utility, harsh and hazardous industry, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. The company is guided by a commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help customers manage power - today and well into the future.
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) works with employers and training providers to give the engineering construction industry workforce the skills it needs to meet the challenges of the future. ECITB invests around £25m each year supporting employers to attract, develop and qualify their people in a wide range of craft, technical and professional disciplines.
Eldor UK is part of Eldor Holdings, which is based in Stavanger, Norway and was formed in 2006. Registered in the UK since 2016, Eldor UK has its main office located in the city of Aberdeen and operated within both upstream and downstream in the oil and gas and petrochemicals industry. The company is an expert in the interface between engineering and production of automation solutions and also is a system integrator for ABB products (both new and legacy).
Element Materials Technology is one of the world’s leading global providers of testing, inspection and certification services for a diverse range of products, materials and technologies in advanced industrial supply chains where failure in use is not an option.
Based in North Yorkshire, Ellis Patents is the world leader in the design and manufacture of electrical cable cleats and a manufacturer of pipe supports and fixings with a UK and global distribution network. With projects ranging from military vessels to power generation, oil and gas and nuclear facilities, Ellis Patents’ products are the choice of clients worldwide, ensuring the safe operation of critical systems.
Emerging EPC Sdn Bhd (EEPC) is a leading system integrator and solutions provider in the Southeast Asian oil and gas industry, specialising in innovative and sustainable solutions such as air and gas compressors, process filtration and separation, zone 2 diesel and gas generator, non-metallic pipe and nitrogen generator packages. With a focus on localisation and customisation, EEPC adheres to international standards and has ISO9001 & ISO18001 certifications.
EquipSea is a Brazilian manufacturer of welded, machined and coated parts as well as turnkey tested sets that include seals and hydraulic and electrical components. The company has expertise in the energy and oil and gas sectors but not limited to them, with major global players such as OneSubsea, SLB, Aker Solutions, Subsea 7 and others as the biggest customers.
Set up in 2008, ERSG is an award winning, international leader in staffing services to the global energy, power and built markets, covering both permanent/direct hires, contract/ freelance engagement and workforce solutions.
EthosEnergy turns on potential to deliver services and solutions globally for rotating equipment to make energy affordable, available and sustainable. A unique combination of partnership and service quality, backed by a track record of tailored solutions, for the power, oil and gas, industrial and aerospace markets. EthosEnergy operates in over 100 countries to consistently improve performance across the value chain.
ExcelTech is a dynamic and fast-growing Bruneian company that offers fit-for-purpose solutions to clients in the energy industry. Founded in 2008, ExcelTech has strong capabilities and decades of experience in plant operations and maintenance, electrical and instrumentation, cyber security, smart utilities and renewable energy.
Established in 2014, EXS Synergy is a globally recognised explosion protection specialist based in Kuala Lumpur. As a PETRONAS-licensed company, it offers comprehensive and cost-effective engineered solutions in the supply, installation, third party inspection and maintenance of electrical and instrumentation equipment, systems and packages in hazardous areas, known as Ex installations, particularly in the oil, gas and petrochemical sector.
F H Bertling is a global logistics and shipping company, recognised for handling complex project freight forwarding, GFF and resupply transports as well as offering ship-owning, chartering and brokerage services to its global clients. The company was founded in Germany nearly 160 years ago and today operates in an international network of 50 offices and 900 worldwide employees when taking the shipping division into account.
FireDos specialises in the development and production of innovative and reliable proportioning systems, extinguishing monitors and trailers for firefighting. It provides customers security through risk reduction, lower operating costs and compliance with legal regulations. Every single FireDos product is designed, built and tested to meet the most challenging conditions.
Forsyths Ltd is the fabrication arm of the Forsyth Group based in the Northeast of Scotland. Its two main areas of business are the oil and gas and alcoholic beverage industries. In the oil and gas sector, Forsyths designs and manufactures a wide range of equipment in numerous different grades of material. Typical fabrications include structural steel work, piping, pressure vessels, umbilical/pipe reels and tanks. Their work in the alcoholic beverage industry varies from the supply of distillation equipment only to turnkey distillery design and build, plant upgrade or expansion projects.
Fulkrum is a leading inspection, expediting, auditing and technical staffing service provider. As a trusted partner, Fulkrum enhances the quality and safety of clients’ projects, safeguarding their operations and budgets whilst improving environmental performance. With its innovative solutions-based approach, technical capabilities, and highly skilled and motivated team to ensure operational excellence across multiple sectors, Fulkrum now has bases in 15 countries.
Genesis is a market-leading advisory company focused on providing high-value technical and advisory services for the energy industry. As trusted advisors committed to a sustainable future, Genesis has extensive experience working in true partnership with clients while providing innovative, robust, and sustainable solutions. By cultivating an extraordinary talent across 15 global locations, it employs new and dynamic thinking, using digital tools, embracing change, and constantly seeking new opportunities to make a real and lasting impact. Genesis is a company that provides agnostic advisory and technical consulting services and is wholly owned by Technip Energies.
GHD is a leading professional services company operating in the global markets of water, energy and resources, environment, property and buildings, and transportation. GHD delivers advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions to public and private sector clients.
Glacier Energy is a leading international provider of specialist products, services and engineered solutions for renewable and conventional energy markets. Its strong history allows it to develop and deploy innovative solutions that support the transition towards clean energy. Additionally, Glacier Energy’s wide-ranging expertise and deep-rooted knowledge means the optimisation of existing assets to maximise the performance of conventional energy operations.
Global Maritime is a marine, offshore and engineering consultancy working to de-risk, innovate and drive the energy transition in the offshore energy and marine industries. The company specialises in marine warranty, marine assurance, marine operations, dynamic positioning, engineering and geoscience services.
Hausthene is in the market since 1982, looking to offer more benefits and innovation to its clients. With the support of a highly qualified technical team and ready to develop any project that involves polyurethane, Hausthene has become a reference in the industry.
High Supply, established in 2009, specialises in renting explosion-proof electric panels. The company operates primarily in the oil and gas industry, providing comprehensive services and products to support offshore oil and gas operations.
ICR is recognised for its specialisation in inspection, repair, maintenance and preservation engineering, offering state-ofthe-art solutions across several sectors including renewables, oil and gas, defence, and telecommunications. ICR has three operations in the UK as well as offices in Houston (US), Norway, the Middle East and Australia. The firm has 25 partners worldwide, including representation in Africa, Canada, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago.
IMI is a specialist engineering company operating in fluid and motion control markets, combining its deep engineering knowledge with strong applications expertise to develop solutions for the most acute industry problems. IMI helps customers become safer, more sustainable and more productive.
Established in 2019, Impressive Logging Services strives to meet customer requirements with a focus on safety, efficiency, effectiveness and timely service execution. It is driven by its strategic vision of expanding operations both domestically and internationally, with a goal of attaining a greater market share.
Founded in 1976, Induscabos stands as one of Brazil’s leading manufacturers of high, medium, and low voltage electrical wires and cables. The company boasts a modern industrial complex, comprising four production units and two state-ofthe-art laboratory facilities. Notably, in 2010, INDUSCABOS inaugurated a new industrial plant with cable production capacity extending up to class 138 kV.
INTERTEC is the global market leader in providing unique solutions for the reliable protection of highly sensitive field instrumentation. The company was founded in 1965 by Dr.Ing. Joachim Hess, who recognised the problem of insufficient protection for electronic devices in engineering. Both plant safety and the operation of the overall system can be seriously impaired by negligent or even missing protection of the instrumentation. In addition, well thought-out protection solutions offer considerable savings in operating and maintenance costs.
Industrial Plant & Service Malaysia Berhad (IPS Malaysia) has been operating in the Malaysian market since 2019. IPS Malaysia specialises in the sale, service and repair of various industrial rotating equipment, including axial and radial compressors, screw compressors, reciprocating compressors, blowers, steam turbines, gas expanders, pumps, gearboxes, centrifuges and spare parts. Its primary focus lies within sectors such as power generation, oil and gas, resources, utilities and water, petrochemical, industrial gases, chemical plants, food and beverage, pulp and paper and manufacturing.
IRE specialises in purchasing and supplying products for the international oil and gas industry. IRE is focused on providing innovative, sustainable solutions and superior quality at competitive prices while offering premium customer service. With over 30 years’ of experience, the company has high-level partnerships with manufacturers that go beyond the distribution element; acting as an extension of their business and carefully selecting who it represents.
HIGH SUPPLY energy
Kent designs, builds and maintains the assets that power the world for today and make it future-ready for tomorrow. With 100 years of know-how, it works across the asset lifecycle from consulting to design, build, commissioning and start-up through to maintenance and decommissioning.
Klippon Engineering is the internationally renowned partner of the Weidmueller Group in the field of process engineering. The company combines over 60 years of engineering expertise with the knowledge and experience of specialists and strategic partnerships in the process industry.
Kongsberg Digital is a Norwegian technology company that provides digital technology solutions for heavy assets in the maritime, oil and gas and renewables industries. Kongsberg Digital focuses on digitalisation and development of software solutions to transform ways of working that drive business results, tailored to the needs of these sectors. Kongsberg Digital has multi-year enterprise agreements for its Industrial Work Surface with Shell and Chevron.
LHR is a safety ecosystem committed to provide extensive solutions for the protection and hygiene of workers. With a highly qualified team, it looks to solve challenges related to security at the workplace environment, aiming to protect future generations.
Lloyd’s Register (LR) is a global professional services group specialising in marine engineering and technology. With a heritage going back more than 260 years to the establishment of the world’s first marine classification society, LR is dedicated to setting and improving standards for the safety of ships. Today it is a leading provider of classification and compliance services to the marine and offshore industries, helping clients design, construct and operate their assets to accepted levels of safety and environmental compliance. The company also provides advice, support and solutions on fleet performance, fleet optimisation and voyage optimisation, enhancing clients’ digital capabilities. Lloyd’s Register’s digital solutions are relied upon by more than 20,000 vessels.
LoneStar Group is a global manufacturer and supplier of high-performance fastener, sealing and precision engineered components to the world’s energy markets. The Group has a proven competence in global logistics, providing local supply of products, manufacturing and support services to OEMs, distributors and end users across America, Europe, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia, and Australia.
LRQA is the leading global assurance partner, bringing together decades of unrivalled expertise in assessment, advisory, inspection and cybersecurity services. Operating in more than 150 countries with a team of more than 5,000 people, LRQA’s award-winning compliance, supply chain, cybersecurity and ESG specialists help more than 61,000 clients across almost every sector to anticipate, mitigate and manage risk wherever they operate.
Metalcoating has been present in the Brazilian market since 2000, having extensive experience in the application of customised high-performance coatings for anti-corrosion protection, as well as technical support for its customers, from design to installation and use of parts. It uses polymers manufactured by the world’s largest chemical industries, which guarantees maximum resistance to metallic equipment for the preservation and enhancement of heritage and the environment.
Modutec is a leading provider of project management, procurement, construction, repair, refurbishment and new build services for living quarters and equipment rooms both permanent and modular. Architectural outfitting, HVAC and refrigeration, electrical, instrumentation and piping for the international marine, offshore, renewables and defence sectors.
Mott MacDonald has a diverse range of consultants delivering the world’s largest and most complex projects. The company’s purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming clients’ businesses, communities and employee opportunities.
From beginnings in the battery rental market in 1991, Norco Group is now a major force in the electrical energy storage industry. As well as staying true to their roots in the traction battery service and rental market, Norco now design, manufacture and install their own single and three-phase AC and DC industrial UPS, Central Battery Systems and Battery Monitors.
Founded in 1924, MISSION started with the aim to create products that benefit oil well drilling such as the replaceable fabric-reinforced rubber piston—still one of the most common piston types used in drilling today. With patents for everything from mud pump fluid end parts to pipe-handling tools and reset relief valves, MISSION leads the industry in the design, supply, and support of drilling fluid equipment, fluid end expendables, fluid transfer systems, and fluid end modules and accessories to customers worldwide.
Sonihull has developed an industry-leading ultrasound technology that safely prevents marine algae, weeds and molluscs from colonising ocean-going vessels and structures like ships and wind farms. The technology removes the need for poisonous chemicals and microplastics in antifouling coatings and can reduce maintenance costs by up to 90%. The company is transforming the way that marine applications are approaching antifouling, an industry that is worth about US$100 billion annually, in the commercial shipping sector alone.
At NRL, people play an integral role on major projects across a range of critical sectors including renewable energy, power generation and infrastructure. NRL is proud of its journey, from humble beginnings at Sellafield in 1983, to today’s diverse global Group supplying a range of innovative resourcing, outsourcing, contracting and consultancy services.
Oceaneering provides engineered services and products primarily to the offshore energy industry. Today, it also uses applied technology expertise to serve the defence, entertainment, material handling, aerospace, science, and renewable energy industries.
Oceânica develops subsea solutions for the offshore energy industry. The Brazilian company acts in prevention, contingency and engineering, seeking to mitigate the risk of possible environmental impacts in clients’ activities and increasing the useful life of their assets. Ocêanica offers inspection, repair, intervention, and monitoring services for underwater structures.
OGC ENERGY
OGC Energy is a leading consultancy dedicated to materials, corrosion, and asset integrity in the energy sector. With a team of experienced experts, it offers versatile consulting services, providing straightforward and achievable technical solutions to help clients achieve their project goals. Its focus is on simplifying the most complex asset integrity management challenges, ensuring the safety and reliability of assets.
Oilserv Limited is an oil and gas EPCIC company incorporated in 1992 and commenced business in 1995 with the mission to provide engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning, fabrication, upgrade, repairs, maintenance and project management to the multinational and local oil and gas & energy companies in Nigeria and Africa. These services are offered on land, swamp and offshore terrains.
Although only established as a company in 2018, the One Nature team has accumulated knowledge and experience from over 15 years of working in the oil and gas industries. The company began its activities providing special technical services, including commissioning, startups and general maintenance. However, it didn’t take long to start offering parts and complete systems, developed in partnership with internationally renowned manufacturers.
Penta Global is an established international EPC contractor with two decades of rich experience. It strives to deliver innovative, sustainable, engineered solutions to the ever-evolving energy sector across the Middle East, Southeast Asia and beyond.
Pix Force utilises Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision technologies to streamline operations, reduce risks, and increase productivity across various industries by automating image and video analysis.
Ponticelli UK, based in Aberdeen, is a leading engineering, construction, and maintenance services provider. Its expertise encompasses pre-FEED engineering to project completion, prioritising sustainability and ensuring a longterm future for employees, clients and partners. With a focus on safety and performance, Ponticelli UK manages projects across numerous sectors, including oil and gas, petrochemical and renewable energy.
Poole Process Equipment Ltd has been at the forefront of the UK’s heat exchanger industry since 1965. Over the years, it hase cultivated an impeccable reputation for expertise and commitment to quality. Its track record includes establishing long-term partnerships with prestigious organisations like ExxonMobil, BP, P66, Ineos, Essar, and many others.
From its base at the Hethel Engineering Centre on the outskirts of Norwich, Proeon System is an independent specialist systems integrator, providing control and safety solutions for complex and critical applications in a variety of industry sectors, including: oil and gas, renewables, hydrogen, nuclear and utility industries. Within the Fit4 programme from the Advance Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), Proeon is “the only award-winning, three times F4 granted company in the UK”, with F4Nuclear, F4Renewables and F4H2+CCUS.
Proserv is a global controls technology leader delivering solutions for critical infrastructure across the energy sector. Proserv’s mission is to harness its expertise and experience to innovate technologies that will improve the reliability, optimise the performance and ultimately extend the operational life of key assets.
Raba Kistner is an international engineering consulting firm with global offices and laboratories. Raba Kistner is a trusted advisor in the business because of its highly experienced staff and commitment to safety and doing things right the first time. The company serves clients in over 38 countries.
Rain for Rent is a leading provider of temporary liquid handling solutions including pumps, tanks, filtration and spill containment. Projects range from flood relief to construction site dewatering, sewer bypasses and industrial plant turnarounds. The company is known for its systems engineering expertise and its ability to tackle complex jobs cost effectively, providing an exceptionally high value.
Rapid Solutions is an innovative engineering business focused towards delivering outstanding service solutions within the oil and gas, petrochemical, industrial, commercial, maritime and telecom sectors. Rapid Solutions provides its entire range of products and services from its head office in Baku, with support from its own specialist repair centers and suppliers all over the world.
Reflex Marine’s crew transfer equipment is designed and developed to the highest safety standard. The design derived from an extensive, risk-based review of crane transfer operations. Prototypes are submitted to rigorous testing and verification programme performed on personnel crane transfer equipment.
RelyOn Nutec is a global business delivering safety and competence services across the world, helping customers to protect their people, assets and the environment. With headquarters in Copenhagen and a global footprint, RelyOn Nutec has a deep history in delivering compliance and competence services going back over 50 years.
Rotork is a market-leading global provider of mission-critical intelligent flow control solutions for oil and gas, water and wastewater, power, chemical process and industrial applications. Rotork helps customers around the world to improve efficiency, reduce emissions, minimise their environmental impact and assure safety.
Royal Dutch LV Logistics is an international logistics service provider. It offers a full range of logistical services to clients through a worldwide network of its own offices and dedicated agents. As an independent, privately owned company, Royal Dutch LV Logistics focus on long-term relationships with customers.
S3 ID manufactures ATEX certified, patented and proven in use products for the automation of Person On Board (POB), Person On Site (POS), Muster and Personnel Tracking for the oil, gas and energy industries. The products raise the standards of efficiency and global health and safety within the industries.
Since its establishment in 1994 Safelift Offshore has become recognised as a market leader in the design, supply and manufacture of all types of handling equipment to the offshore industry. With practical advice and unique depth of offshore experience, clients appreciate that Safelift Offshore can fully relate to and understand what is required of products and equipment in an offshore environment. The company only supply products and equipment that it deems 100% fit for purpose.
Samuel Knight is a global recruitment and project management expert, dedicated to delivering expertise and project solutions across the energy sectors. Whether on a permanent, contract or project basis, Samuel Knight offers a comprehensive range of services, including mobilisation, payroll management, immigration support, registration assistance and more.
Schneider Electric is the global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation. Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. The company’s mission is to be a digital partner for sustainability and efficiency.
Score was founded in 1982, by the late Charles Ritchie as an engineering services provider for valve management, and industrial gas turbines solutions. Today, Score is the world’s future-focused provider of advanced engineering technology services in the fields of valve and emissions management, gas turbines, surface technologies, energy, defence, aerospace and beyond. Score forms part of D2Zero, a company focused on decarbonising traditional energy sources whilst accelerating the transition to renewable energy, and is owned by private equity firm SCF Partners.
A specialist provider in security, access control and safety solutions exclusivity for Ex environments. Working with the very best security industry partners, SecurEx provides comprehensive solutions for hazardous areas. Operating across many diverse market sectors, SecurEx’s products meet ATEX & IECEx certification. All products are designed, manufactured and distributed from the company’s facility in the UK.
Sensia represents the unification of sensing, intelligence and action. It brings together the best of the best: the pioneering process automation, real-time control and IoT technologies of Rockwell Automation, combined with the unmatched measurement and instrument, software and analytics capabilities of Schlumberger. Sensia is further strengthened by the oil and gas domain expertise and artificial lift experience shared by Rockwell Automation and SLB.
Sepakat Energy is a Bruneian based and owned services specialising in energy services. Established in 2014, the company focuses on asset integrity and specialised maintenance, including robotics, UAV applications, cathodic protection, pipeline inspection and maintenance as well as materials and spares preservation. Sepakat Energy partners with industry leaders to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions for the energy sector. Headquartered in Kuala Belait, the company has grown significantly and is known for its strategic collaboration and introduction of advanced technological approaches to the oilfield working with the likes of NB Group Ltd of the UK, Presserv AS of Norway, Deepwater Corrosion Inc of the US and Intero Integrity Services BV of the Netherlands.
Serimax, a Vallourec subsidiary, is the world’s foremost pipeline welding partner. Proven in the delivery – from planning to execution – of high-quality automatic and manual welding solutions on land and sea, in the toughest conditions. A formidable combination of knowledge, efficiency and strength makes Serimax different.
Located in 90 countries, Siemens Energy operates across the whole energy landscape. From conventional to renewable power, from grid technology and storage to electrifying complex industrial processes. Its mission is to support companies and countries with what they need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make energy reliable, affordable and more sustainable.
SOURCE is dedicated to ensuring access to drinking water for everyone, everywhere. SOURCE’s innovative Hydropanel technology uses only sunlight and air to generate sustainable drinking water, making it accessible in almost every climate and location worldwide. SOURCE’s commitment to social good is recognised as a Public Benefit Corporation, evidenced by its inclusion in Fast Company’s 2020 list of the most innovative companies in the social good sector.
Special Piping Materials is the market leader in high quality and exotic piping products. The company is a prominent global stockholder and supplies pipes, fittings, and flanges in white metal, namely stainless, duplex, and super duplex from the most renowned mills and manufacturers in the world.
For nearly 150 years, SPP Pumps has been a leading manufacturer of centrifugal pumps and associated systems, a global principal in the design, supply and servicing of pumps, renowned fire pump packages and high-quality equipment for a wide range of applications and industry sectors.
STATS Group is a market leader in the supply of pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping and plugging services to the global energy industry. STATS DNV type approved isolation tools provide leak-tight double block and bleed isolation that enables safe and efficient maintenance and repair of onshore, topsides and subsea pipeline infrastructure.
Sulzer is a global leader in fluid engineering and chemical processing applications. The company specialises in energy-efficient pumping, agitation, mixing, separation, purification, crystallisation and polymerisation technologies for fluids of all types. Its solutions enable carbon emission reductions, development of polymers from biological sources, recycling of plastic waste and textiles and efficient power storage.
Technical Royal Excellence (TRE) aims to provide a better future for the UAE. The company has grown to become a specialised company providing a wide range of services to the onshore and offshore oil and gas, marine and other industries as well.
TenzorGEO Ltd offers an end-to-end (bespoke) integrated and environmentally friendly passive/microseismic technology, from acquisition, processing and interpretation that aims to unlock the full potential of hydrocarbon reservoirs, monitor the integrity of CO2 storage reservoirs and help maximise economic recovery, reduce exploration and appraisal risks while delivering cost and security value to clients both onshore and offshore.
TKR Engineering is a dynamic and youthful engineering company headquartered at a private wharf in Miri, Sarawak. It’s focused on the engineering industry, which allows it to provide more efficient project management and services. Therefore, it understands clients’ need for convenience, quick and easy procurement, and on-time delivery of supplies at a competitive price.
Turner & Townsend is a global professional services company with over 10,000 people in 50 countries. Collaborating with clients across real estate, infrastructure and natural resources sectors, Turner & Townsend specialise in major programmes, programme management, cost and commercial management, net zero and digital solutions.
In its role as an independent third party, TÜV Rheinland tests technical systems, products and services, supports projects and tests processes for companies and organisations. Its experts also train people in a wide range of careers. To this end, TÜV Rheinland operates a global network of approved labs, testing and education centers.
Since 1959, TÜV SÜD Energietechnik GmbH is an independent and neutral service provider for assessment, inspection and advisory services in the field of technology, focusing on activities related to the energy industry, focusing on nuclear market, decarbonisation and energy transition. A one-top service provider, TÜV SÜD ET supports clients with asessment and advisory services and a comprehensive range of trainings.
Tyde Digital goes beyond the bounds of traditional consulting with a belief that every business is unique. Its approach is comprehensive and transparent to allow clients to be engaged throughout the journey, understanding the unique challenges of the energy industry, the legacy mindsets and systems in place and the evolving expectations of the workforce.
The Law firm Vaz e Dias Advogados & Associados specialises specifically in intellectual property law and its activities encompass aspects related to the protection of technological inventions by patents and utility models, to the registration of industrial design, plant varieties, semiconductors, trademarks, domain names, copyright and their effectiveness in the Brazilian territory and overseas.
Venterra helps the world’s energy transition through wind power. As the world decarbonises, demand for renewable energy, especially wind power, is soaring. Venterra is building a best-in-class services company to meet this demand by acquiring and integrating select companies in the sector, adding its management expertise and capital to fuel expansion.
Venture Services is the centralised management and shared service center for companies in the UAE with a special focus on the energy industry. The company is extending these services to outside firms established in the UAE and companies who are keen to open the market in the UAE. Its objective is to offer an exceptional level of service facilitating company formation in the UAE and offering a broad range of legal, financial and business services for business operation and compliances.
VOOVIO stands as a cutting-edge digital platform dedicated to enhancing the operational excellence of field operators. At its core, the platform harnesses the power of enhanced reality technology, a proprietary innovation patented by Voovio. This groundbreaking technology enables the creation of a precise digital replica of operational assets, complemented by sophisticated standard operating procedure simulators.
VWS Westgarth is a subsidiary of the Veolia group and the leading specialist in water treatment. The company’s teams design and deliver drinking water or wastewater treatment plants as well as smaller standardised water treatment equipment for industrial or municipal customers. VWS Westgarth offers a range of services (audit, maintenance, digital, etc.) to cover all water treatment plant management needs.
Vysus Group is an engineering and technical consultancy, offering specialist asset performance, risk management and project management expertise across complex industrial assets, energy assets (oil and gas, nuclear, renewables) and energy transition projects.
Walter Tosto SpA is recognised worldwide as a top-quality manufacturer of critical, long lead equipment. With an unparalleled commitment to the delivery of cutting-edge technology and services to the leading worldwide licensors, EPCs and end-users, Walter Tosto benefits from over 60 years of experience underlined by significant investments in human resources, quality, research, state-of-theart facilities and technologies as well as optimal logistic solutions for worldwide deliveries.
Wärtsilä is a global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. It emphasises innovation in sustainable technology and services to help customers continuously improve their environmental and economic performance.
With the mission to connect the world’s energy experts, WeConnect Energy has been redefining what it means to explore further since 2008. The company is a tailored recruitment and contracting solutions firm for the energy industry, specialising in upstream, corporate, low carbon and renewables markets.
As a well-established, experienced and multidiscipline contractor, Whessoe combines proven technology, quality and safety with global capabilities in engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPC&C) to deliver comprehensive and value-engineered solutions to customers in the hydrocarbon, petrochemical and energy industries.
Wood is a global leader in consulting and engineering, delivering critical solutions across energy and materials markets. Wood provides consulting, projects and operations solutions in 60 countries, employing around 35,000 people.
AAL Shipping (AAL)
Unlocking tomorrow’s energy sector opportunities with six revolutionary new vessels
John Pittalis Head of Global Marketing & Communications
How is AAL Shipping thriving?
AAL Shipping (AAL) is on the cusp of welcoming six new and revolutionary multipurpose 32,000 deadweight and 700 tonne max lift heavy lift Super B-class vessels into its fleet, designed to meet today and tomorrow’s energy industry needs.
With 5,000 square metres of clear-deck space already, its unique, extendable “AAL eco-deck” technology to optimise wind turbine component transport capacity, and a total cargo intake of 42,630 cubic metres, AAL Shipping is looking ahead to successfully cutting sailings and emissions, reducing client costs and opening up new market opportunities.
The challenge - AAL Shipping is renowned as a multi-award-winning premium project heavy lift, multipurpose carrier that has delivered competitive solutions for some of the world’s most dynamic sectors, including oil & gas, mining, energy, construction and agriculture since 1995.
With 12 office locations spanning four continents, the organisation offers an ‘around the world’ service connecting Europe, Middle East, India, Asia and Oceania, and is established as one of the multipurpose shipping sector’s top five carriers by total fleet deadweight tonnage (DWT).
Emerging from what has been a tough decade for the carriers’ market, AAL Shipping made the decision to reinvest profits from a strong 2021-22 financial performance into the future of the company and the sector. Strategically, many of these funds were earmarked to help establish the organisation as the go-to carrier for wind energy.
In order to achieve this, the firm set about working to enhance its fleet, with the aim of adding next-generation heavy lift vessels that could accommodate today’s and tomorrow’s demands from the project sector – especially the wind energy sector - an exercise that would be both complex and costly.
The solution - Ultimately, AAL saw a gap in the market and went for it. The result was the revolutionary ‘Super B-Class’ heavy lift fleet. With a single shareholder providing roughly US$300 million in funds, the company set about building six new revolutionary vessels,
consulting its energy clients and working closely with sister company Columbia Ship Management and CSSC, HuangPu WenChong Shipbuilding CO. LTD in China to ensure its relevancy to the energy sector.
During this process, AAL’s in-house engineers worked to ensure the incorporation of two critical changes on these vessels versus traditional ships.
First, the accommodation black has been placed at the fore of vessel, improving visibility when carrying wind blades that are tiered. This means the ships can safely carry and stack more blades and taller cargoes.
Secondly, the vessels feature unique proprietary technology called the ‘AAL eco-deck’, a retractable weather deck extension system allowing ships to boost their clear deck space to 5,630 square metres.
Diversifying and enhancing in such a manner was a logical approach for AAL to take, these heavy lift vessels becoming a natural extension of its existing multipurpose fleet. Not only have they been purpose-built to deal with larger wind energy components, but the company’s engineers have already garnered significant experience working with these components, having already had to deal with blades up to 120 metres in length.
Of course, this transition hasn’t all been plain sailing. The company has faced several challenges, impacted by the geopolitical landscape, cross-jurisdictional challenges, and the hurdles associated with regular third-party dealings. However, after years of effective planning, focussing on its core strengths and markets, and executing a sustainable growth strategy, the firm is now on the brink of welcoming its new Super B-Class fleet.
From May 2024, AAL will start to take delivery of the six new, revolutionary, multi-purpose heavy lift vessels – a delivery schedule that is anticipated to span over the course of the following 18 months.
With each vessel set to provide a heavy lift capability of up to 700 tonnes and a cargo intake of up to 42,000 cubic metres, the benefits they will bring to the company and economies of scale to its clients will be significant. With the vessels designed to be both safer and more efficient, they will be able to deliver
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#collaboration, #innovation
Benefits
▸ Safer, cost effective and more efficient projects with fewer sailings and carbon emissions.
▸ Expected revenue growth.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Stay flexible – don’t pigeon yourself into one area of the energy sector. Broaden your experience first and then decide to specialise.
For government
▸ Be tougher on companies and supply chains that breach sustainability and ethical business practices within their operations and partner selections.
AAL Shipping at a glance:
Key products and services: maritime transport.
Main industries served: ▸ Onshore renewable energy – 30% ▸ Conventional power – 10% ▸ Oil and gas – 10%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 10%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 40%
Headquarters: Singapore
Year established: 1995
Number of employees: 115
Revenue: £316m
Revenue from exports: N/A
components for greater economy and lower carbon emissions. Indeed, it’s estimated that a project which previously could have taken six sailings will now take just four with these new vessels, with clients expected to enjoy cost savings of approximately 15% as a result.
Further, with more fluid cargo lifting and handling capabilities, safety is tantamount. And for AAL, this fleet of more efficient vessels is tailor-made for a growing industry that is expected to drive 25% revenue growth over the next five years. As the company looks set to accommodate a more diverse portfolio of project cargo sizes, it can also look ahead to working with an expanded client and revenue base.
ABB
Driving the disruption needed for a successful energy transition
How is ABB thriving?
Gino Hernandez Head of Global Digital Business
Leveraging digital technologies as the cornerstone of the global energy transition, ABB is at the forefront of catalysing operational and digital revolutions across diverse energy sector stakeholders as it continues to champion a greener, cleaner future.
By simultaneously enhancing operational efficiencies and meeting emission reductions objectives throughout extensive and complex interconnected value chains, the company is reshaping the business landscape for its clients, driving advancements that benefit profitability, societal well-being, and environmental stewardship.
The challenge - As one of the world’s pioneering technology leaders in the automation, electrification and digitalisation of industrial operations, ABB is at the very forefront of progress in the global energy transition. With its 20,000 employees, leading technology and service expertise, the company is playing a vital role in shaping a more sustainable and resource-efficient future.
Today, ABB confronts pivotal industry challenges head-on, striving to empower clients through digital transformation, nurture the next generation of skilled workers, and navigate the delicate balance between hydrocarbon production and environmental stewardship. In this multifaceted endeavour, ABB addresses a spectrum of challenges.
Given that energy constitutes over three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating supply chain emissions is paramount across all sectors. However, many asset-intensive industries grapple with reconciling sustainability with productivity and profitability. Moreover, managing intricate global supply chains poses a formidable challenge, requiring adept data management for timely decision-making.
Simultaneously, the imperative to integrate renewable energy sources, achieve scale, and drive down costs for clean energy and decarbonisation technologies looms large. Amidst these complexities, ABB also confronts the pressing issues of a widening skills gap and an aging workforce.
These challenges represent just a fraction of the complexities ABB collaboratively tack-
les with its clients, leveraging expertise and innovation to pave the way toward a more sustainable and resilient future.
The solution - Fortunately, ABB embraces challenges as opportunities for innovation to flourish, dedicating itself to tackling industry-specific hurdles and supporting customers in navigating today’s critical obstacles. From optimising asset management to enhancing materials efficiency, managing energy consumption, and reducing carbon footprints, the company’s focus spans a broad spectrum of initiatives. These overarching themes translate into a myriad of ABB innovations and solutions across several key areas. Operationally, ABB prioritises delivering solutions that streamline processes, enhance outputs and quality, all while curbing CO2 emissions, energy usage, and resource consumption. Moreover, as these solutions often underpin critical infrastructure, making their security and resilience against cyber threats paramount.
Indeed, it’s an area in which integrated technologies are playing a key role.
Take carbon capture and storage (CCS) as an example—an instrumental solution in the energy transition. While its potential is vast, current operations are highly complex, costly, and laden with risks. Here, ABB is in the early phase of tapping the potential of CCS through its new digital twin track and trace technology that provides surface and subsurface modelling and simulations at every stage of CCS operations.
Not only does this offer a 360-degree view of operations, enabling users to visualise and optimise carbon from point of source to point of injection, but it also saves risks and costs by allowing operators to test options in a virtual setting before rollout.
At the same time, ABB is also applying energy management optimisation software to reduce the amount of energy and chemicals being used in wastewater treatment plants. By deploying Optimax, ABB’s scalable energy management solution for industrial and commercial customers, the firm’s clients can reduce their emissions and maximise profitability by leveraging a versatile asset mix, revolutionising business practices.
It’s not just technologies that are enabling
Story type
#digital (main category)
#environmental sustainability, #innovation
Benefits
▸ ABB’s Optimax is enabling customers to reduce their emissions and maximise profitability by leveraging a versatile asset mix.
▸ ABB’s turnover is expected to grow to US$29m in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Digital solutions not only optimize production and minimize downtime but are now a key weapon in helping industry reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.
ABB at a glance:
Key products and services: robotics and discreet automation, electrification, motion and process automation.
Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland
Year established: 1998
Number of employees: +105,000
Revenue: £24.4bn
ABB to drive transformation agendas forward, however. Equally, the firm is collaborating with a variety of key experts to develop an industry leading ecosystem. This includes Hydrogen Optimized, IBM and Worley in green hydrogen, Pace CCS and Computer Modelling Group in CCS, and DHI Group in Wastewater management. Moreover, ABB’s commitment to addressing skill shortages is evident in its decade-long partnership with Imperial College London, equipping the next generation with the expertise to propel industrial processes towards net-zero goals.
With its eyes firmly on aiding a greener, more sustainable future, ABB is excelling through its multi-faceted efforts. Notably, turnover from its sustainability business totalled £22m in 2023, with this expected to grow to US$29m in 2024.
Having already brought together 19 disparate applications under one framework, and more than doubled the number of staff it has dedicated to sustainable industrial solutions, ABB is poised to sustain its momentum throughout this year and beyond.
ABL Group
Driving the sustainability of energy and oceans
Reuben Segal
CEO
How is ABL Group thriving?
ABL Group continues to diversify from its reliance on oil and gas with a mission to provide sustainable solutions to both the energy and shipping/marine industries. Such has been the momentum being gathered, almost a quarter of all revenue came from the renewables segment in 2023, with plans to double this part of the business in three-year cycles.
The challenge - Up until 2012 – a year in which ABL Group acquired a specialist offshore wind consultancy business OWC – the company had almost exclusively conducted its business of providing independent consulting services within the traditional oil and gas and maritime sectors.
That acquisition marked an important turning point. Since then, the company has rapidly diversifi ed its service offering with the evolution of the energy market to tackle the heightened threats to energy security and the impact of climate change. Indeed, it became clear that its clients needed services beyond traditional oil and gas or maritime projects – the time had come for ABL to pivot and grow this new line of business.
The solution - During the decade or so since, ABL has turbocharged its diversified offering.
OWC, acquired with a team of just three people, is now a global renewable energy consultancy supporting onshore and offshore renewable development, its expertise spanning offshore wind, onshore wind, battery storage, solar, and green hydrogen. The division has worked on several energy transition projects – these include offshore wind powering an oil and gas platform, green hydrogen production, and tracking carbon emissions of renewable projects. In 2023 alone, OWC grew organically by 40%.
ABL has also made several other notable acquisitions to add to its roster of onshore and offshore renewables capabilities, including Innosea in 2017, East Point Geo in 2021 and Delta Wind Partners in 2023.
In recent years, much of the company’s growth has been driven at the C-Suite level. When it formally became known as ABL Group in 2020, a role for a Chief Energy Transition Officer was immediately created and occupied
by Dr RV Ahilan. This role is focused on consolidating and growing the firm’s group-wide energy transition portfolio, which continues to go from strength to strength on the back of both organic growth and strategic mergers and acquisitions.
Structurally, ABL Group’s energy transition portfolio is split into six pillars – emissions, hydrogen and Power to X, energy storage, electrification, climate change assessment risk and resilience, and carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS). Through these focus areas, the company operates firmly in the belief that renewables will outgrow its traditional oil and gas revenue streams in the longer term, an ambition underpinned by its newly defined purpose for 2024 onwards: Driving the Sustainability of Energy and Oceans.
Sustainability-driven projects continue to be added to the pipeline. For instance, earlier this year ABL’s engineering and ship design expert, Longitude Engineering, was selected to support a consortium led by vessel owner and operator Bibby Marine for the design of the world’s first zero-emission electric Service Operation Vessel (eSOV). Specifi cally, the company is responsible for developing the design to Approval in Principle level for verifi cation of the energy storage system and methanol system philosophy, as well as providing design development and support for shipyard pricing.
The eSOV is based on Longitude Engineering’s OSD-IMT9605 design. It will be powered by a hybrid 20MWh battery system and dual-fuel methanol generators for back-up and offshore charging capability, enabling the vessel to provide ultra-low emission support to offshore construction, operations, and maintenance activities for the offshore renewables sector in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
Pioneering projects such as these will go a long way to fulfilling ABL Group’s new purpose. Looking at the figures, the direction of travel is already promising, with 23% of company revenue being derived from renewables work in 2023. The aim now, is to double this income base every three years. Attracting and retaining staff will be key to this, and here ABL is also well-placed to thrive after recording 95% retention last year.
▸ ABL Group achieved a recording 95% staff retention in 2023.
▸ Increase in revenues from renewables.
Key findings
For industry
▸ It is the perfect time to work in the energy sector. There are so many opportunities right now.
▸ Be adaptable. The oil and gas sector is a great route into renewables.
For government
▸ Keep pushing net zero ambitions, don’t fail to follow through.
ABL Group at a glance:
Key products and services: energy consultancy in all energy and maritime/ shipping sectors.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 63%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 19%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 2%
▸ Carbon capture – 1,25%
▸ Hydrogen – 1,25%
▸ Energy storage – 0,5%
▸ Others (non-energy: maritime) – 13%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 2012
Number of employees: 1,800
Revenue: £200m
Revenue from exports: 80%
ABL Group (APAC)
Countering COVID-19 with a solutions-based exporting strategy
Donny Ng Regional Business Development Manager
How is ABL APAC thriving?
Established through a merger and rebranding exercise in 2020, ABL APAC has achieved much in the space of four short years. Working to manage a major restructuring process, the firm has prioritised employee retention, skills development, client relationships and energy transition. Resultantly, and with a focus on futureproofing, the company has successfully consolidated and is now set to triple its renewables revenue by 2025.
The challenge - With roots dating back to 1856, ABL Group is a global, independent energy, marine and engineering consultant working to de-risk and drive sustainability across projects and assets in renewables, maritime and oil and gas. Of the company’s 1,800 employees, 500 reside in the Asia Pacific region that is strategically significant for its overall success.
At the core of the company’s survive and thrive story is the acquisition of LOC (London Offshore Consultants) by AB (AqualisBraemer), the result of which formed ABL in 2020. Indeed, any merger or acquisition will present challenges. In the case of ABL, however, working to combine two large marine consultancy companies that had been competitors created a scenario of significant uncertainty.
Indeed, while both management teams worked hard to achieve the optimal arrangements, conditions and outcomes from which the business could move forward, it was unavoidable that some staff would be apprehensive, resistance or unhappy with the required changes. As a result, with the two companies undergoing major restructuring and merger integration efforts between 2021 and 2022, several good employees were lost in the process.
Critically, this drop in headcount risked impacting ABL’s resources and service offering, and its ability to meet client expectations. However, at the same time, the merger brought significant organic growth – particularly within the APAC region – with ABL also acquiring Add Energy, AGR and Delta Wind Partners to further complicate matters.
To navigate this situation, ABL APAC needed to strategise on how to move forward with effective personnel utilisation for the region.
The solution - The strategy spanned several different fronts, with employees being a major focus.
To ensure it could retain key staff and continue to operate effectively amidst business growth, the firm prioritised the equipping of its consultants with the necessary skills and knowledge to carry out onshore and offshore inspections safely and successfully, with feedback gathered through “HELP Cards” for continuous improvement.
These efforts were then underpinned by the development of a structured human resources function to take care of all employee issues and needs. The department is also responsible for ensuring that a proper staff acquisition process is in place and carried out, with initiatives regarding staff retention and progression and succession now in-place. Meanwhile, ABL hired a Group People’s Director for the first time, responsible for monitoring and implementing policies and activities to ensure good employee health in the company.
In addition, a similar approach has been taken regarding the firm’s clients.
Here, it has put energy and resources into reiterating key company messaging around how ABL always does the best it can while ensuring transparency, integrity and responsibility – characteristics that marry with its “Seek the Truth” motto. Equally, the company has worked hard to align more closely with client expectations.
The latter has been particularly challenging given the need to take into account local market requirements and expectations, with the merger having expanded the company’s footprint from 30 offices to 60. However, ABL has worked tirelessly to do this, listening to clients as well as working closely with its technical board to ensure that final deliverables meet customers’ unique standards.
While this will be vital in ensuring the company is able to retain key clients, it has also futureproofed in other ways, not least through committing to secure 50% of its revenue from renewables or clean energy projects by 2025. Through these efforts, not only has ABL successfully navigated the turbulence of its merger, but the firm is now also on track to
Story type
#collaboration (main category)
#environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ Internal restructuration with the development of the human resources department, to assist with staff retention, career progression and more.
▸ ABL is committed to secure 50% of its revenue from renewables or clean energy by 2050.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Plan the business and have strong strategies too follow. Don’t take failure with a negative perspective.
▸ Be inspiring and innovative as the energy industry needs to have a sustainable drive to help continue to grow.
For government
▸ Simply legislations so external organisations can invest and develop/grow the energy sector.
ABL (APAC) at a glance:
Key products and services: energy consultancy in all energy and maritime/ shipping sectors.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 35%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 30%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Hydrogen – 5%
▸ Carbon capture – 5%
▸ Energy storage – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy): 15%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 2012 (Group details)
Number of employees: 1,800 (Group details)
Revenue: £200m (Group details)
Revenue from exports: 80% (Group details)
ABL Group (Malaysia)
Proving that cost isn’t always king
Mohd Saifuddin Md Salleh Country Manager
How is ABL Malaysia thriving?
In the wake of challenging market conditions post-pandemic – where competitors became engaged in a price war to secure contracts – ABL Malaysia chose a different path, emphasising the superior value it could provide as a premier specialist in marine and energy solutions, offering comprehensive services under one roof.
Through strategic diversification of its offerings, elevation of technical standards, and leveraging the collective experience of the broader group, the company has witnessed a remarkable surge in revenues from 2019 to 2023.
The challenge - ABL, a premier independent global energy and marine consultancy, boasts a workforce of 1,800 professionals spread across 62 offices in 38 countries. Its comprehensive range of services includes technical advisory, consultancy, and software solutions, all geared towards enhancing safety and sustainability across project and asset lifecycles.
Within this global network, ABL Malaysia stands out as a vital regional division.
Despite the inherent challenges posed by the pandemic, ABL Malaysia encountered a fresh set of obstacles as the industry emerged into the post-COVID era. In early 2021, the regional division confronted intensified competition as rival firms slashed rates by up to 40%, signalling a more aggressive market landscape. As businesses scrambled to secure contracts and ramp up operations, ABL Malaysia found itself losing ground in tender bids – particularly among local operators. Simultaneously, the regulatory landscape in certain Malaysian states underwent revisions, introducing additional complexities and elongating bureaucratic processes.
The solution - Rather than watching its market share dwindle, ABL Malaysia acted quickly, strategically repositioning itself in the eyes of its clientele while leveraging its expertise and resources to outshine competitors.
Recognising that mirroring competitors’ cost-cutting measures was neither sensible nor sustainable in the long term, the firm embarked on a journey to showcase and augment the value it could deliver to its customers.
Here, it proactively engaged with clients faceto-face, highlighting the comprehensive offering of ABL Malaysia within the broader global framework. This included emphasising the integrated nature of its services and its ability to provide customers with holistic support. Indeed, ABL Malaysia prides itself on being a comprehensive one-stop destination for energy and marine solutions, with particular expertise in de-risking customer operations. In this respect, being part of the wider ABL Group continues to pay dividends, with ABL Malaysia able to leverage lessons learned from various countries and capitalise on its high global technical standards to deliver market-leading results. Further, it has also been able to diversify its offering, bringing additional value to the table for its customers with a major emphasis on enhancing its expertise in key renewables markets.
Through these efforts, ABL Malaysia has proven to its customers that cost isn’t always king. Through a testing period, it has demonstrated the heightened value that it can bring to the table through its extensive expertise and one-stop shop offering, and positioned itself as part of a highly renowned, reputable global group.
Indeed, not only has the firm avoided lowering its prices to unsustainable levels during a time of significant challenge, but it has also seen a dramatic increase in output compared with even the pre- COVID era.
Having recorded revenues of US$1.2m in 2019 and US$1.4m in 2020, it then consecutively secured revenue exceeding US$2.9m between 2021 and 2023 – a sharp rise that is testament to the firm’s strategic repositioning. With ABL Malaysia now set to focus attention on the evolving marine, sustainability and energy transition markets such as hydrogen, battery energy storage systems and floating solar during 2024, the regional division will only continue to heighten its reputation and improve its offering for customers moving forward, further consolidating its reputation as a best-in-class marine and energy consultancy.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#transformation, #people & competency
Benefits
▸ ABL’s successful diversification strategy is bringing additional value to its customers.
▸ Malaysia’s division is breaking revenue records.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Step out of your comfort zone.
For government
▸ Tax incentives and lower service tax for local companies.
▸ Invest in energy roadmap.
ABL Malaysia at a glance:
Key products and services: energy consultancy in all energy and maritime/ shipping sectors.
Investing in optimisation and people in readiness for the pandemic recovery
Haydn Davies Managing Director
How is Airpac Rentals thriving?
Airpac Rentals, rather than cut back when market conditions were extremely challenging, decided to use the pandemic period as an opportunity to develop means of operating with maximum impact for clients. Alongside optimising how it fulfils client demands, the company has also invested heavily in its next generation of talent.
The challenge - In operation for nearly 50 years, Airpac Rentals has made its name through the provision of an expansive range of air compressors, steam generators, steam heat exchangers, nitrogen production units, sand filters, coflexip hoses and air treatment ancillaries. Operating out of bases in Aberdeen and Great Yarmouth in the UK, the company also has an international footprint with setups in Singapore and Perth, Australia.
The COVID pandemic presented Airpac Rentals with many challenges. Exporting, supplying people and doing business across borders wasn’t possible. Revenues suffered, but rather than choose to downsize or consolidate, Airpac and its parent company stood firm by coming up with a plan to bounce back stronger when the industry picked up.
The solution - The company’s leadership were confident that the market would recover, and numerous actions were taken in preparation.
An analysis of fleet utilisation was one such initiative, with a focus on how to best optimise its assets across different regions. Recognising that it can’t physically be everywhere, Airpac’s leadership has had to think strategically and pick hot spots from which it can be fluid in the allocation of its equipment and therefore better serve clients. To this end, the company is considering opening more global offices to add to its bases in Australia and Singapore which have served it well for over 17 years.
Collaboration and communication with customers will be crucial, not just for optimising where it locates its rental fleet, but also in terms of staying one step ahead of their
demands. This is especially the case when it comes to ESG priorities, with many clients on ambitious sustainability roadmaps which will see them seek to use more environmentally friendly solutions. In response, Airpac Rentals has increased its fleet of electric compressors and continues to venture along its own roadmap to net zero by 2050.
Investing in cutting-edge equipment will be central to fulfilling these ESG ambitions. Likewise, investing in people who are able to maintain, service and sell these assets will be equally important to Airpac’s success.
Here, the company also realises the need to futureproof itself through the onboarding of younger generations of talent, not only to fill labour gaps when older employees retire but also to bring fresh and new ideas to the table.
To make the industry more attractive to them, Airpac Rentals offers a comprehensive fouryear Workshop Technician – Mechanical Level 3 Apprenticeship scheme, combining practical experience with theoretical education.
In the first year, apprentices learn foundational skills under experienced mentors, undertaking basic tasks while pursuing a Performing Engineering Operations Level 2 qualifi cation at college. The second year focuses on diagnosing faults, repairs, and servicing, complemented by a Level 5 National Certifi cate. The third year marks a signifi cant progression, with apprentices taking on more responsibility, advising on repairs, diagnosing complex faults, and executing repairs independently. They continue their education, aiming to complete National Certifi cate Level 5/6 while engaging in work-based projects. In the final year, apprentices consolidate their skills, entrusted with job cards and preparing assets for hire, ensuring maintenance tasks meet exacting standards. A key feature of year four is the emphasis on autonomy and profi ciency, a major goal being to prepare apprentices for their transition into fully-fledged Workshop Technicians.
In addition, Airpac Rentals has also worked
Story type
#people & competency (main category)
#optimisation, #service & solutions
Benefits
▸ Increase in average length of employee stay.
▸ Revenue performance recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Growth back on track.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Trust the people you employ and listen to them.
▸ Don’t be afraid to challenge the way things have been done: fail to prepare and prepare to fail.
For government
▸ Engage and communicate with the industry more.
Airpac Rentals at a glance:
Key products and services: compressed air and steam generation solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 85%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy): construction –10%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 1975
Number of employees: 80
Revenue from exports: 70%
hard to foster a positive work culture underpinned by a thirst for innovation, knowledge sharing and respect for others. The business adopts a personal approach with its colleagues, emphasising the development of softer behavioural skills as well as the transactional skills needed to do the job. This appears to be working, with the average length of employee stay increasing in recent years.
Besides that, Airpac Rentals has also been able to recover revenue performance since the pandemic. Now entering a growth phase once again, the company’s decision to stay the course through the diffi cult years was a bold but justifi ed one.
Airswift
Operating as a harmonious entity primed for rapid growth
How is Airswift thriving?
Janette Marx CEO
After consolidating as Airswift in 2016, what could have been a disparate group of siloed teams came together to form a global company with a unified vision and purpose. More acquisitions have followed since due to the integration process being seamless thanks to the foundations which were laid by the firm’s new executive leadership team. Today, Airswift is on an upward trajectory as it passes the US$1.5b revenue milestone.
The challenge - Workforce solutions provider Airswift has spent much of the last decade in a state of transformative change. Forming out of a merger of Air and Swift in 2016, the company was eager to build a platform for even more rapid growth to tap into opportunities emanating out of the energy sector on a truly global and sizable scale.
However, such growth needed to be sustainable. As more countries were added to its roster, Airswift was in danger of becoming too fragmented and decentralised and, therefore, not drawing on the strength of the broader organisation.
The soluti on - To address this challenge, a new C-suite team came together during the merger process to lead the integration of the two entities.
This has unfolded in numerous stages over the ensuing years, with the major focus being to build a winning culture from the outset. Here, the company brought its top performers together with the executive leadership to become ambassadors of the newly merged team.
After key systems in HR, finance and IT were aligned in 2017, attention turned to how the merged entity could drive growth. This led to the establishment of three delivery centre hubs across key regions (UK, Brazil and Malaysia) –operating as market-facing groups. The idea is that recruiters can work locally and internationally as part of one transparent, global system.
This laid the groundwork for acquisition-based growth. In 2021, Airswift acquired Compe-
tentia and integrated it into the business in the space of just six months. Two years later, in 2023, the company acquired Energy Resourcing to further build out its capabilities and reach.
Another crucial development has been the creation of the Global Leadership Team (GLT). Formed in 2020 and rotating in personnel annually, its aim is to harness the collective expertise of the senior leaders across the business to innovate, collaborate and drive positive change throughout the organisation.
One of GLT’s most significant impacts came in its first year of existence. During a highly volatile period for the oil market, the #DV8 initiative emerged – a concentrated effort to diversify Airswift’s STEM and non-oil and gas portfolios. This led to the formation of a dedicated STEM division, its remit being to strategically focus on critical skill sets in sectors such as process, infrastructure, and technology. Such has been its impact, it now commands a quarter of the company’s overall gross profit.
Airswift also recognised the importance of achieving employee buy-in from the very outset of the change process.
To this end, the company conducts regular employee engagement surveys, including pulse checks bi-annually, in addition to a comprehensive survey annually. In 2023, 93% of its colleagues said they felt valued within the business, which seeks to increase this to 94% by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, learning and development satisfaction was rated an impressive 4.72 out of five in 2023, the aim being to boost this to 4.8 by year-end.
Over time, Airswift has become a much more cohesive entity. Its workforce is unified and engaged, and that is feeding into a promising financial performance which has seen the business achieve its 2025 targets two years early. Now, as a US$1.5b enterprise, the sky is the limit for Airswift and its highly ambitious team.
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#culture, #scale up
Benefits
▸ Staff engagement highlights that 93% of Airswift’s employees feel valued by their organisation.
▸ Airswift’s promising financial performance achieved its 2025 targets two years early.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be open and adaptable. When things happen in a company, accept it, understand it, be part of the change, own it and lead from the front with your actions.
▸ Build a culture of innovation: hear the great ideas from all in your organisation and foster the ability to have real conversations across organisation.
For government
▸ Work with both sides of the aisle, to help us have better outcomes. We need all types of energy, now and in the future.
Airswift at a glance:
Key products and services: recruiting, service provider.
Never one to duck a challenge, AIS took on arguably its most complex project to date in the form of a client’s gas platform off the coast of Malaysia. Facing issues around scale, access, traceability and time, the company drew on all its experience and ingenuity to deliver on time and within budget.
The challenge - Since 2007, passive fire protection specialist AIS has grown from a company of fewer than 10 people working out of a single site to a truly global organisation with a team of 650 employees operating across many regions of the world.
The company is built on an innovation- and collaboration-driven approach to solving customers’ bespoke problems, its can-do attitude winning over many energy sector clients with assets that require complex and challenging fire protection needs.
That approach, as well as its formidable base of expertise, would be put to the test when it tendered for and won a contract to provide a solution for a client operating in the Kasawari Field Development Project, 200km off the coast of Malaysia in the South China Sea.
The solution - AIS’ brief was to supply passive fire protection for AGRU skids which had been installed by another supplier onto its drilling and processing platforms that produce 900 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
The scale was immense, and the client was seeking a solution that was also simple to remove and install so it could carry out frequent inspections of equipment. AIS was faced with several complex nuances, including a lack of space around the existing insulation on the AGRU skids, leaving its team with very few design options. Harsh marine weather conditions also had to be accounted for in the design in a way that did not add any further structural members. Meanwhile, the sheer scale of the project required more than 3,000 pieces of AIS’ product, creating logistical, manufacturing and traceability issues, with a project timeline of just four months post design approval adding to the list of challenges.
Faced with a heady mix of potential problems, AIS knew it would have to think outside of the box. Despite the formidable challenge it faced, it is these very situations in which the
company thrives. Thanks to meticulous planning, attention to detail and an innovative hybrid approach to the design that made use of state-of-the-art 3D scanning technology, the company managed to complete the project on time, meeting the delivery and installation commitments with the client.
Key to its success was nailing down the detail early on. AIS worked on three different designs which were evaluated internally with project, design, manufacturing, logistics and installation teams to decide the most feasible option. Crucially, the design fulfilled the aforementioned weather proofing requirements without the use of any additional structural members. To achieve this, the design incorporated PFP panels to facilitate water run off on the top panels, as well as additional weather skins which would ensure no water logging between PFP joints.
Installation was also factored in at the design stage, with AIS coming up with specific tools which would allow for improved access to constrained areas of the equipment. To overcome the traceability challenge, an identification and traceability matrix was established and communicated with internal and external stakeholders during the design phase. This helped to streamline communication and ensure traceability during quality inspections and site installation.
After further fine-tuning of the design with the client, a mock setup of the equipment with actual clearances was carried out at AIS’ manufacturing facility to trial the design concept and prepare the installation sequence, giving the client confidence in the installation process and the likelihood of success.
Such confidence was well-placed. As well as ticking all the boxes for the client, this approach to working has uncovered numerous productivity gains for AIS. The company was able to improve its production efficiency by 20%, while raw material resizing reduced wastage by 9%, which in turn contributed to an overall cost saving of 18%.
With such a complex project successfully added to its portfolio, AIS is now better placed than ever to support clients with the most bespoke and challenging passive fire protection needs.
Story type
#innovation (main category)
#resilience
Benefits
▸ Overall cost savings of 18%.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Embrace challenges as learning opportunities.
▸ Having a talented team sharing your vision, values and most importantly passion will go a long way. Empower your team members and foster open communication.
For government
▸ It would be ideal to have frameworks and an action plan in place to prioritise the award of major projects to in-country manufacturing business.
AIS (UAE) at a glance:
Key products and services: products that protect people and high-value assets from mechanical breakage, heat, fire, explosion and heat loss.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 70%
▸ Conventional power – 20%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 10%
Headquarters: Gloucester, UK
Year established: 1993
Number of employees: 650 (Group), 32 (UAE)
Revenue: £111m (Group), £4.4m (UAE)
Revenue from exports: 71%
AIS (UK)
How one acquisition has driven multi-million-pound sales, streamlined processed and cost efficiencies
Story type
#optimisation, #transformation (main categories) #scale up
Benefits
▸ Integration allowed £3.4m in savings and £6.5m in cross-selling sales.
Andrew Bennion
How is AIS UK thriving?
Through the transformative acquisition of CRP Subsea in November 2022, AIS has successfully forged significant synergies, efficiencies and cross-selling benefits, enabling the firm to double its revenues while optimising its product portfolios, facilities, supply chains and sales approaches.
With all these benefits and two significant contracts awarded in Australia and Brazil, the firm has excelled in the past 12 months.
The challenge - It’s no secret that the financial market has a negative perception of oil & gas companies. With sustainability and ESG increasingly a driving factor behind key business decisions, a private equity investor in AIS has laid out ambitions for the company to exit in the not-too-distant future.
In response, AIS has been working hard to diversify away from its overreliance on oil & gas – not only to meet these demands, but also to become more resilient and capitalise on a more diverse array of market opportunities.
As part of these efforts, the firm sought to acquire CRP Subsea – a process that concluded in November 2022. With AIS already investing in buoyancy, and CRP established as a market leader in buoyancy and offshore wind cable protection systems, it was a logical fit.
However, the challenge for 2023 was laid bare. AIS had to optimise the acquisition of CRP Subsea, finding cost savings and cross-selling opportunities, all while integrating cultures and locations to enhance the performance of the business as a whole.
The solution - Discovering that the technologies between the two companies were significantly different, AIS set about merging various solutions as well as the engineering and manufacturing teams into one facility in Skelmsdale that was established as a centre of excellence.
In addition, all back-office functions were combined, while a new integrated sales structure was also established, with group sales now being centrally managed.
Much of the merger was driven by four different teams – technology, equipment, sales and purchasing, with project teams set up for each stream. Technical experts from both businesses worked together to optimise and
Rob Barrow Managing Director Marketing Manager
design new approaches, while at the same time helping to blend the cultures between the two organisations.
Different suppliers were also analysed to search for savings, with several low-hanging fruits resulting in significant overall gains.
Owing to significant technology transfer and vendor consolidation efforts, the combined entity was able to realise savings totalling £3.4m in year one. At the same time, cross-selling opportunities were abundant, the combination of AIS’ consolidated global footprint and CRP’s UK-centric market presence generating £6.5m in sales.
Through an earn-out strategy structured around synergy savings, motivation has remained high, with only one of the onboarded individuals leaving to retire, while the rest stayed on.
As is to be expected, AIS has encountered several challenges during the merger. What it describes as ‘not invented here’ syndrome had to be overcome through a series of meetings and events, while the safety programme of CRP had to be brought in line with AIS’ expectations.
Having overcome these, however, the merits have otherwise been significant.
Alongside the £3.4m in savings and £6.5m in cross-selling sales that the integration has helped to bring to fruition, internal analysis shows that due to the synergies of the two companies, the EBITDA percentage has doubled, marking an £8.2m uptick.
The firm also has fewer open vacancies following the acquisition, dropping from a peak of 100 in 2023 to around 30 at present, largely driven by scaling up efforts in various departments. Additionally, AIS also won several contracts that it otherwise would have struggled to secure pre-acquisition. In Australia, for example, the company secured a major deal for a field against local competition worth approximately £5m. The firm’s new synergies have made it more competitive, ensuring it secured the job.
Elsewhere, in Brazil, the integration of CRP Subsea has broadened its product portfolio and contributed significantly to an increase in regional exports – up 85.6% in 2023, with the country now accounting for 17% of total group revenue.
▸ Major new contracts secured in Australia and Brazil, with the latter now accounting for 17% of AIS’ total revenue.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Keep an eye on your overall target and stay resilient.
▸ Support smaller companies in developing technology and work with the supply chain.
For government
▸ Align the energy transition message with actual policies and support businesses.
AIS (UK) at a glance:
Key products and services: products that protect people and high-value assets from mechanical breakage, heat, fire, explosion and heat loss.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 73%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 15%
▸ Others (non-energy): marine, ports and harbours, industrial – 12%
Headquarters: Gloucester, UK
Year established: 1993
Number of employees: 652
Revenue: £111m
Revenue from exports: 83.7%
Having also secured a first order with Petrobras in addition to orders from NPCC and NOV, the future looks brighter than ever for a newly reinforced, integrated AIS. Today, the firm’s market position stands strong in several key areas – third in global cable protection, first for bend protection, first for subsea insulation on structures, and second for buoyancy for flexible umbilicals.
Following a highly successful year in 2023, 2024 will very much be a case of watch this space for AIS as it seeks to build on this progress.
Alderley
Putting
metering on the energy transition map
Mike Shepherd Group Business Development Director
How is Alderley thriving?
Alderley’s mission is to make metering a central component of energy transition strategies at a macro level. The company provides bespoke solutions and develops partnership collaborations with its clients with an emphasis on developing best-in-class digital asset management packages.
The challenge - Energy trilemma has been around for decades but remains unsolved. Alderley as a metering specialist, believe that tailored metering and measurement solutions are central to driving efficiencies across different energy industries by accurately measuring the flow of energy in either liquid or gaseous form. Only by doing this, is it possible to determine the quantity, quality, and impact of the energy in a particular system. For this reason, Alderley promises to ‘maximise the performance of your energy assets’.
However, in reality, relatively little attention has been paid to metering. This is something Alderley is seeking to change. Much of the company’s work over the past five years has been focused on overcoming this challenge. How can the company increase awareness and knowledge around the impact that accurate metering processes can have on decarbonisation efforts?
The solution - Alderley has been engineering high-performance flow measurement solutions that are essential to maximising the performance of energy assets for 60 years.
Alderley’s value proposition is clear. High-performance flow measurement systems should be used to determine the quantity, quality, and impact of energy; characterise current performance and gaps; inform mechanisms for improvement; enable progress tracking against targets; and ensure that the energy produced, distributed and consumed is at the optimum value and efficiency. Digitalisation of the metering outputs is crucial to the modern world.
Central to this, and key to Alderley’s strategy, is shifting the industry’s mindset so it views flow measurement as an integrated system rather than simply a tool flow that ensures compliance. This goes equally for traditional hydrocarbon systems or emerging technologies such as hydrogen and CCUS.
The company has engaged with its clients on
how they can properly address the issue of measurement, identifying knowledge gaps around metering gases and liquids, by developing bespoke metering and digital solutions to answer this need.
Alongside this, Alderley has designed an industry-leading digital package (Smart Asset Management), which enables users to extract the most value out of their flow measurement data.
The wider educational piece has also been important. Here, the company has conducted multiple thought leadership campaigns and technical seminars to promote consultancy studies and emphasise the importance of metering in the emerging low-carbon energy sector. Some of this work has been carried out in partnership with clients, this consultative and collaborative approach being another hallmark of its strategy.
Much of this has been made possible by several internal developments, not least around personnel. As well as a strategic restructuring, significant investments have been made to bolster the company’s expertise in metering as well as enhance its digital offering. In fact, over the last 18 months the digital team has now expanded to 17 employees globally. A major priority is to continue attracting skilled technicians and software developers into the business.
This will enable Alderley to continue building momentum in the area of metering and digital consultancy for the modern world. Already, the company has enhanced its client relationships and is now a go-to solutions provider with IOCs and NOCs, in particular in the North Sea and Middle East, which are turning to it for metering and digital solutions. From a thought leadership perspective, Alderley has been invited to contribute to multiple technical events, while it has also been awarded a £80,000 grant to boost its R&D programme. In terms of financial performance, the trajectory is promising. Alderley has already delivered £600,000 in consultancy work in the metering and low-carbon space and grown its pipeline for CCUS and Hydrogen to £150m over the last two years. Overall revenue, meanwhile, reached £85m in 2023, well up on its pre-pandemic income levels. Such figures show great potential – potential that the company hopes to further realise through 2024 and beyond.
Story type
#digital (main category)
#energy transition
Benefits
▸ Revenue growth from its consultancy and digital work.
▸ Awarded a £80,000 grant to continue successful work in R&D.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Have a purpose. Don’t settle, push boundaries and you can make positive change.
▸ To remain significant in the energy market, UK companies need government investment in order to secure and export its expertise to the global market.
For government
▸ Government investment. A clear industrial and energy strategy for the long-term.
Alderley at a glance:
Key products and services: metering, advanced digital, mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, process, consultancy, control systems, training and aftermarket services.
Main industries served:
▸ Hydrocarbons – 90%
▸ Hydrogen – 3%
▸ Carbon capture – 7%
Headquarters: Wickwar, UK
Year established: 1989
Number of employees: 400
Revenue: £85m
Revenue from exports: 90%
AMAL
Turning a crisis into an opportunity
Lin Kok Kiat Managing Director & CEO
How is AMAL thriving?
With Malaysia’s LNG sector having faced the devasting prospect of shutting down in the face of those restrictions caused by the COVID -19 pandemic, AMAL stepped up to the mark in a big way. Refusing to be beaten, the company devised a series of practical solutions to keep critical assets operational, working tirelessly with government authorities and clients in the process. Today, it is clear that this persistence has paid off, with remarkable revenue growth coming off the back of its pandemic initiatives.
The challenge - 2024 marks an important year for Amalgamated Plant Engineering Sdn Bhd (AMAL) as it celebrates 30 years in operation. During this time, the company has emerged as a trusted partner in maintaining the onshore facilities of some of the biggest oil corporations in the East Malaysia region, including the likes of Petronas and Shell, among others.
Hurdles have arisen on this journey, with none more formidable than the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, which ushered in disruptions of an unprecedented scale for the company.
During the initial phases of the MCO (Movement Control Order) imposed by the Malaysian government, AMAL , much like many others, confronted a series of formidable challenges that profoundly affected both its operations and its team members on a personal level. Among these challenges, a significant scarcity of labour emerged as a chief hurdle, making it arduous to adequately staff projects. Additionally, operating costs surged, and certain contractual obligations had to be frozen due to financial and operational constraints imposed by movement restrictions.
Nevertheless, instead of succumbing to the adversity, AMAL was determined to explore every possible avenue for adaptation in a bid to overcome these obstacles and futureproof itself against volatility in the future.
The solution - As the repercussions of COVID -19 became increasingly evident, AMAL engaged in multiple rounds of discussions with various stakeholder groups, including clients, partners, and regulatory bodies. Through these dialogues, the company swiftly recognised the pressing need to devise solutions to sustain its operations.
The company drew on the confidence of its leadership and teamwork-driven culture, as well as taking inspiration from the NBA in the US, which organised a bubble-style system to ensure the season could continue.
Setting out to achieve something similar, AMAL adopted many unprecedented strategies to ensure the health and safety of its employees while maintaining effi cient operational continuity.
Specific measures included the use of chartered airplanes and buses to move key personnel around, as well as the provision of ‘green bubble’ accommodation such as hotels and rental properties to minimise the risk of exposure to the virus. For those colleagues who were impacted by COVID -19, AMAL supplied food and drink, while also covering their medical treatment costs.
This all had to happen at speed. As early as March 2020, when the virus was starting to take hold in most parts of the world, the company was busy implementing these strategies. This involved approaching government agencies to request chartered flights when there were no public flights available during the MCO, and meticulously planning shift work to accommodate new procedures.
The Sarawakian government understood the urgency of the issue – as an incredibly important socioeconomic pillar, the country’s LNG sector had to continue functioning.
AMAL stood up to the task, ensuring the safe continuity of service during the most difficult of times. Indeed, such has been the satisfaction with its work, their clients are now a strong advocate for Amal’s services, entrusting the company with more projects in the time since. From a revenue perspective, the past few years have also been incredibly successful. Between 2021 and 2023, company income has more than trebled from around RM64m to RM205m, providing a clear statement of client confidence in Amal’s ability to deliver positive outcomes. Indeed, this experience has illustrated that within every challenge lies the potential for innovation and growth, and that AMAL can turn obstacles into opportunities to generate success.
Story type
#resilience (main category)
Benefits
▸ Revenue growth amid crisis, proving a successful outcome.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be resourceful, there is always a solution. You just need to look for it.
▸ Be committed to fulfilling contractual obligations.
For government
▸ Make the process for performing work easier and more efficient. Companies have been struggling due to increased operational costs and inflation.
AMAL at a glance:
Key products and services: mechanical and civil-related project management, turnaround and maintenance services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 95%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
Headquarters: Sarawak, Malaysia
Year established: 1994
Number of employees: 191
Revenue: £34m
Revenue from exports: 100%
APO
Taking on the operating of a new asset to become Tunisia’s largest upstream producer
How is APO thriving?
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#culture
Benefits
▸ Successful transfer of the asset to APO.
▸ Improvements to operational efficiencies and profit margins currently ongoing.
Rafik Mbarek
Joe Harrison General Manager Deputy General Manager
After taking on the operatorship of the Miskar Conventional Gas Field concession from Shell in 2022, Amilcar Petroleum Operations (APO) has risen to the challenge and now stands tall as Tunisia’s largest upstream producer of gas. The transition has been seamless despite the complexity involved, with much of the work having to be completed within a tight sixmonth timeframe.
The challenge - This year marks a significant milestone for Tunisia’s APO. Celebrating a decade since it was formed in its current capacity, the company continues to operate and maintain offshore platforms (Miskar and Hasrubal), subsea pipelines, and highly complex onshore gas plants, as well as an LPG terminal.
Recent years have not been without challenges. Firstly, APO is operating with mature assets and increasing obsolescence against a backdrop where its coholders expect ever improving safety and production performance, while simultaneously generating lower greenhouse gas emissions at ever lower unit operating costs. Alongside this, the sector is rapidly evolving on many fronts, with the COVID pandemic prompting a wave of disruption and market volatility.
Meanwhile, in 2022, APO took on a new operating agreement from ETAP (NOC) in the form of the Miskar Conventional Gas Field concession, previously operated by Shell – a move which propelled the company into its position today as the country’s leading upstream producer. Not only has production increased dramatically, but its complexity profile expanded by a factor of 10 as a result. The soluti on - The transfer of Miskar needed to be completed within six months – no mean feat given the size and complexity of the concession.
This required a great deal of work on many fronts. Important actions included the creation of a high-level steering committee with concession holders and the granting authority, as well as the formation of no fewer than 17 different task forces. This was a particularly signifi cant endeavour, with each taskforce being designed to split the transition by
activity and containing representatives from the previous operator, new operator and concession holder.
Not surprisingly, there were a few hurdles to overcome. One of them surrounded the regulatory landscape and ensuring full compliance on all fronts.
Miskar, having been operated by a foreign business entity (Shell) is now a domestic entity, a status which carries some restrictions on the use of foreign exchange. This means APO cannot simply operate the asset in the same way Shell did, which created some initial complexity for suppliers – particularly regarding payment terms.
There were also some gaps to fill from a human resources perspective. One of the most critical elements of the transition has been ensuring APO has the appropriate expertise in all areas of the operation. With some staff wishing to remain with Shell post-acquisition, APO had to move quickly to ensure it wasn’t left short.
To help with the move, APO struck an agreement with Shell to postpone the demobilisation of people, ensuring business continuity through the early days.
Fast-forward two years, and APO can be proud of how the transfer of the asset has played out to date. It was an extremely significant transaction for the business, not least because this was the first addition to its asset portfolio since it was formed.
The company is pleased to report that it has been successful in taking on the additional complexity and scale associated with the Miskar concession, with no serious HSE events or harm to people occurring in the process. It is also improving operational efficiencies and profit margins for the concession holders of both fields and has suffered no interruption in the supply of gas.
As times goes on, APO will only continue to extract greater value out of the assets and thus contribute even more to Tunisia’s oil and gas sector.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Empower all innovative roles and foster an inclusive environment –to grow human capital.
▸ Adapt to change and strive to become a credible leader in your field.
For government
▸ Support research initiatives in a way that private companies cannot and stimulate innovation.
APO at a glance:
Key products and services: Tunisia’s leading upstream producer.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Tunis, Tunisia
Year established: 2014
Number of employees: 400
Revenue from exports: N/A
Applica
Strategic transformation underpinned by energy transition
How is Applica thriving?
Matthew Halle CEO
CEO Matthew Halle and his leadership team at Applica, a UK-based global resourcing specialist with offices in North America and Scandinavia, have taken significant strides in the early stages of a significant strategic overhaul.
Now focused on working with major energy companies to create more accurate and cost-effective workforce planning for their energy transition projects, the firm is enabling clients to accurately forecast, attract and retain the technical manpower they need to deliver projects on time and under budget. This new solutions business line is providing significant scale up potential which could reach unprecedented heights in 2024.
The challenge - While Applica is a company with a proud history in traditional energy markets, the company has remained conscious of the growing need for industry players to embrace energy transition in recent times.
In 2022, that consciousness materialised into more active planning. Internally, Applica recognised that many of its younger employees were passionate environmentalists, galvanising the firm to accelerate its diversification strategy away from fossil fuels.
Tapping into the EIC database to identify and research energy transition projects, the company saw several opportunities, such as the ability to leverage its major oil and gas project know-how to help design the right development team approach for hydrogen pipelines.
Off the back of this market research, Applica took the decision to launch a new consultative offering for energy transition clients, helping them to design organisational charts and plan for how to build the necessary teams, how long this will take, the cost involved, and more. With the plans for this strategic shift laid out, all that was left to do was execute.
The soluti on - Kickstarting it’s transformation in September 2022, Applica hired Louisa Batten – an individual with extensive experience working in a consultative capacity – as its new Group Commercial Director to lead the campaign.
Two months later in December, the firm began
a discovery process with clients, deep diving into the needs and drivers via a series of meetings and workshops. During this process, the Applica team learned that its potential prospects were missing the necessary market intelligence and support needed to effectively outline their resourcing needs early on. For them, the ability to lean on relationships with partners like Applica would pay dividends.
Come January 2023, and Applica secured a consultancy scope with the Grain LNG. Specifically, the organisation wanted to benchmark its LNG terminal against five others across the country to understand if it was competitive, well run, and how it could improve. Having delivered the research report, Applica in turn secured additional consulting work with Grain LNG, helping it to implement the lessons learned from the benchmarking exercise.
Elsewhere, early 2023 also provided Applica with the opportunity to work with Mitsubishi Chemical Group in a more consultative capacity. Already in a client relationship for two years, Applica’s deep dive with Mitsubishi Chemical Group UK found that the firm was lacking internal knowledge of the technical manpower and mobility challenges associated with delivering a major international project, with Applica subsequently becoming its exclusive recruitment partner.
For all the milestones, there have equally been roadblocks to overcome along the way. Indeed, Applica has found in some instances that clients simply aren’t open to embracing its new consultative approach. However, in cases such as the projects for Grain LNG and Mitsubishi Chemicals, the focus on supporting energy transition aspirations in this reimagined way is already proving to be a decision well made.
Having also secured major projects from Alderley and Nacero, the firm’s four new major outsourced projects have provided an additional £5m of revenue. Further, while the initial value of the Mitsubishi Chemical project is sizeable, this could expand significantly if a final investment decision (FID) is reached – a project that could serve to double the size of Applica.
With this FID expected to materialise in early 2024, the coming year could prove to be the most significant in the company’s history.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
Benefits
▸ Four contracts secured with major companies, including Mitsubishi and National Grid.
▸ Additional revenue of £5m provided by new outsourced projects.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Build relationships you need to be successful.
▸ Trust your people even more than what you think you should.
For government
▸ Help international businesses to plan better by collaborating and sharing experiences with other countries.
Applica at a glance:
Key products and services: resourcing of projects globally.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 55%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 10%
▸ Hydrogen – 10%
▸ Carbon capture – 10%
▸ Others (energy): gas to power –10%
▸ Others (non-energy): chemical –5%
Headquarters: Manchester, UK
Year established: 2018
Number of employees: 19
Revenue: £13m
Revenue from exports: 55%
Aquestia
Finding competitive advantages in the combination of three leading brands
Isaac (Izik) Goldenberg
Fire
Protection, Power, Oil & Gas Global Manager
How is Aquestia thriving?
Aquestia stands as a uniquely interesting story of synergistic success in the energy market.
Established from the merger of three renowned global players, Aquestia seamlessly blends the unique expertise and offerings of each enterprise. For more than 6 decades, each of the 3 brands (DOROT-OCV-A.R.I.) were specialised not only in innovation of new hydraulic control devices but in developing their ability to analyse fluids systems and safety solutions. These synergies have not only unlocked a wealth of opportunities but have also expanded the firm’s reach to more than 140 countries worldwide.
Resultantly, in the world of fluid control solutions, this multi-faceted merger-led entity is hard to beat.
The challenge - Aquestia is a world-leading provider of optimal solutions for pressure management, surge protection, and water loss reduction, integrating uniquely developed products with innovatively designed software. Born from the merger of three industry leading brands – OCV Control Valves, A.R.I. Optimal Flow Solutions, and Dorot Control Valves – the company brings together unparalleled expertise.
OCV Control Valves is a global leader in manufacturing and supplying hydraulically operated, diaphragm actuated, automatic control valves. A.R.I. Optimal Flow Solutions, meanwhile, is global provider of solutions for the protection of liquid transmission systems. And Dorot Control Valves is a leading developer, manufacturer, and marketer of a wide range of superior quality control valves.
The combination of these three entities under the Aquestia umbrella enhances the brands’ customer service on a global scale, providing a comprehensive range of solutions and expertise across various water management systems. With a cumulative experience of 180 years in sustainable fluid control solutions, the firm offers an extensive portfolio of products and innovative technologies.
Through its 14 subsidiaries, Aquestia is equipped to address diverse control challenges across various markets and technical
requirements, with sales units in Spain, Italy, France, Germany, China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and the United States enabling the firm to cater to clients in 140 countries worldwide.
The solution - Having established itself as a newly formed corporate entity comprising three renowned global brands, the primary focus of Aquestia in the four years since its inception has been maximising sales and seizing new growth opportunities that have emerged because of the merger.
Here, there were many potential possible avenues that the combined entity could explore, with its various component parts boasting experience and expertise in key markets spanning various sectors, including oil and gas, fire protection and aviation fuelling.
Further, in each of these sectors, the constituent brands had cultivated substantial relationships with key stakeholders across the value chain, ranging from end users and EPC companies to contractors and system integrators. Quickly, several synergies were brought to the fore.
Aquestia’s global presence and excellent internal networking enables a high level of service to be delivered to its customers across various projects worldwide. Additionally, the company’s capacity for continuous innovation in control devices and hydraulic system analysis across diverse markets served as a competitive edge, distinguishing Aquestia in the market.
Through these significant merits and competitive advantages, Aquestia now stands as a leader in advanced hydraulic solutions for optimal liquid conveyance system management.
With its unparalleled offerings in surge protection, water loss reduction, and pressure management, the firm has established its position as a prominent market player, seamlessly integrating uniquely developed products with innovatively designed software.
Looking ahead, the firm will only continue to go from strength to strength, optimising its already highly diverse offering and capitalising on additional global sales opportunities over the coming years.
Story type
#innovation (main category)
#technology
Benefits
▸ Maximisation of sales and seizing new growth opportunities because of the merger.
▸ High level of service delivered to customers and its innovations has distinguished Aquestia in the market.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Understanding the market is not less important than knowing it.
▸ Build great relationships with customers.
For government
▸ Better understanding of the customers, and to have a suitable dialogue accordingly.
Aquestia at a glance:
Key products and services: manufacturing.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 65%
▸ Conventional power – 10%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 10%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Energy storage – 5%
▸ Others (energy) – 5%
Headquarters: Tulsa, US
Year established: 2020
Number of employees: 600
Revenue: N/A
Revenue from exports: 85%
ARC Marine
Pioneering a new, eco-friendly carbon-neutral approach to subsea asset protection and coastal defence
Steve
Wright Projects Partnership Director
How is ARC Marine thriving?
Determined to develop and commercialise a new form of sustainable material to produce subsea and coastal defence structures, ARC Marine is now bringing its reef cubes and Marine Matts to market. Following several years of product development and significant amounts of energy being devoted to securing investment, the company is delivering net positive marine impact and capturing the attention of leading blue-chip companies and corporate investors.
Oceans have been overexploited with vast areas of seabed reduced to ocean deserts almost devoid of marine life and there is an urgent need to restore marine habitat on an unprecedented scale and find a way to pay for it.
Globally industries deploy millions of tonnes of concrete into the marine environment to protect subsea assets and coastlines, but Portland cement production is a major contributor to global warming and to date very little thought has gone into designing industrial structures to benefit nature.
ARC Marine is intent on changing the status quo and is pioneering the use of eco-friendly carbon-neutral solutions that embrace nature inclusive design (NID) to protect marine infrastructure and coastlines.
However, despite their obvious environmental credentials, deliberately disrupting a well-established supply chain relationship was never going to be easy. The well-established incumbent methods of cable, pipeline and scour protection, which involve the use of concrete mattresses fitted with polypropylene rope and granite rock often shipped from Norway, would not be easy to disrupt.
The solution - ARC Marine’s initial reef creation strategy centred around raising finance to buy an ex-Royal Navy frigate and sink it to create a recreational dive attraction, akin to the HMS Scylla in Cornwall.
However, almost immediately, the founders realised that the availability of suitable ships was an issue and that sinking ships was not a scalable and sustainably sound solution.
Instead, the company decided to focus on developing eco-friendly concrete artificial reef products and identify commercial applications where industries were already deploying con-
crete at scale in the marine environment. Having trialled several artifi cial reef products, and to establish the gold industry standard for eco-friendly products, the decision was taken to develop a world class, plastic free and carbon-neutral concrete mix that maximises the use of recycled material whilst being independently verifi ed as marine safe. That solution goes by the name of Marine Crete, made into products such as reef cubes and Marine Matts. Manufactured solely from marine-friendly materials, reef cubes® are designed to support and protect life on the seafloor and coastlines and can be utilised across various industries, including aquaculture, coastal defence, reef conservation and offshore renewable energy.
Developing the solution involved a huge amount of testing and patenting processes which spanned across five years and required external investment.
Raising awareness within the investment community was therefore critical and a founder presentation at an OGV shark tank event in Aberdeen resulted in over £150,000 of new angel funding. In addition, ARC Marine worked with the Net Zero Technology Centre, to help fund the development of a new product, the Marine Matt, which is designed to protect subsea cables and pipelines.
During the early years, the business was forced to be frugal until it achieved a minimum viable product and started to gain both revenue and serious funding.
The latter started to arrive towards the end of 2021 in the form of a £2m investment. With just five people in the company at the time, the funding proved critical to accelerating forwards, and in December 2023, another £2m was raised.
Building up a pipeline of real-world deployments is key to gaining traction in the market. Here, ARC Marine has enjoyed success in Cornwall through a collaboration with the Environment Agency to enhance rock armour at Newlyn breakwater. Installed by Kier, reef cubes will be subject to a five-year study which will assess biodiversity values compared to typical rock armour and pre-cast structures.
Through projects such as this, the company is starting to gain some recognition. In monetary terms, it generated revenues of more
Story type
#environmental sustainability (main category)
#energy transition, #innovation, #scale up
Benefits
▸ ARC Marine’s successful approach is resulting in a widening client base and revenue exceeding £2m in 2023.
Key findings
For industry
▸ It’s a “no-brainer”- adopt naturepositive solutions that have a clear business case to deliver long term sustainable marine impact with the potential to reduce life cycle costs.
For government
▸ Actively support technologies that can accelerate marine habitat recovery and work with stakeholders to deliver the evidence needed to justify leaving purpose-built structures on the seabed forever.
ARC Marine at a glance:
Key products and services: natureinclusive design consultancy services and supplier of carbon-neutral concrete marine structures embracing NID with applications for subsea scour, cable and pipeline protection, coastal defence units, artificial reefs, aquaculture moorings and more.
than £2m in 2023. Now entering the scale-up stage, the challenge is to rapidly identify and induct new and like-minded people and maintain a high growth trajectory without losing control of the ocean-focused ethos on which the firm was founded.
Armstrong International
Adapting and
innovating
to drive decarbonisation success
Ian Sutherland
Global Market Director, Oil & Gas, Petrochemical and Chemical Industries
How is Armstrong International thriving?
Armstrong International is a company that has never shied away from outside the box thinking and innovation. Having recognised the need to adapt its product offering to support the changing requirements of its customers and remain and the cutting edge of key energy markets, the firm has struck up a critical joint venture, enabling it to help realise significant carbon footprint reductions through leveraging waste heat.
The challenge - For over a century, Armstrong International has been solving and preventing thermal utility problems for satisfi ed customers in more than 100 countries. Now manufacturing product solutions in the US, Mexico, Canada, France, Italy, Belgium, India, China and South Korea, the company helps its clients to tick three key boxes – maximise effi ciency, lower energy use and reduce environmental emissions.
Prior to the energy transition, Armstrong had a client relations dynamic that is relatively typical with solutions providers in the energy sector. Indeed, it would continually serve its customer base by explaining and demonstrating how its products and services optimise energy savings and systems values.
Today, however, that dynamic is different. Now, customers are seeking expert advice and real experience in introducing proven decarbonisation solutions.
For Armstrong, the challenge lies in ensuring it is heard in an increasingly noisy decarbonisation solutions market. Timing is everything, with the company working hard to be in the room at the optimum moment when customers reach critical junctures, meaning its solutions can carry maximum impact.
Similarly, the company has needed to remain cognisant of customer needs, innovating new products and solutions to ensure that it can continue to serve their decarbonisation requirements amidst market changes.
The solution - In carrying out hundreds of thermal audits all over the world, Armstrong saw that steam – its primary utility of expertise – can in certain instances be replaced with other heating media. Further, the firm understood
that the primary source for heating processes may be generated away from traditional methods, such as burning fossil fuels, as companies instead leverage waste heat which can account for up to 70% of total energy generated. The company recognised that its traditional and mature marketplace, albeit very large, would continue to decline over time as industries continue to focus on cutting their carbon footprints.
In an effort to respond to these market shifts, it formed a joint venture with Combitherm GMBH in Germany – an organisation manufacturing high temperature heat pumps to produce superheated water (up to 120 degrees Celsius) and low-pressure steam from waste heat sources.
The coefficient of performance can be as high as 3.5 through the utilisation of synthetic refrigerants having ultra-low GWP and the safest A1 classification, in a package that is perfectly in line with efficient electrification for decarbonisation. Indeed, the ability to optimise traditional steam and condensate systems and assess what processes can be removed from the steam loop offers an impressive payback. The carbon footprint reductions can be significant – particularly through the use of high temperature heat pumps that leverage waste heat.
It is exactly here where Armstrong has positioned itself.
Of course, this switch has taken signifi cant time and effort to pull off. While the joint venture has been a key component of the firm’s success, it has also had to invest in strengthening its existing global audit teams, continually engaging in site visits and corporate meetings that align with its motto – that “experience matters”.
The company prides itself on getting intimate with its customers’ challenges, continually stepping outside its comfort zone to pursue new knowledge and technologies in the aim of finding the most effective solutions. By adopting new Pinch based studies, that is exactly what it has achieved with its latest breakthrough, and the results speak for themselves. With this growth in business, the firm has in-
▸ Higher calibre of engineering skillsets and new industrial functions introduced.
▸ Company preparing its offering and own operations for a decarbonised future.
Key
findings
For industry
▸ Never deviate from core values.
▸ Help to optimise, minimise and decarbonise clients’ processes.
For government
▸ Develop a programme of accountability.
▸ Demonstrate real transparency of progress.
Armstrong International at a glance:
Key products and services: intelligent thermal utilities solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 60%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy): chemical and petrochemical – 35%
Headquarters: Michigan, US
Year established: 1900
Number of employees: 3,000
Revenue from exports: 60%
troduced a much higher calibre of engineering skillsets to its ranks and welcomed new industrial functions to discuss the topic of circular thermal and waste heat. Now actively recruiting for further talent in pinch auditing and solution sales, the company looks set to make the most of its continual decarbonisation innovations moving forward as demand for expertise continues to grow.
Arup
Committed to scaling up delivery of Australian offshore wind
How is Arup thriving?
Arup Australia is at the very forefront of progress in Australia’s renewable energy market. Having taken the strategic decision to focus our energy work on the future – to increase the capacity of low-carbon technologies and build energy systems that support them - the firm has combined local knowledge with global experience to establish itself as a leading consulting partner for public and private organisations involved in advancing offshore wind across the country.
The challenge - Comprising consultants, designers, and global experts, Arup is a global leading player in sustainable development, working with its clients in an innovative and technologically driven manner to shape a better world. Crucially, Arup selects projects where it can make a positive impact globally, with Australia emerging as a key market. In light of escalating global warming and associated extreme weather events, the imperative to decarbonise the energy system is evident. In 2021, Arup committed to focusing its energy efforts on the future, with the aim to accelerate decarbonisation and facilitating the transition to a net-zero world. Consequently, Arup ceased undertaking new projects related to hydrocarbon-based fuels, except for select hydrogen production projects that meet specifi c criteria.
This transformative decision marked a significant shift for Arup Australia, necessitating a change of organisational emphasis and investment to help clients realise the potential of the nascent Australian offshore wind market.
The solution - By aligning its business strategy with member values, Arup has embraced positive change, solidifying its role as a leader in sustainability. This has catalysed Arup Australia’s increasing involvement in accelerating the country’s offshore wind programme. Beginning in 2021, the Arup Australia team cultivated offshore wind expertise, drawing from their conventional energy background and leveraging Arup’s experience in established offshore wind markets such as the UK and Europe.
As fossil fuel power stations in Australia are decommissioned, opportunities for new, clean power are significant. The state of Victoria, for example, aims to install at least 2GW of offshore wind generation capacity by 2032 – enough to
power 1.5 million homes. By 2040, Victoria’s target is 9GW and, with other Australian states expected to follow, these numbers will increase significantly in the foreseeable future.
Early in this process, Arup Australia provided regulatory guidance to the Australian Federal Government on establishing an offshore wind industry in the country. Now, two years into its commitment to future energy, the firm has participated in nearly 50 offshore wind projects solely within the Australian market, collaborating with a diverse range of clients including local and international developers, State Governments, Federal Governments, and port authorities. Furthermore, the Arup Australia team now also supports offshore wind projects in other emerging markets.
Part of Arup Australia’s success stems from its international reach combined with its on-theground local understanding of ecological conditions and stakeholders such as the community, environmental, and fishery bodies. Drawing upon major offshore wind infrastructure delivery experience from the UK and Europe, the Australia team leveraged the experience of Arup’s global experts to devise approaches to designs compatible with site-specific conditions. This deep understanding of local Australian conditions has also enabled the company to optimise electricity transmission solutions, conduct port and supply chain assessments, and oversee environmental, planning, and approval processes for developers. Further, another crucial aspect has been the organisation’s commitment to reskilling and upskilling existing energy professionals while also attracting offshore wind talent to join their team. Remaining optimistic about the continued growth of the offshore wind market in Australia, the firm is committed to expanding its ability to meet client needs, investing in software and digital tools for detailed foundation design and covering complex aspects such as marine spatial planning and cable routing. Increasingly, the firm is helping to integrate the wider supply chain, minimise project risk, attract investment, and ensure the sustainable delivery of offshore wind. By also continuously leveraging lessons learned across the UK, Europe, East Asia and the Americas with local knowledge and relationships, Arup Australia will no doubt play a vital role in allowing the country’s offshore wind industry to grow and thrive.
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ Capabilities expanded to meet client needs.
▸ Supporting existing staff while also looking for attracting new talent.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Focus your career on modern technologies that will help to decarbonise the planet.
Arup at a glance:
Key products and services: specialist services on infrastructure, buildings, management consulting, economics and planning.
Main industries served:
▸ Renewables – 50%
▸ Energy transition – 50%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 1946
Number of employees: 18,000
Revenue: £2.2bn
Revenue from exports: N/A
Damon Sunderland
Australasian Off shore Wind Lead
ASCO
Optimise. Strengthen. Grow.
How is ASCO thriving?
Mike Pettigrew CEO
With new CEO Mike Pettigrew at the helm, ASCO is working to transform its operations and establish itself as a key enabler of the net zero agenda. Working to realise evolutionary, sustainable change on several fronts, the firm has adopted a three-pronged go-forward strategy – optimise, strengthen and grow –that will be central to achieving its ambitions. The challenge - Headquartered in Aberdeen, ASCO is fast approaching its 60th anniversary as a leading logistics and materials management company for the global energy industry.
With over 1,500 employees operating out of its UK headquarters and international bases in Norway, Canada, Australia, Trinidad & Tobago, Senegal and Suriname, the company has truly established itself as a trusted and reliable global organisation. However, sustaining consistent growth is rarely a simple task for even the most successful businesses.
Back in August 2023, ASCO was acquired by private equity firm Endless LLP, with Mike Pettigrew being appointed as the company’s new CEO as a result of this sale.
Upon joining the company, Mike identified several areas for improvements. While the business supported several offshore wind farms already, it didn’t have any coherent strategy surrounding such operations – this was something that had to change. For the new CEO, it was essential that this was made a priority in forming the centre of ASCO’s strategy and enabling it to help its clients meet the net zero challenge head on.
The soluti on - In the time since, ASCO has continued to explore how exactly that focus should be instated. Although requirements are different for oil and gas clients against renewables, ASCO remains committed to helping its customer base find incremental areas for operational improvement and emissions reductions. wherever possible, working as a valued partner.
A key challenge has been ensuring that ASCO is engaged by its clients at an early enough stage. Too often, full project logistics are seen as a “lift and shift” operation that is not a prior-
ity in the concept of a scope of work. However, for logistics management to have maximum impact, it is important that it is a primary consideration from the outset – i.e. during the feed study, when build methodology is in its infancy. Developing a strategy to engage with offshore wind developers early on has therefore been a priority for ASCO, and this is something that has already begun to bear fruit.
In Senegal, the company supported the Senegal Supply Base (SSB) in the planning and layout of a key supply base in Dakar, the country’s capital city. Here, ASCO was able to deliver end-to-end logistics and materials management services in a six-month timeframe.
Of course, this is just one example of the evolutionary change that Mike has sought to implement among many since arriving at ASCO. Today, the firm’s go-forward strategy is based upon three key pillars.
The first of these centres around optimisation, encompassing everything from ASCO’s digital systems to its people, training practices, locations and systems. The second aims to strengthen, primarily relating to its role with existing clients and market position. The third is growth, both internationally and in relation to energy transition markets, with particular focus being placed on expanding into New Energy and Renewables including offshore wind and hydrogen.
Several steps forward are being taken in each of these directions and at present, ASCO is developing its own proprietary digital ecosystem. The firm is continuously exploring ways in which it can bring more value to clients, such as providing a fully integrated suite of services.
Above this, sustainability has been highlighted as the umbrella covering the organisation’s entire go-forward strategy – an ethos that will ensure it is best placed to support the transition journeys of itself and its clients. Further, the internal culture has had to evolve, the new CEO favouring one that is “safe, supportive and passionately brave” to help provide an environment of confidence and willingness amidst ongoing evolutionary strategic changes.
Already, such a significant series of changes are resulting in a broadened project portfolio.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ Expansion of project portfolio as well as plans to move into key markets such as CCUS in the next few years.
▸ Internal culture change to better fit new strategic changes.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Don’t miss the opportunity of a good crisis – net zero is a massive opportunity for entrepreneurs and individuals. Get involved and think big!
▸ Focus on the value you bring to your market – what is it we can do to make their business easier, better or more valuable?
For government
▸ Focus on getting CCS regulatory framework, as well as soften and make stable fiscal regime in UK.
ASCO at a glance:
Key products and services: logistics, transport and freight, supply base management, warehousing and storage, materials management, marine services, training, lifting and assurance, personnel and environmental services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 95%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 5%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 1967
Number of employees: 1,500
Revenue: £638m (2022)
Revenue from exports: 26%
With ambitions to increase its bottom line by 40%, accelerate international expansion, and move into key markets such as New Energy and CCUS in the next five years, ASCO’s strategic efforts to optimise, strengthen and grow look well-set to come to fruition.
asset55
Launching Validate to address energy asset data quality
concerns
How is asset55 thriving?
Paul Bicker Chief Product & Technology Director
Software designed to enhance the performance of energy assets is only as good as the data that feeds it. This has been the mantra of asset55 after it discovered issues relating to data quality being fed into its Execute platform. Now, with a solution built in the form of Validate, clients are benefitting from more robust data practices and can make decisions based on optimised information. Such has been the response to the launch, much of asset55’s overall revenue growth is being driven by these two products which work so well hand in hand.
The challenge - For over a decade, software engineering technology company asset55 has helped to improve the safety and productivity credentials of clients in the energy sector. Operating on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, the company’s mission is simple – to empower organisations with its products and people throughout an asset lifecycle.
A large part of asset55’s value proposition, especially around its Execute platform, relies on the ability to extract and analyse data. However, recent times have seen challenges pertaining to the quality of data the company has been able to leverage from client assets. Yes, asset55 continues to perform well and enjoyed a positive 2023, but to really move to the next level, the data quality issue needed to be addressed.
The solution - Since this challenge was first identified in 2019, moves have been made to leverage support and grants to improve its R&D capability around AI and immersive technology. Significant focus has also been placed on building a culture of “incremental innovation”, with employees encouraged to innovate and bring new ideas to the table.
One of those new ideas is Validate, a software solution that acts as a data feeder to the Execute platform while providing insights into data quality issues. These include detecting instances where the wrong data is used, as well as situations where the type of data is correct, but a more specific data point within it is not accurate or suitable enough.
Using smart algorithms, Validate can cross-reference data across multiple reference points to highlight areas of data quality risk. This kind of analysis is crucial, especially
if it occurs at the start of the project cycle. Here, it can ensure issues are addressed before developments reach construction and manufacturing stages, thus saving significant costs and time that may otherwise be incurred.
Following a soft launch in 2021, the concept has gained traction with big names. ExxonMobil, for example, was a key launch client for the Validate system, which is now being commercialised and generating revenue for assett55 from the likes of IOCs, NOCs and EPCs.
Indeed, clients are extracting benefits and improving project outcomes due to gaining insights into erroneous data. In the instance of Var Energi, asset55 and the Validate system managed to validate over three billion data points, uncovering over a million errors in the process. While this created challenges for asset55 in terms of processing such volumes, the value it delivered for Var Energi has been significant.
Clients are also seeing the value in combining investments into both Execute and Validate solutions, which are proving to be an appealing prospect when packaged together. Now, a large proportion of asset55’s revenue growth is coming from sales related to these solutions, with 2023’s overall turnover of £6.5m representing a £4.3m increase on 2022. £5.4m of this came from sales in Validate and Execute.
Looking ahead, asset55 is on course to more than double revenues to £13m in 2024. Having identified and acted upon the data quality issue in earnest, the company can look to broader horizons in the years ahead.
▸ £5.4m of asset55’s 2023 growth increase came from sales in Validate and Execute.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Embrace agility and innovation that SMEs can bring to the industry.
▸ Don’t get caught up in dogma and hype. CEOs can erode internal industry barriers.
For government
▸ Provide funding and assistance for SMEs to allow them to flourish.
asset55 at a glance:
Key products and services: software engineering technology company.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Sunderland, UK
Year established: 2012
Number of employees: 25
Revenue: £6.5m
Revenue from exports: 60%
AsstrA
Developing a project-based model to support larger, more complex cargo transportation needs
Patrick Richardson
Global Head of Business Development IPL
How is AsstrA thriving?
AsstrA, through the creation of AsstrA Industrial Project Logistics, is meeting the complex and highly bespoke needs of EPC companies engaged in the construction and expansion of energy assets. Drawing on its decades of experience, the firm supplemented this with the strategic hiring of experts with projects-based experience – starting off with four people in 2021, the unit now has a team of 45 professionals driving its growth, and delivering for customers.
The challenge - AsstrA is a truly global third-party logistics provider, with a presence in Europe, the CIS, Asia, the Middle East, and North America. In operation since 1995, it has built up a formidable network of offi ces, agents and sub-contractors who, between them, execute tens of thousands of multimodal orders every year across borders, and across continents.
More recently, the company’s leadership saw an opportunity to diversify and expand by applying the expertise of its team to the world of projects logistics. Projects are complex contracts, typically including the movement of extremely large and heavy components from their origin to final construction and assembly sites. In order to achieve its goal, acceptance by multiple EPC companies, and the resultant growth, investment in people was needed.
The solution - In 2019, the decision was taken to launch AsstrA Industrial Project Logistics, a new arm dedicated to supporting EPC clients with their bespoke transportation needs. The first step was to assemble a team of project professionals focused on providing clients with quality, competitive services that place the environment and safety first. Starting out with a small project team, immediate organic growth dictated the need to build out its capabilities further, prompting the hiring of Colin Bagwell in 2020. This was a vital move, which kickstarted expansion in the EPC market.
AsstrA had to pre-qualify as a new sub-contractor with EPC companies, a process which involves planning and attention to detail, not
least around selecting the right carriers to partner with, to fulfil the quality, HSE and sustainability norms of AsstrA .
Today, thanks to this repositioning, AsstrA can cover all aspects related to a specific capital expenditure project, including multimodal transport of equipment from global and local origins to one or more construction sites and within time constraints.
The range of services provided by AsstrA Industrial Project Logistics, encompasses professional route planning, transportability assessments, customs procedures, and numerous other factors, all required on, petrochemical plant, power generation plant, pipelines, rail infrastructure, rolling stock, airports and industrial plant.
These solutions require meticulous planning and execution, all whilst considering environmental, health & safety, geopolitical, climate, and other challenges. AsstrA’s approach, in helping clients to handle these complexities, is to offer initial advice, building trust, drawing on the experience of its team. AsstrA IPL has been expanded to include supply chain experts with knowledge of EPC processes and requirements. This has helped to attract customers in it’s target markets, including renewable sectors. Striking up relations with OEMs such as those in the power generation and transmission community, has also been key.
Over the past two years in particular, AsstrA has built up an impressive track record of completed projects. In Poland, for example, the company helped an EPC JV with an olefins plant expansion which included a wash tower built in Spain. This item, spanning 94 metres in length and weighing 827 tonnes, was shipped from the Port of Gijon to Gdansk using a Jumbo heavy lift vessel.
Success stories such as this have helped the company gain significant traction in the EPC projects market. Since 2021, headcount in the projects team has grown, along with revenues increasing from €8m in 2022 by a forecasted 800% in 2024. After two extremely busy years, momentum only looks set to build further.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#people & competency
Benefits
▸ AsstrA was recognised with an industry award due to its work in Poland.
▸ Revenue growth from €8m in 2022 to a forecasted 80% in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Do not be scared to spread your wings and take opportunities in countries you would not necessarily consider working in initially. You will gain valuable knowledge and connections.
▸ Hire capable and smart people. When you have the right people, success will follow.
For government
▸ Relax Brexit regulations in collaboration with EU, make processes easier, allow all the best, bright minds into UK.
AsstrA at a glance:
Key products and services: logistics and transport solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Others (non-energy: logistics and transport) – 92%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Oil and gas – 3%
Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland
Year established: 1995
Revenue: £395m
Revenue from exports: N/A
ASYAD
Oman’s shining example of ESG-driven success
Essam Al Sheibany VP of Sustainability
How is ASYAD thriving?
ASYAD is a leading example of ESG-led success in Oman, putting into action its unwavering commitment to reform. By prioritising sustainability in its business strategy and culture, the group achieved record breaking profits, secured key funding to expand its fleet, and achieved Gold Rating on the Oman Sustainability Index for two consecutive years. This steadfast commitment to promoting positive change attracts top talent to the Oman’s logistics powerhouse.
The challenge - Sustainability is today’s futuristic force transforming the energy industry. As Oman’s global integrated logistics provider, ASYAD Group recognizes the importance of proactively evolving and adapting to sustainability demands to ensure future success.
ASYAD is committed to decarbonizing its operations, not only to meet regulatory changes and manage market pressures but to play an impactful role in the national and global drive to net zero. To that end, the group is undergoing a cross-cutting transformation, focused on its shipping business and deep seaports.
Beyond operations, sustainability is deeply ingrained into the company’s values and culture. ASYAD, as a responsible global citizen, acknowledges that achieving true sustainability is a challenging, collaborative journey that requires strong partnerships to drive innovation and share knowledge and best practices.
The solution - To advance its sustainability transformation, ASYAD began developing its ESG strategy in 2022 as the cornerstone of its wider business PKI-centered transformation for 2023. This ESG framework does not focus solely on decarbonizing the business, it extends to four key areas: environmental stewardship, thriving workplace, community engagement and robust governance.
ASYAD also created a culture of transparency by implementing disclosure mechanisms to maximize accountability and setting quantifiable milestones to track progress across its business units. This not only enhances Asyad’s reputation as a sustainable and responsible international business, but it also enables the group to attract additional funding from ESG-led investors.
The benefits of this approach are already apparent. ASYAD became the first Omani com-
pany to access sustainability link loans based on its low CO2 emissions, securing USD 35 million loan to fund the purchase two new, more eco-efficient vessels.
Financing is not the only arena where ASYAD shines. The Group in 2023 has achieved the highest ranking in the ESG Category (Platinum) during the Oman Sustainability Awards and is publishing its first public Sustainability Report in 2023 which will also undergo an international ESG rating process to verify its measurement and commitment mechanisms through the Global Reporting Initiative.
Furthermore, ASYAD has recognised major international shipping lines’ increased demand for ports to disclose ESG commitments and decarbonisation plans, as well as regulatory and operational demands for reporting on carbon footprint and emissions targets.
The transformation has also enabled ASYAD to better meet ESG criteria and regulatory requirements in various markets throughout its extensive portfolio. The sustainability impact of this strategy will echo globally given the depth of Asyad’s asset lineup that includes three deep ports, two free zones, an economic zone, and a last-mile delivery provider.
In addition, ASYAD Group operates a wide array of maritime services, with one of the largest drydocks in the middle east and a diversified fleet of more than 75 vessels, supported by a sea transport network that connects Oman to key ports across the region. This global reach offers a unique opportunity to disseminate sustainability worldwide.
Despite many challenges in retaining talents equipped with the expertise and know-how to accelerate its sustainability ambitions, as well as the increasing cost of adopting key sustainability technologies and solutions, ASYAD has remained unwavering in its commitment to change. Partnerships have proven key, with the group collaborating with Sultan Qaboos University on biofuel projects and building partnerships with international corporations to develop clean fuel alternatives and unlock new frontiers for emission reduction.
Through these efforts, ASYAD has established itself as a shining beacon and corporate role model not just for Oman, but internationally. The group’s credibility in the industry has
Story type
#environmental sustainability (main category)
#culture, #transformation
Benefits
▸ Record profit in 2022 and new self-sustaining segments.
▸ ESG entirely embraced and reputation elevated.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Build your strategy to evolve under ESG.
For government
▸ ESG should be self-driven, regulation is a key enabler to take businesses in this di-rection.
ASYAD at a glance:
Key products and services: integrated logistics solutions
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 90%
▸ Others – 10%
Headquarters: Muscat, Oman
Year established: 2016
Number of employees: +8,000
Revenue: £1.02bn
Revenue from exports: N/A
enabled it to attract promising talents and a wider client base, garnering a reputation as one of the world’s elite energy transporters in terms of sustainability.
As a result, ASYAD has been able to secure better financing to sustain its business growth and fleet expansion goals. In fact, 2022 was a record-breaking year for ASYAD in terms of profit, with business units that were previously underperforming financially becoming self-sustaining.
Overall, the group’s commitment to sustainability has been crucial to its success and its capacity to develop, adapt to and surpass sustainability requirements. This robust and forward-thinking approach is proving to be the key to Asyad’s bright future.
By integrating sustainability into its core values and culture, and emphasising transparency, collaboration, and partnerships, ASYAD has become an example of ESG-led success.
Atmos International
Innovating to offer greater value to gas and water pipeline operators
How is Atmos thriving?
Jun Zhang CEO
After forging a reputation for itself as the go-to provider of oil and gas pipeline leak detection systems, Atmos knew the fate of its long-term future lay in how well it could diversify into other fields. Investing heavily in R&D has long been a hallmark of the company, and its innovative spirit has resulted in the development of new solutions geared towards the smarter operation of gas and water pipelines.
The challenge - Atmos International was founded in 1995 with a clear value proposition to clients – to reliably detect pipeline leaks on operational pipelines. Fast-forward to the present day, and its leak detection technology has been successfully applied to over 1,500 pipelines across more than 60 countries, with a formidable pool of loyal customers providing it with steady custom.
That said, recent years have posed challenges, not least around the state of play within the oil and gas industry. The lasting impact of the pandemic on oil prices, combined with the move to net zero and phasing out of fossil fuels, has created uncertainty and reduced the appetite for investment in the field.
This prompted Atmos’ leadership to ask where the company might be in 20 years’ time. To make it sustainable in the long term, a rethink was needed, one which triggered a move to diversify into different areas.
The solution - Some of the groundwork for the company’s diversification had already been laid by the time the strategy was more formally adopted in 2020.
Atmos started innovating new products for the oil and gas market back in 2017 to generate fresh demand, with a focus on bringing value to players in the natural gas segment. This came in the form of the award-winning Atmos Intelligent Optimizer (AIO), which informs control room operators on how to run pipelines in the most optimal way while minimising energy consumption and securing gas supply for all customers.
Innovating this, and other solutions for the modern gas sector, has involved numerous investments into R&D and talent. Atmos hired AI specialists from universities to work in tandem with its internal R&D team, with external
funding also being secured from Innovate UK. Existing clients were leveraged as sounding boards to run ideas by, while the company also brought in a new business development director in the US to specifically work on commercialising the AIO product. The impact of this appointment is already being felt, with two projects ongoing with gas pipelines in the country.
The other key diversification channel has been water. Another industry heavily reliant on robust pipelines and compliance with regulation, it was a natural step to provide IoT-powered, real-time leakage detection systems to water network operators. Indeed, the water sector in England and Wales loses around three billion litres of water a day due to leakage, a reality which costs around £800m a year and contributes significant amounts of CO2 emissions.
In 2020, Atmos began R&D work into how it could serve this huge demand to reduce leakage incidents, factoring in unique challenges such as the need to create new hardware to measure flow and pressure in different types of pipelines. What’s more, systems need to be battery-powered, and therefore extremely energy efficient and cost-effective if they are to be viable.
Interest in the concept is growing. Atmos is working with four different UK water companies, including projects with United Utilities and Northumbrian Water. Meanwhile, the UK’s Department for Business and Trade provided a grant for the company to explore its water solution in Brazil.
Getting to this point has drawn on all of Atmos’s innovative spirit and culture. The company commits more than 20% of UK annual revenue in R&D, helping it to remain at the forefront of ideas and keep pace with technological change. This is also made possible by a highly talented and creative team of people, the credentials of which have been proven time after time in the form of five ‘Smart Awards from Innovate UK’ and a ‘Queens Award for Innovation’ in 2020.
Looking ahead, there is clearly more to come. During 2024, Atmos expects to start taking on revenue-generating work in both of its new lines of business, suggesting that its investment into diversification is on the cusp of paying dividends.
▸ Atmos’ diversification strategy is expected to generate revenue in 2024.
▸ The company’s R&D was recognised and Atmos was awarded five ‘Smart Awards from Innovate UK’ and a ‘Queens Award for Innovation’ in 2020.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Take the opportunity to make a new product or start a new business when you see it. If there is a need: persist, you will succeed.
▸ The key to success is having the right people. It doesn’t matter how big the challenge is because the right people will overcome it.
For government
▸ Continue to invest in technology and innovation because the future depends on it.
Atmos International at a glance:
Key products and services: technology. Its primary focus is to detect pipeline leaks and pipeline simulation software
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 99%
▸ Others (non-energy: water) 1%
Headquarters: Manchester, UK
Year established: 1995
Number of employees: 180
Revenue from exports: 77%
ATPI
Supporting the energy sector in its bid to reduce Scope 3 emissions
How is ATPI thriving?
Story type
#environmental sustainability (main category)
#innovation
Benefits
▸ ATPI’s EBITDA in the Middle East up by 250%
▸ Company providing solutions suitable for the ever-expanding ESG reporting criteria.
Lynn Coutts Pippa Ganderton Managing Director, Middle East Director ATPI Halo
Recognising the difficulties enterprises were having in providing accurate reports on their Scope 3 emissions, ATPI responded with a brand-new solution designed to validate and offset travel-related emissions. Such has been its popularity since launching in 2020, clients across all sectors, including energy, are queueing up to be onboarded.
The challenge - The energy sector relies on a huge amount of domestic and international travel to function. Whether it’s workers moving to and from assets such as rigs and offshore platforms, or execs flying to numerous parts of the world to attend events and meetings, the industry leans heavily on all modes of transport across land, air, and sea.
As a world-leading travel management company, ATPI has operations in over 170 countries, supporting the movement of people across the energy sector on a daily basis. In addition to managing logistics, it also plays a key role in supporting the safety, security, efficiency and wellbeing implications associated with travel.
In recent times, the company has placed extra emphasis on sustainability, its latest challenge being to help companies in the energy sector cut down on their Scope 3 emissions by providing means to travel more efficiently and responsibly.
The solution - The firm’s answer to the challenge is ATPI Halo. Launched in 2020, it is a solution that has been designed to act as a hub for ideas and offer tangible, sustainable solutions to companies whose business is dependent on travel.
Inspiration for the solution came from speaking with clients such as NES Fircroft, BORR Drilling, Seadrill, and The Ocean Race. ATPI quickly realised how difficult it was for them to address the Scope 3 CO2e emissions amassed from their travel activity, leading to the development of its latest innovation.
Since the launch of ATPI Halo, the company’s client-facing sustainable travel and events proposition has continued to evolve and mature, with many important milestones being achieved.
Customers globally have benefitted from this additional reporting capability, tapping into ATPI Halo’s high-quality, fully certified portfolio of carbon credit investment projects to offset all or part of their unavoidable travel CO2e footprints. So far, ATPI has invested and made available to its clients over 55,000 carbon credits, supporting indigenous communities in developing countries impacted by climate change, protecting wildlife, and proactively helping to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Further, in 2023, ATPI’s carbon offset portfolio expanded to 13 projects, ranging from renewable energies to efficient cookstoves, and nature-based carbon removal solutions.
Technical enhancements to ATPI Halo have also been made along the way. For example, it now has an improved data collection and analytics reporting suite with ‘Analytics 2.0’, which includes CO2e emissions data for air and non-air elements of travel. The new version will also include a carbon budget capability.
More and more clients are onboarding, including many players in the energy sector. Seadrill is one of those companies seeking to offset the emission associated with its unavoidable travel commitments, and has turned to ATPI Halo to do just that.
Visibility over Scope 3 emissions is not only critical in discovering areas where environmental impacts can be reduced, but also in fulfilling ever-expanding ESG reporting criteria. Solutions such as ATPI Halo have therefore entered the market at just the right time, and there is nothing to suggest that momentum will not continue to build. Indeed, ATPI Halo revenues are growing strongly, with EBITDA in the Middle East up by 250%.
Continue like this, and it might just become one of the savviest service innovations the company has ever made.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Don’t wait for perfection when starting your sustainability journey, start with small steps.
▸ Make sure you’re working on a key topic in your future business plan.
For government
▸ Take an actual step forward when it comes to energy transition.
ATPI at a glance:
Key products and services: worldleading specialist travel management in over 170 countries.
Sticking to its strengths to excel in a brand-new market
Russell Milne General Manager
How is Avantis Group thriving?
Entering a new market that has different ways of doing business is never easy. In 2021, Wales-based Avantis Group delved into the UAE after securing work with oil giant ADNOC, working hard behind the scenes to ensure it could survive and thrive in the country well beyond this initial project. Fast-forward to 2024, and the new division is generating solid revenues with the aim of contributing significantly to the wider company’s growth in the future.
The challenge - Set up in 2019, Avantis and AES has built a reputation as a go-to provider for diesel engine repairs and maintenance services – a one-stop shop that offers everything from the supply of spare parts to engineering support. Avantis, headquartered in the UK, is a global leader in the energy and transportation sectors, with a presence in Canada, Brazil, the UAE, and Singapore. It specialises in sustainable technologies and lifecycle management services to drive environmental improvements. Its mission is to lead in low-carbon innovations and reduce environmental impacts through strategic decarbonisation. Its services range from engineering design to global aftercare, all geared towards enhancing sustainability and efficiency.
The soluti on - Starting small, the UAE team soon acclimatised. Working with a sponsor to conduct business in the UAE required new processes to be developed to ensure timely execution and alignment with the company’s existing business model in the UK. New process maps were developed to gain clarity on scope execution and quality service delivery, while back-to-back agreement and commercial terms were struck with Avantis UAE and AES’s newly extended network of supply chain partners in the region.
Putting in the hard yards and completing the groundwork, which also includes building up a reliable supplier network, has been essential. More work with ADNOC followed in the form of two new contract wins with ADNOC Offshore and ADNOC Gas, which endorsed the
one-stop shop concept that Avantis UAE and AES has to offer. Indeed, the ability to serve the needs of all diesel engine maintenance across 40 different manufacturers was seen as a welcome opportunity for ADNOC, drastically streamlining its operations in this area.
Avantis UAE and AES’s small but skilled team networked with enthusiasm. Signifi cant time and effort were injected into building personal relationships with other prospects and suppliers in the country – an approach that open doors with Dubai Petroleum, Aggreko, WellGear, Motive Offshore, GMS and supporting existing relationships and contracts in Qatar. With much of the early heavy lifting complete, Avantis now has a steady footing of sustainable business in the region, which so far has delivered signifi cant growth. A pipeline which will only continue to grow, not least because the team has been expanded thanks to the recent arrival of a new members of staff.
Today, Avantis UAE and AES is seen as a real alternative to the original manufacturer. It has made a positive impact on the market, with clients already looking for the company to expand its services into other Middle Eastern countries. Indeed, typical client feedback received to date highlights Avantis UAE and AES’s professional, can do approach to business. Reliability has been another key selling point, with customers turning to it for its ability to provide cost-effective solutions on time.
As more and more satisfied clients add to Avantis UAE and AES’s track record in the UAE, it will only be a matter of time before its presence in the wider GCC region starts to grow.
Story type
#resilience (main category)
#service & solutions
Benefits
▸ Three contract wins with ADNOC Offshore, ADNOC Drilling & ADNOC Gas.
▸ The UAE division is growing quickly.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be prepared for cultural differences and respect ways of working that are different from other Western regions.
▸ Network is key and leverage your existing client base.
Avantis at a glance:
Key products and services: marine transportation, manufacture of oil and gas equipment and renewables.
Empowering organisations with data, collaboration and connectivity
How is AVEVA thriving?
Roy Calder
Industry Principal –New Energies
AVEVA’s innovative CONNECT platform is revolutionising industrial process management by seamlessly integrating supply-side and demand-side dynamics, ensuring data security, compliance and system integration.
Leaning on data as the cornerstone of success, AVEVA’s innovative proprietary solution is helping clients to optimise production, operation, maintenance and decarbonisation for complex facilities, driving competitive advantages and unique efficiency gains.
The challenge - Global engineering and industrial software specialist AVEVA is a formidable enterprise, its 6,500 employees in 35 countries supporting customers across 55 territories internationally, collectively generating annual revenues of £1.3bn.
Such an expansive footprint is a testament to the firm’s renowned reputation. Indeed, AVEVA’s mission is simple – to spark industrial ingenuity by connecting customers with trusted information and insights to enable the responsible use of the world’s resources.
The acquisition of OSIsoft and its world-class PI System in 2021 marked a pivotal moment within this context, enhancing AVEVA’s capability to provide crucial insights into key industrial processes to better measure and understand the entire industrial lifecycle.
Following the merger with OSIsoft, it was clear that the company remained in growth mode. However, in an effort to keep a finger on the pulse of changing market needs, AVEVA opted to review its strategy.
Acknowledging the exponential growth of data, which nearly tripled from 26 to 79 Zettabytes in the four years preceding the acquisition, AVEVA recognised the increasing importance of data utilisation. With projections indicating data will reach 181 Zettabytes by 2025, the firm sought to enhance its portfolio to empower organisations to effectively harness and exploit these rich data sets across the value chain to enhance their competitive position.
The solution - To drive relevant strategic changes, the firm conducted comprehensive research on its client base and the broader market. The findings revealed suboptimal data utilisation, with 73% of collected data lying
Alastair Cox
Market and Competitor Intelligence Manager
dormant and 76% of business leaders struggling to comprehend it.
Using these insights, AVEVA recognised the imperative to tailor its tools to address these precise needs, empowering clients to extract vital insights from the expanding data landscape. This enhancement aimed to boost organisational productivity, efficiency, operational agility, and sustainability. AVEVA also realised that critical subject matter experts often reside outside of their organisations, and a connected industrial ecosystem must be created for breakthrough improvement. This happens when companies can safely share information in real-time with trusted partners.
Rather than developing new products, the focus was on expanding upon its existing toolset and creating an Open Industrial Ecosystem, where data could be stored with context, managed, shared, visualised, analysed, enhanced and actioned efficiently.
Thus, the idea of CONNECT emerged.
CONNECT represents AVEVA’s vendor-neutral industrial data platform, enabling teams to access near real-time data without disrupting production systems. Offering scalable cloudbased applications, CONNECT leverages AI expertise for enhanced sustainability and efficiency, delivering:
Trusted intelligence: establishing a single source of truth for proven applications.
• Actionable insight: closing the loop for tangible real-world impact.
• Unified experience: harmonising diverse perspectives into one shared reality.
• Empowered ecosystem: catalysing the network effect throughout the value chain.
These cloud-based solutions empower process and manufacturing industries to embrace digital transformation confidently and efficiently, internally and across their supply chain. This ensures customers accelerate their time to value with a flexible, scalable, and trusted hybrid SaaS solution.
The platform’s value has already been demonstrated through practical applications. In one case, a client has utilised CONNECT to share operational data with its analytics part-
ner in real time, resulting in significant operational enhancements. This move reduced offspec processing, decreased crude waste by 49%, and bolstered annual production, yielding a US$10m improvement in its bottom line. Similarly, another client streamlined real-time data sharing among multiple power organisations using CONNECT, saving thousands of dollars on power purchases while enhancing operations.
Bilfinger
Adapting and innovating to thrive in the energy transition
landscape
How is Bilfinger thriving?
Sandy Bonner President
Amid challenges relating to its core energy markets and disruptions caused by the pandemic, Bilfinger’s UK leadership decided to change course. Ploughing significant time, energy and resources into a new diversification strategy, the company is now starting to reap the rewards, not least with its forays into the country’s hydrogen and nuclear sector.
The challenge - Established in 1880, the company is renowned worldwide for the engineering and maintenance services it provides to customers and their assets across a variety of sectors, including energy.
In recent years, Bilfinger UK has placed greater emphasis on diversifying its services to not only better serve these existing clients, but also tap into new markets beyond its traditional energy sector pillars of petrochemicals and onshore/offshore oil and gas.
Externally, the volatile nature of the oil and gas market, combined with fluctuations in project demand, presents challenges year on year. Meanwhile, the unprecedented challenges brought about by the pandemic exacerbated the situation, leading to skills shortages and operational disruptions.
Amid these movements, the need to adapt and innovate became imperative for Bilfinger to not only sustain its business, but also thrive in an ever-changing environment.
The soluti on - In broad terms, the firm’s strategy has revolved around leveraging its robust footprint of skilled labour in key industrial hubs across the UK.
This can be broken down into three major strands of activity, the first being to diversify to mitigate the impact of the oil and gas downturn. Here, Bilfinger built new sales and engineering teams focused on renewables and hydrogen. In the nuclear space, Bilfinger UK drew on expertise from France and Germany to secure major new contracts with Hinkley Point C Nuclear New Build, and to set up a new fabrication shop for EDF in Hull.
In addition to creating new teams, Bilfinger has also simplified, standardised and streamlined other internal structures under the banner of Project UNIFY. Separate legal entities were brought into one operating company - all now facing the market as Bilfinger UK. A new busi-
ness management system was also installed to bring additional uniformity.
To penetrate new energy markets, Bilfinger knew it had to invest significant resources and time into skills. Here, the company built out UK training programmes and has committed to take on 400 apprenticeships over the next five years – this sits alongside the Bilfinger Academy for office staff, young engineers and graduates. External training support is also heavily invested in, with key partners including ECITB and other specialists. Meanwhile, the HR, competency and recruitment team has trebled its pre-covid efforts to around 40 key staff.
The nature of Bilfinger UK’s work has also shifted as a result of these strategic moves. Today, the company engages in a greater proportion of project and engineering work.
Involvement at Hinkley Point C is key to this. In 2019, Bilfinger secured a contract which will see over £250m of pipework being fabricated, inspected and installed over the coming years in collaboration with Bilfinger’s existing nuclear expertise based in France and Germany. A new nuclear engineering office has been opened in Bristol to serve the project.
Adapting and innovating has also led to a new paradigm in offshore asset management for Bilfinger UK through its pioneering joint venture with Global E&C – Torus BGP. The partnership was created to meet an ambition of finding new ways of collaborating and working to operate and maintain client’s late life assets safely and economically, while supporting emissions reductions.
The partnership is focused on delivering integrated services to efficiently extend the service life of three UK North Sea platforms and the contract sees Torus BGP provide a full range of integrated services. It is currently the only venture of its kind, providing operations from engineering and inspection right through to modifications, maintenance and construction. The success of the Torus BGP venture signifies a seismic shift in how asset management can be approached, particularly in the offshore sector. Projects such as this have more than validated the decision made by Bilfinger’s UK leadership to diversify into new markets. With the positive impact of the restructuring and recruitment and skills drive kicking in, new foundations are being laid for Bilfinger to thrive in the energy transition landscape.
▸ Bilfinger’s UK division is expected to grow from £350m in 2020 to over £500m in 2024.
▸ New energy transition contracts being awarded, as well as renewable wind energy contracts offshore.
Key findings
For industry
▸ There are exciting opportunities on the horizon, in fields such as robotics, artificial intelligence, inspection and renewable energy technologies.
▸ It’s crucial to proactively seek out opportunities for growth, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone and taking on new challenges.
For government
▸ A concerted effort to expedite the planning and approval processes for energy projects, particularly those related to renewable energy infrastructure.
Bilfinger at a glance:
Key products and services: engineering, manufacturing and services for industrial facilities.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 40%
▸ Nuclear power – 15%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 10%
▸ Hydrogen – 10%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
▸ Carbon capture – 5%
▸ Energy storage – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy): pharma – 10%
Headquarters: Mannheim, Germany
Year established: 1880
Number of employees: 31,350
Revenue: £3.85bn
Revenue from exports: 5%
Blue Water Shipping
Embracing flexibility and adaptability to keep up with client expectations
Dilys Tan
Regional Head - Logistics, Asia (Floating Production Systems)
How is Blue Water Shipping thriving?
Adaptability, innovation and investment in young generations have been at the heart of Blue Water Shipping’s recent strategy, one which is helping the company to overcome volatile market conditions to continue delivering viable solutions to clients across a range of sectors.
The challenge - With more than half a century’s experience, 25 years of which have been spent operating out of its base in Singapore, Blue Water Shipping has sailed through its own fair share of market challenges and volatile moments. Indeed, in recent times, several key obstacles have impacted its Asian operations.
Supply chain disruptions due to COVID and Red Sea issues were particularly acute – for instance, shipments from Europe to destinations such as Singapore and China experienced significant lead time delays, with vessel booking for a standard GP container taking three to four weeks. Shortages of containers, schedule cancellations and substantial rate increases –sometimes doubling or more for specific lanes – were all sizable challenges.
Regulatory changes in China have also necessitated vigilant monitoring to provide timely advice to clients, while construction schedule delays caused by the pandemic and other supply constraints added further complexity to project timelines.
To navigate these obstacles against a backdrop of constant change, Blue Water Shipping needed to develop a responsive and client-centric service model that would enable it to respond to client pain points.
The solution - Flexibility and adaptability have become essential traits. By staying attuned to constant landscape changes, actively seeking feedback, and adjusting strategies accordingly, Blue Water Shipping has been able to position itself as an entity capable of meeting the evolving needs of clients, with tailored solutions for each unique project.
Getting to this point has required a shift in mindset and adherence to several principles. Firstly, the company has had to demonstrate high levels of adaptability. Here, it has fostered a culture that values and promotes agil-
ity, encourages employees to be adaptable, is open to change, and is quick to respond to evolving circumstances. Alongside this, the firm has developed processes and structures that allow for flexibility and rapid adjustments. Similarly, continuous learning has been another key facet, with employees encouraged to acquire new skills, stay informed about industry trends, and understand the importance of adopting a growth mindset.
This cultural realignment has enabled Blue Water Shipping to challenge the status quo, something the company embraces as a two-way process. Indeed, it has involved questioning service providers and asking clients ‘why’ to generate a superior understanding of their needs.
Such an approach is a key enabler for alternative solutions to be created. For example, to overcome the challenges in China, Blue Water Shipping introduced rail transportation from Europe to offset issues relating to the cost of maintaining air freight schedules and long lead times associated with shipping. Typically, sea freight would typically take 50 to 60 days for a 40’ GP container. Air freight, while taking just three to five days, would accrue a cost almost 10 times higher. Blue Water Shipping, with its rail transport option, offered a transit time of about 25 days at a more economical cost, presenting clients with a viable and efficient middle-ground solution.
Another critical challenge encountered on this journey has been attracting younger generations into the business. Due to the nature of the shipping sector, trends towards work-life balance and hybrid and remote working are sometimes difficult for companies like Blue Water Shipping to align with.
To help address this, the company has made significant investments in championing career prospects for younger people. It has implemented a traineeship program aimed at providing a structured and comprehensive learning experience. Spanning two years, it involves a combination of academic training focused on logistics and on-the-job training in participants’ home country for the first year. In the second year, trainees are seconded to one of Blue Water Shipping’s overseas offices for further hands-on experience. The program is designed to not only equip
Story type
#people & competency (main category)
#culture, #resilience
Benefits
▸ Economical and faster transportation solutions.
▸ Traineeship program providing the next generation of logistics theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be bold and specialise. Believe in what you are great at.
▸ Don’t say yes to everything.
Blue Water Shipping at a glance:
Key products and services: transportation and shipping.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 60%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 20%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 10%
▸ Others (non-energy: mining) –10%
Headquarters: Esbjerg, Denmark
Year established: 1972
Number of employees: 2,800
Revenue: £1bn
Revenue from exports: 5% (Singapore)
learners with theoretical knowledge, but also the practical skills they need to prepare them for a successful career in the dynamic field of logistics.
As a result of these initiatives, Blue Water Shipping is now better placed to deal with volatile markets, of which energy and FPSO are one. With its first client in this sector successfully onboarded and more on the way, the company can look forward to its next chapter of growth.
BMT
Enacting a new integrated strategic business plan to prepare for the future
How is BMT thriving?
Andrew Aldrich
Global Business Development Director
Despite facing myriad external and internal challenges, BMT has thrived by embracing innovation and strategic transformation. The company’s Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP) has been instrumental, driving diversification and growth over the past two years. Indeed, key investments into emerging markets like offshore wind, ship design, maritime autonomy, and port infrastructure have paid dividends, with the company developing new capabilities, solutions and thought leadership to stay ahead of evolving market needs.
This proactive approach has guided BMT through immediate hurdles while laying the foundation for sustainable progress – with revenues up to £184.7m and a 15% profit margin in 2023, the company’s diversification strategy is clearly bearing fruit.
The challenge - Over the past few years, BMT has faced a myriad of external and internal challenges that have shaped its strategic and operational landscape.
Externally, the company has navigated rapid inflation, supply chain constraints and uncertain global renewable energy growth. Internally, BMT has grappled with attracting top talent amidst these pressures. Moreover, geopolitical events and government election cycles injected further volatility, influencing defence and infrastructure spending patterns.
The challenge was clear – how could the company continue to perform robustly when faced with this array of headwinds?
The solution - Against this backdrop, BMT’s commitment to innovation and strategic transformation has been crucial.
Its proactive approach is significantly underpinned by the Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP), instrumental in driving the agenda for diversification and transformative growth over the past two years.
Set up in FY21/22, the ISBP included renewed focus and significant funding to support BMT’s entry into emerging markets.
For example, the strategic investment into offshore wind has brought internal focus on how the company can transition value into the market from its current services. It has also supported research and innovation
into new digital tools for asset performance, with other resources being allocated to understanding potential customers’ needs, regional challenges in operational areas, and providing local solutions aligned with project stages. Early successes have followed –these include delivering environmental data and support for environmental statements in Australia during the pre-feasibility license phase, as well as traction in the crew transfer vessel (CTV) design market.
Indeed, ship design is another capability BMT has invested in. Building on its success in the CTV market, the company has added more hybrid-fuelled platform options and created a new 48m service operation vessel design for the offshore wind industry. The design team has also connected with new customers seeking advice on transport, installation activities for offshore wind and port developments, delivering vessel operability studies, alternate fuel advice, static and dynamic mooring analysis, and simulation studies for operations and maintenance scenarios. This growth in BMT’s maritime services and design business portfolio reflects its vertical diversification, evolving from its core ship design business.
A recent success story in this segment comes from the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group, for which BMT consulted for the replacement of numerous ferries and cargo vessels. The company delivered vital support to review existing energy systems, engage the community and develop decarbonisation strategies that resulted in new low carbon vessel designs.
Meanwhile, maritime autonomy represents an entirely new capability for BMT. Here, the company is focused on providing assurance services to the defence and commercial markets, with new innovations including a synthetic training environment developed under the initiative. This is already supporting customers in understanding the risks associated with autonomous systems operating in complex environments. BMT has also initiated strategic investment into its ports and coastal infrastructure capability, focusing on supporting customers through planning stages, building effi ciency into port operations and decarbonising port systems, including onshore infrastructure and marine assets.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#energy transition
Benefits
▸ Revenues of £184.7m at a profit margin of 15%.
▸ Foundation for sustainable growth and innovation laid.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Find your place in the supply chain: be agile and flexible.
▸ Get involved, the energy sector presents exciting opportunities.
For government
▸ Create certainty in investment. Enable a more stable environment.
▸ Unlock public funding to companies of all sizes.
BMT at a glance:
Key products and services: engineering, science and technology management consultancy.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 19%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 1%
▸ Others (energy) – 80%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 1985
Number of employees: 1,300
Revenue: £184.7m
Revenue from exports: 0%
These initiatives reflect BMT’s strategic foresight through the ISBP process, which has not only guided the company through immediate market challenges but also laid the foundation for sustainable growth and innovation in line with the evolving energy sector. Indeed, across many of these new verticals, BMT seeks to emerge as a thought leader through its innovation and research capabilities.
Turnover and profit trends also point to a promising future. In 2023, BMT generated revenues of £184.7m at a profit margin of 15%, up from £157m and 12% in 2022. By sticking to its ISBP principles and continuing along its diversification journey, the company looks set to perform strongly across a broad range of energy subsectors and future-proof itself further.
CALGAVIN
Exploring new ways to address critical heat flux challenges
How is CALGAVIN thriving?
Gough CEO
After being approached to help improve the performance of vapourisers aboard LNG vessels, CALGAVIN knew that if it could solve the complexity surrounding the design within applications subject to critical heat flux (CHF), it would be onto a good solution with other customers having the same problem around the world. Thanks to its fruitful partnerships with academic institutions, the company has thrust itself head-on into this challenge to generate better design data. The project gaining attention and funding looks set to take it to the next level of technical understanding.
The challenge - Critical heat flux poses a significant concern within liquefied natural gas (LNG) systems. It denotes the maximum heat transfer rate before the heat flux starts reducing, potentially resulting in equipment performance failure. Effectively managing CHF is essential for safe and efficient LNG operations, crucial for achieving the energy industry’s sustainability objectives.
To tackle these challenges, there is an immediate requirement for more precise data concerning vapourisation and condensation processes. Enhanced models and data can improve the comprehension and prediction of vapourisation processes, facilitating the design and optimisation of LNG facilities. This is indispensable for ensuring operational efficiency, safety, ROI and alignment with the sustainability targets set by the sector.
Upon being approached by a global LNG shipping company and other stakeholders seeking to enhance vapouriser performance, CALGAVIN has embarked on addressing this challenge.
The solution - The company is well-positioned for this task. At the heart of CALGAVINS’ business lies expertise in thermal process enhancement, involving the modification of flow conditions in existing and new equipment to enhance and optimise overall plant performance. Meanwhile, with a solid foundation of 43 years of research, as well as collaborations with various universities and in-house efforts, CALGAVIN has amassed proven data which is utilised in calculations and solutions applied to over 20,000 heat exchangers globally.
Given the nature of its work, the company encounters a diverse range of challenges on a dai-
ly basis, with the critical heat flux (CHF) dilemma being the latest test of its capabilities. Academic partnerships have proven crucial to CALGAVIN’s endeavours so far. The firm has historical connections with the Chemical Engineering faculty at the University of Birmingham and has also partnered with the physics department in past projects, where the focus was on flow characterisation. In this instance, positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) were employed, leveraging gamma rays emitted from radioactive materials embedded in particles to visualise flow patterns.
The collaboration has drawn interest from several parties, among them the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and Culham Centre for Fusion Energy with its Fusion Industry Project. Critically, the latter is an industrial challenge scheme which engages the private sector on the technical challenges facing fusion energy’s development.
As a result of this interest, CALGAVIN was one of nine organisations to be awarded contracts to work with the UKAEA to develop innovative technologies for fusion energy, the company being granted around £1m. This funding is crucial, as it not only enables CALGAVIN to build a test rig to conduct in-depth research to address the critical heat flux challenges, but this fundamental research data will also help support all future vapourising and condensing projects.
This also has promising implications for the LNG sector. Although a long-term project for fusion, it will be immediately applicable to LNG, placing CALGAVIN at the heart of knowledge transfer for CHF in the UK. Indeed, in partnership with universities, the company will be able to convert concepts to products and test rigs, and it is also now in the process of developing a learning course on thermal processing.
Faced with complex market challenges, the need for technological advancements, environmental concerns and evolving customer expectations, CALGAVIN knew it needed to do something different. By embracing innovation and strategic adaptation, the company can seize new opportunities and maintain a competitive edge in the dynamic landscape of heat and mass transfer solutions.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#collaboration
#technology
Benefits
▸ CALGAVIN became one of nine companies to be awarded contracts to work with the UKAEA.
▸ Academic partnerships stablished to bring projects to life.
Key findings
For industry
▸ It’s not all been invested yet: huge opportunities in new sciences.
For government
▸ Empower young people to start their own companies.
CALGAVIN at a glance:
Key products and services: chemical engineering and consulting company working in the field of thermal process enhancement.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 85%
▸ Conventional power – 10%
▸ Nuclear power – 5%
Headquarters: Alcester, UK
Year established: 1980
Number of employees: 35
Revenue: £4m
Revenue from exports: 96%
Martin
Celeros Flow Technology
Newly established engineering company offers superior technology to facilitate the transformation of energy sector
Tommy Kassem Chief Commercial Offi cer
How is Celeros Flow Technology thriving?
Celeros Flow Technology (Celeros FT) was formed in 2020, comprising the Power & Energy focused brands formerly owned by SPX FLOW. The company was established to partner with energy sector players to solve mission critical flow challenges through the application of engineering and technology solutions that are both relevant and aligned with today’s energy transformation paradigm. Utilising its existing experience to bring greater value to clients both old and new, the company has enjoyed remarkable revenue growth in the few short years it has been in existence.
The challenge - Launching a new business is never an easy feat, let alone on the cusp of a global pandemic.
This was the situation facing Celeros FT in March 2020, when the company’s leadership created the new entity dedicated to providing support in the form of a lifecycle partnership to customers in the energy sector. Existing brands, including ClydeUnion Pumps, Plenty and S&N Pumps, Copes Vulcan, M&J Valve, and GD Engineering Closures, were combined to form Celeros Flow Technology, all brands that offer superior technology in the form of engineered-to-order pumps, valves and closures.
Each of the brands were already well known in traditional energy markets such as oil and gas, as well as the power sector. The next challenge was to successfully integrate these business units into a cohesive, unified brand that could not only continue to grow in its existing strength areas, but also in markets such as energy transition and nuclear.
The solution - The company was formed with a focused growth strategy, one that involved leveraging its established position in certain geographies, key accounts and industries to drive growth and secure market share.
Celeros FT then shifted gears into focusing on high technology and rapid growth market verticals, including energy transition and nuclear, drawing on its global engineering capabilities in those segments. Central to this strategy has been the firm’s full lifecycle partnership approach – Celeros FT was determined to build a customer base that centres around long-lasting relationships with clients on a global level.
Tommy Kassem, the firm’s new Chief Commercial Officer, also set about restructuring the commercial team, enabling it to focus on the industry verticals with the highest growth potential. The company already had considerable experience in the nuclear power market and within waste to energy generation – this was a good starting point for it to develop and expand its focus on these and related industries. Meanwhile, Celeros FT also maintained focus on the oil and gas industry, both on land and offshore through FPSOs, supporting customers on their energy transition journeys.
In Canada, the company recently announced plans to expand its facility in Burlington, Ontario to become the first site in the state to manufacture nuclear-qualified pumps. This will support Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) plans to build four small modular reactors, with the expansion also having the potential to serve OPG’s operations and refurbishment needs at its existing Darlington and Pickering generating stations.
As well as expanding its current operations in Burlington, Celeros has committed to finalizing a business case for a new nuclear valve production facility, also within Ontario, as it looks to play an enhanced role in nuclear growth in the province.
Shakil Ahmed, Celeros Flow Technology’s Burlington Plant Director, said at the time of the announcement in November 2023: “Recent investments in our nuclear-accredited facilities in the US, France and Canada ensure we can continue to provide robust engineered flow control solutions that meet the challenges of energy generation in a rapidly changing world. As OPG’s trusted lifecycle partner, we are proud to be supporting their SMR construction program, which will deliver a secure energy supply for Ontario as well as boosting the local economy and creating jobs in the area.”
Partnerships such as this continue to form the bedrock of Celeros FT’s promising commercial performance. Since founding in 2020 the company has grown steadily, showing a 55% increase in both sales and revenue between 2020-2023.
This is highly impressive in such a short period of time. Performance can be an issue for newly established entities, making it critical to keep employees engaged and on board –central to this has been making sure employ-
Story type
#transformation (main category) #resilience
Benefits
▸ Revenue growth of 55% from 2020–2023.
▸ Company expanded its 2 of its 24 operations in Burlington, Ontario and in Ghaziabad, India.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Know your markets and customers. Deliver products and services with the highest quality.
▸ The smaller players in the industry need to have a seat at the table and not only the major players. Both are needed and need support and alignment.
For government
▸ Focus on a more robust plan, with clear indications of funding requirements and availability to deliver the COP28 aspirational goal of tripling the nuclear capacity by 2050.
Celeros FT at a glance:
Key products and services: Manufacture of engineered-to-order pumps, valves and closures, as well as offering a range of technical aftermarket services.
Main industries served (predicted outcome 2025):
▸ Oil and gas – 42%
▸ Conventional power – 6%
▸ Nuclear power and energy transition – 35%
▸ Others (non-energy: defence, marine, chemical processing and other industries) – 17%
Headquarters: Charlotte, US
Year established: 2020
Number of employees: 1,300
Revenue from exports: 60%
ees know they are part of the journey and critical to the success of the new venture. And with the sort of growth the firm is enjoying so far, the next chapter of the journey looks to be an exciting one.
CEVA Logistics
Supporting East Africa’s largest ongoing hydroelectric project with complex, out-of-gauge cargo deliveries
In provisioning a series of the largest and most complex logistical cargo deliveries ever witnessed on an East African energy infrastructure project, CEVA Logistics is making a name for itself on the continent. Thanks to its meticulous attention to detail and timely delivery of components, the project continues to progress.
The challenge - CEVA Logistics decided to grow its business across the African continent in 2019, when CEVA had direct presence in less than five countries in the region. After several acquisitions, the company has direct offices and operations in more than 20 African markets.
One of those acquisitions, that of Spedag Interfreight in 2022, has been particularly influential. Spedag has dedicated industry teams which specialise in fulfilling logistical requirements for complex projects – essential expertise in the ongoing delivery of cargo transportation services to East Africa’s largest hydropower project.
With a generating capacity of more than 2GW and construction work taking place at a remote site location, CEVA Logistics was faced with a challenge when it was approached to deliver 300 complex and out-ofgauge cargo items.
The solution - It is the first time such a logistical exercise has been carried out in East Africa, with the most challenging aspect being how CEVA could utilise existing road and rail infrastructure to safely transport the exceptional loads.
The loads in question concern nine of the third largest rotor bodies the world has ever produced, 7.5 metres in diameter. These are made up of a variety of enormous components, including pressure kits measuring 7.4 metres in diameter, rotor valves weighing 163 tonnes, runners weighing 90 tonnes, downstream and upstream extensions up to 7.4 metres wide, and 36 sensitive stator sections with height of 4.7 metres.
The size of the cargo was only one aspect of many challenges. Transformers are highly sensitive and must be handled with precision
and care to ensure that their internal integrity stays intact upon arrival at the site. Due to the cargo’s sensitivity, procurement lead time needed to span over 10 months.
No stone has been left unturned. CEVA’s logistics engineers painstakingly planned every detail, producing drawings and project schematics well before the cargo even made the sail to the Port of Dar es Salaam. This included calculations of ground bearing capacity, ensuring adequate handling equipment availability (especially at intra-rail stations), and measuring the impact on the cargo, among other key factors.
To give an example of a specific cargo journey, a rotor body of 8 metres in length, 7.5 metres in width and weighing 111 tonnes took more than six months of planning. It was transported via road from the port to a rail station, trans-shipped on rail wagon with a 200-tonne capacity, and then trans-shipped at the arrival rail station safely on to specialised trailer ready to be transported to the project site the next day. In total, the journey encompassed 100 kilometres of road, of which 30 kilometres were gravel road, 120 kilometres of rail and finally more 40 kilometres of gravel road.
So far, 85% of the cargo has been successfully delivered to the site. Such has been the competency of the delivery to date, CEVA Logistics has emerged as the sole logistics services provider for the rest of the project. The company has also received enquiries from other parties, opening up the possibility of securing more work on the continent.
Involvement in critical energy infrastructure projects such as this will only serve to deepen CEVA’s ties in Africa. As it became a top-five global player, successfully executing highly complex, first-of-its-kind projects in the region will strengthen its track record and reputation. On a broader level, the company is also playing a crucial role in accelerating progress on one of East Africa’s most important renewable energy projects that will help to bolster energy security for generations to come.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#people & competency
Benefits
▸ Company on track to deepen its business in the African continent.
▸ Involvement in one of East Africa’s most important renewable energy projects.
Key
findings
For industry
▸ Trust the supply chain: an efficient supply chain is at the core of every functioning economy. For government
▸ Collaborate and open healthy dialogue with industry players.
CEVA Logistics at a glance:
Key products and services: one of the top five world leaders in third-party logistics.
Headquarters: Marseille, France
Year established: 1946
Number of employees: 110,000
Revenue: £15.1bn
Revenue from exports: N/A
Clariant
Greater catalyst. Smaller footprint.
Christian Gueckel Vice President and Head of Strategy & Marketing
How is Clariant thriving?
Through ongoing investments and innovative research efforts, Clariant has produced catalyst solutions that help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions across various sectors in 2023. By providing innovative technologies that optimise yields, minimise waste and help decarbonise downstream markets, the company has been able to support its customers avoid approximately 40 million tons of CO2e in 2023.
Indeed, with a focus on sustainability both internally and externally, Clariant is poised to drive further carbon savings in the years ahead. The challenge - Clariant stands as a dedicated specialty chemical company, guided by the overarching mission of fostering ‘Greater chemistry – between people and planet’. By seamlessly integrating customer-centric approaches, innovation and talent, the company crafts solutions aimed at advancing sustainability across different industries.
With a workforce of more than 10,000 individuals, a global presence, robust R&D capabilities, and an extensive portfolio, Clariant delivers cutting-edge technologies to optimise processes in the chemical industry.
The company is committed to serving as an innovative catalyst, empowering clients in their sustainability strategies and carbon reduction endeavours. Specifically, it focuses on enhancing energy efficiency and aiding industries in slashing emissions from chemical production.
In line with its mantra, “Greater catalyst. Smaller footprint,” Clariant’s catalysts business remains focused on this pursuit. However, it is an extensive undertaking. In addition to developing sustainable solutions for the chemical sector, the company must continuously invest in pioneering technologies to accelerate the global energy transition.
The solution - Through continual investments and pioneering R&D efforts from the company’s experts, the firm has successfully leveraged its catalyst products to facilitate the avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions in several ways in 2023.
Milica Ermer Head of Global Marketing
For the steel industry, Clariant manufactures specialised reformer catalysts for the low-carbon direct reduction of iron (DRI) process of iron production. Compared to the traditional coal-based method, DRI reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 30-40%. Nitric acid production for manufacturing fertiliser is another environmentally challenging process, releasing nitrous oxide equivalent to 100m tons of CO2 annually. Here, Clariant’s N2O abatement catalysts are able to remove up to 99% of emissions at less than US$10 per tonne of CO2e avoided.
Furthermore, Clariant offers a wide range of high-performance catalysts that enable the reduction of CO2e emissions in the production of large-volume chemical building blocks, such as styrene, ethylene, and propylene.
In addition to providing sustainable solutions for traditional sectors, Clariant has also excelled in developing catalysts that advance energy transition. Together with technology partners, the company is paving the way for deploying blue hydrogen, low-carbon ammonia, green methanol and sustainable aviation fuels.
Furthermore, Clariant’s expansive portfolio includes state-of-the-art catalysts for hydrogen transportation through chemical conversion, followed by release at the point of use, for example, through ammonia cracking or liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs).
Owing to these transformative solutions, Clariant’s customers – including those involved in steel and nitric acid production, as well as new energy transition projects – were able to avoid greenhouse gases equivalent to approximately 40 million tonnes of CO2e in 2023. Critically, this figure represents an increase of five million tonnes avoided versus 2022, highlighting the company’s growing commitment to climate protection.
While many of its efforts are focused on supporting its customers’ transition toward climate neutrality, Clariant is also actively reducing its own environmental footprint. Indeed, the company’s ambitious, science-based climate targets for 2030 include the reduction of: Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 40%; landfilled non-hazard-
Story type
#environmental sustainability (main category)
#energy transition
Benefits
▸ Customers successfully supported towards carbon neutrality.
▸ Clariant on its own journey to reduce carbon emissions in several fronts.
Clariant at a glance:
Key products and services: manufacture and development of sustainable solutions.
Headquarters: Basel-Country, Switzerland
Year established: 1995
Number of employees: 10,481
Revenue: £3.7m
ous waste by 40%; hazardous waste by 25%; and water consumption by 20%; as well as other commitments.
With an emphasis on driving change to enable a sustainable future both internally and externally, the firm is paving a path to many further carbon savings – something it hopes to accelerate over the coming years.
Cokebusters
Championing innovation in water filtration
James Phipps
Managing Director
How is Cokebusters thriving?
Constantly innovating around its services and solutions, Cokebusters is finding new ways to help clients improve operational efficiency and reduce the risk of process safety related incidents, whilst also minimising cost exposure and associated environmental impact.
Through the development of new filtration machinery, the company can now ethically clean and recycle millions of gallons of contaminated water during high intensity oil refinery site turnarounds, supporting major clients across the US.
The Cokebusters’ water filtration solution brings significant added value to its core service enabling clients to significantly minimise operational burdens and on-site product handling charges.
The challenge - For the past 20 years, Cokebusters has been a niche technology services partner for the international energy sector. The company specialises in the design, build and maintenance of patented equipment for the mechanical cleaning and intelligent pigging of small diameter, high pressure process piping and pipeline inventory.
Cokebusters’ work involves removing hardened petroleum coke and scale from facility fired heaters and boilers, often extracting several tonnes of fouling from a single heater. Heater tube wall fouling significantly reduces thermal efficiency and increases the risk of corrosion and rupture. The fouling is removed using mechanical cleaning pigs, propelled by high pressure water, with the contaminated water then collected within tanks in its pumping units.
Whilst these pumping units filter out larger contaminant particles, they cannot completely clean the water due to the very high-volume flow rates. The remaining wastewater that is handled by facility operators imposes a significant burden, with millions of gallons of ‘grey water’ requiring extensive treatment. This method also demands significant volumes of freshwater to replace that which is lost.
Recognising the environmental and operational challenges, especially in remote and arid regions, Cokebusters identified the need to reduce the environmental impact and operator
costs. This led to the opportunity to design a practical solution capable of processing waste and recycling water at sufficient volumes without hindering heater decoking performance.
The solution - Taking the challenge to reduce environmental impact, lower costs, and address freshwater demand head on, Cokebusters embarked on developing and delivering a new technology to work alongside its pumping units and broaden the scope of company’s trademark combined service delivery.
Designed, built and patented by Cokebusters’ Houston team, the new filtration machines are a containerised unit equipped with an operator control room, two water settling tanks, and a four-stage filtration system, each with banks of filtration pods, sized according to required specification.
The initial prototype unit was able to process wastewater at a rate of approximately 150 gallons per minute (gpm). More recently, a second-generation unit was developed to increased throughput capacity to 250-300 gpm, thus enabling the company to effectively clean much larger fired heaters without compromising the schedule.
During a 10-day site turnaround involving multiple heaters, a single filtration unit ethically cleaned and recycled some three million gallons of water, which would otherwise require to be managed and disposed of by the facility. The wastewater can be continuously recycled thus significantly reducing the demand for further supply.
The effectiveness of the solution has been demonstrated by a water filtration intervention at a major US Gulf Coast oil and gas operator’s facility. Here, since the filtration process was implemented, as part of a broader combined service, no further spillage has occurred, and no additional water has been required.
During this time, Cokebusters has also deployed its filtration machines across several other US refining sites. In addition to environmental load reduction and operator savings, the firm’s regional income has been incremented by up to 10%, or US$1.5m per annum.
The success of this concept has prompted the company to commission the construction of
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#innovation
Benefits
▸ New units being added to the company’s network, including in the Middle East.
• Revenue growth of £1.2m in 2023.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be bold and proactive.
▸ Trust an innovative and diverse business.
For government
▸ Support SMEs with funding.
Cokebusters at a glance:
Key products and services: design, build and maintenance of specialised equipment for the mechanical cleaning, intelligent pigging and integrity management of small diameter, high pressure process piping and pipeline inventory.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 90%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy): chemical –5%
Headquarters: Chester, UK
Year established: 2005
Number of employees: 100
Revenue: £14m
Revenue from exports: 95%
additional units, including one for the Middle East region to replace current cumbersome on-site water handling techniques.
Water filtration is now a component part of the company global business strategy with a third generation unit planned, targeting an additional diversification agenda.
With such a significant growth rate, the firm is well positioned to further consolidate its reputation as a valuable industry technology partner in the future.
Crescent Engineering
Broadening its solutions portfolio to overcome tightening margins
Mohamad Azmi Kamari Managing Director
How is Crescent Engineering thriving?
Amid growing competition, Crescent Engineering decided to pursue a new approach to serving clients, one built around solutions and offering maximum value as a service provider. This is no better demonstrated than by its investment into a new dry gas seal facility, a first for Malaysia which has given it a new edge in the local market.
The challenge - Since the turn of the millennium, Crescent Engineering has been providing a range of maintenance, equipment upgrade, revamp and engineering services to the oil and gas, refining, chemical, power, and other asset-intensive industries in its home county Malaysia.
During its first two decades, the firm had built up a solid reputation in the local market, but a series of challenges were starting to bite towards the end of the 2010s. New entrants offering similar repair services for pumps were pushing down margins, prompting the company to develop a plan for growth and diversification in order to bring greater value to clients. At the same time, new members in the management team were bringing fresh perspectives and ideas to the table.
The solution - Since 2018, Crescent Engineering has adopted a solutions-first approach, one which better takes into account bespoke client needs.
Indeed, the company has been able to differentiate itself by providing capabilities previously unavailable locally, enabling it to produce results with faster turnaround times and at more competitive costs. Also crucial to this has been the consolidation of the right technologies through collaboration with various technology partners, coordinating customer needs and matching them with the optimum solutions.
This approach allows the company to develop local capability and talent, enabling it to be a true service and solutions provider. Indeed, Crescent Engineering believes this is the key to establishing a strong foundation for long-term growth, at the same providing the technical baseline to contribute to Malaysia’s industrial ecosystem in the rotating equipment space.
Central to the company’s strategy, and personifying the ethos behind it, has been the
development of highly specialised dry gas seal service facilities. As the first and only such facility in Malaysia, Crescent Engineering is now capable of performing complete refurbishment and testing of dry gas seals according to API 692 requirements. Here, the company offers a full range of services, including complete inspection, re-lapping, calibrating and regrooving. It also provides replacement parts to specification, performs spin tests on mating rings, stacks up and balances rotating units, and conducts static and dynamic dry gas seal testing.
The site, which has so far completed 60 units for various clients, is testament to the risk that Crescent is willing to absorb in order to provide greater value to customers. Major work was required to bring the property up to standard, much of which having to be completed amid serious disruption during the height of the Covid pandemic.
The first customer to benefit from the new dry gas seals facility was Carigali Hess, a joint venture oil and gas company between PCJDA Ltd and Hess Oil Company of Thailand Ltd based in Kuala Lumpur engaged in gas production approximately 150km northeast of Kota Bahru. Its unit, which was serviced four years ago, continues to operate without issues.
As a result of the new facility and solutions-first approach to doing business, Crescent Engineering is continuing to gain new customers, this growth enabling the company to expand its employment base and bring new skills development opportunities to local communities. Its team at the dry gas seals site is now five-strong, and is delivering savings for clients of up to 40% compared to what they were paying in the past.
As more and more success stories strengthen Crescent Engineering’s track record, the more it is being proved right in the decision to pivot towards a solutions-centric offering. Now, the challenge is to remain competitive by recruiting and training the skilled people it needs to thrive, something that it seeks to achieve through partnering with local education institutions and building out a rigorous selection and training process. This, along with savvy investment in leading-edge technology, will open up even greater opportunities for the business, which also has its eyes on markets outside of Malaysia.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#people & competency
Benefits
▸ Expansion of customer and employment base.
▸ Customers saving up to 40%.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Openness to alternative options will improve costs and increase knowledge.
For government
▸ Provide support to increase consideration to use local companies that can provide value in terms of tax incentives or exposure.
Crescent Engineering at a glance:
Key products and services: mechanical equipment solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 60%
▸ Conventional power – 20%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 2%
▸ Others (non-energy): water infrastructure – 18%
Headquarters: Klang, Malaysia
Year established: 2000
Number of employees: 83
Revenue: £3.3m
Revenue from exports: 0%
Crowcon Detection Instruments
Applying gas detection capabilities to battery storage systems for a safer energy transition
Neil Webster
Global Sales Director
How is Crowcon Detection Instruments thriving?
Recognising the opportunity to support energy transition strategies by enhancing battery storage safety, gas detection specialist Crowcon has propelled itself into a true thought leader within just 12 months. Leveraging its decades of experience, the company has successfully applied its expertise to a hugely significant energy transition subsector. The success of this subsector has the potential to make or break the switch to cleaner power sources.
The challenge - Efficient battery storage is paramount to the success of renewables and alternative power generation gaining traction within the energy transition.
Such systems also need to be safe. Lithium-ion batteries carry risks of thermal runaway, fires and explosions. And when damaged or exposed to high temperatures, pose dangers to the environment, property and human life. As demand rises, a single faulty battery can trigger very costly incidents.
However, fires and explosions are symptoms of unsafe batteries. For the global manufacturer of gas detectors, Crowcon, the opportunity to pivot away from reliance on traditional energy markets was clear.
The solution - The potential for Crowcon to make a difference in the battery energy storage solutions (BESS) market is obvious. A faulty battery undergoes a process of ‘off-gassing’ in the early stages of thermal runaway, where inflated levels of toxic and highly flammable VOCs are released. Detecting these gases at the earliest possible moment is therefore the best possible way of avoiding explosion or fire, which is where a reliable early gas detection system comes in.
Crowcon has been researching and developing cutting-edge gas detection solutions for all manner of needs and environments for over 50 years.
The company has been focused on driving innovation within the energy transition market since 2022, and specifically the BESS market since the middle of 2023.
This pivot has involved several key actions. First, Crowcon adopted a cross departmental and global approach, with sales, product, R&D and marketing teams based in the UK and China all coming together. Within this, a dedicated
Yasin Yehya
Product Manager – Fixed Systems
Prannay Roy
Product Manager –Battery Safety
group focused on BESS was formed through the company leveraging its parent firm’s (Halma) Catalyst Programme to bring in Prannay Roy to spearhead its efforts in the segment.
Understanding battery failure was very much in its infancy stage, with questions around what happens before catastrophic fires, types of gasses released, when they are released and which ones need to be detected. Crowcon therefore conducted battery tests and developed the ability to detect the early off gasses. Crucially, this early detection capability has been enabled by the fact the company is sensor agnostic, meaning it is able to leverage various sensor types for specific applications. In collaboration with other Halma businesses, Crowcon has been able to create a full BESS solution.
This takes the form of Xgard Bright MPS. In providing early and reliable gas detection by detecting off-gassing within milliseconds, it also surpasses the accuracy of alternative sensors in detecting carbonates such as DMCs and EMCs, toxic VOCs, and monitoring oxygen levels. In addition, the Xgard Bright can integrate with existing battery management systems (BMS), gas or fire panels to provide early off-gassing detection, trigger suppression sequences, enhance safety and mitigate damage.
Concurrently, the firm has been working hard behind the scenes with certification and insurance companies to ensure gas detection is a requirement within the BESS market. As Crowcon’s extra layer of safety is slowly being understood, their aim is to highlight the benefits, and reduce premiums for contractors & end customers. This will be an important avenue of development as Crowcon seeks to implement its solution on a broader scale, with the company already in conversations with the top battery manufacturers in China.
Indeed, such has been the traction gained already, BESS market protagonists are turning to Crowcon for help and inviting the firm’s experts to speak at industry events.
This thought leader positioning is also trans-
Story type
#innovation (main category)
#culture, #energy transition, #technology
Benefits
▸ First year of revenues coming from battery storage activities reached £1m.
▸ Companies ready to gain traction: battery storage revenue calculated to double.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Don’t be scared to innovate, even in a traditional business like gas detection.
▸ Disseminate a culture of nonsegregation, non-silo and understand the advantage of a global brainpower.
For government
▸ Legislate early gas detection in battery storage.
Crowcon at a glance:
Key products and services: manufacture of gas detectors and quality monitors.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 23%
▸ Hydrogen – 7%
▸ Energy storage – 1%
▸ Other (energy): pollution/air quality – 3%
▸ Other (non-energy): water, process industries, transport and industrial –66%
Headquarters: Abingdon, UK
Year established: 1970
Number of employees: 280
Revenue from exports: 62%
lating into a positive sales trajectory. In 2023, the first year of commercial activity in the BESS sector, revenues derived from battery storage clients reached £1m. Through 2024, Crowcon expects this to double.
Despite being early in the rollout strategy, Crowcon already appears to have seized the opportunity. Having wasted no time in formulating a team and synergising across various departments within the organisation, as well as other Halma companies, the dividends are starting to materialise.
Danamin
Strategic transformation underpinned by marketing and diversification
Kamarulzaman Bin Sudin
Business Development Manager
How is Danamin thriving?
After a fruitful five years underpinned by a major contract from Petronas, Danamin finds itself at a natural point of strategic consideration. To impose potential complacency, the firm is actively revamping its brand and marketing efforts while diversifying operationally, aligning more closely with industry needs.
Coming off the back of a difficult 2023, the firm is now seeking out a variety of potential opportunities as it continues to refine its strategy and broaden its scope in 2024.
The challenge - Established in 1994, Danamin has spent the past 30 years providing non-destructive testing services and fabrications of steel structure, heat treatment services and maintenance solutions to the oil and gas, marine, chemical and construction industries.
Headquartered in Malaysia, the firm’s 120 employees provide key services to operators including Petronas, TNB and Malakoff, as well as supporting developers such as Titan Chemical, Tier 1 EPCs such as Samsung and Hyundai, and Tier 2 Services companies including Pioneer, NDE and Bumitech.
Of course, growing so substantially in the space of three short decades hasn’t come without its challenges. Indeed, in recent times, Danamin has grappled with difficult market conditions, spanning everything from manpower and equipment issues to market pricing problems underpinned by the emergence of new competitors.
To protect its renowned reputation and sustain relationships and contracts with key market players, Danamin recognised that it would need to adapt and innovate.
The solution - The company has resultantly set about working to identify and capitalise on new opportunities in several areas of late.
Having secured a fi ve-year contract from Petronas spanning 2018 to 2022 for Non-Destructive Testing and maintenance services, the firm saw the need to prepare itself for new major business opportunities, improving its service offering and better aligning with market needs.
Obtaining EIC membership stands as one example of these multi-faceted efforts, with Danamin highlighting everything from opportunities to connect with industry stakeholders to webinars and events as benefi cial, aiding its efforts to diversify in a logical and informed manner.
Central to this has been an adaptation and improvement in the way in which Danamin markets itself, the firm having worked to establish a new branding strategy as of June 2023. Indeed, not only has the company needed to diversify operationally, but it also had to ensure that any key shifts in emphasis are recognised by potential clients and prospects. Here, its enhanced marketing efforts have proven critical.
Of course, these changes haven’t been plain sailing. Indeed, the firm has continued to struggle with the industry-wide employee retention challenges experienced by many, as well as a reliance on outdated equipment that it is gradually working to address.
With the Petronas contract concluding, Danamin saw its revenues drop from RM 51m in 2022 to RM 28m in 2023. However, with significant efforts such as the new branding strategy launched in the latter half of the year, the company is now working to reposition itself effectively for 2024 and turn a corner on what proved to be a difficult year.
With key certifications such as a Petronas License and ISO certifications in place, Danamin stands ready to capitalise on new opportunities as it continues to refine its strategy in the year ahead.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
Benefits
▸ Diversification as a strategy to adapt.
▸ Key certifications such as Petronas License and ISO, Danamin is looking forward to capitalise on new opportunities.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Resilience is the key – it is essential to view them as learning experiences rather than failures. Building resilience will help you navigate the ups and downs of your journey towards success.
▸ The industry is constantly evolving. Stay curious and open to new technologies and methods. Innovation and adaptability are crucial for staying competitive and relevant
For government
▸ Transparent and fair tender processes with clear criteria and guidelines that all companies can understand and follow.
▸ Develop policies that provide incentives and support for local companies to enhance their competitiveness, including financial assistance, tax breaks, and grants.
Danamin at a glance:
Key products and services: service provider in the oil and gas industry.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 80%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy: manufacturing) – 15%
Headquarters: Pasir Gudang, Malaysia
Year established: 1994
Number of employees: 120
Revenue: £485,000
Revenue from exports: N/A
Deepsea Technologies
Opening a new Aberdeen base to better serve the UK market
Mark Lamyman Head of Sales
How is Deepsea Technologies thriving?
Deepsea Technologies UK has positioned itself in the heart of the marine and oil and gas sectors by opening a new site in Aberdeen. By being positioned closer to its main hub of clients, and located within a hub of excellence in terms of infrastructure and talent, the company is better able to serve customers and keep abreast of key industry trends and developments. Having bedded into the new location and market, the new site looks set to contribute to what is an already growing UK business, with revenues heading steadily upwards over the past few years.
The challenge - Deepsea Technologies has been engaged in highly specialised, bespoke services for subsea energy production assets and onshore sealing applications since 2005. It has carved its own niche, pushing the boundaries of underwater exploration through cutting-edge technology, helping clients to advance their engineering projects.
The UK is an important market for the company. However, in recent years it became clear that Deepsea’ current locations were not located close enough to its major clients. Meanwhile, with increasingly complex challenges facing the sector, including stringent regulatory requirements, rising operational costs, and the need for more sustainable practices, the company recognised the imperative to innovate and adapt. Aberdeen, as a centre of excellence for maritime and oil and gas operations, presented the perfect opportunity to set up a new, better located base from which to serve the UK market.
The solution - Towards the end of 2022, Deepsea Technologies launched a new site in the Scottish city, with several key strategies being implemented to ensure the move was and continues to be a success.
Firstly, the company focused on building strong partnerships with local stakeholders, including industry experts, regulatory bodies, and the community, fostering collaboration and support.
Secondly, it invested significantly in cutting-edge technology and infrastructure to enhance efficiency and reliability in their operations. Alongside this, Deepsea prioritised talent acquisition and development, ensuring
its workforce was equipped with the skills and expertise needed to tackle the challenges of the offshore industry effectively.
Through these strategies, the company aimed not only to meet but exceed the expectations of its clients, establishing itself as a leader in innovation and excellence in Aberdeen’s maritime sector. Indeed, throughout the implementation process, Deepsea Technologies maintained a focus on flexibility and adaptability, allowing the company to pivot and refine its strategy based on feedback and emerging market trends. To support this, continuous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms were put in place to track the progress of their initiatives and identify areas for improvement.
Dedication, collaboration, and forward-thinking have been key attributes which have allowed Deepsea to make a success of the move into Aberdeen, all of this being underpinned by a commitment to excellence which drives the team to continually push boundaries and deliver exceptional results in the world of offshore subsea operations. Although it is difficult to measure the business impact in raw number terms with the new site being open for just over a year, overall revenue trends for the UK business are certainly cause for optimism. Company’s revenue grew to £10.1m from £8.6m.
Indeed, with state-of-the-art facilities and a highly skilled workforce, Deepsea Technologies UK is poised to deliver a new breed of service efficiency and reliability for clients. The success of this venture should not only serve to strengthen its presence in the industry, but also solidify the company’s position as a leader in the broader subsea and offshore sector. Looking ahead, key priorities are to foster innovation and drive positive impact in the offshore sector from the new Aberdeen site, doubling down on the company’s dedication to the North Sea market. Further afield, prospects are also exciting, with Deepsea also considering opening a site in Malaysia, a move which would further expand its reach and capabilities.
Story type
#optimisation (main category)
#scale up
Benefits
▸ New site in Aberdeen brings optimism to Deepsea Technologies, as revenue grew.
▸ Plans to expand site to Malaysia.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Have faith in UK engineering for renewables, hydrogen, and carbon capture.
▸ Collaborate between countries to bring engineers together to drive a cleaner, more efficient future.
For government
▸ What is the future for conventional oil and gas? How many years do we have left?
Deepsea Technologies at a glance:
Key products and services: subsea oilfield equipment supplier.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 95%
▸ Carbon capture – 2%
▸ Others (energy) – 3%
Headquarters: Bromborough, UK
Year established: 1994
Number of employees: 50
Revenue: £10.1m
Revenue from exports: 60%
deugro
A century of success in complex logistics
Jasmina Tuncheva Senior Global Tender Manager
How is deugro thriving?
In its 100th anniversary year, logistics specialist deugro continues to invest heavily in the training and development of its most valuable asset – people. Working to support over 1,500 highly skilled specialists in more than 70 offices and 40 countries worldwide, the company provides several key training and employee empowerment initiatives.
The challenge - Having taken up the challenge of specialising in customised logistics solutions for complex turnkey projects and oversized and heavy lift (OSHL) cargoes in 1924, deugro has become a pioneer and trailblazer in the project logistics industry during the ensuing century.
Still standing as an independent, family-owned enterprise today, the firm’s extensive employee base works to provide sophisticated and innovative freight management and project logistics solutions by ocean, air and land – from the early pre-FEED phase through engineering, procurement and construction up to safe project delivery and beyond.
However, this is not to say that the last 100 years haven’t been without its challenges. Indeed, deugro has endured everything from financial crashes, geopolitical conflicts and energy crises, fluctuating freight rates, severely restricted shipping space and availability, port congestions, global shortages of trained personnel, the unprecedented IT transformation, a global pandemic, and the energy transition with its significant impact on all industries.
The solution - The industrial project market continues to undergo constant and increasingly rapid change, and deugro has continued to navigate volatility year after year, adjusting its strategy to serve ever-changing requirements. This focus on adaptability is underpinned by its overall mission: to design and deliver seamless solutions for complex logistical challenges. Of course, moving with market needs demands a finger on the pulse of industry trends. With an exceptional track record of successfully delivered projects and shipments to the remotest regions of the world, it has developed a deep understanding of its client base, demonstrated by numerous longterm partnerships and more than 95% client satisfaction in 2023.
Much of this success is also down to the company’s setup. Unlike other forwarding companies that only have one division for dealing with industrial projects alongside other general cargo operations, the focus of deugro’s entire employee base is on project logistics, providing tailor-made solutions to minimise and ensure safe, timely and efficient project delivery. Indeed, these employees have formed the foundations of deugro’s success over the last century.
During this time, deugro has sustained a philosophy that success is based on the expertise, experience and passion of its employees. For that very reason, the firm has always focused heavily on recruiting, developing and retaining leading talent.
In 2019, deugro invested in its online HR, learning and development platform My Talent Center which hosts the deugro group Academy. Today, 7,000 multilingual learning modules on logistics, IT, compliance, HSES, sales or mental health topics are available on the platform, with 76,000 trainings being assigned since is implementation.
In addition, deugro provides a formal trainee programme for students and young professionals in the form of deugro’s most promising (DMP). For more than 20 years, this has offered accelerated technical career development to selected trainees, with participants sent to a different deugro location approximately every three months. To date, and timely given the firm’s 100th anniversary, the hundredth participant has joined the DMP programme, with more than half of the company’s current board also progressing through it.
Alongside these initiatives stands the recently introduced deugro group mentoring programme. Launched in 2023, 100% of the mentees agreed that their mentor’s feedback and input supported their growth, stating that they would strongly recommend the programme to their colleagues. Further evidence of the successful training and staff performance can be seen in the recognition through regular awards from prestigious institutions, including the EIC.
Another proof of deugro’s efforts in that sense is the significant growth in staff numbers, which went from 1,220 people worldwide in
Story type
#people & competency (main category)
Benefits
▸ Mentoring programme successfully implemented among employees.
▸ 76,000 trainings assigned since the implementation of the learning and development platform.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Focus on attraction and creating the right talent.
▸ Energy and logistics industries are very traditional. They need to embrace AI and new skills of the next generation.
For government
▸ Allow policy changes that foster innovation and the development of human capital.
deugro at a glance:
Key products and services: turn-key projects and engineering logistics solutions for various industries.
2019 to 1,471 in 2024 (an increase of over 20% in five years).
Looking ahead, this continued focus on talent won’t waver. With the company setting out further employee development as well as its aspirations in sustainability, energy transition and the digitalisation of deugro systems as key goals for 2024, people will continue to remain at the core of the firm’s efforts as it gears up for a second century of success.
DNV
Empowering energy industry players to navigate AI with confidence
How is DNV thriving?
Story type
#digital (main category)
#service & solutions, #transformation
Benefits
▸ DNV aligned with the market’s AI needs and promoting adequate adoption.
Saffy Ahmad
Graham Faiz ESG Consultant Head of Digital Energy
DNV has demonstrated its deep commitment to supporting energy industry stakeholders in integrating AI technologies. By bolstering its internal expertise and actively engaging with 850 experts from across the UK, the independent assurance and risk management provider has successfully encouraged AI adoption and best practice implementation, underpinned by the widespread uptake of its highly humanised, methodical standards.
The challenge - Operating as an unbiased provider of engineering and technical consulting services, DNV serves the energy industry, which includes the oil and gas, transmission and distribution, low-carbon energy and renewables markets. The company believes that working together and sharing ideas across industries is key to solving common problems, and it dedicates five per cent of its annual revenue to research and innovation initiatives.
With a presence in over 100 countries, DNV offers access to more than 700 industry standards and recommended practices, fostering the development and maintenance of best practices within the sector.
Of course, it is vital that standards and best practice recommendations remain relevant – a challenge that DNV is tasked with staying on top of. Recognising the accelerating pace of change within the energy sector, driven by rapid technological advancements, the company undertook a strategic re-evaluation, working to align more closely with the needs of the market and its customers through effective forward planning.
The solution - In recent years, the challenges and opportunities around AI have become increasingly prevalent in all sectors, with adoption steadily growing within the energy industry. Recognising the significance of this trend, DNV has prioritised the steering of its strategies to support industry stakeholders in integrating AI technologies into the energy sector, helping them to leverage potential benefits, such as cost-effectiveness, operational efficiency and counteracting emerging skills gaps.
To ensure alignment with market demands, DNV conducted extensive engagement ac-
tivities involving key stakeholders, such as industry representatives, policymakers, governmental bodies and financiers. This included interviews with thought leaders to gauge the sentiments and trends surrounding AI adoption, with discussions spanning both risks and opportunities.
Internally, DNV also conducted workshops to assess potential customer pain points and determine how best to leverage its existing expertise to address emerging AI-related challenges. DNV possesses a significant understanding of the implications of AI for various industries – thus, it is focusing on ensuring that its workforce is well-informed and well-equipped to engage with AI-related initiatives.
Indeed, these efforts have spanned multiple areas. In the UK, for example, DNV’s energy experts are now trying to bring AI closer to home, showing how it can be a highly valuable, safe and secure solution in several energy market applications.
The advisory and certification provider also continues to hone its communications plans in line with this, working to highlight the opportunities that AI can bring to energy. In alignment with this, it has focused on humanising published standards. For example, its recommended practice published in August 2023 was issued in the form of a methodology, facilitating easier adoption.
DNV promotes the message of opportunity at industry events. This included Offshore Europe in Aberdeen, where it held a press event that shared key AI headlines and findings. DNV also keeps strengthening its own skills and knowledge, adding 15 positions to relevant teams in this space in the last two years.
By combining the knowledge, insights and sentiment of 850 UK-based energy experts spanning everything from oil and gas to power grids to renewables, DNV has been able to more effectively align with market needs and promote AI adoption and best practices in a highly relevant manner.
Indeed, this has proven to be one of DNV’s most successful campaigns to date. Since the publication of DNV-RP-0671 – Assurance of
▸ Inclusion of 15 staff in the AI space in the last two years.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Inspire people as an industry through humanisation and storytelling.
▸ Yield emerging talent pool in the UK so that digital skills and interest in the energy industry make an impact.
For government
▸ Regulation is key and the UK is lucky in this sense. We need more of the same.
DNV at a glance:
Key products and services: advisory, monitoring, verification and certification services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 30.6%
▸ Conventional power – 21%
▸ Hydrogen and carbon capture –19.2%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 9.1%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5.9%
▸ Energy storage – 2.2%
▸ Others (energy): energy efficiency, markets & regulations, power grid, substations – 7.4%
▸ Others (non-energy): buildings, data centres, industrial plants – 4.5%
Headquarters: Oslo, Norway
Year established: 1864
Number of employees: 15,000
Revenue: £1.8bn
AI Enabled Systems in September 2023, there have been over 400 downloads. The organization has successfully aided many of its customers in navigating a highly challenging and complex industry trend – one that will be pivotal to the success of energy firms moving forward.
Ducatus Partners
Adopting a fresh, structured approach to support private equity firms in the energy transition arena
Story type
#energy transition (main category)
#service & solutions
Benefits
▸ Client now has hydrogen at its core thanks to Ducatus’ work.
Allister Graham
Mark Ingram Manager Partner Senior Partner
How is Ducatus Partners thriving?
Recognising the opportunity to support different clients in the low carbon arena as the sector grows the energy mix and reduces a primary reliance on oil and gas, Ducatus Partners has grown its service offerings to specifically support clients expanding their businesses into new forms of energy. With new structures in place, the company is better able to utilise its best-in-class research and extensive knowledge of the global energy sectors to help clients explore these new energies and technologies, as well as with specific executive hiring.
The challenge - Founded in 2016, Ducatus Partners has proven itself in helping oil and gas companies to source top leadership talent for their exploration, drilling, and production operations. Leveraging its specialist team with formidable knowledge of the sector, the firm’s track record includes work with operators, service providers, advisors and financiers across the entire value chain.
Indeed, Ducatus Partners possesses deep knowledge and understanding of downstream, midstream and upstream operations, underpinned by a long history of delivering successful executive search mandates, board searches, talent mapping and other services to clients. In addition to large corporates, the firm also works with smaller, tech-driven enterprises which are private equity-backed and in high growth phases.
In recent years, Ducatus Partners has observed more and more investors moving back into the energy space, with a particular focus on low carbon technologies as energy transition trends gather momentum. Meanwhile, larger corporates in the oil and gas market are making moves to decarbonise.
The opportunity for Ducatus to play its part in these shifts was clear, the key question being how it could add the most value.
The solution - Because Ducatus is itself a private equity-backed company, it held a natural advantage over competitors because it lives and breathes the PE world and knows how high-growth, fast-moving enterprises work. This, combined with its corporate oil and gas
experience, meant it was naturally well-placed to step into the energy transition arena.
Since 2022, Ducatus Partners has refined and formalised how it works with private equity and PE-backed companies, organisations which make up almost two thirds of its customer base. Previously, it would offer initial advice on an informal basis and often pro-bono basis. Now, the process is more structured, with advice and services being presented more concisely to customers.
Often this involves extensive research on a role from scratch, with Ducatus Partners mapping out all data and insight concerning candidates in a particular space. Over time, the company is able to build up detailed and deep networks of executive talent, this ‘universe of candidates’ underpins the advice its gives to clients.
Thousands of searches have been completed to date. For example, for one of the largest low carbon investors in the US, Ducatus Partners conducted a major research exercise to map the emerging hydrogen sector across both North America and Europe, a process which saw it compile information on 500 companies. From this, Ducatus Partners mapped over 1000 executive and board member candidates, with a top 50 shortlist being created. The private equity client met with these top 50 and went on to make direct investments as a result, as well as dramatically growing their understanding of the sector and key players.
This is just one example of hundreds. In addition to the investment support, Ducatus Partners will often go on to support in the executive team growth of the new portfolio, further bolstering successful outcomes for the client. Indeed, since Ducatus Partners started out in 2016, it has gone on to work with hundreds of organisations of all shapes and sizes and completing thousands of searches and advisory projects along the way. Now, with a newly structured proposition for PE firms in place, the company is much better positioned to make the most out of its clients’ activities and interests in the decarbonisation and energy transition space.
▸ Hundreds of organisations supported and thousands of searches and advisory projects executed since foundation.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Encourage collaboration and learn from others, including totally unconnected industries.
▸ Surround yourself with great people, it pays dividends.
For government
▸ Emphasise the energy sector as being critical for everything – it needs help, not to be villainised.
Ducatus Partners at a glance:
Key products and services: executive search and advisory services.
Embracing change through consolidation and digitisation
Martin Freeman EMEA Commercial Director
How is Eaton Crouse Hinds thriving?
After underdoing change on several fronts, Eaton Crouse Hinds is now better able to serve a broader pool of customers operating across a wide variety of energy-related markets. By consolidating 11 businesses, investing in state-of-the-art manufacturing, digital sales channels and onboarding new channel partners, the company is now much better placed to respond to market events and move with the energy transition.
The challenge - As a global producer and supplier of products for the energy, industrial, utility, harsh and hazardous industry, among others, like many, Eaton Crouse Hinds faced an enormous amount of disruption during the COVID pandemic.
With economic activity brought to a standstill and travel restrictions preventing people and products from moving from A to B, supply chains around the world were disrupted in unprecedented ways.
While Eaton Crouse Hinds was able to keep its factories open, the disruption prompted a discussion around how the company could accelerate its strategy to become more responsive to market change, both from a technological and organisational perspective. The company knew it needed to consolidate and simplify its business to better serve clients – the question was, when and how quickly could this happen?
The solution - Indeed, prior to the outbreak of COVID, Eaton Crouse Hinds was already aware of the need to consolidate the 11 businesses operating under its umbrella. Having listened to customers, the leadrership knew it had to find ways to simplify its offering to provide a more streamlined and less disrupted service, all while being able to increase market share.
Core functions such as HR, operations and finance were the first to be centralised, with commercial teams now undergoing a similar process.
Central to this has been clear communication of a vision for people to rally behind, coupled with the creation of opportunities for employees to enhance their skills and career development in line with the newly shaped business. Feedback loops were established, with changes and adjustments being imple-
mented in a continuous improvement cycle. While the pandemic certainly did not help in terms of operational disruption, it did provide a catalyst to drive change faster, especially in the area of digitisation and utilisation of technology within standard business processes.
Online digital sales increased significantly. Here, Eaton Crouse Hinds was able to support that uptick business by ensuring it held the correct inventory profiles to enable quick deliveries, developing digital interfaces and significantly improving its online presence. In the post-pandemic period, much of this digital buying behaviour has remained in place alongside the return of business derived through direct project procurement.
The establishment of new channel partners has also been highly successful. Not only are these partnerships opening up new opportunities in different markets, but they are adding incremental and local value to the company’s end customer supply chain.
Alongside this, staff satisfaction levels have increased with employee development perspective. Many colleagues have progressed through the ranks into more senior roles, a higher proportion of which are now being held by females.
From a revenue perspective, the trajectory is also looking promising. Turnover has recovered beyond pre-pandemic levels thanks to an average annual growth of 17% recorded between 2020 and 2023.
Now, with a consolidated organisation which can draw on the collective strength provided by its various specialist entities, Eaton Crouse Hinds is much better positioned to move forwards with its vision.
Indeed, the company is guided by its commitment to do business ethically, to operate sustainably and to help its customers manage power - both today and well into the future. By capitalising on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalisation, it is accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy sources, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and building a more sustainable society for people today and future generations.
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#optimisation, #service & solutions
Benefits
▸ Turnover going above and beyond pre-pandemic levels.
▸ Average annual growth of 17% recorded between 2020 and 2023.
Key findings
For industry
▸ To read outside your own discipline is key to achieving success.
▸ Problem solving with a customercentric approach to improve product and services.
For government
▸ Simplify policy. Less complexity would increase competition and enhance economics.
▸ Implement cross-party energy strategy that will last for the next 50 years.
Eaton at a glance:
Key products and services: power management services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 71%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 2%
▸ Hydrogen – 2%
▸ Others (energy) – 2%
▸ Others (non-energy): industrial, commercial and institutional – 23%
Headquarters: Cleveland, US
Year established: 1911
Number of employees: 100,000
Revenue: £23.2bn
ECITB
Leading industry learning to build resilient energy workforces
How is ECITB thriving?
Andrew Hockey CEO
Through its Connected Competence programme, set up in collaboration with major engineering construction service companies, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) is providing a means for sector-wide collaboration when it comes to safety and skills. Set up in 2021, its impact has already been widely acknowledged.
The challenge - For decades, the ECITB has been the statutory skills organisation for the UK engineering construction industry. Its remit is to develop and qualify the workforce across numerous disciplines and entry levels, including in the energy sector as it transitions towards a net zero footing.
The need for the ECITB’s services has never been greater. According to its Labour Forecasting Tool, 40,000 extra workers will be needed across the engineering construction industry by 2028.
A further challenge centres around safety and technical competency. Evidence of workers’ technical competence is varied. While workers are required to undertake basic safety training before being deployed to safety-critical sites, this does not necessarily translate into a demonstration of their ‘current’ technical competence.
Incidents such as Piper Alpha, Bacton Gas Terminal and Deep Water Horizon were all avoidable. Serious managerial failures were attributed to these events, including the lack of diligence around assurance of competence standards.
The solution - In partnership with eight major service companies, the ECITB developed and launched Connected Competence as a means of addressing these challenges.
Formally adopted as an industry-wide framework in 2021, it initially focused on aligning base technical competence standards across both temporary and full-time employed oil and gas workers.
In short, Connected Competence streamlines assessments and costs, expediting personnel deployment while enhancing safety by ensuring ongoing technical competence. It establishes a standardised approach benchmarked against
National Occupational Standards, requiring workers to demonstrate technical proficiency every three to four years – achieving this standard earns individuals a digital badge, affirming their skills online and facilitating transferability among energy industry employers.
The initiative is endorsed by major service companies and asset owners in the UKCS upstream oil and gas sector, not least because it assures uniform technical competence akin to sector-specific safety training. Furthermore, Connected Competence is supported by a client charter signed by prominent industry players such as Shell and BP, affirming its status as the industry standard.
In just a few short years, the impact of Connected Competence has been tangible. Participating employers have shown a strong dedication to safety by working together to establish a standardised level of technical competence for site-based trades. Combined, their efforts have contributed to the recognition of ongoing technical competence, promoting a proactive commitment to safety among both employed and transient workers.
Instead of competing solely on competence, the founding members of the initiative have demonstrated continuous support to foster an aligned and transparent approach to technical safety. This collaborative effort is facilitating the development of a transferable and more resilient skills pool throughout the energy industry. Critically, Connected Competence will be a requirement as a base technical standard in all future tendering activity across 20 asset-owner organisations in the UK offshore industry.
To further underline its impact, an external consultancy produced a report analysing the benefits delivered by Connected Competence in relation to improved safety standards, a reduction in lost time incidents, increased confidence of workers operating safely, and reduced risk of business interruptions due to incidents and accidents. Two-thirds (67%) of contractors expect to see a reduction in waste, increased efficiency, and productivity gains as a result of Connected Competence.
So far, a total of 20,963 digital badges have been issued to workers since 2021, which represents around a third of the UK’s off-
Story type
#people & competency (main category)
#collaboration
Benefits
▸ ECITB ready to expand Connected Competence to other sectors.
▸ Nearly 21,000 badges issued to workers since 2021.
Key findings
For industry
▸ It is vital we collaborate to ensure we have the skilled workforce the industry needs to carry out key projects.
For government
▸ Lay the groundwork to ensure the workforce is competent to deliver the just transition.
ECITB at a glance:
Key products and services: qualifications and training.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 37%
▸ Nuclear – 35%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
▸ Renewables – 3%
▸ Others (non-energy): chemicals, food, pharma, water – 20%
Headquarters: Kings Langley, UK
Year established: 1964
Number of employees: 100
Revenue: £30m
Revenue from exports: 2%
shore workforce. Looking ahead, the ECITB’s goal is to expand the Connected Competence initiative across other energy sectors such as nuclear, wind, onshore refining and chemical industries. This will better enable skills to be transferred across sectors, and thus support workforce resilience and diversification as the just energy transition process continues.
Eldor UK
Building out cybersecurity capabilities to better serve clients
Carl Townsend Managing Director
How is Eldor UK thriving?
Eldor UK has found a way to thrive in the challenging oil and gas market by developing a valuable cybersecurity offering. Recognising the growing cyber threats facing operators, the company invested in building expertise through training engineers and consulting closely with clients. It now provides customisable cybersecurity services such as secure OT network architectures, employee awareness training programs, developing robust incident response plans and disaster recovery solutions as an integrated part of its cybersecurity management system contracts.
This value-added cybersecurity solution has allowed Eldor UK to deepen relationships with existing clients and win new business. By proactively addressing a critical industry need, the firm has strengthened its market position and differentiated itself from competitors.
The challenge - Moving to the UK and setting up shop in Aberdeen in 2016, Norwegian firm Eldor has established solid roots in the upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors. Operating as Eldor UK, the company is an expert in the interface between engineering and production of automation solutions and is a system integrator for both new and legacy ABB products.
However, it has not all been plain sailing. To thrive in this market, Eldor UK knew it had to continuously find ways to work smarter and offer greater value to clients, many of which are facing their own headwinds around issues such as windfall taxes and the knock-on effect this has on defining operating field life investments. In addition, the company also sought to find new clients and growth opportunities.
The solution - To this end, a key focus has been on developing a cybersecurity offering. Cyber-attacks have become an increasing menace for oil and gas operators in the UK. Indeed, the growing digitisation and interconnectivity of industrial control systems have rendered these critical infrastructure assets more susceptible to sophisticated cyber threats.
Malicious actors, including nation-states and cybercriminals, have targeted oil and gas companies with ransomware, phishing campaigns and advanced persistent threats. These at-
tacks can disrupt operations, compromise sensitive data, and result in substantial financial losses. Robust cybersecurity measures are therefore crucial for protecting against these evolving cyber risks, and can take the form of secure network architectures, employee training programmes, and comprehensive incident response plans.
Recognising the opportunity to add value, Eldor UK has built out an offering designed to help oil and gas operators remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding their OT systems from cyber threats.
This has involved investment in developing knowledge among its engineering through expert certifications, and clients consulted on their pain points and needs to help determine how cyber protection could be added into its system upgrade services.
Now, this is sold to customers as a value-add feature and is included in all contracts and services, with the first contract involving cyber protection being secured in 2022. In 2023, another significant milestone was reached as Eldor UK engineers attained specialised cybersecurity certifications tailored specifically for industrial control systems (ICS) from renowned industry authorities including TÜV Rheinland and the International Society for Automation (ISA). This achievement underpins a commitment to excellence and reliability, solidifying the company’s reputation as a trusted cybersecurity partner.
In addition to providing the appropriate programs, Eldor UK also provides in-person and remote basic awareness for offshore personal and core competency training, as well as the development of Cyber Security Management plan for customers. Such training is customisable depending on the client and runs on their operational setup simulator – this is a facet which has proven popular, with Eldor UK working closely with customers to help them achieve HSE compliance.
With this new string to the bow successfully added, Eldor UK has been able to find that additional piece of the jigsaw. Its offering enhanced, the company can look forward to both extending its relationships with clients and winning over new players in the oil and gas market.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
Benefits
▸ Cybersecurity-certified engineers from renowned industry authorities including TÜV Rheinland and ISA.
▸ New and customised set of services already securing new contracts.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Keep it simple and always have open eyes and ears.
▸ Engage with your audience on a personal level and be friendly.
For government
▸ Don’t abandon mature assets.
Eldor UK at a glance:
Key products and services: engineering services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Stavanger, Norway (Group), Aberdeen, UK (Eldor UK)
Year established: 2006 (Group), 2016 (Eldor UK)
Number of employees: 50 (Group), 10 (Eldor UK)
Revenue: £2.1m (Eldor UK)
Revenue from exports: 15%
Element Materials Technology
Proactively repositioning to capitalise on H2 opportunities
Mark Eldridge Director of Hydrogen
How is Element Materials Technology thriving?
Element Materials Technology is taking noteworthy strides to capitalise on current and future hydrogen market opportunities. Having committed US$10m to organic investments and acquired several key companies since 2022, it has already seen a significant expansion and enhancement in its expertise and capabilities, standing it in good stead as it works to support its clients’ energy transition and digital transformation journeys.
The challenge - Established in 2010, Element has quickly become a leading global provider of testing, inspection, and certification services for a diverse range of products, materials, and technologies in advanced industrial supply chains.
With over 60,000 customers and 9,000 employees spanning 280 locations in 31 countries, the company’s annual revenues exceed a staggering US$1.5bn, with the energy sector representing roughly 10% of its total income. Despite this, Element has not been immune to the pressures that companies have faced recently. It has been confronted with the pressing needs of the energy transition, the company actively working to diversify its operations to improve its prospects both within and outside of hard to abate sectors, such as oil and gas and aerospace.
Critically, Element recognised that it needed to remodel its energy-centric footprint. To do that, Mark Eldridge was brought on board as the company’s Director of Hydrogen.
Before then, hydrogen had been a market that the company had limited engagement with. However, forecasting that as much as one fifth of the global energy market will be driven by hydrogen in the future, Element has been working to proactively align its operations in the sector to spearhead the global transition and capitalise on future opportunities.
The solution - After achieving board sign off, the hydrogen strategy was kickstarted in 2022, with Element using market projections over the next 10-15 years to outline its own hydrogen ambitions. Since then, the firm has set about implementing a multi-pronged progress programme to expand capabilities on several fronts.
The firm has invested US$4.5m in upgrading its existing laboratory capabilities to support fracture mechanics and non-metallic polymer permeation testing to more closely align with the needs of the hydrogen market, specifically to meet growing demand from European and UK gas networks, wide scale hydrogen infrastructures, and the characterisation of materials exposed to hydrogen in a variety of applications. Elsewhere, the firm has upgraded its Malvern EMC testing laboratory for large vehicle testing and has invested in its safety teams to ensure they are well equipped to handle the specific challenges that hydrogen presents.
With such improvements, Element is now actively running testing programmes relating to different temperatures, pressures, cryogenics to improve understanding of systems and products exposed to the unique properties of hydrogen. Investments into liquid helium capabilities at its Milan facility are paying dividends as they allow liquid hydrogen temperatures to be experienced by products as a precursor to more complex and costly liquid hydrogen systems.
The last two years have also seen Element complete several acquisitions to bolster its capabilities – notably into broad digital engineering and hydrogen. The company acquired its 50th enterprise in 2023. One notable recent acquisition in this period includes Filton Systems Engineering – a UK-based Airbus spinoff specialising in the development of aircraft fuel and engineering systems and has been key to Element’s movement into demonstrator gaseous and liquid hydrogen, with an on-site liquefier at its airside facility in Gloucestershire. Further, the purchase of NTS in 2022 in the US has also proven fruitful – an organisation with a large portfolio of 26 labs, including an ex-rocket facility in California with large scale liquid hydrogen testing facilities.
These assets, combined with concerted internal efforts to improve pressure and temperature testing capabilities, have given Element a solid foundation. Between liquid helium and fracture mechanicals capabilities in its Milan and UK factories, its aerospace capabilities, and plans to grow its system engineering and digital modelling capabilities, the firm is well placed for long term success.
▸ Several new teams implemented throughout the company’s structure.
▸ Solid ground to become a prominent player in the hydrogen market.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Best of times to be in the energy industry: if you want a challenging problem to solve, this is it.
▸ Engage from day one to get the real value.
For government
▸ Jumping from nothing to ultimate solution is hard, prone to going wrong – we need meeting of minds in the middle.
▸ Collaborate with the industry.
Element Materials
Technology at a glance:
Key products and services: leading global provider of testing, inspection, and certification services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 9%
▸ Nuclear power – 1%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 90%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 2010
Number of employees: 9,000
Revenue: £1bn
Revenue from exports: 85%
To date, Element has organically invested US$10m in its move into hydrogen in addition to numerous notable acquisitions. It has put together several new teams spanning hydrogen safety, electrolyser and fuel cell capabilities, and regulatory specialists covering key markets such as the UK, Germany, Netherlands and France. And its hydrogen footprint is set to grow further.
With its vision underpinned by a multi-year strategy, Element Materials Technology is one to watch as it goes from strength to strength.
Ellis Patents
A multi-pronged, multi-year strategic transformation
How is Ellis Patents thriving?
Kelly Brown Sales Director
Ellis Patents continues to pursue an ongoing strategic transformation, dedicating substantial resource to optimise project engagement, refine communication channels, and bolster customer interactions to closely align with client needs as it delivers innovative cable cleats of the highest standard to an ever-expanding global project landscape.
The challenge - North Yorkshire-based Ellis is renowned as the world leader in the design and manufacture of electrical cable cleats for industrial applications.
Founded in 1962, it now has 70 employees helping it to achieve annual revenues close to £10m, the firm exporting its market-leading products in markets spanning everywhere from Norway to Australia.
With a rich history of 60-plus years of tried and tested solutions backed by continual product innovation, the company has established a reputation for quality, trust and reliability in the cable cleat market.
However, in recent years, to cement their position, the firm knew they couldn’t rest on brand reputation alone and recognised the need to review its future strategy and direction.
This opportunity came in 2022 during an executive reshuffle. With the previous Managing Director becoming the Chair of the company, Operations Director and Deputy Managing Director Danny Macfarlane stepped into the shoes that had been left vacant, and alongside a new Senior team, brought a vision of strategic change to the table.
The solution - Macfarlane set about implementing a multi-faceted strategic reinvigoration that was focused on several key areas.
Talent was a priority within this, the firm opting to strengthen its team to bolster its core competencies. Several other experienced industry names were brought on board, while the team was also expanded to ensure all clients were receiving the right support. Further, marketing activities were brought in house for the first time, providing the enterprise with direct control over any significant changes in messaging.
Ellis recognised the need to develop their
market intelligence systems and focus on communications with client decision makers. To address this, the firm sought to find ways to bridge the knowledge gap, settling on a shift towards cradle-to-grave involvement in projects that would enable it to assess client needs and obtain key insights more effectively.
The changes have been gradual, with key appointments driving key step changes in each of the firm’s strategic priority areas.
The appointment of Chris Davies as a Project Specification Manager in 2022, for example, has proven significant in enabling the firm to engage more actively with UK-based EPCs on their global projects. In January 2023, Georgette Donoghue was then brought in as the new Marketing Manager, tasked with aligning marketing to resonate more closely with the company’s target audience. To help further the firm’s international ambitions, additional export sales managers were brought on board in the shape of Isabelle Gantier-Houston in November 2022 and Tom Rooney in January 2024.
Several innovations have also supported this strategic shift. For example, a new online tool developed in 2020 has enabled clients to develop their own short circuit calculations via the Ellis Patents website – this is due to be updated in 2024.
On the product side, the firm’s launch of its Pegasus Hanger solution and a new suite of four polymer cable hanger solutions in the last four years have proven key, serving to differentiate and broaden the company’s overall product offering.
With such significant improvements happening on all fronts, Ellis Patents has reaped the rewards.
Having improved project tracking capabilities, the organisation now monitors 30 different projects at any one time, its cradle-tograve approach proving crucial in informing future innovations and enhancing client successes.
This can be most notably seen in the form of a £200,000 contract secured with Aker Solutions. Having been involved early in the key offshore substation project, Ellis Patents was able to provide its expertise to influence the specification, with the client in turn coming back for a second package of work.
▸ Contract worth £200,000 secured with Aker Solutions.
▸ Company on track to hit the £10m revenue milestone in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ The energy industry is an exciting space to be in now. Embrace the challenges and experiences of the people around you.
For government
▸ Adopt a forward-looking view and commit to net zero.
Ellis Patents at a glance:
Key products and services: steel and aluminium cable cleats for single, multiple and trefoil applications.
Main industries served:
▸ Conventional power – 25%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 20%
▸ Oil and gas – 15%
▸ Carbon capture – 5%
▸ Energy storage – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy): construction, data centres, plumbing – 30%
Headquarters: Malton, UK
Year established: 1962
Number of employees: 70
Revenue: £9.2m
Revenue from exports: 50%
With many similar examples paving a more promising path for the firm, its revenues have jumped from £5.6m in 2021 to £7.5m in 2022 and £9.2m in 2023. Given this trajectory, the opportunity for Ellis Patents to hit the £10m milestone in 2024 looks more than realistic.
Emerging EPC
Focusing on innovation and customer-centricity to overcome an array of industry challenges
Dr. John Loh Director of Operations & Strategic Development
How is Emerging EPC thriving?
Emerging EPC Sdn Bhd (EEPC) has diversified its offering, embraced new technologies and doubled down on its commitment to customers in order to overcome a complex and nuanced mix of internal and external challenges. Combined with its already-longstanding reputation as a safe and sustainable solutions provider, the company is now well on the way to being futureproofed.
The challenge - EEPC has been ably serving the oil and gas industry in Southeast Asia (SEA) since it was founded in Malaysia in 2006. During this time, the company has grown its reputation and customer base, although recent years have presented a mixture of external and internal challenges that it could not ignore.
The oil and gas industry has been extremely volatile, driven by fluctuating oil prices, geopolitical tensions, and global economic conditions. This volatility impacts project demand and investment decisions, while intensified competition necessitates differentiation and continuous enhancement of value propositions to win contracts and maintain market share. At the same time, global supply chain dependence exposes the industry to material shortages, logistics disruptions, and reliability issues, leading to delays, cost overruns, and inefficiencies.
Delays and uncertainties also arise from regulatory changes, client budget constraints, and geopolitical risks, disrupting schedules and straining finances, while recruiting and retaining skilled talent, especially in specialised areas, presents challenges that can affect project delivery and operational effectiveness. Alongside this, evolving regulatory requirements, particularly in health, safety, and environmental standards, also require adherence to mitigate risks and avoid legal or reputational consequences.
It is certainly a complex mix of issues. To overcome them, EEPC knew it had to implement a variety of innovative and transformative measures.
The solution - Such measures have, broadly, been delivered across three major strands, the first of which centres around the diversification of services. Here, the company expanded its portfolio to include services beyond traditional oil and gas, such as petrochemicals, pow-
er generation and semiconductors, a move which has helped to mitigate risks associated with fluctuations in specific sectors and provided new avenues for revenue generation.
The second focus area has been innovation and technology, with EEPC investing significant time and resources into research and development to enhance its capabilities and offer cutting-edge solutions to clients. This has involved embracing industry 4.0 technologies such as IoT, AI and data analytics, which has enabled the company to optimise operations, improve efficiency and deliver value-added services to customers.
Strengthening client relationships has been the third major priority. To help navigate through market uncertainties, EEPC has focused heavily on understanding client needs, providing personalised solutions and delivering high service quality. By fostering longterm partnerships based on trust, transparency and reliability, the firm has been able to benefit from enhanced customer loyalty and secured repeat business opportunities.
EEPC’s longstanding reputation for providing safe, innovative and sustainable solutions has also helped it through a volatile period.
Indeed, the company has a proud track record working with some of the world’s leading independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. One of those is Murphy Oil, for whom it solved a serious problem related to compressed air systems in 2012, a project which cemented EEPC’s position as an air compressor one-stop solution company in the region. The Murphy Oil platform at offshore Sarawak, Malaysia, had multiple brands of air compressors, specifically from Atlas Copco and Ingersoll Rand. After the OEMs’ own engineers identified no faults with the compressors, EEPC offered to investigate on a ‘no cure, no pay’ basis. The company’s engineer discovered the root cause of the problem, a faulty control valve design system, and successfully resolved the issue.
With this kind of track record to lean on, EEPC is now supremely well-positioned to bring its upgraded value proposition to even more customers in the SEA region.
This is being reflected in the financials, with 2023 seeing revenue of almost RM69m and profit of RM5.75m, up from 2021’s figures of RM46m turnover and RM2.3m profit.
▸ Emerging EPC’s strategy is bringing value to customers in the region and revenue growth.
▸ Success in employee engagement, customer satisfaction and reductions in incidents and losses as well as awards win.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Focus on innovation, sustainability, teamwork, and digitalisation.
▸ Be agile and keep up with the latest technology and market trends since the energy sector is always evolving.
For government
▸ Promote sustainable initiatives, innovation, investments on infrastructure, address regulatory obstacles and enhance industry expertise.
Emerging EPC at a glance:
Key products and services: system integrator and solutions provider for the oil and gas industry.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 95%
▸ Others (non-energy): general industry – 5%
Headquarters: Puchong, Malaysia
Year established: 2006
Number of employees: 73
Revenue: £1.04m
Revenue from exports: 15%
Alongside this, the company has also enjoyed success in the form of growing local and regional market share, boosted employee engagement and customer satisfaction, reductions in incidents and losses, and awards.
Thanks to its response to a series of tough challenges, EEPC is now far better placed to thrive in the longer term.
EquipSea
Taking risks in order to better serve an evolving, dynamic oil and gas sector
Recognising that the oil and gas market was evolving at pace, EquipSea refused to stand still. Making some bold strategic decisions following an evaluation phase with its clients, the company has built out a new ‘dream team’ that can better meet new customer demands. Coupled with operational and process-based improvements, the firm is now well placed to compete with players from abroad to fulfil the upcoming challenges of the oil and gas industry.
The challenge - EquipSea has already overcome an array of challenges stemming from the low tide of the oil and gas market, emerging stronger from a period of crisis thanks to its belief in the sector and Brazil’s ability to serve it. As a result, the firm now stands as the number one fabrication supplier of OneSubsea Taubaté and among the three most relevant fabrication suppliers of OneSubsea São José dos Pinhais (formerly Aker Solutions).
But to say that the past few years have been a breeze would be short-sighted. With the oil and gas sector continuing to evolve at speed, EquipSea has recognised the need to take risks to embrace the opportunities that such change offers.
The solution - In the middle of 2023, the company completed a strategic evaluation with its main client base to see how it fitted into their respective businesses, and where a new and more complex type of offering could add even more value.
It was an illuminating exercise, not least because it revealed which products, solutions and services provided it with a competitive advantage.
The evaluation also revealed where EquipSea needed to invest in human talent as it progressed through its diversification journey. This led to the building of what the company’s leadership describe as its ‘dream team’ – the heart of the business which, ultimately, will be responsible for the firm fulfilling its
ambition to become the best and biggest fabrication company operating in the energy sector in Brazil.
Commercial Manager CEO CCO
The dream team started with the commercial division to process new demands from clients. Quickly, this spread to other departments such as engineering, quality, and production.
Another critical bet to make the company more competitive was investing in supply chain capabilities to be ready for the new long-run demands the energy sector posed. This has helped the firm to manage and buy raw material in a more strategic way, as well as properly evaluate machinery acquisition. Given that competition is rough, coupled with high operating costs in Brazil, this has been a hugely significant move, enabling EquipSea to become among the most competitive fabrication players in the market.
Adding up new capabilities to its portfolio to better suit client needs in a changing oil and gas scenario has been no small undertaking. Indeed, such a transformative step was naturally met with some resistance among employees who did not see where they fitted in the transition – here, communication has been vital, with EquipSea investing time into explaining why the changes were necessary.
This aside, the strategy has already provided significant reasons for optimism. On the commercial side, the company now operates with a shorter evaluation time, meaning it can develop and submit proposals to clients more efficiently. On the operational side, more refined processes have emerged thanks to greater time being invested during project planning stages, a move which has cut down mistakes and increased the level of proactivity across the organisation.
All of this fed and keeps feeding into an outstanding revenue trajectory that already looks like as though it is trending in the right direction. The past two years have seen income increase by US$12m, with the US$18m recorded in 2023 representing a trebling of revenue from the US$6m generated in 2021.
With its new plans and processes in place, EquipSea looks well-positioned to remain among the most competitive fabrication companies in Brazil for years to come.
▸ Understand the market you’re into to overcome clients’ expectations.
For government
▸ Review legal tax systems to simplify and reduce tax burden.
▸ Make the big financial institutions feasible and accessible for small and medium entrepreneurs.
EquipSea at a glance:
Key products and services: manufacture of welded, machined and coated parts and turnkey tested sets.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Piracicaba, Brazil
Year established: 2017
Number of employees: 219
Revenue: £14.4m
Revenue from exports: 0%
Alexandre
ERSG
Sticking to its strengths following a tough pandemic period
How is ERSG thriving?
Jim
Ryan CEO
Every business and business owner will make mistakes. For ERSG’s Jim Ryan, his mistake was venturing into the unknown world of data centre project delivery prior to the COVID crisis. However, the experience taught him and the company a valuable lesson – by staying true to its core capabilities and continuing with the organic growth plan which had worked well up until 2020, ERSG would begin to thrive once again. With new and exciting activity emerging in the Far East, and continued expansion of the Offshore Wind market in the US and Europe. 2023 was a record year for the business, and more growth is on the cards for 2024 and beyond.
The challenge - Set up in 2008, ERSG is an award winning, international leader in staffing services to the global renewable energy market, covering both permanent and direct hires, contract and freelance engagement and workforce solutions.
Its first decade in operation was spent growing organically and solidly, with new office openings representing hubs from which the firm offers its services to clients operating across a range of energy subsectors, including onshore and offshore wind, solar, marine, technology, transmission and distribution and power generation.
Not surprisingly, when the Covid pandemic arrived in 2020, ERSG faced an almighty challenge. Many worksites were forced to scale back or cease activities due to restrictions on the movement of people, while the structure of its ongoing scopes of work meant that the company lost control on projects and endured revenue losses.
Just prior to the pandemic, ERSG decided to venture into the world of data centres, setting up a line of business to provide technical service staff to data centre builds in Belgium, Denmark, and the UK, operating as a subcontractor/consultancy. The venture backfired, with CEO Jim Ryan learning many valuable lessons as he and the company decided to revert back to plan A, focussing on what ERSG does best – delivering staffing solutions to the renewable industry.
The solution - Plan A has involved building on ERSG’s already strong network of nodes around the world which are engaged in its core business.
Following its major clients into new markets, the company has set up bases in key offshore wind locations to support companies operating across the full life cycle of assets, including multi-national energy providers, project developers, cable manufacturers, steel fabricators, design and build service providers, surveyors and more.
Its mantra has been to focus on supporting and creating local jobs, tapping into local skills bases and delivering workforce solutions to both locally based and international companies.
Growth has been organic, with the offi ce network growing out from its UK HQ from 2016 onwards. During this time, sites have been opened in the American cities of Seattle, Orlando and Boston, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan and, most recently, Japan. The latter represents a particularly exciting market for ERSG, not least because Japan is shifting away from nuclear power towards renewables such as offshore wind.
In addition, the company is working with Vestas on a resource process outsourcing (RPO) arrangement for sites in Taiwan, Japan, the US and South Korea (where ERSG expects to open its next office hub).
Momentum has continued to build at ERSG, through its vertical expertise approach and willingness to take risks to gain first-mover advantage, has grasped the nettle in its key markets. Staff retention is also high, with open and transparent processes helping to create a culture where collaboration is encouraged, and high performance rewarded. Every office opening has proven successful so far, with no sites closed even amid the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic. In monetary terms, 2023 was ERSG’s most successful year in operation to date in terms of revenues and profitability, with company turn-over hitting £175m. This is a marked uplift in 2022, which saw £150m revenue.
Looking ahead, ERSG expects to grow its turnover by some 20% during 2024 expecting 50% to be generated from international offices. By sticking to its strengths, the firm has continued to plot a solid and sustainable path forward.
Story type
#scale up (main category) #export, #people & competency
Benefits
▸ Increase of revenue and profit amid the challenges posed by the Covid pandemic – no sites were closed.
▸ High staff retention, collaboration culture among employees, and high performances are being rewarded.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Focus on renewables – the demand for jobs in this area are increasing.
▸ Go for it, think big. Get the best people around you and leave your ego at the door.
For government
▸ We need to be less focused on the cost of green economy and more on support. Take steps to derisk and accelerate deployment of renewables by prioritising early investment in the grid and transmission infrastructure and move swiftly to streamline permitting processes. We will long-term benefits to net zero targets and cost benefits further down the line too.
ERSG at a glance:
and
Headquarters: Bromley, UK
Year established: 2008 Number of employees: 185
EthosEnergy
A OneEthos transformation journey to meet market needs
Ana Amicarella CEO
How is EthosEnergy thriving?
To better support clients on their energy transition and decarbonisation journeys, EthosEnergy has undergone a cultural transformation under the banner of OneEthos. In just a few short years, the company is smashing performance records and already looking ahead to the next chapter of its growth story.
The challenge - EthosEnergy is on a mission to help make energy affordable, available and sustainable around the world. Specifically, the firm delivers services and solutions for rotating equipment used in the power, oil and gas, industrial and aerospace markets through operations spanning over 100 countries.
However, fulfilling its mission has become more difficult in recent times due to a number of headwinds. These include the COVID-19 pandemic and knock-on supply chain challenges, geopolitical instability caused by conflicts, European gas price surges and policy ‘flip-flopping’ in the US. To overcome these pressures and be better positioned to help customers bridge the energy transition, EthosEnergy needed to embrace change and do things differently.
The solution - In 2020, the company launched its OneEthos transformation journey. In short, the strategy centres around an aim to revitalise a culture that places the customer at its core so that the firm can meet changing market needs.
New CEO Ana Amicarella knew EthosEnergy had the capabilities to thrive in the energy transition arena. As an independent services provider, it is able to provide support on all types of assets, regardless of the OEM in question. Its people are problem solvers at heart, and the idea of the cultural transformation was to position this expertise in a way that customers could feel comfortable approaching the company with bespoke issues.
Circularity has also been a key focus. Rather than prescribe new equipment by default, EthosEnergy seeks to fulfil client needs in the most sustainable way possible. On average, 80% of the parts it encounters are repairable, meaning it can help to avoid the production of unnecessary new components and the associated emissions.
A sign of EthosEnergy’s recent success is the breadth of its client base and the nature of the
relationships it builds with customers, with many viewing it as a strategic long-term partner.
For example, since 2018 the firm has been providing gas turbine and gas compressor equipment maintenance services to a major UK operator’s offshore platforms and onshore terminal. In line with net-zero ambitions, the customer has an approved plan to repurpose existing assets for carbon capture and storage, as well as hydrogen production, using a phased approach. The plan involves capturing and injecting CO2 into offshore wells, followed by a focus on hydrogen production. EthosEnergy’s role entails the maintenance of late-life equipment until its end of life, thus enabling the operator to execute its strategies effectively. Looking ahead, it will provide technical assistance for the client’s CO2 reduction initiatives, decommissioning of gas turbines, and the repurposing of older assets such as gas turbines and compressors where possible. Additionally, as a municipality in the USA that aims towards its zero-carbon target, EthosEnergy is providing O&M services for its gas turbine power plants. To assist in the client’s goal, EthosEnergy conducted in-depth studies highlighting the feasibility of asset layup for swift reactivation if required, as well as the importance of reliability runs, performance tests, and preventative maintenance to minimise reliability risks during the crucial transitional phase. EthosEnergy’s proactive approach supports the client’s vision and helps them navigate the complex shift from fossil fuels to a zero-carbon future, ensuring reliable power delivery and cost-effective risk management throughout.
It is success stories such as these which are feeding into a broader positive trajectory for the company since it launched OneEthos. For example, 2023 was a record year in terms of financial and safety performance, while Q1 of this year was 50% ahead of budget. Alongside this, the company’s culture is much more cohesive with a better-balanced workforce in terms of age demographics and a strong retention rate of more than 90%.
The next phase of the transformation is now underway. Named ‘Turning on Tomorrow’, it is focused on providing even greater support to companies helping them bridge the energy transition gap while supporting them on their
▸ EthosEnergy’s success is proven by its record revenue growth.
▸ A strong company culture is helping EthosEnergy achieve the impressive mark of 90% staff retention.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Make sure you have a seat at the table but also use your voice when you have it.
▸ It is important to build a strong business culture.
For government
▸ Governments and policymakers need to be facilitators, enablers and catalysts for global collaboration. By fostering partnerships, facilitating the sharing of data and best practices and aligning policies, they can help accelerate progress within the energy transition.
EthosEnergy at a glance:
Key products and services: services and solutions for the power, oil and gas, industrial and aerospace markets.
Main industries served:
▸ Conventional power – 62%
▸ Oil and gas – 20%
▸ Others (non-energy): industrial, aerospace and defence – 18%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 2014
Number of employees: 3,700
Revenue from exports: N/A
decarbonisation journeys and, given how Q1 has unfolded, promises to be an exciting time for EthosEnergy.
ExcelTech Solutions
A tale of diversification and resilience in the face of industry turbulence
Hafriz Fayadh Bin Haji Musa Managing Director
How is ExcelTech thriving?
ExcelTech’s story is one of diversification and resilience. Initially heavily reliant on the oil and gas industry, the oil price plunge between 2014 and 2016 underscored the need to build capabilities and capitalise on opportunities in new markets.
Since then, the company has consistently developed its internal competencies to ensure sustained growth and survival. Now operating in diverse sectors such as renewables, telecommunications, and soon, cybersecurity, the company has proven successful in reducing dependency on a single industry and positioning itself for long-term stability and growth.
The challenge - ExcelTech Solutions Sdn Bhd is a dynamic and rapidly expanding Bruneian company providing tailored solutions for the energy industry. Specialising in onshore and offshore electrical and instrumentation works, as well as mechanical and civil projects, the firm has its roots deeply embedded in the oil and gas sector.
Founded in 2008, ExcelTech started with just three employees, taking nearly five years to secure its first contract. While this initial struggle might have deterred others, the company persevered, firmly believing in its strategies with a distinct determination to succeed.
In these early years, with Brunei’s economy being heavily reliant on oil and gas, ExcelTech initially saw no need to diversify beyond this sector. Observing the success of other local players reinforced this belief. However, the landscape shifted dramatically in 2014 when the oil market crisis hit, slowing the industry almost overnight.
Recognising the vulnerability of relying on a single, cyclical sector, ExcelTech’s leadership decided to adapt and explore opportunities outside the oil and gas industry.
The solution - As a result, the firm decided to shift away from its original strategy and explore business opportunities outside the oil and gas sector. This bold decision was unprecedented for ExcelTech, as the company had never ventured beyond its established domain. At that time, Brunei’s economy was almost entirely dependent on oil and gas, with little emphasis on energy transition or renewable energy.
In 2021, that outlook began to change. Indeed, the government began to encourage Bruneian companies to venture into renewables and digitalisation. Embracing this support wholeheartedly, ExcelTech really began to ramp up its diversification into alternative industries from this point onwards.
Since then, it has successfully diversified into the telecommunications sector, supplying and installing 400,000 utility meters across the country, a process which demonstrated the company’s ability to explore new markets effectively and, in turn, lead it towards the renewables segment.
The journey into new sectors hasn’t been without challenges. Gaining customer confidence and proving the firm’s capabilities in uncharted areas required overcoming significant hurdles. Additionally, a degree of trial and error was necessary to gain experience and establish contracts. Nevertheless, through perseverance and an unwavering commitment to diversification and futureproofing the business, ExcelTech has thrived. Having grown from three to 40 employees between 2012 and 2018, the firm has since blossomed further into an enterprise with 130 staff members, engaging in oil and gas, renewables and telecommunications.
Looking ahead, ExcelTech now plans to continue diversifying into new business area. For 2024, the firm is firmly focused on the cybersecurity sector and decommissioning, recognising the growing demand for these services in Brunei and its readiness to provide solutions. Additionally, it aims to establish presence in several other ASEAN countries.
With a broad array of future expansion plans and a proven track record of effective diversification, ExcelTech is poised to thrive for many years to come as a resilient and diversified enterprise.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#people & competency
Benefits
▸ Company reached a staff of 130 members, soon to increase with expansions to other ASEAN countries.
▸ Cyber security and decommissioning to be explored in the near future.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Persevere despite challenging obstacles.
▸ Have a loyal and capable employee base – they are essential to the business.
ExcelTech Solutions at a glance:
Key products and services: onshore and offshore electrical, mechanical and civil works.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 60%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 20%
▸ Others (non-energy): telecommunications – 20%
Headquarters: Darussalam, Brunei
Year established: 2012
Number of employees: 105
Revenue from exports: 0%
EXS Synergy
Proving the value of patience with a dual-pronged diversification strategy
Fairuz Yahaya Managing Director
How is EXS Synergy thriving?
Electrical and instrumentation services specialist EXS Synergy’s strategic decision to diversify into new areas, has proven a stroke of genius. Indeed, its energy business has now grown 63% since 2020, and accounted for almost half of its overall revenue in 2023 – up from 19% in 2021.
In taking its time to define the right target markets, hire the right talent (61% of which are female), and identify its USPs in high opportunity segments, the firm is now well placed to continue deploying its innovative solutions to help address key industry challenges relating to net-zero.
The challenge - Renowned as a go-to provider for Explosion Protection solutions and Hazardous Areas services, EXS Synergy also provides associated Electrical and Instrumentation services including installation, inspections, maintenance, packaging, troubleshooting and logistics support.
EXS has spent the past decade adapting to rapidly changing energy market needs. Having initially started out supporting traditional oil and gas firms, the firm has had to innovate and diversify to mitigate the implications of compressed margins and growing competition from both new and established players.
Recognising that its USP would be wiped out if it stood still and let others pass it by, EXS has actively been working to establish itself in energy transition markets during the last three years. However, this hasn’t been without its challenges, the company having faced several hurdles in relation to slow cross-sector penetration.
The solution - Working to refocus its priorities, EXS set about employing a twin diversification strategy: strengthen its core business, while also expanding its capabilities and portfolio in new markets.
In bolstering its core activities, the organisation opted to expand its range of hazardous areas services, adding package assessment and certification, the construction and installation of electrical packages, and training to its offering. It also capitalised on its IECEx certification and competencies by offering specialised electrical services to highly regulated markets such as Australia. This market has proven to be particularly fruitful, with EXS securing contract wins on the Barossa FPSO and Scarborough FPU offshore projects.
Seeking to expand its expertise and equipment in relation to power, temperature control and new energy, EXS established a relationship with flexible energy specialist and fellow EIC member Aggreko in late 2020.
Through this partnership, EXS hired a product specialist to focus on the marketing and sales of its new portfolio. Initially efforts were focused on the oil and gas sector with this being familiar territory, but the company has since grown into several new verticals including electronics, plantations, semiconductors, and data centres.
Patience has proven a virtue during these diversification efforts. Recognising the steep learning curve ahead of it, EXS spent an entire year working to define its market and USP, speaking to many prospects and participating in several tenders to learn more about markets, supply chains and competitor offerings. Both EXS’s talent base and Aggreko’s support have also proven crucial, the former having been effective in driving the new portfolio forward, with the latter remaining on hand to offer key guidance and technical support.
By the end of 2021, EXS had become confident in its market positioning, and since then has been working to identify high quality prospects as it becomes more selective in its tendering activities.
Critically, the firm found that its generators are a perfect fit for activities demanding safety and reliability. Its load banks cut across sectors to ensure seamless testing and commissioning. Its Flare2Power technology answers immediate demand in net-zero ambitions. Its temperature control solutions help petrochemical and refining companies improve productivity. And its battery storage solutions provide much-needed bridges to plug new energy gaps between production, transmission and consumption.
One example stood out, with EXS Right-Sizing solutions helping an offshore operator in Malaysia’s North Malay Basin reduce operating costs and cut emissions by more than 50%, significantly helping the client towards their net-zero ambitions.
Leaning into its core competencies to bring such a broad variety of innovations to a several new sectors has been the key for EXS. As a result of its diversification strategy, the company’s energy portfolio contributed 19% to overall revenue
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#culture, #people & competency
Benefits
▸ Business and revenue growth in the last few years.
▸ Contract wins and cross-sectoral penetrations into petrochemical, data centres and electronics.
Key findings
For industry
▸ As Miguel Cervantes wrote in Don Quixote “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”, it is important to diversify your portfolio.
▸ Make a conscious effort to increase the quality of your network.
For government
▸ Policymakers should agree on one over-arching target, be consistent in setting policies to support this target, and ensure co-ordination between ministries to ensure proper implementation.
EXS Synergy at a glance:
Key products and services: electrical and instrumentation services in hazardous areas.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 75%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 0,6%
▸ Hydrogen – 0,4%
▸ Others (non-energy: plantation, data centre, semiconductor, port, manufacturing) – 24%
Year established: 2014
Number of employees: 70
Revenue: £1.7m
Revenue from exports: 26%
in 2021. In 2022, this weighting grew by 86%. And in 2023, the energy portfolio was deemed responsible for 45% of total turnover.
With the division growing quickly, EXS is now forecasting its energy activities to account for almost two thirds (65%) of group revenue in 2024 – testament to the value that the firm has been able to bring to the table through its well thought out and implemented diversification strategy.
F H Bertling
Incorporating emissions reporting to provide additional value for clients
Richard Jones Global Sales Manager
How is F H Bertling thriving?
To overcome pandemic disruptions to its relationship-driven business model, F H Bertling has doubled down on technology and turned its attentions towards sustainability.
Chiefly, it has enhanced its long-standing inhouse BLU IT platform with innovative emissions reporting capabilities tailored to each client’s goals. Comprehensively tracking data such as freight distances and vessel emissions, this cutting-edge solution generates repeat business from impressed clients and new wins seeking elevated emissions visibility. Adapting its technical expertise to modern sustainability demands, the 160-year-old company has been able to overcome disruption by delivering the digitally-driven, eco-conscious services the market now demands. By doing this, F H Bertling continues to further enhance its endto-end sustainability and emissions reporting solution, which is available to all its clients, whatever their size.
The challenge - F H Bertling has come a long way since it was founded by an entrepreneurial 23-year-old German, Friedrich H. Bertling, in 1865. Starting out as a ship owning and operating company seeking to provide transportation links through Scandinavia and the Baltic States, the company today stands tall as a truly global shipping and logistics player, operating an international network of 50 offices and sub-contractor partners with 700 employees on the books. The firm serves critical global industries, including the energy sector. Key to its success and reputation building over the years has been the ability to develop relationships in a highly personal manner, with face-to-face interactions being the foundation of its modus operandi. Over its near-160-year history, F H Bertling has had to navigate through many obstacles, among the latest being the onset of the Covid pandemic in early 2020, which cut off the prospect of meeting customers and would-be customers in person. The pandemic, as well as ongoing geopolitical conflicts, have led to a shortfall in new projects.
The solution - To overcome the challenge and lay a more solid foundation for itself moving forwards, F H Bertling turned towards a mixture of technology and a sustainability-driven mindset as the answer.
Tech has, for several decades, been a core part of the company’s offering. Named BLU, its IT project forwarding system was initially developed in the mid-1990s and has been subject to continual refinement and upgrading ever since.
The Covid pandemic shone a light on the importance of operating sustainably and prompted F H Bertling to consider the idea of integrating emissions reporting into its BLU platform.
Crucially, this is now able to be crafted in bespoke manner for each client depending on their sustainability KPIs, including emissions targets. Data collection and analysis is central to the offering – here, the system collects and monitors key information such as distance freight travels, and average emissions per container for each vessel based on weight, dimensions and journey parameters.
Developed entire in-house, the sustainability reporting service is now automatically bolted onto every client’s setup, with optional added services such as emissions offsetting also being offered.
The decision to build all of this out in-house was a bold one, and one could argue it was a risk given the precedent already set by other major players, which failed in their attempt to develop a similar system internally, prompting a move to leverage third-party software provider.
However, over the course of almost 30 years, F H Bertling has mastered the art and has proven more than capable of adding the emissions reporting string to its bow.
Indeed, the BLU platform continues to deliver successes and has been influential in overcoming the challenges caused by the pandemic and other destabilising events of recent years. The biggest impact is the amount of repeat and expanded business it generates – as clients get used to working with the system, the more they expand their use of technology, the more BLU is tapped into. And although the sustainability reporting feature is still in relatively early stages, it is already winning over clients seeking to enhance their emissions reporting capabilities. It is giving them the ability to offset their emissions by using one of F H Bertling’s nominated and approved solutions or by offsetting via their own approved programme.
Story type
#digital (main category)
#environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ Able to recover from the stress caused by the pandemic and recent global events.
▸ Expansion of BLU’s use from customers.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be persistent. There’s no such thing as an overnight success.
▸ Adopt a people-centric approach: people do business with people they want to do business with –it’s trust.
For government
▸ Make it easier for British companies to work overseas and intervene in favour of critical industries rather than leave open to market forces.
F H Bertling at a glance:
Key products and services: global logistics and shipping services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas, renewables – 70%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 30%
Headquarters: Hamburg, Germany
Year established: 1865
Number of employees: 900
Revenue: £785m
Revenue from exports: 70%
FireDos
Tapping into the opportunities presented by regulatory changes
How is FireDos thriving?
Frank Preiss CEO
Beside promoting a new technology, FireDos is working to capitalise on the opportunities which new regulations that demand the use of fluorine-free firefighting foam have brought about, placing its unique technologies at the forefront of installer and end-user minds. With the launch of a next generation product with advanced properties and through significant investments in its marketing activities, continually innovating its product offering, and actively leveraging its network, the company has managed to achieve double-digit growth rates after several years of flat sales figures.
The challenge - Founded in 1979, FireDos has developed to a globally renowned manufacturer of high-quality foam proportioners and fire monitors that are specifically designed to enhance the efficiency of fire extinguishing systems. With more than 120 employees across its headquarters in Wolfsheim, Germany, and two additional production facilities, the firm has successfully completed more than 15,000 installations during the last three decades.
As a firefighting solutions specialist, the company supports the industry in several sectors – from fire brigades and aviation firms to warehouses, recycling facilities and energy industry specialists spanning a variety of verticals. However, the way in which it has supported this broad clientele base has changed and advanced over time.
Having introduced its original technology in 1994, several bold enhancements have been made in recent times to align with higher viscosity foam agents that are become standard after the implementation of legislative changes. However, putting these improvements on the map of end users has been an ongoing challenge for the firm – particularly given that the main customers of its components are fire system installers that often seek the most cost effective and easiest sales of systems among end users.
The solution - For FireDos to bridge this gap and enhance end user awareness of the benefits of its products, it has had to make a radical change in relation to its approach to marketing. Indeed, legislative advances have now made this easier. New regulations that demand the use of fluorine-free firefighting foam have
prompted end users to rethink their firefighting techniques, considering how different technologies and solutions may be best suited to their unique needs.
FireDos has worked to capitalise on this. Recognising that its products are optimally positioned to support the use of novel and innovative foaming agents, the company has been offering consulting packages for retrofitting fluorine contaminated fire extinguishing systems by use of its proprietary water motor driven piston pump solution, complete with a foam return option for testing of the proportioning rate without the creation of premix or discharge of foam.
Adapting to make the most of these opportunities hasn’t been straightforward. Indeed, the company has had to fine tune its product offering and more actively leverage its existing network as it has sought to grow within tough market conditions.
However, with a technology that offers many benefits, end users are beginning to see the merits of leveraging such solutions. Not only do FireDos’ technologies enable the use of the new fluorine free firefighting foams that other technologies have problems handling due to the increased viscosities. Equally, the initial cost of installation can be compensated within two to three years thanks to the regular savings associated with avoided disposal costs due to the recirculating of foam back into the storage tanks.
From an environmental aspect, customers benefit from the firm’s technology, which allows its end users to test the proportioning rate without having to create premix or foam, which, when using other technologies dispose of foam after it has been created. In essence, this reduction in foam concentrate consumption helps to cut disposal costs and is significantly better for the environment.
After starting to phase out its older technologies in 2021, FireDos is now seeing the merits of enhancing its offering and aligning more closely with new market needs. One focus is the introduction of a remote monitoring system for their systems. This will allow real time visualisation of all operating functions and early troubleshooting through predictive maintenance. Indeed, after several years of flat sales
Story type
#technology (main category)
#environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ FireDos’ new technology has proven to be efficient, cost effective, and is helping companies to protect their people and assets.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Don’t look at employees as just numbers, but someone whose work and contributions can make a difference.
▸ Every individual is an essential part to a company and the loss of any employee due to a bad company culture can be the start of a decline.
For government
▸ Once rules are made and implemented, the continued adherence must be followed up.
FireDos at a glance:
Key products and services: development and production of innovative products and systems for the firefighting industry.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 15%
▸ Others (non-energy): energy and wate, aviation, fire brigades, chemical, automative – 85%
Headquarters: Hesse, Germany
Year established: 1979
Number of employees: 130
Revenue: N/A
Revenue from exports: 70%
figures, annual double digit growth rates have recently been achieved.
With its products endorsed by insurers, FM-Approved, and increasingly being used by major oil and gas operators, awareness of the benefits that it can offer will only continue to build as it strives to uphold its impressive growth figures in the years ahead.
Forsyths
Seizing the opportunity to provide secondary steel to renewable industries
Mike Smith Operations Manager
How is Forsyths thriving?
After reaching a pivotal juncture, metalworking specialist Forsyths took the fateful decision to diversify away from the oil and gas sector and position its steel working services towards clients operating in the renewables space. It is an ongoing process, but one which has already yielded work and promises to form a key part of the company’s rapid growth journey in the years ahead.
The challenge - Any company which survives more than 130 years will have navigate its fair share of obstacles. For Scottish firm Forsyths, the ability to adapt and innovate while retaining its grassroots traditions and hallmark of metalworking quality has been key to its longevity.
Until the 1980s, a large proportion of the company’s income was generated from producing copper pot stills and condensers for the Scotch whisky industry. However, following a slump in production, the last few decades have seen the firm diversify successfully into the world of oil and gas and petrochemicals. With formidable expertise and excellent load out facilities at its dockside facility in Buckie and dedicated clean room facilities in Rothes, Forsyths is well placed to design, produce and supply equipment such as pressurised tanks, vessels, skids, and other fabrications to these sectors.
Nevertheless, akin to the decline in whisky production experienced in the 1980s, the company finds itself at another critical juncture with the ongoing energy transition gradually phasing out oil and gas projects.
The solution - Forsyths and its leadership knew it had to open a new line of business to futureproof the organisation.
It chose to pursue the opportunity in offshore renewables, and after engaging with government agencies, academic institutions, and trusted information sources from the private sector (including the EIC), this new course was charted.
The decision to pivot was taken around 2017, and embedding into the sector has been a continuous process ever since. For example, the company has finished and been granted the Fit 4 Offshore Renewables (F4OR) pro-
gramme and engaged expert partners such as Orlo Energy Ltd to help support its transition. These actions have proven crucial, not least because they have provided Forsyths with valuable insight into the sector, as well as confirming its confidence in the scale of the fabrication projects that would be required in the future.
From here, the company’s strategy has been to hire sector specific advisors, look for an additional quayside facility, and build up a track record of delivery for clients. Indeed, among its early contracts was a project in Wick for Repsol. The work involved the fabrication of frames to attach a boat landing to a platform which houses wind farm transformers.
Opportunities are also being explored through collaborations. Forsyths has struck up fruitful partnerships with 360Energy and Dron & Dickson and submitted multiple joint bids for work with a Tier 1 contractor. Meanwhile, the company is also extending its network through exhibiting at renewable energy events, and has received a grant to take part in an expert hydrogen course which could uncover potential synergies with its skillsets. Given the firm has already received enquiries in relation to green hydrogen projects, this is a timely move.
Activity in the clean energy space is building steadily as Forsyths seeks to transition away from its reliance on the oil and gas market. Indeed, based on the level of interest it is receiving in the form of invitations to tender and requests for quotes, it is clear that the market for secondary steel in the renewable space is an exciting one.
Such is the company’s confidence, plans are in the pipeline for a new quayside facility to accommodate projected growth. Revenue has already grown around 50% from £54m to £74.5m between 2021 and 2023, with the company forecasting a doubling in turnover in the not-too-distant future. And with almost a third of new enquiries being related to renewables, this new avenue of business will be a key a contributor to Forsyths future.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#collaboration, #energy transition
Benefits
▸ Forsyths’ successful strategy to diversify promoted revenue growth.
▸ Almost a third of the company’s Invitation to tender on new projects are related to renewables.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Now is a time of transitioning into renewables and there are huge opportunities for entrepreneurs and young engineers with funding available for up skilling resources required.
For government
▸ Enforce a high percentage of local content and incentives for overseas investors.
Forsyths at a glance:
Key products and services: manufacture of machinery and equipment for industrial sector.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 55%
▸ Nuclear power – 5%
▸ Others (energy) – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy: distillation) –35%
Headquarters: Rothes, UK
Year established: 1890
Number of employees: 520
Revenue: £60m
Revenue from exports: 22%
Fulkrum
A fourfold transformation to turbocharge its growth journey
Owen Gibbons
Commercial Director
How is Fulkrum thriving?
Fulkrum has seen a strong growth trajectory after enacting a four-pronged strategy designed to better accommodate changing client priorities in the energy sector. With a near 50% revenue growth in 2023, this momentum continues to build.
The challenge - Fulkrum has been steadily growing as a provider of quality control and quality assurance services to the global energy sector.
By 2023, Fulkrum’s leadership devised a strategy designed to maintain the company’s growth trajectory and reach its goals. Sector and service diversification would ensure it remains competitive, but only if it was also able to stay true to its core values and retain its bespoke, personalised service approach with clients.
The solution - Last year was a momentous period for Fulkrum. The company’s internal headcount increased by 50%, while it opened two new offices, one in Italy and one in Qatar, bringing the total number of offices to 14. Additionally, Fulkrum surpassed its operational targets, with its technical personnel performing over 100,000 quality and inspection-related visits on behalf of its clients across various projects.
Meanwhile, from a structural perspective, the company separated the business into five operating regions (North America, South America, Europe and Africa, APAC, and the Middle East), a process which created new job and growth opportunities for internal teams.
To maintain this growth trajectory, Fulkrum recognised the need for a clearer long-term strategy for the business. The firm held its first global strategy workshop in London, where the entire global leadership team assembled for the first time. This workshop provided an environment to analyse Fulkrum’s position in the markets it operates, assess its qualities against competitors, identify forward opportunities on a global scale, and collectively agree on short, medium, and long-term priorities. The workshop also allowed the international team to strengthen bonds and foster an even stronger rapport with their colleagues.
A four-pronged set of priorities were identified to take the company through 2024 and beyond.
Firstly, the company aims to invest in its people by implementing a comprehensive “People-First”, plan focused on learning and development, training and mentoring. This approach aims to maintain high retention rates, attract top talent, and provide an environment for team members to thrive and progress within the company. The hiring of Paulina Panus as the new Head of HR was the first step toward implementing this initiative.
Secondly, Fulkrum will continue to emphasise operational excellence by expanding its ISO IMS (9001, 14001, and 45001) and ISO 17020 accreditation to additional offices. This ensures that all Fulkrum offices adhere to stringent standards for operational excellence, impartiality and industry-leading levels of customer service.
Thirdly, geographic expansion remains a priority. With the recent incorporation of Fulkrum-Iraq in Basra, Fulkrum now has a presence in 15 countries to support clients globally. The company is currently exploring five additional countries for potential local presence to support client interests and contribute to local economies through job creation and knowledge transfer.
Finally, Fulkrum aims to introduce new complementary service offerings to support its strategic evolution as a rapidly growing business. Building upon its success as an industry leader in second and third-party inspection services, the company plans to expand its additional service offerings, previously available only to local clients in specific territories, to its global client portfolio. This move will bring its standards of excellence to currently underserviced procurement and HR scopes of work.
Alongside these internal changes, Fulkrum continues to build up its impressive track record of execution for clients, often partnering with customers in long-term arrangements.
A good example comes from the Gulf of Mexico. Here, Fulkrum was engaged by a leading EPCi client to enhance quality and procurement processes for their involvement in the Shell Whale Project, a US$2 billion deepwater development which is estimated to yield over 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily. Beginning in 2022 and escalating through 2023,
Story type
#scale up (main category)
Benefits
▸ Revenue growth, 50% rise on the turnover recorded in 2022.
▸ Geographical expansion, now Fulkrum is present in 15 countries to support clients globally.
Key findings
For industry
▸ There’s no such thing as ‘failure’ –you either win or you learn!
For government
▸ Provide greater assistance to SMEs as they face the challenge of start-up and scaling.
Fulkrum at a glance:
Key products and services: leading provider of expert quality control and quality assurance services to the global energy industry.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 80%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 12%
▸ Hydrogen – 3%
▸ Nuclear power – 3%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 2%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 2011
Revenue: £41m
Revenue from exports: 70%
Fulkrum’s inspection and quality consulting services have been integral to the ongoing installation and project start-up and is scheduled to continue into 2024. Fulkrum delivered four pivotal services: vendor surveillance, client representation, fabrication QA/QC, and installation QA/QC. These services were executed seamlessly across more than 30 locations in North and Central America, Europe, and Asia, culminating in the ongoing installation at Alaminos Canyon Block 773.
Fulkrum’s 2023 revenue of £41m represents an almost 50% rise on the £28m turnover recorded in 2022. With its four-pillar strategy firmly in place, Fulkrum has the foundations from which it can continue along its impressive growth journey.
Your trusted advisor on the journey to a sustainable future
Genesis
Facing up to energy transition challenges and doing something different
How is Genesis thriving?
Helen Coleman Managing Director
For any consultancy firm, no matter the industry it operates in, the ability to understand and find answers to customers’ challenges is paramount to success.
Genesis, a company with a successful track record spanning three-decades, recognised it had to do something different when clients began seeking long-term, sustainable strategies that align with energy transition targets and net zero ambitions. Through a mix of hiring and retaining key talent, evolving internal processes and close collaboration with clients, a new and innovative Genesis has emerged.
The challenge - The global energy industry is undergoing a significant transformation, presenting both exciting opportunities and uncertainties. Indeed, the energy transition shift has created immense potential for diversification, innovation, and blue-sky thinking to drive growth in nascent markets.
For Genesis, a leading consultancy services provider to the sector for 35 years, the need to evolve and diversify to support its clients’ transitions has been recognised and undergoing implementation for some time. Previously, environmental and emissions reporting, as well as impact reductions, were viewed as necessary regulatory requirements and reporting. However, following the Paris Agreement in 2016, emission reductions have taken centre stage within our client’s agenda. Genesis’s clients are now implementing real improvements before it is mandated, embracing sustainable practices across the entire energy industry value chain, from production to consumption, to achieve net-zero emissions.
The company has also witnessed a shift in its traditional clients, which have diversified and included renewable energy sources and energy storage in their portfolios and focussed on energy efficiency and the use of new technologies.
The solution - To better support clients during these journeys, Genesis has continually evolved its own offering.
It has enhanced its base of existing and transferable skills, retrained key people, brought in new talent, and leveraged its parent company’s experience in renewables and hydrogen. Moreover, the firm has developed new tools such as
GenCAT (for carbon assessment) and is also developing a platform of tools, Gen-Clarity, to assess environmental impacts.
Alongside this, Genesis refined its internal processes and the ‘Genesis Way’ of working, which is transferable to all its services. In doing so, the company has been able to improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which it delivers projects for clients.
Clients have also been closely consulted throughout the process, a key part of the Genesis evolution centring around collaborating with customers to find innovative solutions to their challenges. Off the back of these conversations, the company’s overarching mission was updated – now, Genesis supports clients in their journeys to a more sustainable future. Its services support them in realising their net-zero ambitions, ensuring they have all the information required to make sound investment decisions.
This strategic realignment has paid dividends over recent years. Today, the company has a whole new portfolio of customers in sustainable energies that traverse many industries, with successes spanning metals and mining to waste-to-energy developments.
Since 2017, Genesis has witnessed a resurgence of CCUS. The company has been involved in almost all CCUS clusters in the UK and was recently selected as the Northern Endurance Partnership contractors and awarded the Viking CCUS project. Indeed, its expertise in this area has positioned Genesis as a market leader in CO2.
Meanwhile, six years ago, Genesis worked on its first hydrogen project, its clients seeking to understand the feasibility of such developments and how they could contribute to their net-zero strategy. Since then, the company has performed over 70 studies in hydrogen, including the Doggerbank Green Hydrogen and Pamelia Hydrogen projects in Western Australia. Genesis has also developed expertise and tools to evaluate the different pathways of Power to X, including supporting Breakthrough Energy in its due diligence for E-fuel investments.
Because of its embrace of a ‘dare to do something different’ culture, Genesis is now better positioned to handle future changes and challenges as the energy market continues
▸ Genesis’ diversification strategy was successful as company today has a completely different portfolio.
▸ Experience in CCUS has enabled projects and awards win.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Create new solutions, be adaptable. Collaborate to tackle complex challenges and drive innovation.
▸ Working with the public to gain support and build trust is crucial for maintaining a positive reputation and ensuring long-term success.
For government
▸ Prioritise joined-up policy making throughout the value chain, including off takers, infrastructure, and other key.
Genesis at a glance:
Key products and services: advisory and technical consulting services for the energy sector.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 50%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Hydrogen – 5%
▸ Carbon capture – 15%
▸ Others (energy): downstream – 15%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 1988
Number of employees: +500
Revenue from exports: 90%
to evolve. The firm’s evolution has made it a stronger and more competitive entity, one which will play its part as the world turns to a decarbonised energy system and net zero solutions now and in the future.
GHD
Carving a reputation as a go-to advisor for navigating the energy transition
How is GHD thriving?
GHD is excelling thanks to an unwavering commitment to its ‘Make it Real’ strategy. Implemented in 2020 to help both GHD and its clients meet the demands of a rapidly changing world, GHD has gone on to record revenues in 2023, excelling in areas such as energy transition, business resilience and sustainability.
The challenge - With 11,000 employees generating US$1.86bn in revenue across more than 160 offices worldwide, GHD has established itself as a leading professional services company. Specialising in advisory, digital, engineering, architecture, environmental and construction solutions, GHD is dedicated to enhancing the sustainability of water, energy and communities for future generations.
Indeed, GHD’s forward looking approach has shaped its overall strategy in recent years.
In 2020, the company introduced a five-year plan titled ‘Make it Real’, recognising the need for its clients to adapt to radical changes, disruptive technologies and new business norms largely driven by the energy transition.
The challenge of shifting the global economy to net zero is immense, requiring the involvement of every company in every sector across every country. With the energy sector at the forefront of this transition, GHD’s clients are experiencing an unprecedented pace of change in market sentiment. Customers, investors and regulators are all demanding genuine corporate commitments to decarbonisation and sustainability, ensuring that no one is left behind.
To align with these evolving demands and support its clients in their energy transition journeys, GHD launched a transformational investment programme focused on recruitment, reskilling and upskilling staff. As part of this initiative, the company created new specialist roles and appointed new leadership to manage the largest enterprise-led strategic growth initiative in its history – ‘Future Energy’.
Underpinning these efforts is a clear goal: to grow and pivot its business focus so that by 2027, 25% of all net revenue – equivalent to US$1bn per year – will be generated from energy transition value propositions.
The solution - The launch of GHD Advisory in
2016, to address clients’ business challenges and opportunities driven by global megatrends, laid the foundations from which the company’s strategy could succeed. Indeed, through the advisory group, the firm was able to swiftly develop its global strategy, redefining GHD’s vision for sustainable water, energy and communities for future generations.
Resultantly, the ‘Make it Real’ strategy was implemented in 2020, this being shaped by extensive client and broader market engagements. Leveraging innovative thinking, deep infrastructure expertise, solid business acumen, and a commitment to practical solutions, GHD is now instrumental in driving efficiency, growth, and support for clients adapting to change. As trusted advisors, GHD is specifically working with its clients to tackle three key future energy challenges:
#1 – Energy transition: GHD provides strategic advice and transformational pathways, identifying short- and long-term roadmaps for energy transition. By understanding clients’ progress, GHD develops strategies that protect financial performance, drive impact, and create competitive advantages.
#2 – Business resilience: Recognising that resilient businesses and projects attract investment by meeting ESG criteria, GHD helps clients to futureproof their operations. The firm offers methodologies and strategies to address, manage, and mitigate change, enhancing value and growth.
#3 – Sustainability: Taking a holistic approach, GHD identifies potential points of failure in clients’ sustainability efforts. The firm assists in formulating and executing success strategies, ensuring clients meet their sustainability goals.
Through these efforts, the firm’s new strategy has been key in driving impressive growth and strong shareholder returns in recent times. Indeed, in 2023, GHD achieved record revenues of US$1.86bn – up 17% versus the US$1.59bn recorded in 2022.
The EMEA region, a key strategic area, experienced particularly strong growth through several key projects. In the UAE, for example, GHD is supporting the National Hydrogen Strategy, positioning the country as a global leader in hydrogen development. This includes delivering a comprehensive National
Story type
#energy transition (main category)
Benefits
▸ Record revenues of US$1.86bn in 2023, 17% up from 2022.
▸ On track to have at least 25% of revenues coming from energy transition by 2027.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Test more and carry out extensive scenario planning, this is a volatile market. Do more front-end analysis.
▸ Be clear about your company culture to stimulate career ambition.
For government
▸ Have clearer goals and set outcomes beyond the term of current governments. We need long-term commitment.
▸ Provide more subsidy support.
GHD at a glance:
Key products and services: multidisciplinary professional services for integrated solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas
▸ Renewables
▸ Energy storage
▸ Hydrogen
▸ Carbon Capture
▸ Conventional power
Headquarters: Sydney, Australia
Year established: 1928
Number of employees: 11,000
Revenue: £1.86bn
Revenue from exports: N/A
Hydrogen Strategy to the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MOEI), aligning with the UAE’s vision to become a leading low-carbon hydrogen producer by its 60th anniversary in 2031.
With GHD’s brand strength growing in all markets, and clients increasingly viewing GHD as the go-to trusted advisor for navigating the energy transition, it is well positioned to achieve its goal of generating at least 25% of its revenue from energy transition activities by 2027.
Tom Foley
Future Energy Leader – EMEA
Glacier Energy
Building momentum in energy transition with new
foundations
Scott Martin CEO
How is Glacier Energy thriving?
Glacier Energy now has the financial backing it needs to fully exploit the traction it has been gaining in the renewables arena. With Averroes Capital acquiring the business, rapid growth is on the horizon through a mix of acquisitions, innovations and collaborations with stakeholders across the energy transition ecosystem. Alongside this, its reputation for solving complex problems is strengthening all the time thanks to the completion of highly bespoke projects for clients.
The challenge - For well over a decade, Glacier Energy has been helping to solve clients’ challenges with highly innovative, specialist solutions covering heat transfer and pressure vessels, onsite machining, NDT and inspection services, and welding.
Until recently, much of its business had been derived from asset operators, Tier 1 EPCs, OEMs and other large manufacturing enterprises serving the oil and gas sector. However, the past few years have seen a shift in focus to deepen its involvement in the renewables and energy transition space, especially wind, hydrogen, energy storage and carbon capture.
Indeed, the company already had a good track record in the renewables space. However, the aftermath of the pandemic posed a significant challenge to fully capitalize on new opportunities. Glacier Energy found itself constrained by limited capital, hindering its ability to invest in new strategies.
Consequently, the company was compelled to explore alternative avenues to lay the groundwork for its next phase of development.
The solution - A pivotal development came with the entry of London based Private Equity firm, Averroes Capital, finalising its acquisition of Glacier Energy in January of this year.
The move will allow the firm to capitalise on significant market momentum, with the additional funding being used to acquire and innovate new solutions, channel business development efforts into renewable markets, and secure projects with both new and existing clients.
Alongside this, the company is actively partnering with universities and spin out innovators, with new facilities and high-volume manufacturing capabilities also being explored. Acquisitions, meanwhile, could add another 50% to Glacier Energy’s revenue base over the next two to three years.
Key to forging its reputation in the energy transition arena will be successful delivery of projects and the cultivation of a track record that potential clients will find difficult to ignore.
This is already well in motion, with several success stories emerging from the renewables sector in recent months. An ongoing project, for example, for a Wind Farm operator involves the assessment of the integrity of tower flanges and shell joints on multiple windfarm sites across Europe. To date, Glacier Energy has mobilised several multi-disciplined inspection teams to various European locations to carry out conventional, advanced and visual inspections on the assets as required by the client. Downtime has been kept to minimum and tight deadlines continue to be met, helping to save the client time and money.
Another project, delivered in 2023, involved the delivery of a post-compression high pressure hydrogen cooler for a containerised electrolyser kit, which is used for charging vehicles such as lorries and cars. A highly bespoke requirement, Glacier Energy had to work outside of typical industry standards to innovate and build the hydrogen cooler, a feat it managed to pull off by combining various technologies and different types of heat exchangers.
These success stories are translating into tangible positive trends in numerical terms. Total company revenue has grown from around £21m in 2020/2021 to £35m in 2023/2024, with renewables accounting for more than a third of turnover. This financial year, Glacier Energy expects renewables to generate 40% of income, not far behind oil and gas which is set to account for roughly half of its revenue.
Given that the split was 90% and 5% in 2015, a huge amount of progress has been made in less than 10 years.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#energy transition, #export, #resilience
Benefits
▸ Successful bespoke approach resulting in revenue growth.
▸ Significant increase in renewable energy, highlighting company’s diversification strategy.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Think big, work hard, choose good mentors and have a clear strategy.
▸ Listen to your customers, ac with integrity at all times and be easygoing.
For government
▸ Develop a stable tax environment to encourage investments.
Glacier Energy at a glance:
Key products and services: services for renewable and conventional energy markets.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 55%
▸ Offshore renewable energy (offshore wind) – 30%
▸ Onshore renewable energy (onshore wind) – 5%
▸ Hydrogen – 1%
▸ Others (non-energy): industrial – 9%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 2011
Number of employees: 220
Revenue: £35m
Revenue from exports: 40%
Global Maritime
Transforming to champion cradle-to-grave off shore projects
Ekkehard Stade COO
How is Global Maritime thriving?
With a renewed business strategy centred around widening the scope of its services, marine, offshore and engineering consultancy Global Maritime is looking to build on a highly successful 2023.
Having doubled its sales pipeline throughout the course of last year, the company is now seeking to provide fully integrated solutions for cradle-to-grave offshore projects and has already secured its first full scope contract in 2024.
The challenge - In 2023, the focus for Global Maritime was optimisation and transformation. Ironing out the creases of an internal process overhaul that occurred three years ago, the firm was seeking to enhance its headcount and grow its services in all offshore energy markets.
Building on that success, the company is now moving into the next phase of its journey, aiming to deliver cradle-to-grave services to the offshore industry – something that had been out of its reach prior to 2024.
In an effort to expand capability and reduce skills gaps to support those ambitions, Global Maritime had previously recruited as many as 40 people. However, more than recruiting has been required to make the overall transition a success.
The solution - Critically, this latest phase of Global Maritime’s transformation efforts was split into four key categories.
First, Global Maritime focused on bolstering its geoscience team – endeavours that have proven successful. With just one member of the company employed in this domain previously, the division now stands at 34 strong. This is despite significant skills shortages in this area, the company secondly having become more proactive in collaborating with recruitment consultants to onboard young, talented professionals and train them for key roles.
Third, in the engineering and software business stream, Global Maritime has leaned more heavily into technology, moving away from a fragmented digital solutions strategy through the establishment of an engineering and software team that focuses on developing existing projects to tailor them to client
needs. As part of this, AI-backed solutions are now in the planning phase – something that the company is hotly anticipating.
And fourthly, the organisation has created a new marketing team to establish brand presence in key target markets and verticals, efforts that have been undertaken alongside building capacity in the business development and sales teams. Not only has this served to enhance Global Maritime’s position, but it also provides a coherent strategic mechanism through which the company can easily communicate its one-stop shop and go-to-services offerings to clients.
Of course, transformation on this scale doesn’t come easy, and challenges have been encountered along the way. Yet each significant hurdle has gradually and effectively been overcome.
Where funding and investment was previously a barrier, this is no longer an issue thanks to a change in ownership. Previously owned by a private equity company until the beginning of 2024, the firm is now in the hands of a financial investor with a long-term view who is more open to providing capital to accelerate growth efforts.
Likewise, while skills shortages remain a prevalent, industry-wide issue, attracting talent has become much easier with a trusted recruitment consultant that prioritises the company’s focus on recruiting for value and culture, not just skill. This, combined with expanded capacity in the HR team, has paid dividends.
Now, with a clear, enhanced offering, and powerful management team driving a culture of unconditional trust, Global Maritime is excelling again. Thanks to its renewed structure and offering, not only did the firm’s headcount increase 20% in 2023, but its sales pipeline also doubled.
Critically, the firm has also been growing the percentage of the business that is wider in scope, rather than fragmented projects. To this end, it secured its first 100% scope project in 2024 – a bearing replacement contract for HyWind Scotland which Global Maritime’s internal skillset complements significantly. Scheduled from April to August, it will involve works across the company’s business streams.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#culture, #scale up
Benefits
▸ Sales pipeline doubled.
▸ 20% headcount increase.
▸ First 100% scope project secured in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Build a culture in company that allows to attract and retain talent, not lose it – don’t limit activity to just oil and gas for your talent pool.
▸ Be keen and curious to learn.
For government
▸ Develop a stable and consistent energy policy and regulation –remuneration models for offshore wind are a mess globally.
Global Maritime at a glance:
Key products and services: specialised offshore consultancy for whole value chain services, traditional energy and renewables and infrastructure projects.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 50%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 40%
▸ Others (non-energy): infrastructure – 10%
Headquarters: Stavanger, Norway
Year established: 1979
Number of employees: 303
Revenue: £45m
Revenue from exports: 65%
With such a significant milestone achieved so early in the year, it’s likely that Global Maritime will only continue to stride from one success to another. Indeed, it is likely that the firm’s cradle-to-grave offering will continue to gain major traction through the coming months.
Hausthene
Proving that patience is a virtue
How is Hausthene thriving?
Paulo Tezza CEO
Hausthene is making the most of its newfound footing in the oil and gas industry after a long wait. Having competed with long-established sector players in the development of bend-stiffeners, it has now proved the value of its products.
The challenge - Hausthene has been operating in various industrial sectors for over 40 years, providing a variety of business-critical elastomeric parts and coatings to its clients.
Dominant in the polyurethane industry, the company has gradually yet consistently faced stiff competition from new entrants. With the 2008 financial crisis cooling the market significantly, the enterprise recognised the need to diversify.
With the economy picking up between 2012 and 2014, Hausthene began to eye the oil and gas market. However, despite all its expertise, the company was unsure of how to establish a presence. Being a family-owned company and, consequently, “non-traditional” in supplying parts of such high technology and responsibility appeared to be a significant barrier to entry.
Hausthene studied the industry meticulously, building expertise in the production of bend-stiffeners (BS) - protectors of umbilical or flexible cables vital in many oil and gas projects. When it comes to such important item, suppliers prefer to lean on established enterprises. Hausthene persisted, fabricating its first BS in 2017 and offering a prototype to industry players.
However, this was never tested. The company recognised that the first major barrier it had to overcome was the dynamic testing of its BS in a simulator with Petrobras’ approval. At that very moment, one of the company’s partners – an umbilical supplier – opened the doors for it to homologate its bend-stiffeners. The test would be carried out on one of its umbilicals, and then there would be the possibility of using its BS.
It was a great opportunity with several challenges. Hausthene would have to produce the bend-stiffener within one month at yearend, meaning partners and suppliers needed to work during a holiday period.
The solution - Although Hausthene’s polyurethane injection machine was suitable for the requested size, its furnace measured only six metres while the BS needed seven. The company turned to its partners and suppliers for mould accessories and the renovation of the furnace.
Further challenges arose. While Hausthene’s overhead crane was suitable for the weight of the BS, its height limited the company in terms of its assembly and movement. To ensure total safety in the process, a crane-truck also had to be rented and positioned next to the furnace to produce the part. The BS was then ready to be assembled with the umbilical and sent to the test site.
After investing in mould, engineering, technology, and studies, the test did not occur. At that time, the partner company was also homologating a new umbilical cable supplier, and its client – Petrobras – chose not to include the bend-stiffener amid risk-based reservations.
Hausthene didn’t give up. Having gone through the process of producing two good quality BS, the firm knew its products just needed to be evaluated – another step in what had already been a long journey.
The company obtained approvals for various parts in the oil and gas market, enhanced its processes, honed its technologies, bolstered its knowledge base and began to establish a reputation within the sector.
Come 2020, the very same partner approached Hausthene to secure a new testing and homologation opportunity for its new BS.
With the scope of work formally agreed upon, the firm’s BS would be tested alongside its partner’s umbilicals – finally, the firm achieved the long-awaited homologation. It was still a new entrant. However, it now had the documentation and track record proving that the quality of its products matched that of traditional players.
Following this, an increasing number of doors have opened for Hausthene. Not only did the company increase its supply to this initial client, whose demand for its BS tripled in just one year, but it also managed to close deals with two more clients in 2023.
Story type
#resilience (main category)
Benefits
▸ Orders for 20 more products in place.
▸ Two extra clients secured in 2023.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Focus on long-term results to withstand the inevitable fatigue that you will have to face along the way.
▸ When starting a company, be willing to do the work of multiple people until the business becomes more robust.
For government
▸ Stimulate small-sized, employing companies in the industry.
Hausthene at a glance:
Key products and services: provision of high-quality polyurethane parts.
Looking ahead, the firm now has orders for 20 more products in its pipeline, these alone representing 10% of its revenue. And as the brand becomes increasingly recognised in the sector, it finally looks set to advance towards establishing a presence in oil and gas.
High Supply
An entrepreneurial success story with international ambition
How is High Supply thriving?
CEO
After proposals for an innovative explosion-proof electric panel rental model were rebuffed by his former employer, Alexandre Bastos set out on his own to fill a significant gap he identified in the Brazilian oil and gas market.
15 years on and High Supply has sustained consistent annual growth of 30-40%, the company now gearing up to use its proven success domestically as a springboard for international growth in the years to come.
The challenge - At EIC, we’re proud to be able to share the varied, successful and inspiring entrepreneurial stories of our members. Alexandre Bastos, Founder and CEO of High Supply fits well within that category.
Back in 2009, Bastos went to his employers with an idea that he believed would capitalise on the demand for high quality, cost-effective and safe explosion-proof electric panels found throughout the Brazilian oil and gas market. He put his proposals forward, but was met with resistance as they were rejected.
Maintaining belief in his idea, Bastos set out on his own, founding High Supply with the intention of reaching out to prospective clients and providing them with the high-quality explosion-proof electric panels that they needed.
The solution - Today, High Supply specialises in renting explosion-proof electric panels. The company operates primarily in the oil and gas industry, providing comprehensive services and products to support offshore oil and gas operations throughout Brazil.
However, like any great entrepreneurial story, it wasn’t an easy journey to get here. For Bastos, it quickly became clear that the company had to excel on several fronts to gain traction and establish presence.
Critically, the firm’s unique selling proposition lies in its rental model, enabling its clients to purchase and leverage high quality equipment at a fraction of the cost of purchasing. The company doesn’t simply excel on price, however. Equally, it places quality and safety at the heart of its offering, providing state-of-the-art
equipment to its clients in order to deliver market-leading services and solutions.
There have been several hurdles encountered along the way. Indeed, Bastos found he had to design his own explosion-proof electric panels after facing issues with fragile products sourced from other suppliers. However, in overcoming each challenge that has presented itself, High Supply has continued to excel in the market for a period of 15 years.
During that time, the company has sustained annual growth of 30-40% while focusing on profitability and maintaining a well-structured organisation. This consistent expansion has seen the enterprise grow to a point where 33 employees are now book, the firm now also supporting key industry operators including Ocyan, Wood and Mota Engil.
While High Supply currently only operates on a domestic basis in its home country of Brazil, with headquarters in Rio das Ostras – a twohour drive east from Rio de Janeiro – it is now actively working towards establishing itself in key international markets. Specifically, the company is exploring the potential of creating a regional division of High Supply out of Houston, Texas, as well as establishing a warehouse and fabrication unit.
Looking ahead, further growth and expansion is now the priority. While this will not be rushed through, with Alexandre key to get the right staff in place with the skills needed to ensure the firm’s next chapter is a successful one, everything points to High Supply going from strength to strength moving forward.
Having identified a gap and carved out a unique niche in the market that has facilitated high growth for 15 years now, there is nothing to suggest that High Supply won’t succeed in bringing its solution to new markets and customers.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
Benefits
▸ Annual revenue growth of 30–40%.
▸ High Supply plans to open a warehouse and fabrication unit in Texas.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Perseverance over discouragement. Emphasise honesty, ethics and courage as keys to success.
High Supply at a glance:
Key products and services: oil and gas equipment and installations.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Rio das Ostras, Brazil
Year established: 2009
Number of employees: 33
Alexandre Bastos
ICR Group
Embedding ESG principles to offer a fresh approach to asset repairs
Story type
#environmental sustainability (main category)
#culture, #technology
Benefits
▸ Company on track to increase turnover by around 20% for the second year in a row.
How is ICR Group thriving?
ICR Group is driven by a singular vision: to revolutionise the way assets and critical infrastructure are repaired, inspected and maintained. The company specialises in preserving vital, yet often aging, infrastructure across multiple industries — from oil and gas to renewable energy, defence, nuclear and telecommunications.
The challenge - The business emerged strongly out of the COVID-19 pandemic and enjoyed an acceleration in growth. Specifically, it had three priorities to address: reducing reliance on the UK and North Sea market by expanding overseas; curbing its dependence on oil and gas by diversifying; and becoming more relevant to the net zero agenda.
The solution - This journey has involved key product developments, aimed at reducing costs and time as well as supporting client carbon footprint objectives. In addition, there has been an increase in headcount – more than 80 in the past two years. ICR has put a greater focus on sustainability and increased its partner network with additional locations. This strategy carries sustainability advantages, which are the focus for CEO Jim Beveridge, who joined ICR in April 2022, bringing with him a determination to embed ESG principles into the company from the ground up. Action has been decisive, with the firm now operating with its own ESG committee and achieving silver status with ECOVADIS at its first attempt. Gold is the next target, with sustainability reports also being published to demonstrate how ESG strategies have been properly embedded into the broader business strategy.
It’s the technology that helps ICR stand out in the market. Technowrap is an innovative ICR structural, pipework, pipeline repair and rehabilitation technology designed to provide significant benefits to clients in terms of cost and time savings, as well as sustainability.
This composite repair technology rehabilitates aging infrastructure without the extensive costs and delays associated with conventional replacements, allowing for operations to continue uninterrupted and avoiding costly shutdowns.
The application extends beyond pipelines to include tanks, vessels, and even underwater structures, showcasing its versatility and effectiveness across various repair scenarios.
Jim Beveridge Gemma Neal CEO Head of Marketing and Communications
Sustainability is at the heart of Technowrap. By minimising the need for new materials and reducing waste, it presents an eco-friendly alternative to traditional repair methods. Its capacity to reduce carbon emissions by 66% compared to conventional replacements underscores its role in promoting sound environmental stewardship.
Technowrap’s efficacy is underpinned by the use of glass or carbon fibre cloths combined with epoxy resins, offering durable repairs that can last for more than 20 years. Its global endorsement and compliance with industry standards (ISO 24817, ASME PCC-2 401, and certifications from Lloyd’s Register, ABS, and DNV) attest to its reliability and capability to withstand extreme conditions.
INSONO is a cutting-edge, non-destructive testing technique designed for inspecting composite repairs applied to metallic components. INSONO has been developed to ensure the condition and integrity of composite repairs. It offers operators and regulators in installation, long-term performance, and provides evidence supporting the life extension of the repair.
Quickflange is a revolutionary approach to flange-to-pipe connections, offering a weldless, permanent and cold work alternative that significantly deviates from conventional welding methods. This innovative system employs a modified standard flange equipped with patented internal grooves, designed for a seamless slide-over installation on the pipe end.
The Quickflange technology facilitates rapid and safe installations, eliminating the need for ‘hot work’ and, thereby, reducing associated risks and costs. Suitable for a variety of pipe sizes, pressure classes, and materials, Quickflange not only offers up to 80%-time savings but also achieves a remarkable 57% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional methods. This efficiency, coupled with its versatility, positions Quickflange as an environmentally friendly and cost-effective solution for industry needs.
Sky-Futures is a leader in the Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) industry. With a focus on safety and efficiency, Sky-Futures’ drones conduct thorough inspections and emissions monitoring, significantly reducing the need for hazardous human entry.
Revenues have followed a similar pattern,
▸ Successful diversification process across regions and sectors.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be a solution-provider, not just a service-provider.
▸ The industry needs to collaborate to realistically address net zero –there are many opportunities.
For government
▸ Approach the net zero challenge honestly; set realistic roadmap – one that’s achievable from a transition and commercial point of view.
ICR Group at a glance:
Key products and services: specialist maintenance, inspection, repair of energy assets and critical infrastructure.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas
▸ Renewables
▸ Conventional power
▸ Others (non-energy): defence, process industries, utilities & infrastructure
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 1992 (ICR since 2011)
Number of employees: 268
Revenue: £50m
providing confidence that the company’s diversification plan is working. In 2023, 40% of revenues were derived from international business outside of the UK, with 15% originating away from the traditional core client base within oil and gas. The firm has grown its turnover from £42m to £50m this year, with a 50-50 split between UK and overseas work, and an 80-20 split between oil and gas and diversified verticals.
IMI
Achieving greater customer alignment through Growth Hub
How is IMI thriving?
Yogini Pekarskis Growth Hub Manager
Transforming the culture and operations of a large company is never a simple task. With intricate structures in place and a natural resistance to change, the process can be daunting, especially when supporting tens of thousands of employees.
IMI’s story, therefore, is immensely impressive. Recognising the shortcomings of its traditional market approach, the company boldly implemented a highly effective growth hub strategy to better cater to customer needs. Having seen several new products developed that are now driving tens of millions of pounds in new revenue, IMI stands as a true success story.
The challenge - With an annual revenue surpassing £2 billion, a workforce of nearly 11,000 employees, and an installed base of 180,000 severe service valves supporting critical industrial plants and processes worldwide, IMI commands great respect in the energy sector.
Specialising in flow control solutions for vital industries including oil and gas, power generation, petrochemical, marine, pharmaceutical, and other heavy industries, IMI has built a reputation for delivering dependable and efficient flow control systems, ensuring smooth and safe operations even in the most demanding industrial environments.
In many ways, the company eliminates the unique challenges of others. However, this is not to say that it hasn’t been immune to its own obstacles.
Traditionally entrenched in the oil and gas sector and conventional power plants, the company has been compelled to pivot its business in response to the global push for decarbonisation, assisting its clients in reducing their carbon footprint.
This strategic shift, aimed at mitigating the environmental impact of traditional energy processes and facilitating the transition towards renewable energy sources, posed both significant challenges and opportunities for IMI. Moreover, the company’s decision to embrace transformation coincided with a period of profound global political instability, heightening energy security concerns and necessitating greater agility and adaptability.
Internally, however, fostering agility and adaptability has been a formidable hurdle for IMI. Historically, the company has experienced a siloed approach to product development, with engineers working in individual teams and generating ideas internally rather than those driven by market needs. And by the company’s own admission, this approach has hindered market insight and led to unrealised development potential.
The solution - To overcome these issues, the company opted to establish a new internal Growth Hub in 2018, designed to foster innovation, insights, and agile methodologies.
The pivotal change brought about by the Growth Hub was a shift in perspective, moving from an inward focus to actively engaging with customer insights, ensuring alignment with customer demand, and placing customers at the core of operations.
Under the Growth Hub initiative, IMI teams worldwide are tasked with returning to their respective regions to identify customer pain points and validate them. Embracing a sprint mentality, teams work in intensive two-week cycles over three months. The process involves testing ideas in the first week and learning from these tests to refine minimal viable propositions in the second week, with regular check-in calls being an integral part of the process. At the end of each three-month cycle, ideas are presented to consultants and IMI’s leadership for evaluation.
In the inaugural year of the Growth Hub, only one idea received backing, leading other teams to pivot or abandon their concepts. This endorsed idea, however, subsequently launched as EroSolve Wet Steam, emerged as one of IMI’s fastest-growing products. Specifically, EroSolve Wet Steam upgrades the valve plugs, stem assembly, cage, and seat ring allowing steam valves in power plants to better deal with more frequent cycling of the plant – a consequence of more renewable energy sources feeding into the power networks. The solution engineers sealing surfaces that optimise droplet impingement angles to reduce their impact. Its use of special, erosion-resistant hard-facing materials also enhances trim life in a solution that can be easily implemented in any make of control valves for steam applications in power plants.
▸ Growth Hub brought over £40m in new revenue in 2023.
▸ Mindshift promoted in the business.
IMI at a glance:
Key products and services: flow control solutions for vital industries.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas
▸ Conventional power
▸ Nuclear power
▸ Hydrogen
▸ Carbon capture
▸ Others (non-energy): marine, pharma, iron and steel
Headquarters: Birmingham, UK
Year established: 1862
Number of employees: 10,900
Revenue: £2.1bn
Revenue from exports: N/A
More recently, Growth Hub has also led to the development of Retrofit3D, which focuses on the engineering of bespoke drop-in replacement internal components, including disk stacks and valve trims (inclusive of seat and plugs), ensuring the body of the valve can remain in situ throughout the process. Through these product developments, the programme has been incredibly successful, driving over £35m in revenue in 2023.
It’s not just the numbers that indicate the company’s success, however. Indeed, Growth Hub has changed the mindset of the entire business, driving a culture of customer-focused innovation. With such feeling now also being adopted in other functions such as sales and operations, the firm has fundamentally improved the way in which it does business.
Impressive Logging Services
Surviving the pandemic just months after opening for business
Irfan Fadzalisham Technical Sales Engineer
How is Impressive Logging Services thriving?
By focusing on delivery, investing in technology and dedicating time to networking, Impressive Logging Services has been able to overcome a huge testing beginning to its existence. Now, with a growing contract pipeline and expanding team, the company can look ahead to the future as a steady service partner for well operators.
The challenge - The oil and gas sector relies on an extraordinary variety of niche and highly specialised services to function on a daily basis.
For well operators, one of those is cased hole logging, a technique used evaluate the condition of a well after it has been cased and cemented. It involves lowering specialised logging tools into the cased well to gather data about the formation, cement bond, casing integrity and other crucial information.
It is particularly useful for detecting potential problems, such as casing corrosion, cement channelling, or formation fluid movement behind the casing. This information helps operators make informed decisions about well remediation, stimulation, or abandonment, ultimately enhancing the safety and productivity of oil and gas wells.
This has been the domain of Malaysia’s Impressive Logging Services since it started in December 2019. However, despite knowing it could add value to the market and being fuelled with optimism as it set out, little did the company’s leadership know that the Covid pandemic would arrive a matter of weeks later.
The solution - Indeed, the arrival of Covid-19 in early 2020 almost derailed Impressive Logging Services’ plans due to the travel restrictions imposed by the Malaysian government.
As the pandemic spread, the company noticed potential customers were cutting costs and were therefore reluctant to invest in new technology. Meanwhile, those that did utilise Impressive Logging Services’ products during the Covid period later experienced cash flow problems and began delaying payments.
These issues posed a huge challenge for the fledgling company, but it was not to be deterred.
Within a few months, it managed to secure its first contract despite the pandemic restrictions. Following the successful execution of that initial project, the company secured five more contracts and achieved a 20% increase in the number of wells serviced.
In these early days, the firm’s strategy was to ensure jobs were completed on time, within stipulated costs, and that customers were satisfied with the results. Doing so, its leadership believed, would lead customers to recommend Impressive Logging Services to other players operating in the Malaysian oil and gas industry.
Another strategy employed by the company involved the introduction of new products inspired by the latest technological innovations. For example, in 2021, it launched a new Cement Scanner, enabling operators to achieve significant reductions in costs and job completion times. Thanks to this product, Impressive Logging Services secured an additional 13 wells through the course of the year.
A third prong of the firm’s strategy has centred around marketing and enhancing visibility around its products and capabilities. Here, Impressive Logging Services decided to present at an SPE Conference in Bali, where most Southeast Asian operators were present. Off the back of this event, the company received a number of enquiries from operators in across the region, including organisations in Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Sabah and Sarawak.
The Impressive Logging Services pipeline grew steadily throughout 2023, with six new contracts added and another existing agreement extended by three years.
Alongside this, the company’s headcount is also increasing as work volumes ramp up. Starting out in 2019 with just three colleagues on the books, the firm now has a team of 25 employees with plans to expand this further. This will help to drive up revenues, which are forecast to
Story type
#resilience (main category)
#technology
Benefits
▸ Six new contracts and existing agreement extended by three years.
▸ Revenue growth and forecast to reach RM20m in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ To the young engineers, opportunities don’t come twice. Whenever we see a chance for us to thrive, take it because we don’t know if the opportunity may come back or not.
▸ Always prepare back up plans from plan B, Plan C and etc. Scenario simulation is the key in preparing ourselves for any hurdle in front. With that we able to manoeuvre business strategies according to any situation at that point in time. The key here is to be creative.
For government
▸ Our story is closely related to the Covid -19 happening back in 2020. We appreciate the government efforts in ensuring the disease is contained. In the future, if another virus outbreak happening, we hope to see a better planning on containing the outbreak and assist small business owner to be back on their feet again.
Impressive Logging Services at a glance:
Key products and services: logging services from well intervention to plug and abandonment phase.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Year established: 2019
Number of employees: +25
reach RM20m in 2024 after the organisation turned over 15m last year and 5m in 2022.
After starting out in the most trying of circumstances, Impressive Logging Services has emerged as a growing enterprise which is ably serving the region’s oil and gas sector.
Induscabos Condutores Elétricos
Raising the power of cables to enable new markets
Sandro de Rezende Commercial Manager for Power Utilities and Renewables
How is Induscabos Condutores Elétricos thriving?
From navigating Brazil’s hyperinflationary period to navigating ambitions to enter export markets, Induscabos Condutores Elétricos has consistently adapted, evolved and innovated to find new, fruitful opportunities. With a focus on operational expansion, technological advancements, and unwavering commitment to client satisfaction, the company stands as a beacon of quality and innovation within the Brazilian industry.
The challenge - For nearly five decades, Induscabos has proudly held its position as one of Brazil’s foremost manufacturers of high, medium, and low voltage electrical wires and cables. Located in the bustling city of Poá, São Paulo, the firm operates out of an impressive 80,000 square meter industrial complex, housing four production units and two stateof-the-art laboratory facilities.
From this innovative hub, Induscabos continually enriches its extensive product range, meticulously crafting solutions tailored to the exacting standards of professionals across various sectors. What began as a modest team of entrepreneurs crafting components for household appliances like refrigerators and stoves has evolved in step with Brazil’s dynamic market demands. Today, the company serves as a vital partner to key industries, spanning power utilities, transmission and distribution, oil and gas, mining, steel, paper, and renewables.
Throughout its history, Induscabos has faced a range of challenges, both externally and internally. The memory of Brazil’s hyperinflationary era circa 1990 lingers, prompting a strategic pivot towards more lucrative ventures, particularly within the energy and construction sectors. Similarly, in 2010, the company embarked on a significant venture into medium-voltage cable production, necessitating substantial investments in infrastructure and certifications. Additionally, the firm has also had to overcome hurdles associated with its forays into export markets. Having begun with a focus on Latin America and since expanding into other regions including the US, the firm recognised that it needed to strike up key strategic partnerships in order to be more successful.
The solution - Indeed, while challenging, each of these strategic shifts has proven not only
prudent but also immensely rewarding for the company. Faced with critical junctures, Induscabos has consistently turned in the right direction, adapting in an informed manner in line with market demands and opportunities.
The decision to invest in medium-voltage cables in 2010 exemplifies this approach, emphasising quality, industrial capacity, and technical prowess. Recognising the unique demands of this niche, the company embarked on a targeted strategy, investing in specialised infrastructure and laboratories to meet the specific demands of selected clients.
This strategic choice finds its roots in the company’s overarching philosophy, which prioritises quality over quantity. Resultantly, Induscabos has consciously opted to prioritise relationships with a select number of clients who closely match its own ideals and standards. In doing so, it ensures that its resources and efforts are directed towards serving those customers that will benefit most from its offerings.
Focusing specifically on the medium voltage and high voltage range, a segment then occupied by a mere three companies at Brazilian market, the firm seized the opportunity to differentiate itself through innovative cable designs with heightened protective features. This marked a pivotal shift from conventional construction-grade cables to technologically advanced solutions, catering to the needs of wind and solar parks that have proven crucial to the firm’s current success.
Today, this segment commands a notable 30 to 35% share of the company’s operations, a testament to the efficacy of this strategic direction. Further, success in this domain has been further bolstered by the company’s partnership with US firm Southwire.
Critically, this collaboration has served to significantly increase Induscabos’ export volumes, these now accounting for 20% of total sales, with more than a quarter of them directed to the US market. Leveraging this partnership has also proven instrumental in surmounting challenges such as recent aluminum shortages that emerged as a result of geopolitical factors.
Anchored in a commitment to continual innovation, Induscabos is constantly expanding its product portfolio, tailoring solutions to the evolving needs of the medium voltage and concessionaire market.
Story type
#innovation (main category)
#exports
Benefits
▸ Induscabos’ strategy to focus on the medium and high voltage range paid off as this now represents 15% to 25% of company’s operations.
▸ Partnership with the US firm Southwire increased Induscabos’ exports volume, reaching 20% of total sales.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Start studying again. Technology has evolved a lot since our university times.
▸ Previously, there would be, in one university for reference, 400 engineers graduating every year, now there are 80. Soon we will face a lack of skilled labour in the younger generation.
For government
▸ Legislation is good but bureaucratic, government should simplify processes.
Induscabos Condutores Elétricos at a glance:
Key products and services: manufacturing of electrical wires and cables.
Main industries served:
▸ Distribution and consumption: 35%
▸ Power generation: 35%
▸ Exports: 20%
▸ Others (energy): 10%
Headquarters: Poá, Brazil
Year established: 1976
Number of employees: 400
Revenue from exports: 20%
Maintaining a steadfast commitment to leadership and excellence, the company remains poised to embrace new opportunities moving forward, be it through operational expansion, facility upgrades, product development, or the acquisition of cutting-edge technologies, all in service of sustaining competitiveness and propelling growth.
INTERTEC-Hess
Countering COVID-19 with a solutions-based exporting strategy
Martin Hess CEO
How is INTERTEC-Hess thriving?
INTERTEC-Hess embarked on a transformative initiative, culminating in the development of PERI SHELTER, an innovative outdoor cabinet solution built to streamline operations and minimise design costs. By embracing a solutions-focused approach and diversifying its offerings, the company has experienced remarkable growth, with order intake almost doubling between 2021 and 2023.
The challenge - Established in 1965, INTERTEC-Hess has cultivated a workforce of 350 specialists renowned for providing unique solutions for the reliable protection of highly sensitive field instrumentation. Over one million of these enclosures have been sold.
Headquartered in Germany, much of its business has historically been derived from its home nation and other European states such as the UK and Netherlands, alongside several territories in the Middle East. However, it is the firm’s North American subsidiary that forms much of the focus of its survive and thrive story.
With a 45-year presence in the region, INTERTEC-Hess had already established its presence, but fully capitalising on the growth potential in key global markets such as the US and Canada presented a new challenge.
To bolster its market appeal, the company embarked on a strategic initiative to reevaluate its product offerings and concepts, seeking opportunities to optimise its solutions for field equipment protection. By identifying and addressing customer pain points, INTERTEC-Hess aimed to enhance its support for clients while positioning itself for sustained growth in dynamic markets.
The solution - Through extensive research and development, the company identified a significant market gap for compact yet robust protective cabinets designed for easy operation in harsh environmental conditions and climates. Critically, the firm quickly encountered the common challenge of securing advanced protection solutions for complex automation systems, with stringent space constraints and demanding climatic conditions being a combination that typically caused problems for clients.
To address this, it conceived a complete solution known as PERI SHELTER – an innovative outdoor cabinet solution tailored to house field instrumentation and process control systems such as satellite instrument houses (SIH) or remote instrument enclosures (RIE).
This solution, characterised by its accessibility from the outside, streamlines operations by eliminating the need for internal access points, control panels, and corridors, thus minimising space requirements and associated design costs.
The IP65-certified cabinet, constructed from durable GRP material, ensures safe operation even in hazardous environments, with interior pressurisation preventing the ingress of corrosive chemicals. Indeed, the firm’s GRP material in itself is also extremely resistant to highly corrosive atmospheres.
Previously, customers would typically procure enclosures alongside instruments, but INTERTEC-Hess has evolved beyond this model, offering integrated equipment and products tailored to meet diverse client needs.
This strategic shift from being a single-product manufacturer to providing complex, bespoke solutions has propelled the company’s growth significantly. Order intake has surged from £24.8m in 2021 to £41.3m, reflecting the success of this approach.
With no other organisations embracing the firm’s solutions-focused approach, INTERTEC-Hess is well-positioned to further leverage market opportunities and achieve significant sales growth in the future.
Moreover, the company is proactively planning to capitalise on emerging opportunities in promising green markets in the UK, including the burgeoning hydrogen sector. While acknowledging the challenges inherent in new industries, INTERTEC-Hess remains committed to seizing competitive advantages as a successful first mover in these innovative sectors.
Story type
#services & solutions (main category)
#innovation, #optimisation
Benefits
▸ Order intake growth from £24.8m to £41.3m.
▸ Optimistic hope for the future and plans to capitalise on green markets in the UK.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Have a broad education – don’t limit yourself to one industry, have a practical education and theorybased education.
▸ Make something that works in the market in the future, as government funding may not be there.
For government
▸ Free trade agreements to make trade easier across boarders –Brexit has meant we have lost access to some markets.
INTERTEC-Hess at a glance:
Key products and services: portfolio of solutions for the protection of instruments and analysers for any location.
Responding to setbacks with a proactive transformation
How is IPS Malaysia thriving?
Avi Dayal CEO
After suffering multiple setbacks just a matter of months into its existence, IPS Malaysia has shown a tremendous deal of resilience to emerge stronger on the other side. With help from its parent company, the firm has undergone a reorganisation and invested heavily in finding the right people to drive it forward. Such has been the success of the transformation, it has now doubled its business and is looking ahead to broader horizons.
The challenge - For any company established in 2019 to serve the energy industry, little could be done to prepare them for the disruption and upheaval that was around the corner.
IPS Malaysia was set up to provide solutions for industrial rotating equipment across the sale, service, and repair lifecycle to clients in the power generation, oil and gas, natural resources, utilities and water treatment, petrochemicals, industrial gases, and chemical processing sectors.
Since its inception in 2019, the company has faced a series of major challenges. In addition to establishing itself as a startup in a fiercely competitive market, it has had to navigate the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and cope with the sudden loss of its visionary leader, Jogendran Pulendran. Collectively, these issues impacted IPS Malaysia’s growth momentum, organisational stability, and overall business performance.
To overcome these challenges and emerge stronger, strategic responses were required.
The solution - At the beginning of 2023, the company embarked on a transformation exercise, the first step being to enlist the direct support of Avi Dayal, who is the CEO IPS’ international business.
Dayal took on the role of Managing Director of IPS Malaysia to oversee the process, the first key priority centring around the restructuring of the firm’s organisational framework. Meanwhile, IPS Malaysia prioritised building a robust, highly skilled team across critical domains such as sales, finance, HR and administration. This strategic investment in human capital, in addition to bolstering capabilities across the organisation, also aimed to foster a positive culture and uphold the company’s vision of excellence.
Alongside this, IPS Malaysia initiated efforts to enhance operational efficiency and productivity through the embrace of numerous innovative technologies, especially in the area of process automation in the form of new ERP and CRM systems. These technological advancements have served to streamline processes, optimise resource utilisation and improve overall performance in multiple departments.
These efforts have been crucial to IPS Malaysia retaining its position as a local market leader. After setting up in 2019, the company quickly built up market acceptance and credibility as a high quality rotating equipment specialist, not least due to the technical and engineering capability housed within the group. The challenges posed by the pandemic and the loss of Jogendran Pulendran threatened to derail this progress, making it all the more important to bring the right people on board to drive the necessary change.
Further challenges have been encountered along the way. Finding and recruiting the right skills is a process which absorbs time and financial capital, a reality which has required unwavering shareholder support. Furthermore, in times of change and uncertainty, maintaining the team’s morale and focus has also been challenging.
However, thanks to strong and robust leadership, IPS Malaysia has been able to navigate the path in front of it and has successfully brought colleagues on board. Indeed, marked improvement has been observed in team morale as a result of communicating a clear vision for the future and how they have an important role to play in realising it.
From a financial perspective, the company has been able to double its business in a short period of time, the aim now being to continue along an aggressive growth trajectory. Indeed, such has been the progress made, IPS Malaysia is now mature enough as an entity to provide support in establishing a new venture in Indonesia.
Through a demonstration of resilience, strategic transformation, and ongoing focus on finding and retaining the right people, IPS Malaysia continues to emerge as a beacon of excellence in Malaysia and now beyond.
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#resilience
Benefits
▸ Company culture improved among staff.
▸ Business doubled in short period of time.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Embrace resilience and be adaptable – adopt new ideas and technologies, focus on customer value.
▸ Build a strong team and foster innovation and integrity.
For government
▸ Support small and medium enterprises, they are the backbone of Malaysia’s economy yet face many financing challenges.
▸ Invest in education and skills development to support the expansion of our skilled workforce.
IPS Malaysia at a glance:
Key products and services: sale, service and repair of various industrial rotating equipment.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas
▸ Hydrogen
▸ Carbon capture
Headquarters: Pasir Gudang, Malaysia
Year established: 2019
Number of employees: 77
Revenue from exports: 20%
IRE
More than just a middleman in the oil and gas equipment domain
How is IRE thriving?
Andrew Stratton General Manager
Simply put, IRE is more than just a middleman distributor of equipment. The company was set up by two individuals with limited prior experience within Oil and Gas; however, they found their gap and took space. By focusing on the development of very close-knit relationships with manufacturers, the company positions itself as an expert conduit able to take on and resolve the bespoke challenges and demands of end users. Today, it is a go-to partner that is trusted to facilitate solutions, with clients now making their own approaches as word-of-mouth spreads.
The challenge - Though formed in its current guise in 2018, UAE-based IRE has roots dating back to 1995. Today, it draws on all this experience and specialises in the purchasing and supplying of products for the international oil and gas industry.
Operating through a model based on high-level partnerships with manufacturers, IRE effectively acts as an extension of these businesses to provide innovative solutions and high-quality, tailored offerings to customers at competitive rates.
Getting to its current position as an organisation that is supremely well-placed to examine and provide solutions to customers’ problems has not been easy. The two founders, Dan Asher and Andrew Stratton, arrived in the industry with little background and began selling surplus equipment to clients. However, it soon became clear that the existing distributor model was broken, with IRE sensing a gap in the market to become an expert equipment partner rather than a transactional middleman.
The solution - This pivot began almost a decade ago. Recognising the opportunities that would come with moving away from being a catch-all, one-stop-shop, the company became more selective. It started to target clients aligning with its values – both the manufacturers it works with and the end-user customers it sells to.
The idea was for IRE to embed itself properly into the OEMs. In doing so, they could act as a valuable extension of the manufacturer and
facilitate a two-way dialogue, providing feedback to them, which would serve as crucial intel for improving and innovating products.
It is a win-win for all parties. Manufacturers benefit from having a partner who is dedicated to selling their products through long-term agreements with customers, while customers benefit from working with a partner who takes time to understand their pain points and develop solutions to problems in tandem with the equipment producer. Indeed, IRE acts as the conduit through which feedback is fed to manufacturers, allowing them to develop products tailored to customer and/or regional requirements.
Rolling out this new way of doing business has naturally involved some bumps along the road for IRE. Inventory has been acquired and not sold, while partnerships have been started with companies that do not always align with key values.
However, it has been a process of learning by doing, with IRE undeterred by setbacks and pressing on over the past decade to make its new model successful.
And that success has come in many forms. The clearest measure is the length and depth of the relationships it has developed, with some of its clients on the books for over 10 years showing no signs of cutting ties. Indeed, such is the level of trust built up with players across the oil and gas landscape, IRE now has an increasing number of manufacturers approaching it for partnerships.
Financially, IRE is also operating on a much stronger footing, with profit margins and revenues both trending in a positive direction. By staying lean, agile and humble, IRE will continue to build trust with its client base as they embark on the next chapter of the company’s journey.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
Benefits
▸ Strong and successful relationships with customers, some with over 10 years.
▸ Revenue growth and stronger footing with profit margins.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Don’t be afraid to fail, you will get it wrong lots of time. Take this as an opportunity to grow.
▸ Focus on your people. Develop your staff as you only have a successful company if the people want to be there and feel valued.
For government
▸ More support in the UAE for SMEs.
IRE at a glance:
Key products and services: IRE specialises in purchasing and supplying products for the international oil and gas industry.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 80%
▸ Others (energy) - 20%
Headquarters: Dubai, UAE
Year established: 1995
Number of employees: 17
Revenue: £7.22m
Revenue from exports: 80%
Kent
Placing sustainability at the heart of their corporate strategy
How is Kent thriving?
Emma Scott VP of Sustainability
Over the past two years, Kent has been putting in place the building blocks necessary to become a sustainability-driven enterprise. With new expertise brought in and a detailed strategy developed and launched in 2023, the company is now in the process of working towards numerous targets which bring together emissions reductions and revenue generation priorities.
The challenge - For more than a century, Kent has designed, built and maintained assets that power the world across conventional, low carbon and renewable energy sectors, as well as industries such as chemical and processing.
Over the course of its history, the company has helped to tackled some of the greatest challenges facing ever-modernising societies. Today, that challenge is climate change and the energy transition. Determined to help accelerate progress towards targets outlined at COP28, Kent is firmly of the belief that the technological progress required a holistic approach that transcends both borders and public and private sectors.
In 2021, the company and its leadership decided to intensify their efforts, their objective being to place sustainability at the heart of Kent’s broader business strategy.
The solution - Work began in earnest the following year. In early 2022, Kent employed an external third-party specialist to conduct an in-depth materiality assessment, a process which involved speaking to clients, investors, staff and the board about the areas of sustainability most important to them.
In June 2022, Emma Scott was appointed VP of Sustainability to lead the charge, heading up a new sustainability council made up of representatives from multiple divisions and functions within the business.
By October, Scott and her team had drafted a sustainability strategy which was approved by the board, a plan which straddled across three key pillars: Empowering people to prosper; supporting a thriving planet; and living with purpose and principles.
Numerous targets were also published. Regarding emissions, Kent has committed to becoming net zero across Scopes 1, 2 and 3
by 2040, with a near-term target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2027. Crucially, the latter aligns with a business objective to generate a third of revenue from low carbon projects by the same year.
In January 2023, a detailed action plan comprising nine focus areas (three per pillar) was launched across the Kent organisation, with each member of the sustainability developing a strategy for their own part of the business and submitting progress updates quarterly through a new Power BI dashboard.
Indeed, transparency has been a central component of the process to date, with additional oversight being added through the formation of a board level sustainability committee. Since then, the company has disclosed information to CDP for the first time, signed up to the UN Global Compact, and produced its first sustainability report completed with Scope 1 and 2 emissions data.
Feeding into the strategy are numerous projects and initiatives being completed by Kent teams around the world. In the Middle East, for example, Kent has collaborated with a service provider to jointly commission a study to analyse the energy requirements and carbon emissions at camps in the UAE.
Based around a ‘Kent camp’ and ‘client camp’, the study sought to identify possible options to reduce carbon emissions through integrating renewable energy technology in the form of solar-hybrid power systems. It found that by integrating solar power with the diesel generators to cater for daytime peak loads, around 750 tonnes of carbon emissions could be saved annually.
Projects such as this will help to underpin strategic sustainable decision-making moving forwards, and as such help Kent to advance its sustainability credentials. The company has already made tangible progress, achieving an EcoVadis Bronze rating and competing well with competitors across a range of external benchmarking criteria.
Looking ahead, the priority for Kent is very much to go further and deeper, both from an internal perspective and in the development of its ability to turbocharge the ESG agendas of clients in numerous markets.
▸ First sustainability actions in multiple fronts – report on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, signing of UN Global Compact, disclosed information to CDP.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Don’t be scared. Challenge the status quo or nothing will change.
▸ Be honest and open about what can be achieved. Collaboration is fundamental.
For government
▸ Stop political point scoring. Everyone knows how important it is to be real about energy transition, why is nothing changing?
Kent at a glance:
Key products and services: design, build and maintenance of assets.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 55%
▸ Low carbon and renewable energy – 21%
▸ Others (non-energy): process and chemicals – 24%
Headquarters: Dubai, UAE
Year established: 1919
Number of employees: 13,000
Revenue: £1.4bn
Klippon Engineering
Investing in the UK to create a global engineering centre of competency for the hazardous areas industry
Stuart Bell
Managing Director
How is Klippon Engineering thriving?
As the engineering solutions arm of Weidmueller, a global leader in the field of smart industrial connectivity, Klippon Engineering is going from strength to strength on its right after investing heavily in a UK-based hub of engineering excellence and new tech-driven services to bring greater value to clients. With further expansion planned in key markets, based on the back of another sizable investment, the future now looks bright.
The challenge - Operating as a certified and globally active engineering partner in the Weidmueller Group, Klippon Engineering exists to provide answers to customers’ problems in the process industry. Klippon Engineering and Weidmueller work in harmony, with Weidmueller being a family enterprise from the very beginning.
Today, revenues from clients in the oil and gas sector are still strong. Here, the combination of Weidmueller’s products and Klippon Engineering’s turnkey solutions continues to be a winning formula for customers with highly specific requirements.
The solution - Several developments have taken place to this end since the turn of the decade for Klippong Engineering’s team, a process which has seen the UK assume the role of the centre of competence in the process industry.
From its reestablishment in 2020, the team has grown, adding experiences and capabilities in the fi elds of mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation engineering as well as IoT and automation.
Since then, Klippon has been engaging in a wholesale marketing exercise to explain its new approach and options to its customer base.
Such options include IoT-based services sold under the banner of Remote Autonomous Monitoring. This offers an alternative to sending maintenance engineers into remote locations to inspect equipment, instead leveraging cloud and remote monitoring technology to provide a much more cost-effective solution.
The company is also making solid progress in up-and-coming markets such as the Middle East. Here, it is expected to see 2024 revenues double from 2023. Central to this has been Weidmueller and Klippon Engineering’s investment into a localised workforce in the form of a 3,000-square-metre facility. This has been crucial to doing business with locally based customers and ensures alike, as it can now satisfy its localisation requirements.
The numbers are certainly trending in the right direction. Last year, the new solutions business line saw significant growth.
Story type
#export (main category)
#digital
Key findings
For industry
▸ Adopt and embrace change and innovative solutions more quickly.
For government
▸ Make it easier for oil and gas to do business, not encourage them to withdraw investment.
Klippon Engineering at a glance:
Key products and services: process engineering services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas
▸ Hydrogen
▸ Carbon capture
Headquarters: Leicester, UK
Year established: 1959
Number of employees: 23
Kongsberg Digital
Transformation through a digital-first approach at LNG Canada
Yorinde Lokin
Growth Manager, Digital Energy, Kongsberg Digital
How is Kongsberg Digital thriving?
Kongsberg Digital, a leading provider of industrial software, was established in 2016 and is part of the wider Kongsberg Gruppen, a technology company with over 200 years of history. With this strong backing, it is able to leverage its parent company’s expertise to ensure it develops and integrates the latest digital technologies into process industries to digitally transform ways of working and enhanced workforce productivity.
Kongsberg Digital’s Industrial Work Surface (IWS) platform, a dynamic digital twin, brings together data transformation, simulation, analytics, workflows, performance management, and AI to enable clients to work digitally to drive faster higher quality business decisions. The platform leverages digital in a synergistic way to better frame, assess, evaluate, and convert data patterns to actions and results. Kongsberg Digital’s Industrial Work Surface balances a digital workspace with data management and scalable transformation to deliver business value.
The challenge - Since 2019, Kongsberg Digital has been working with LNG Canada, a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project under construction in Kitimat, British Columbia. Once complete, LNG Canada will be the country’s first large-scale LNG export facility and an important provider of natural gas to the global market. The facility, designed to be the world’s lowest carbon-producing LNG plant of its size, is located in a pristine but very remote area where the nearest airport is over 40 miles away, and the closest energy infrastructure hub is in over 800 miles. This drives an extreme focus on efficient movement of people and materials and efficient execution of work.
The solution - In 2019, LNG Canada and Kongsberg Digital sat down to reimagine how work could be done differently, following an innovative and digital-first approach. The need for efficiency, remote visibility and ability to collaborate from multiple dispersed locations is what led LNG Canada to investigate digital solutions and rethink and redesign processes following a digital-first approach. LNG Canada implemented Kongsberg Digital’s Industrial Work Surface platform as a single point of entry for all asset staff regardless of their work location.
Since its introduction, IWS has become a crucial
James Maguire
Digital and Business Transformation Manager, LNG Canada
asset for LNG Canada. As an operational digital twin throughout the construction of the asset, the IWS digital twin makes information readily available to all personnel, from frontline workers to senior leaders and maintenance planners. It connects the field with leadership, equipping frontline workers with the necessary tools to improve their effectiveness, engagement and job satisfaction.
Critically, IWS offers the remote capabilities that enable LNG Canada’s disparate staff to follow what is going on at the asset in real-time from hundreds of miles away. High-quality contextualised notifications from the digital twin help to diminish the time lapse for decision-making and addressing problems by ensuring that people in different locations can provide technical support in real time.
Not only is the IWS digital twin breaking down siloes and increasing collaboration in this manner, but it has also been used to deliver training and readiness exercises. By enabling the workforce to familiarise themselves with LNG Canada’s way of working, it ensures that operational activities are efficient and cohesive.
Furthermore, IWS provides a holistic view of the cumulative risks at the site, while the digital twin offers AI-powered search capabilities, and its copilot feature allows for more effective and faster decision-making loops.
Using Kongsberg Digital’s IWS as an operational digital twin during the construction has already proven to be incredibly successful, as direct feedback from LNG Canada shows.
Roland Robinson, Senior Digital Specialist at LNG Canada, commented: “We have seen people with more than 25 years of experience in the field telling us, ‘This is the first time that something has been delivered to us that actually makes our job easier’.”
Equally, Shawn Baxter, Asset Excellence Manager at LNG Canada, stated: “Our challenge has always been how to effectively connect people to work and to other LNGCers across multiple working locations. We’ve addressed the challenge with Kongsberg Digital’s AI-embedded digital twin. By connecting contextualised data from dayto-day frontline operations up to leadership and on to joint venture participants, data and information can be used throughout the or-
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#digital, #technology
Benefits
▸ Capabilties of Krongsberg Digital’s solution proved and well-received by client.
▸ LNG Canada’s safe and sustainable operations secured.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Make digital investment without forgetting about the human element.
▸ Be curious about what technology can do for your business and build the right skills internally.
Kongsberg Digital at a glance:
Key products and services: digitalisation and software solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 85%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Carbon capture – 5%
Headquarters: Lysaker, Norway
Year established: 2016
Number of employees: 1,300
Revenue: £111m
Revenue from exports: N/A
ganisation to provide real-time insights and improve collaboration.”
Without question, this technology has laid a robust foundation for several decades of safe and sustainable operations at the LNG Canda, ensuring its long-term efficiency and resilience.
LHR
Securing a brighter future by adding new sectors and guiding the team
How is LHR thriving?
Raphael Coelho CEO
LHR Serviços e Equipamentos LTDA (LHR) has undergone a remarkable transformation since setting up in Brazil in 2010.
Having faced key challenges such as the 2014-2016 oil price plunge and the 2016 Lava Jato corruption inquiry, LHR adopted a strategy to reduce dependency on the oil market. By recruiting and training top talent, enhancing service offerings, and entering new sectors, the firm expanded its portfolio from two to 17 segments between 2021 and 2024. Now a 100% Brazilian company and poised for a bright future, it has evolved into a safety ecosystem including safety equipments, repair, certification and adding engineering safety training and management of safety regulatory documentation.
The challenge - LHR has firmly established itself as a leading provider of comprehensive safety solutions. The company offers a diverse range of products and services, including fall protection equipment, lifeline installations and repairs, engineering projects, rescue training, gas detector repair and calibration, and personal protective equipment, among others.
In 2010, LHR expanded its operations to Brazil at the invitation of Diamond Offshore Drilling, which required services for its 16 rigs. Over the next decade, it focused on serving Brazil’s oil and gas industry, dedicating 90% of its efforts to drilling and 10% to service companies. Then, in 2019, the Vice President of LHR retired, appointing Raphael Coelho as the General Manager in Brazil.
Upon being appointed, Coelho swiftly set about enhancing the company’s operations, diversifying the service portfolio to reduce dependency on the oil and gas sector. He expanded LHR’s offerings to include wind energy, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, and sporting events. Notably, the company provided equipment for the Olympics, World Cup, and Cirque du Soleil with the same high standards as for the oil and gas industry.
In 2021, Coelho acquired 100% of the quotas. This marked another significant transition for LHR, which had already navigated numerous challenges, from establishing a foothold in a new country, diversifying its operations and managing leadership culture changes.
The solution - Owing to its operational pro-
file, LHR naturally suffered during the oil price plunge of 2014-2016. As customers reduced their investments, the company’s business pipeline rapidly dried up. Compounding this, the 2016 Lava Jato corruption inquiry in Brazil brought significant political and economic uncertainty, further complicating the business environment.
Obviously, even though LHR was not involved in the operations, it was impacted by the reduction in investments. To emerge stronger from these mid-decade difficulties, LHR recognised the need to reduce its reliance on the cyclical oil market. The company implemented a strategy focused on recruiting and retaining top talent, prioritising individuals with a strong capacity to deliver results. It also invested in sales and product training, conducted market research to understand customer satisfaction, and provided technical training in collaboration with manufacturers and suppliers.
Through these efforts, LHR established a strategic service plan, identifying and prioritising business opportunities based on proximity to reduce logistics costs and enhance safety compliance. Equally, the company prioritised working with customers who prioritised safety, ensuring a strong alignment with LHR’s core values.
The diversification strategy was threefold: expanding within the oil and gas sector beyond just drilling, entering new sectors outside of oil and gas, and broadening the range of services offered to existing customers. This approach made the company’s services more sustainable without changing the core operation.
Through these concerted efforts, LHR has gradually diversified into new markets, reducing its reliance on the oil and gas industry. From 2021 to 2024, it expanded its portfolio from two to 17 segments, with oil and gas now accounting for just 60% of overall revenue.
Initially entering Brazil as a supplier of personal protective equipment (PPE), LHR has evolved into a comprehensive safety system engineering company. Having taken 10 years to double its initial revenue, it has since taken just three from 2021 onwards to more than double it again.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#collaboration, #resilience, #scale up
Benefits
▸ Expansion from two to 17 segments in just three years.
▸ Revenue doubled from 2021 onwards compared to previous ten-year record.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be proactive, resilient and prepared, it won’t be easy, but it will be rewarding.
▸ Understand that all businesses are made of people.
LHR at a glance:
Key products and services: comprehensive safety system engineering company.
With Coelho at the helm, and the company now a 100% Brazilian entity, the future undoubtedly looks bright for a more diversified, futureproofed LHR.
ECOSSISTEMA DE SEGURANÇA
Lloyd’s Register
Building out a global structure to better serve the energy industry
How is Lloyd’s Register thriving?
Now operating with a global structure in the energy industry, Lloyd’s Register is already doing smarter business. Targeting the right work and providing a problem-solving solution to clients, the company is also tapping into new and exciting verticals as it seeks to play its part in supporting the energy transition.
The challenge - No company survives more than 250 years without an ability to identify and respond to changing markets and trends.
For Lloyd’s Register, which has a heritage dating back to 1760, this has been key to maintaining its standing as a leading global professional services company within numerous sectors ever since, including the energy industry. Its experts continue to provide impartial advice and trusted compliance services to help energy companies operate safely, sustainably and efficiently – from design evaluation to surveying and auditing, Lloyd’s Register ensures assets and processes meet the highest standards. Its solutions span the entire energy lifecycle, including renewables, conventional power generation, transmission and distribution. With a long heritage and deep technical knowledge, the company ultimately enables better decision-making and smarter asset management for enhanced operational and environmental performance.
After making a series of acquisitions in the energy space in the decade leading up to the oil and gas crisis of 2014, Lloyd’s Register has been on a journey to reconsider how it serves the market ever since. It has been through cycles of operating with global and local structures, but recent years have shone a spotlight on how operating with a global mindset is the way forwards.
The solution - There are many reasons behind this. First, Lloyd’s Register needed to better observe and respond to how the energy industry is changing if it was to assume a leadership role. Second, clients were facing cost pressures, making it imperative for the company to find more efficient ways of working to provide better value. Finally, Lloyd’s Register sought to create a stronger team environment through the creation of a unified offshore energy division as opposed to multiple siloed units scattered throughout the world.
This process has unfolded over several stages since 2021. With each country having its own requirements and KPIs, it was important communicate the unification strategy effectively, and this was achieved through a Fit to Grow campaign which informed all 400 team members well in advance of the changes being implemented. This was all about outlining why the company was making the change, ensuring colleagues bought into the vision and slowly articulating how the change would happen.
From a client and external communications perspective, little changed, the key being to ensure service continuity as the company shifted its own thought process to how it could support customers and the industry more holistically. Indeed, the team now operates with a service and solution-driven mindset, a can-do attitude that also involves bringing in partners to add additional value.
By June 2023, Lloyd’s Register had completed the restructuring exercise. The major upshot is that the company is now more readily able to direct its international expertise and capabilities, with Aberdeen serving as its offshore centre of excellence. Indeed, the capabilities housed here can be deployed to other locations where Lloyd’s Register is looking to grow and demonstrate competence, supported by the evidence and knowledge base to underpin the company’s expansion plans. New avenues been opened in the energy sector, particularly in energy transition and non-traditional segments away from oil and gas. These include carbon capture and storage, as well as assisting with final investment decisions (FIDs) in the hydrogen sector. Floating nuclear is another exciting line of business, one which brings together two different worlds and has generated significant buzz throughout the Lloyd’s Register team.
From a financial point of view, the restructuring and pivot is already showing signs of working. This year, the energy business is expected to achieve a 70% increase on the
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#energy transition, #export
Benefits
▸ Offshore energy business is expected to achieve a 70% increase in 2024.
▸ Ramp up in activity and a 60% rate of tendering.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Encourage open-mindedness and take information from multiple sources.
▸ Be brave, avoid being ultrasafe.
For government
▸ Make science-based decisions.
▸ Bring back consistency across all energy markets.
Lloyd’s Register at a glance:
Key products and services: classification and compliance services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 70%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 25%
▸ Hydrogen – 3%
▸ Nuclear power – 2%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 1760
Number of employees: 5,000
Revenue: £517m
Revenue from exports: 75%
topline compared to 2023, in large part due to a ramp up in activity and high success rate (60%) of tendering.
With a rejuvenated and revitalised offshore energy team, Lloyd’s Register is better placed to meet the needs of a rapidly changing global market.
Ian Crehan
Mark Tipping
Sean Van Der Post
North Europe & America Business Development Director
Global Power to X Director
Global Off shore Business Director
LoneStar Fasteners Hydrobolt
Making the most of an operational & strategic merger
Story type
#optimisation (main category) #diversification
Benefits
Richard Barnes
Mark Jennings Business Development Director Sales & Marketing Director
How is LoneStar Fasteners Hydrobolt Limited thriving?
LoneStar Fasteners Hydrobolt (LSFH)’s story is one of optimisation and diversification. Through a key strategic merger of two critical business units, the firm is working to move beyond oil and gas into new markets.
Not only has the company invested £3m in machine tools and testing equipment in the last 12 months, but it has also embraced a more flexible client-oriented solutions approach and saw 30% growth in the last year, with plans to relocate to two modern, fit-forpurpose facilities as it strives to take further steps forward.
The challenge - LSFH is an established player in the manufacturing of high critical fasteners, bolting and machined threaded components. The firm exports products to a variety of renowned operators, OEMs and Tier 1 and 2 operators across 70 countries.
Albeit well established, LSFH was not immune to the hurdles that were presented in 2020. Like many, LSFH was forced to largely operate remotely during the pandemic, with only essential personnel present on site. Here, significant stockholdings helped the firm mitigate disruption and delays in the supply of finished components. However, only some of the pressures have eased in the time since.
Brexit continues to present challenges regarding exports to the EU, while high energy prices have ramped up costs relating to heat treatment and forging processes. Further, the supply chain for nickel alloys continues to be volatile, and the lack of availability of industry talent causes LSFH some recruitment headaches.
The solution - In response, LoneStar Group is opting to merge two of its most critical business units – LoneStar Fasteners Europe and Hydrobolt – to create one entity: LoneStar Fasteners Hydrobolt Ltd.
The logic is straightforward. Through the merger, the firm will see combined investments into stock, manufacturing capabilities and personnel benefits, and it will be easier for the entire group to comprehensively address market drivers such as carbon re-
duction initiatives under a wider ESG programme. Critically, the move will also provide a world-class manufacturing capability at the Universal Point Plant in addition to an efficient distribution centre operating from a newly acquired location. In turn, it is hoped that this will drive diversification opportunities, enabling the organisation to become a leader in sectors outside of oil and gas.
With the legalities completed in January 2024, it is anticipated the merger will be fully implemented on the operational side between the end of 2024 and Q1 2025.
The organisation’s customers complement each other, with LSFH eyeing opportunities to bring value-add services and solutions to clients from both original parties. Further, in gearing up for this realignment, the firm is working to consolidate the two brands into an entity that can capitalise on opportunities and build scalable offerings in nuclear and power generation aeroderivative markets.
Under the leadership of Richard Pickles, appointed CEO in March 2023, LSFH has spent the last year investing significantly in complex machinery capabilities as it works to fit out its new distribution facility with state-ofthe-art equipment and technologies.
On the materials side, additional investments include Waspaloy to service the aeroderivative market, Durehete for the conventional power generation market, and Super Duplex steel for NORSOK and DEF STAN work. Further, the firm has also increased spend in relation to recruitment, marketing and business development practices as it anticipates significant growth as a result of the merger.
In total, £3m has been invested in machine tools and testing equipment over the course of the past 12 months, with the firm also gearing up to relocate from three facilities to two modern, specialised facilities over the next year – a move that will serve to double its usable floor and storage space.
The company is already reaping the rewards of these investments. Having seen improvements in efficiency, received positive feedback from customers and experienced a 30% growth increase in the past year with revenues reaching £60m, it is now aiming to
▸ Investments have been rewarded due to improvements in efficiency and positive feedback from customers.
▸ Revenue growth and 25% reduction in average operational process time.
Key findings
For industry
▸ There are significant opportunities in the supply chain to the oil and gas industry, albeit embracing and enhancing new technologies to reduce carbon emissions.
For government
▸ Trade to be frictionless as much as possible.
LoneStar at a glance:
Key products and services: manufacturer and supplier of highperformance fastener.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 48%
▸ Nuclear power – 14%
▸ Conventional power – 12%
▸ Hydrogen – 8%
▸ Carbon capture – 6%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 2%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 2%
▸ Others (non-energy): critical industry – 8%
Headquarters: Wednesbury, UK
Year established: 1983
Number of employees: 1,800
Revenue: £200m
Revenue from exports: 70%
achieve a >25% reduction in average operational process time in the coming months. With an already established global footprint allowing LSFH to uniquely meet the complex, bespoke and at-scale fastener and bolting needs of major clients, these significant operational enhancements will stand it in good stead as a futureproofed, diversified market leader for years to come.
LRQA
The era of Assurance 4.0 - Navigating the new era of risk management together
How is LRQA thriving?
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
Benefits
▸ LRQA’s successful strategy is increasing revenue to £450m in 2024.
• Over 600 renewable energy projects delivered across 25 countries in the space of two years.
Leanne Halliday Stuart Kelly
Territory Manager and Global Hydrogen SME Chief Commercial Offi cer
LRQA was established as an independent company in 2021, and now as an agile, client-centric operating model in full swing, LRQA is helping its clients to navigate the risks and challenges associated with the journey to net zero. The approach is paying off, with strong revenue growth and the highest client retention rate the firm has ever had.
The challenge - The exit from LRQA’s longstanding parent company presented both a challenge and an opportunity. LRQA needed to exploit its newfound ability to move faster and better support its clients navigating fast-changing market conditions driven by three new global trends – ESG considerations, supply chain complexity, and evolving cybersecurity threats.
LRQA identified that these powerful new trends had combined with more traditional risks across assets, people and systems to create a new era of risk management. LRQA calls it the era of Assurance 4.0. LRQA’s leadership recognised the need to develop and offer a connected portfolio of solutions as an ‘assurance partner’ to help clients navigate the new era holistically, as opposed to a menu of options to choose from.
This new approach would revolve around five client challenges: assuring assets and management systems, achieving product integrity, responsible sourcing, navigating the energy transition, and strengthening cybersecurity maturity. To deliver its new value proposition, LRQA had to change into a more agile business that could listen to, understand and adapt to clients’ ever-changing priorities, especially those in the energy sector on the road to net zero.
The solution - As an independent business, LRQA developed a new business plan and assembled a new leadership team to help the company assume a more global, commercially driven mindset focused on clients and solutions. New areas of scope were also invested in, with expertise and resources being onboarded in the fields of ethical compliance, cybersecurity and data-centric risk identification across global supply chains.
Some of this expertise arrived in the form of strategic acquisitions. During 2022 and 2023, these included a series of businesses within data verification, ethics-based supply
chain assurance and cybersecurity. The most notable acquisition was the purchase of Elevate, a world-leading sustainability and supply chain specialist.
Culturally, the company has also had to undergo change to realise its full potential and adopt an unwavering client-first mentality. This work has fed into an impressive business performance since becoming independent. Revenue is growing in the double digits with turnover for 2024 forecasted to reach £450m, up from £350m in 2022. The firm’s energy transition pipeline for H2 2024 has doubled year-on-year to £6m, with more than 600 renewable energy projects delivered across 25 countries in the space of two years.
The journey towards defining the era of Assurance 4.0 then unfolded over various stages and actions. The team spent several months speaking to clients and gathering market intelligence. For the energy sector, LRQA’s energy experts, on the front line of risk management, witnessed requirements changing in real-time. It became clear the push towards net zero was a defining feature of the era of Assurance 4.0, with complex challenges for both the energy sector managing energy asset lifecycles, and consumer brands reducing their carbon emissions.
LRQA therefore ensured it offered clients a science-based approach to ESG strategy, creation and implementation. The company ensured carbon data was available via its supply chain intelligence platform, EiQ, so organisations could view their Scope 1 and 2 emissions data and customise filters for flexible reporting across countries and products.
LRQA ensured its range of Greenhouse Gas data verification services for clients’ data and reports remained a crucial enabler to achieve trust and transparency with stakeholders. LRQA also continued its rich heritage in helping businesses build and maintain wind, nuclear, solar and hydrogen facilities, ensuring their critical assets are safe and operating efficiently.
Most of these have been with large oil and gas firms as they embark on their net zero journeys. In Australia, for example, LRQA secured a three-year contract worth £7-10m to provide compliance, integrity and assurance support across its ecosystem of energy transition projects. Starting in 2022, LRQA has
Key findings
For industry
▸ Take pride in how your work can help solve wider problems for our industry and planet.
▸ Risk management is also about opportunity. There are benefits to addressing challenges proactively to gain competitive advantage.
For government
▸ We can’t solve problems looking at our own countries, it is a global energy transition.
LRQA at a glance:
Key products and services: independent assessment, advisory, inspection and cybersecurity services
Main industries served:
▸ Others (non-energy) – 80%
▸ Oil and gas – 8%
▸ Nuclear power – 6%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 2%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 2%
▸ Hydrogen – 1%
▸ Carbon capture – 0.5%
▸ Energy storage – 0.5%
Headquarters: Birmingham, UK
Year established: 2021
Number of employees: 5,000
Revenue: £420m
Revenue from exports: 70%
provided technical and global supply chain assurance support, as well as training on key industry standards.
Long-term collaborations such as these are helping LRQA maintain and grow its solid client base, demonstrated by the lowest attrition rate seen by the firm, a clear indication that the company’s transformation strategy is working.
Metalcoating
Expanding into the market for subsea protective coatings
Commercial Manager
How is Metalcoating thriving?
Metalcoating has been on an up and down adventure since it was set up more than two decades ago. Experiencing mixed fortunes in the oil and gas industry, the company was forced to relocate in order to survive. However, it has since emerged stronger.
Key to its more stable position was the decision to enter the subsea market for protective coatings, a sector which has yielded strongly thanks to the company’s bold investment decisions. With this market now somewhat nailed down, the firm is eying up expansion into the world of thermal insulation.
The challenge - Founded in 2000, Metalcoating has carved a name for itself in the provision of protective coating services. Starting out by providing services on carbon steel pipes in the sanitation market, this line of business delivered sound returns for several years. However, due to its fluctuating nature, the Brazilian company sought out other avenues and ventured into the world of oil and gas around 2010.
It soon became CRC-certified with Petrobras and, off the back of this, quickly secured its first contract with UNBC for anticorrosive spools for topsides in the Campos Basin, as well as several contracts with Petrobras itself. After the slowdown in the sector in 2014, Metalcoating was forced to shut down its oil and gas business unit in Aracaju, Sergipe state, the company relocating and starting a partnership in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro.
In 2019, the company was once again operating as an independent entity and decided also to enter a brand-new market – sub-sea installation projects.
The solution - This new market leaves little room for error, not least because subsea applications require highly stringent specifications with no margin for replacement parts.
Transitioning into the submarine market has, therefore, been a significant challenge – one made all the more complex by the fact the company did not have prior experience in this environment. However, Metalcoating has
been able to draw on the experience of some employees who were familiar with the specifications and project control systems, this being crucial in enabling it to upgrade its capabilities and make the transition.
Having prepared extensively for this move in 2020, the market now recognises Metalcoating as an important player in the field of anti-corrosion coatings for submarine equipment. Specifically, the company provides coatings for crucial equipment such as surf apparatus, jumpers, ILS, flexjoints, etc.
Collaboration and partnerships continue to play an important role, developing materials able to provide thermal insulation of up to 140°C in water depths of up to 3,000 metres with the most relevant polymers manufacturers around the world. This will represent an important step forward, as polymer alloys are able to withstand high temperatures, requiring superior technology due to the challenge for all types of products to perform under hard operating conditions in ultradeep water. In this way, Metalcoating is fully prepared to participate in tenders for upcoming projects.
Also key to Metalcoating’s ongoing development is its in-house laboratory. This is a purpose-built site which conducts all pre-qualification tests for anti-corrosion coatings, including those which support the subsea sector.
Entering this market has also required significant investment in to human and material resources, the company now riding a wave of demand for its coatings that is higher than it could have anticipated when first venturing into the space four years ago. That decision proved vital, as otherwise it may have lost significant market share to competitors.
Now, with its feet firmly under the subsea table, Metalcoating is broadening its horizons even further, investing in the development of capabilities and capacity to serve the thermal insulation market. Metalcoating is confident that the future looks promising with a clear path ahead of it.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#innovation, #technology
Benefits
▸ Company expanding capabilities and capacity to serve the thermal insulation market.
▸ Stable future ahead of Metalcoating.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Understand the market you’re entering and participate in it actively.
▸ Provide excellency, it’s key to establish longevity in the market.
Metalcoating at a glance:
Key products and services: anticorrosive coatings.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 98%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 2%
Headquarters: Rio das Ostras, Brazil
Year established: 2000
Number of employees: 70
Revenue from exports: 0%
Paulo Campos
Modutec
A strategy of successful diversifi cation through considered acquisitions
Brian Knowles CEO
How is Modutec thriving?
Modutec is currently enjoying the fruits of substantial endeavours over the past couple of years. Since charting a new strategic course in 2022 to broaden its horizons beyond the oil and gas sector, the company has completed several strategic, focused and synergistic acquisitions.
With these moves having facilitated Modutec’s expansion into the defence and marine sectors, nearly half of the company’s business now stems from non-oil and gas operations, with revenues projected to nearly double in 2024 (£42m) compared to 2022 (£22m).
The challenge - Established in 2002, Aberdeenbased Modutec has built a stellar reputation for its prowess in repairing, converting, and constructing marine and offshore living quarters alongside technical buildings.
Boasting a workforce of 405 individuals and generating annual revenues surpassing £26m, Modutec has swiftly cemented its position as a prominent industry player in just 22 years, predominantly through its engagement in oil and gas ventures.
However, as this rapid growth would suggest, Modutec by nature is not a company that’s willing to settle, nor stand still.
Eyeing further growth in the post-covid era, the company sought to explore several possible avenues of new opportunity. Concerns over overdependence on oil and gas prompted a strategic shift towards diversification and market expansion into promising, high-growth sectors. However, coming into markets as a new entrant is never an easy task.
The solution - In an effort to gain traction amongst new customer bases, Modutec has pursued several strategic acquisitions in recent times.
In December 2022, the firm acquired Glasgow-based CO-AT Marine – experts in marine and offshore HVAC and refrigeration
solutions that create safe and comfortable environment on board ships and offshore structures in a cost-effective and reliable manner. Critically, the move for the HVAC services company bolstered Modutec’s HVAC and piping solutions capabilities, enabling it to better serve the international marine, offshore, renewables and onshore process sectors, with an additional 10 skilled personnel positioned throughout Scotland.
Fast forward 16 months, and Modutec then also acquired SeaKing Electrical in April 2024. Indeed, the move to take on the Birkenhead-based enterprise and its 105 staff complemented the CO-AT acquisition, with SeaKing providing electrical engineering and installation services to customers in the marine, defence, renewables, and offshore sectors.
The identification and acquisition of strategic entities such as these have required immense effort. Finding companies that not only resonate with Modutec’s strategic vision and culture but also facilitate the logical expansion of its skill sets has proven challenging. Modutec CEO Brian Knowles acknowledges that this strategic pursuit has consumed a significant portion – 80%, to be precise – of his time. Nonetheless, the early signs of success are unmistakable, indicating that these concerted efforts are already yielding tangible results.
In 2019, approximately 95% of Modutec’s revenue originated from oil and gas operations. However, by 2023, this dynamic shifted to a more balanced distribution, with 65% attributed to oil and gas and 35% to defence/marine sectors. Moreover, with an annual income of £26m recorded last year, the company anticipates a substantial growth, projecting revenues to surpass £42m this year. Notably, half of this projected revenue is expected to be generated from marine and defence activities. Looking ahead, Modutec will also continue
Story type
#diversification (main category)
Benefits
▸ Company closer to a more balanced distribution of revenue among sectors.
▸ Revenues to surpass £42m in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be transparent, from A to Z.
▸ Don’t oversell and underdeliver.
Modutec
at a glance:
Key products and services: repair, conversion and new build of marine and offshore living quarters and technical buildings.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 65%
▸ Others (non-energy): defence, marine – 35%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 2002
Number of employees: 405
Revenue: £26m
Revenue from exports: 80%
to further pursue acquisition opportunities. Currently, the company is in the planning stages of acquiring a third entity – a specialist in offshore wind vessel construction and/or transportation – in a new region of interest.
This strategic move is poised to enhance Modutec’s growing portfolio of expertise. With ongoing consolidation efforts in emerging markets and the potential for further acquisitions on the horizon, 2024 is poised to be a pivotal year for the company, solidifying its position as a specialist in marine, defence, and oil and gas solutions.
Mott MacDonald
Diversifying to double in size by 2027
Simon Critten
Senior Vice President and North America Energy Sector Leader
How is Mott MacDonald thriving?
Mott MacDonald has responded effectively to the evolving North American energy market of the past five years, diversifying beyond traditional oil and gas into low carbon molecules, power and renewables, and expanding key capabilities to deliver system-level long linear projects such as transmission lines and pipelines. The challenge - Engineering, management and development consultancy Mott MacDonald is a major global player in the energy industry. Headquartered in the UK, the company employs 20,000 people delivering projects across 150 countries in total. It has been operating in North America for over 50 years; an area of the globe where it is targeting significant growth over the coming years.
In 2016, the company’s North American midstream business generated around 30% of profits across the entire group as it capitalised on several lucrative projects. However, from 2017 onwards the market changed and catalysed a shift in the regional energy strategy. With a distinct market shift into alternative areas such as solar and offshore wind, the firm found its North American energy revenue and margins were declining as the energy mix changed. In response, the organisation recognised it needed to develop greater agility to adapt to the midstream market changes while enhancing its capabilities in renewables, transmission and distribution (T&D) and energy storage.
It was decided that Mott MacDonald needed to evolve its traditionally orientated North American power division towards renewables and T&D. However, the combination of limited North American based skills in selected key areas coupled with an increasingly competitive market presented immediate barriers to overcome.
To address these challenges, Mott MacDonald had to rethink its go-to-market strategy. It recognised that it had too many internal siloes within its energy business, and needed to decide which markets it wanted to focus on and how it could truly add value within those segments. This required understanding the many pieces of the market puzzle, as well as cultural and structural aspects that would ensure the organisation began thinking as one unified system and delivering integrated projects.
The solution - For Mott MacDonald, bringing this structural and operational transformation to fruition has required concerted efforts spanning several years.
Beginning in 2018, the firm began to put a greater focus on cross-collaboration between its oil and gas and power teams internally, developing a national resourcing model across North America as it moved away from its previously localised, siloed structure.
Come 2019 there was a strategy shift from midstream to power and renewables capabilities. This included recruiting specialists in solar, wind and T&D and a cross-sector skills development program implemented.
While COVID impacted progress in 2020 and 2021, the firm formally renamed and restructured its separate divisions as a single energy business in 2023, removing individualised references to power and oil and gas.
At the same time, Mott MacDonald established a new core focus on energy networks in particular “long-linear” energy and appurtenances. The team behind this comprised diverse skillsets in everything from systems analysis, engineering and design through to route corridor assessment, constructability reviews, surveys, environmental and permitting. Considered to be a key pillar of the company’s future revenue stream, this team is focused on delivering major molecule- and electron-related linear projects each with the potential of generating significant fees. The ‘systems’ mindset has been extended throughout the North American business with energy increasingly a significant topic for wider infrastructure projects, such as decarbonization of transit. The ability to bring together skills from across different sectors to deliver integrated projects is a key feature of their planned growth.
Throughout this process, attracting and retaining top talent has remained a challenge. The firm actively positions itself as an employer of choice in order to overcome ongoing industry skills shortages. Mott MacDonald has launched skills-focused strategic resource planning and seeks to provide opportunities that align with employee aspirations.
Having completed many of these foundational changes, Mott MacDonald has outlined bold ambitions for the future. While continuing to grow between 2019 and 2023,
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#energy transition
Benefits
▸ Successful beginning on the offshore wind market in the Northeast region of US.
▸ Revenue increase in oil and gas and power segments.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be agile, get broad experience: your core skills can apply across many areas.
▸ Staff is everything: create an environment and culture that allows innovation, collaboration and loyalty.
For government
▸ More certainty is needed as the political cycle is not conducive to energy transition.
Mott MacDonald at a glance:
Key products and services: multisector engineering and management consultancy service. The sectors covered are transport, energy, water and buildings and cities.
Main industries served:
▸ Conventional power – 25%
▸ Renewables – 15%
▸ Conventional Fuels – 10%
▸ Energy transition (including storage, hydrogen and CCUS) – 5%
▸ Nuclear (including SMR) – 35%
Headquarters: Croydon, UK
Year established: 1989
Number of employees: 20,000
Revenue: £2bn
Revenue from exports: 70%
the firm also reorientated its North American energy business from a 75/25 split between oil and gas and power to 55/45.
Moving forward, the business seeks to more than double by 2027, with energy achieving a 50/50 split between molecule and electron projects. With such ambitions, Mott MacDonald will be an exciting prospect to keep an eye on over the coming months.
Norco Energy Group
Looking overseas to make the most of its oil and gas expertise
Story type
#export (main category) #diversification
Benefits
▸ UAE business has generated 8.5% of company’s revenue in 2023 and is expected to grow to 15% in 2025.
How is Norco Energy Group thriving?
After 30 years of serving various industries, Norco Energy Group took the decision to maximise its oil and gas expertise by exploring opportunities that lie further afield.
The UAE, standing out as a natural first step ever since the company visited in 2017, has proven fruitful in the years since, not least because of its business with ADNOC. Today, the country is responsible for a significant proportion of overall revenue, this growth being driven by a new General Manager with two decades of local experience.
The challenge - Any company doing business in the same market for 30 years will face challenges to retain a strong market share.
Specialising in customised battery and Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) solutions across various industries, Norco Energy Group has built up a reputation for providing high-quality products and services. Its experienced professionals offer tailored solutions, including a comprehensive range of batteries, UPS systems, and related services, including installation, maintenance and repairs.
However, in 2017 the company reached a crossroads. Whilst it could continue to grow within the UK, specifically strengthening its presence in England, this would require more of a generalisation of its services rather than specific oil and gas support – as such, Norco would face strong competition. The company’s leadership therefore decided to explore other countries and regions that have oil and gas industries where it could offer its unique service capability.
The soluti on - After visiting in 2017, the UAE became the obvious target for international expansion.
Indeed, it was evident there was a requirement for Norco Energy Group’s services and products, necessitating a 100% commitment to the region. This was swiftly achieved by placing a full-time employee in the country and, while initially making slow progress in terms of regional promotion, the company gradually gained traction and experience through a relationship with ADNOC.
The first order from ADNOC was a big milestone, not least because other prospective clients wanted to know about Norco’s prior experience in the country before committing
John Roy Willie Duff Director General Manager
to doing business. After successfully fulfilling this work and gauging the market, the company received a further, larger order for ADNOC Distribution in Q1 2020, marking its first major job in the country.
This breakthrough prompted the hiring of another UAE employee. However, in the years since, Norco encountered a series of challenges which threatened to hinder its progress in the region.
Momentum began to slow as the company was starting to not receive replies to tenders, while delays were encountered when bidding on large volumes. In addition, the company fell into the trap of operating with ADNOC blinkers, and therefore not considering any work outside of the traditional oil and gas remit, in large part due to a lack of contacts in these areas. Managing the operation from afar was also a problem, with mistakes starting to seep through the cracks due to time differences and a lack of oversight.
In April 2023, the appointment of Willie Duff to the role of in-country General Manager changed everything. Bringing 20 years of experience with him, Duff entered the fray with a fresh set of eyes and immediately grasped where Norco should be selling its expertise in the UAE market.
Two avenues proved to be successful almost straight away. First, the company decided to offer training courses on UPS and battery systems in a similar way it was doing for clients in the UK – such has been the popularity, clients are already looking to book follow up sessions. The second area Duff identified was shipyards. Here, the company has made instant progress, securing repeat business from some of the largest operators in the country, with four clients between them generating AED2m of work in the space of a year.
From an internal perspective, various processes have also been ironed out. Payments are more fluid, contractual awareness has increased, and the existing workforce has been retained with a view to expansion as more contracts are secured.
Indeed, momentum is now gathering once again. In 2022, the UAE business generated around 2% of company revenue, this growing to 8.5% in 2023 and on track for 15% in 2024.
▸ Internally processes are clearer and more fluid.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Speak to others and learn from their stories, particularly challenges faced and how they were overcome and also mistakes that set them back.
▸ Be prepared to change your strategy and rethink your plans.
Norco Energy Group at a glance:
Key products and services: multimanufacturer equipment support.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 60%
▸ Hydrogen – 5%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
▸ Energy storage – 5%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Nuclear power – 2%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 1%
▸ Others (energy): facilities management – 17%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 1992
Number of employees: 112
Revenue: £12m
Revenue from exports: 4%
NOV MISSION
Celebrating its centennial anniversary with a continued commitment to quality
Hisham Osman Sales Manager
How is NOV MISSION thriving?
100 years. Few companies can claim to have reached such a significant milestone, but NOV is part of this exclusive club.
With the NOV Group employing 35,000 staff globally, a spotlight is now being shone on its MISSION division as a bright hope for the firm’s future. A stalwart segment of the organisation that has been around for the entirety of its 100-year history, it continues to spearhead innovation within the centrifugal pump arena, developing high quality, long-lasting products to directly address uptime and reliability demands amongst drilling industry clients and further enhance the brand’s reputation.
The challenge - MISSION’s challenge is one that has extended across an entire century. As Kleenex is to the tissue, the company has become synonymous with centrifugal pumps and fluid end expendables within the oil and gas industry.
The need for a reliable pumping solution is as old as the drilling industry. With the variety of fluids used in rigs with a wide range of temperatures, chemical compositions, solid contents and 24/7 running capabilities, MISSION was born to cater to these diverse needs in the most sustainable way.
For the past 100 years, it has done just that, keeping up with emerging competition, challenger brands, copycats, and changing global markets to sustain its market leadership position – a monumental feat given the broad category the company operates in. Indeed, few have reached a similar milestone, with MISSION demonstrating commendable resilience in navigating not only the ebbs and flows of the industry but also the technological and manufacturing advances that have changed the face of energy.
The solution - Key to this success has been MISSION’s ability to remain agile and pivot quickly when faced with all-encompassing obstacles. When global supply chain issues coincided with increased demand, especially in the Middle East region, the company promptly qualified new mills and raw material suppliers, identified new subcontractors and vendors, and found alternative routes to mitigate the impact and meet demand. This was easier said than done given the painful impacts of inflation
and scarcity on all businesses. However, MISSION remained unwavering in its commitment to establishing new partnerships and forging new paths.
Another factor in this success has been MISSION’s emphasis on truly understanding its customers. Aside from delivering on client requests, MISSION goes above and beyond to provide top-tier services, using speculative orders to anticipate customer needs. This proficiency is only possible because of the company’s thorough end-to-end understanding of its own manufacturing realities. Coupled with its awareness of customer lifecycle and economic conditions, this client-centric knowledge decreases lead times and alleviates pressures.
Further, MISSION continues to innovate centrifugal pumps, fluid end expendables, valves and seats, and additional accessories instead of resting on its well-deserved laurels. Having developed many of the original versions of these products on the market, the company works hard to remain ahead of the competition 100 years on.
For example, the cartridge in the latest MISSION Blak-JAK Washpipe is 25% lighter than other original equipment manufacturer designs, increasing manoeuvrability at the swivel and on the rig floor. Additionally, MISSION has developed a modern approach to extend CoCs through developing a way to conduct remote inspections using connectivity technology.
Throughout these efforts, MISSION’s mission has remained clear. No challenge is too great, and there is always room for improvement. By the company’s own admission, its people are paramount to its ongoing success, continually striving to find ways to take the organisation to ever greater heights.
Through a continued commitment to quality, excellence, and resilience in facing challenges, it is likely that NOV MISSION will continue to succeed as a market leader for many more decades to come.
Story type
#resilience (main category)
Benefits
▸ Continual innovation from MISSION’s work.
▸ Company positioned to remain an industry leader.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Emphasise the importance of safety, efficiency and sustainability.
▸ Embrace technology for enhanced operations and risk mitigation.
▸ Stress the value of collaboration among industry stakeholders for innovation and best practices.
For government
▸ Prioritise long-term sustainability over short-term gains.
▸ Implement policies that promote renewable energy adoption, climate resilience and environmental conservation.
NOV MISSION
at a glance:
Key products and services: technical expertise for pumping systems, fluid end expendables, pressure control systems, flowline equipment, and continuous technology development of fluid management systems.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 90%
▸ Others (non-energy): mining and industrial – 10%
Headquarters: Houston, US
Year established: 1924
Number of employees: 35,000 (Group), 1,000 (NOV MISSION)
Revenue: £160m
Revenue from exports: 80%
NRG Sonihull
Sonihull’s new industrial focussed ultrasonic product range “AgitateTM”
Darren Rowlands CEO
How is NRG Sonihull thriving?
Recognising the opportunity to provide highly valuable asset maintenance solutions to the oil and gas market, NRG Sonihull has successfully developed and expanded its portfolio of ultrasonic antifouling technology and is already saving millions of dollars for clients. The challenge - Many businesses are born out of an idea to solve a personal problem. For Darren Rowlands, it was while on a sailing holiday in Greece in 2008 that his eureka moment arrived. Instead of having to clean his boat every year, he decided to invest in a solution that would do it for him on a constant basis.
That solution is ultrasonic antifouling technology. It employs high-frequency sound waves to deter the accumulation of marine growth on vessel hulls and various industrial equipment. By emitting ultrasonic pulses, it disrupts the attachment of organisms like barnacles and algae, thus preventing biofouling without the need for toxic coatings or chemicals. This eco-friendly solution offers cost-effective maintenance, improved fuel efficiency, and reduced environmental impact across maritime and industrial sectors. Indeed, such was the potential of the system he had found, Rowlands took it to a recreational boating show and almost immediately started to generate sales. Fast-forward to today, and NRG Sonihull provides systems to both recreational and commercial customers across numerous verticals, with bases in the UK, Singapore, the US, and Abu Dhabi.
The past 18 months have seen oil and gas emerge as a huge potential growth area for the business, not least because competition was lacking. However, to properly penetrate the market, Rowlands knew the company needed to develop and patent a range of new products, aimed specifically at the Oil & Gas Market.
The solution - In 2020, NRG Sonihull and its team began an extensive market research exercise, a process which involved holding conversations with customers and understanding various pain points.
During the following year, the firm invested US$3m into research and development having opened up a dedicated R&D centre in Abu Dhabi, the site being staffed by a newly hired
ultrasonic expert and two PhDs. The work conducted here has been essential to developing ultrasonic cleaning products that are suitable for the oil and gas sector and having the capability to protect high-temperature assets. Additionally, of particular importance has been obtaining ATEX approval across the transducer portfolio, this certification confirming the products can be used safely in heat-intensive environments without damaging equipment.
The past two years have seen other important developments take place. In 2022, knowledge obtained from working within the dairy sector enabled NRG Sonihull to adapt its products for use on caissons, as well as having products to support FRSUs and FPSOs used by the offshore oil and gas industry, specifically enabling this sector to significantly reduce its chemical input within its cooling/ piping systems. A further breakthrough was achieved in 2023 when the company patented a transducer which is totally encapsulated with no exposed metallic parts, which enabled their products to be constantly submerged for long periods of time, another significant benefit of their products.
From a personnel perspective, the hiring of Craig Glatley in November 2023 as Head of Sales in Abu Dhabi has proven to be a gamechanger. His experience has already allowed NRG Sonihull to open new doors to approvals and tender list registrations.
Since 2021, the company has secured half a dozen new oil and gas sector clients and is now bidding for 30 new contracts in the industry (up from just five a year ago). Success stories such as a project with Mellitah will only strengthen the firm’s tendering position. Here, NRG Sonihull’s transducers have saved the company 60 days of production downtime a year, equating to millions of dollars of revenue lost by having to lift caissons on its rigs to conduct manual cleaning. Meanwhile, for leading O&G operators in the UAE, NRG has helped to save around six to eight weeks per year by cutting down de-scaling maintenance work on high-temperature pipes in heat exchangers, tube bundles etc.
Successful implementations such as these are feeding into a revenue trend which is seeing oil and gas account for a greater proportion of the company’s turnover. In 2022,
▸ New oil and gas clients and contracts bidding are successfully increasing NRG Sonihull’s revenue.
▸ New recruits in GCC and US are expected to expand company’s reach worldwide.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Never give up – if something fails, dig in and keep going.
▸ Decarbonisation – focus on here and now, not just on 2050 ambitions..
For government
▸ Focus on what we have to do today and make the impact now. How can government help get that message out now?
NRG Sonihull at a glance:
Key products and services: oil and gas technology, maritime shipping.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 40%
▸ Offshore renewable energy (wind, wave, tidal, solar) – 5%
▸ Nuclear power – 3%
▸ Others (non-energy): maritime – 52%
Headquarters: Coventry, UK
Year established: 2008
Number of employees: 34
Revenue: £30m
Revenue from exports: 90%
for example, 10% of the firm’s £16m revenue came from the sector, this increasing to 25% of £22m total revenue last year. For 2024, NRG is forecasting income of £35m with 40% being derived from oil and gas.
Alongside this, headcount is also on the up. Here, the company has already approved 10 more recruits for 2024 to carry out the next phase of growth in the GCC and US. With momentum firmly behind it, NRG Sonihull is one to watch.
NRL
Reaping
the rewards of client-supporting commitment
David Redmayne CEO
How is NRL thriving?
With a culture centred around embracing difficult circumstances, NRL has gone above and beyond to support its major client, a global energy company. By committing to invest in a team of experienced onshore wind major component exchange (MCE) specialists regularly used by the firm in Europe, alongside more than £50,000 in equipment in just four weeks, NRL is now seeing the benefits from its willingness to take a chance.
The challenge - UK-based recruitment resourcing, outsourcing, contracting and language solutions provider NRL has had to respond to significant change in recent years.
After acquiring technical and engineering recruitment firm Intec in 2018, the recruitment specialist had in turn successfully onboarded one of the world’s largest energy companies, a relationship that has developed, expanded, and evolved significantly in recent years.
Three years ago, NRL assisted their client with the supply of 40 wind turbine technicians on short-term assignments throughout Europe, going the extra mile as it pieced together a solution which included travel, logistics, purchasing and administration support. Eventually, NRL was supplying its client with 80 technicians.
Then, unfortunately, came a bombshell. Following a major restructure, their client took the decision to exit the wind turbine maintenance market in June 2023.
The news came as a major blow. Not only was NRL facing a significant loss of revenue, but it would also lose three years of relationship building and experience with its client, as well as the momentum gained in building its renewables track record.
The soluti on - To respond, NRL consulted with their client meticulously, learning that the company did not wish to lose its access to the technical advisers and specialists to the general industry.
Committed to supporting their client, NRL offered to help.
Striving to proactively solve its key client’s predicament, the recruitment specialist was keen to take on the expert team as full-time
employees in the space of just four weeks. Even though NRL was a relatively new entrant to the market and was faced with significant uncertainty, it saw the opportunity to sustain a relationship with its client, expand geographically and grow its renewable revenues and service capability, and so developed a strategic response that would support all stakeholders.
Specifically, NRL offered to take over the scope for MCE (major component exchange) supervision contracting provisions. Typically, MCE projects last two to three weeks in remote locations, with difficult work and harsh weather being a common theme.
To smooth the transition as much as possible, NRL had to focus on quickly building trust with their new employees, all while switching scope overnight to hire the team and manage its workloads directly.
As part of this process, NRL designed a risk profile to proactively manage proposals and the transition, seeking to minimise the risk of failure, disrupting their client’s projects, and ultimately damaging their sector expertise and reputation. After the scope of the transfer was agreed, an experienced resource manager in Poland was welcomed to the team to assist the transition and provide knowledge of key processes, regional insight and equipment.
Investing in candidate care is of vital importance to NRL and was highlighted as critical to ensure that the technicians didn’t leave of their own accord, while NRL also had to invest more than £50,000 on key MCE equipment.
Despite all these risks, the financial impact, demands of a new sector, and the extremely short timeframes in which NRL needed to act, the strategic move that the company took proved to be the right one.
NRL has successfully managed to protect its revenue stream in the renewables sector. Now with more knowledge, and growing organically, NRL is in a strong position to continue expanding as it moves forward. Owing to its efforts, the company has also established an evergreen framework agreement with their client.
Yes, the risks are higher, but the company has
Story type
#collaboration (main category)
#service & solutions
Benefits
▸ NRL overcame a risky financial situation and now has positive expectations for the coming years.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Embrace difficult situations. This separates you from your competitors.
▸ Value your people, they are important ambitious individuals. Don’t let them leave.
For government
▸ Government support and heavy investments in net zero.
NRL at a glance:
Key products and services: recruitment.
Main industries served:
▸ Nuclear power – 40%
▸ Oil and gas – 20%
▸ Conventional power – 15%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 4%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 4%
▸ Hydrogen – 1%
▸ Carbon capture – 1%
Headquarters: Wigan, UK
Year established: 1983
Number of employees: 142
Revenue: £217m
Revenue from exports: 25%
benefitted significantly from a financial and service capability perspective – something that it can continue to build on in 2024 and beyond. With a new string to its bow, expanded revenues, and a better relationship with its client than ever before, NRL is one to watch for the year ahead.
Oceaneering
Solving the unsolvable
Senior Director Business Development
How is Oceaneering thriving?
In its 60th anniversary year, Oceaneering has continued to demonstrate its commitment to developing technically creative solutions for the some of the most complex challenges underwater, on land and in space.
In each of these areas, the company continues to push industry boundaries, most recently demonstrated by its launch of the Freedom™ AUV – the world’s first fully autonomous subsea vehicle with docking and efficient data transfer capabilities that can operate in the world’s harshest environments.
The challenge - At its core, Oceaneering provides engineered services and products to the offshore energy industry, with its applied technology expertise also serving the defence, entertainment, material handling, aerospace, science, and renewable energy industries.
Throughout its history, Oceaneering has continually focused on spearheading the development of innovative technologies that meet distinct industry challenges. From reducing requirements for vessels to enhancing data gathering and analysis, to enabling increasingly informed and proactive decision making, it is an area in which the company continues to see success.
In recent times, much of that focus has cantered around automation. Critically, Oceaneering’s customers have been seeking ways to minimise their reliance on vessels, thus cutting their costs and reducing their environmental impact.
Oceaneering has sought to champion change through the development of solutions that can make a real difference to its customers’ operations. Of course, this is no easy feat, and innovation takes time. However, with its technological background and position as a global provider of engineering solutions, the company continues to break new ground.
The solution - Regarding its work in the energy sector, Oceaneering has most recently been collaborating with operators TotalEnergies, Chevron, and Equinor to build an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) capable of transforming subsea operations with intelligent data gathering.
Named Freedom™, it is the most advanced resident-capable underwater robotic solution
available on the market today, offering data resolution and coverage completeness in a single pass that are typically only achievable with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), but with the speed and mission efficiency of a traditional AUV.
With enhanced speed and ability to quickly identify subsea anomalies, Freedom™ is highly effective for performing pipeline, flowline, and umbilical inspections in a single pass. Traditionally, vessel-based inspections require a number of personnel on board, with only one managing the ROV. With Freedom™, the need for extensive manpower is significantly reduced, yet key data collection remains highly efficient.
After more than three years of rigorous testing and substantial investment, Freedom™ was commercialised, completing its first job in November 2023. More recently, in April 2024, it has also completed a demonstration for the U.S. Navy and Defense Innovation Unit.
With several successful milestones secured, the company is now focusing on future potential for Freedom™, exploring complementary advancements in areas such as battery technologies and new survey tools. However, Freedom™ isn’t Oceaneering’s only area of focus at present.
Indeed, the company is also engaged in the refinement of several other key solutions and products, such as its Integrated, Customizable Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMRGE™) Solutions. With IMRGE™, the company once again combines industry leading technologies and global expertise to deliver tailored programmes that meet diverse project requirements. With safety and asset availability as drivers, IMRGE™ extends asset life by collecting and presenting data more efficiently, equipping clients with insight that enable more informed decision-making.
With its pioneering industry solutions, Oceaneering continues to lead global transformation in the offshore energy sector. Having achieved revenues of US$1.8b in 2020, this surged to US$2.4b in 2023, underscoring the relevance and success of the organisation’s evolving solutions base.
With a rich reservoir of proprietary technologies, the six-decade-old enterprise is primed to steer industry advancement for many more years to come.
Story type
#innovation (main category)
#collaboration, #culture, #technology
Benefits
▸ Freedom™, new product launched, is now under complementary advancements. Other key products and solutions are also being refined to deliver tailored programmes.
▸ Oceaneering strategy is successful, and the company is experiencing revenue growth.
Key findings
For industry
▸ There will be challenges, don’t see them as insurmountable, they are simply obstacles to overcome.
▸ Collaboration is key: there are a lot of things we can’t solve as individuals, but we can solve them collectively.
Oceaneering at a glance:
Key products and services: engineered services and products primarily to the offshore energy industry
Headquarters: Houston, US
Year established: 1964
Number of employees: +12,000
Revenue: £786m (US operations)
Revenue from international (non-U.S.) operations: 58%
Greg Boyle
Oceânica
Diversifying into new waves of opportunity
Marcia Dias
Commercial Manager
How is Oceânica thriving?
Confronted with the challenge of its main client, Petrobras, seeking to minimise human diving in its operations, Oceânica proactively adapted and diversified its services. By investing in remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and diving support vessels, the company has not only met this challenge head-on but also positioned itself for significantly greater success.
The challenge - Until 2013, specialist diving company Oceânica primarily provided services to Brazil’s state-owned oil company, Petrobras. The business was generating solid revenues, thanks to the expertise of its highly experienced diving team, some of whom had been with the company for over thirty years.
Due to some extremely serious diving accidents that occurred in diving companies other than Oceânica, Petrobras began raising safety concerns and subsequently sought to minimise human diving operations.
In meetings, Petrobras emphasised that human diving would be reduced to only essential activities. Faced with this feedback, Oceânica realised it needed to adapt. Instead of passively watching its business decline, it was determined to find new ways to serve Petrobras and the broader oil and gas industry.
The solution - With a comprehensive understanding of the market, Oceânica recognised that its services could be delivered using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), with market studies revealing strong demand as well for ROV support vessels.
The firm began acquiring ROVs capable of operating at depths up to 90 meters, along with observation ROVs that could reach 300 meters.
By 2014, the firm was officially operational in the ROV market with two established vessels actively working on multiple contracts, including for Petrobas, providing both services and vessel charters. Over the following years, the company not only fulfilled these contracts but also expanded its ROV fleet by acquiring two more vessels, bringing the total to four.
During a new round of contract bidding in 2018/2019, Oceânica secured four additional contracts for services and vessel charters. This allowed the company to equip its ROVs with new support diving vessels (SDVs), which are lighter, more robust and more fuel-efficient.
By 2022, with these contracts nearing expiration, Oceânica decided to invest in acquiring the necessary resources to secure more work, focusing on procuring additional ROV support vessels (RSVs) and anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels.
Through these timely strategic moves, the firm has transitioned from a diving company to a comprehensive subsea engineering enterprise, encompassing vessels, offshore tools, and skilled manpower. Starting with a base of five vessels, the firm expanded its fleet to 13, driven by demand from Petrobras. By the end of 2023, this fleet increased to 16 vessels.
Managing this rapid transformation was crucial. The company implemented a large-scale upskilling initiative, training traditional divers in new ROV technologies, which allowed it to retain a huge part of its employees, now capable of both piloting and diving. This diversification of skillsets has been a significant success, particularly when considering the rapid growth of the firm’s workforce. Indeed, a decade ago, Oceânica had 400 employees; today, it has 2,308.
This rapid expansion presented unique challenges, necessitating a complete overhaul of the company’s people management strategy and culture. Previously managing a small, familiar team, the firm had to adapt to a larger, more diverse workforce.
Recruiting qualified individuals and fostering their personal and professional growth has been a demanding task. To facilitate this transition, the CEO, Andre Arruda has championed a spirit of cohesion, striving to empower employees and cultivate a new culture of trust.
Despite these challenges, the firm has been incredibly successful, from investing in ROVs and diversifying services to overhauling its culture and maintaining security during rapid growth. Ultimately, it has evolved from a niche diving specialist into a full-fledged subsea engineering firm.
Diving remains a core component of the Oceânica’s capabilities. However, such activities now account for just one quarter of overall revenue, with the firm’s diversified ROV services now driving substantial growth.
Having adapted effectively to market needs, Oceânica is now in a more resilient and future-proofed position for continued expansion.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#resilience
Benefits
▸ Oceânica has expanded and now has over 2,300 employees and cultivated a new culture of trust internally.
▸ Diversification of services.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Ethics in everything you deal with.
▸ Understand in depth the market that you are inserted.
For government
▸ Ethics and responsibility.
Oceânica at a glance:
Key products and services: services and technological solutions for companies with underwater activities.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Year established: 1978
Number of employees: 2,300
Revenue: £149m
OGC Energy
Embracing the opportunity to actively support energy transition projects
Story type
#energy transition (main category)
#diversification
Benefits
▸ Successful projects and new clients.
▸ Revenue growth in projects related to energy transition.
Key findings
Ivan Gutierrez Sofia Filioki CEO Marketing and Partnership Lead
How is OGC Energy thriving?
Now in its 10th year, OGC Energy has already made a strong statement as a key supporting player in the global energy transition. Fuelled by a culture of curiosity and bolstered by extensive expertise in materials science and corrosion, the company is enjoying a steady growth in the order book propelled by projects in carbon capture, hydrogen, and renewables as it strives to help its clients meet their individual energy transition goals.
The challenge - The latter half of OGC Energy’s first decade in operation has seen a marked shift in the organisation’s market positioning. While the company has been active in renewables for six years, picking up the occasional relevant contract such as carbon capture work in Iceland in 2018, operations in its early days were primarily underpinned by oil and gas.
When Covid hit in 2020, however, that outlook began to change.
The organisation recognised the increasing drive towards energy transition among sector players, with operators shifting their interests. With oil and gas slipping down the priority list on an industry-wide basis, OGC Energy knew it had to move with the market.
Oil and gas would remain part of its operational portfolio. However, the organisation recognised it needed to position itself proactively in line with energy transition trends, moving away from a previously reactive strategy that resulted in the sporadic securing of renewables contracts.
The solution - Come H2 2022, a key decision was made: OGC Energy would work towards becoming an innovative supporting entity, aiding clients with their pioneering, challenging energy transition projects.
At this point, the company began to witness the tangible outcomes of its internship program, marked by the notable advancement and development of its team. Graduates transitioned into accomplished engineers and emerged as leaders, each carving out their distinct path to specialism. Furthermore, in 2022, the organisation welcomed aboard a dynamic Marketing and Partnerships Lead, tasked with the pivotal role of directing the external communications pivotal to the company’s strategic
transformation.
With these vital puzzles pieces now in place, the firm opted to rebrand from its previous name, Oil & Gas Corrosion, to OGC Energy, this shift affirming its move towards a broader remit outside of its traditional areas of operation. 2023 was naturally a significant year for OGC Energy. Indeed, the company joined the EIC as it strived to get its message out to market and secure an increasing number of energy transition projects.
It has proven a fruitful endeavour. Indeed, OGC continues to build up its track record and portfolio of proven projects, its work for Porthos representing one if its most significant and successful undertakings in energy transition markets to date.
Here, OGC Energy supported the cutting-edge project which aims to transport CO2 from industry in the Port of Rotterdam and store it in empty gas fields under the North Sea. Specifically, the firm completed a comprehensive corrosion risk assessment for CO2 transport, which was the first of its kind in considering the impact of more than 25 impurities from different industrial sources in the Rotterdam area.
This is just one example among many. In 2023 alone, the firm secured seven new clients, with half of these operating in energy transition markets. Further, three of the company’s existing major clients have also recruited the services of OGC to help them with the energy transition strategies.
As the firm continues to gain traction in the energy transition line of business, net zero related projects now account for an increasing share of overall revenue. In 2020, energy transition projects contributed just 20% of the revenue. By 2023, the figure related to energy transition doubled to 40%, alongside a 60% overall revenue growth. This trend underscores the firm’s successful focus and achievements in supporting clients to achieve net zero as part of the energy transition.
Such notable progress can’t be ignored. Indeed, if OGC Energy continues along its current trajectory, the company will only continue to further its reputation as a key supporting partner for major energy transition projects.
For industry
▸ Ask questions and don’t be afraid to ask why.
▸ Embrace change and foster adaptability to navigate the energy transition landscape.
For government
▸ It is important to help the whole oil and gas industry, down the whole supply chain to transition.
OGC Energy at a glance:
Key products and services: consultancy.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 65%
▸ Carbon capture – 18%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 8%
▸ Hydrogen – 5%
▸ Others (energy): biogas, zero carbon fuels – 4%
Headquarters: Sheffield, UK
Year established: 2014
Number of employees: 8
Revenue: £350k
Revenue from exports: 40%
Oilserv
Investing in new capabilities to open up gas commercialisation opportunities
Cheta Okwuosa Group GM Business Development & Commercial
How is Oilserv thriving?
In response to financing and technological challenges in Nigeria, Oilserv has built new relationships within the banking sector and invested in cutting edge technology e.g. automatic welding process, HDD, DPI, HTB, AUT etc. Now, the company is operating with an improved value proposition that is helping it to secure work and get critical developments up and running.
The challenge - For about 30 years, Oilserv Group has been operating in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, and its reputation being built on its ability to deliver quality outcomes in harsh terrains. Indeed, the company has worked on some of the country’s most important energy construction projects to date, amongst which are EPCIC of the Greater Lagos Gas distribution Pipeline Systems development, OB3 Pipeline Project, (AKK) Gas Pipeline Project. In recent years, two key trends emerged which have forced a change in strategy at the company. First, the performance of the local currency, the Naira, versus the US dollar, was making projects un-bankable, coupled with funding for projects being extremely difficult to secure, partially culminating in IOCs losing confidence in the market. The second issue was a technological gap, for which Oilserv proactively identified suitable technological solutions and expertise to bridge the gap. Thereby developing innovative ways of improving efficiency in her operations on gas infrastructure development.
The solution - Regarding the financing issue, Oilserv pivoted to an EPCIC+F model of business, meaning it would also take on some of the funding challenges associated with projects. To achieve this, the company has built up a strong relationship with foreign investment banks, which in turn initiated brand-new policies to make credit facilities available to fund such developments at reasonable rates.
On the technological side, Oilserv has invested in several strands of technology to help speed up the process of building critical gas commercialisation and transportation infrastructure.
The most prominent of the investments in technology is the Direct Pipe Installation (DPI) and automated welding process, with new state of the art machines being purchased and the local
workforce being up-skilled as a matter of urgency. Direct Pipe Installation (DPI) is a steerable trenchless method of installing underground pipe in a shallow arc along a prescribed bore path by using a surface-launched Micro-Tunnel Boring Machine attached to the front of product pipe, in combination with a pipe thruster, with minimal impact on the surrounding area; and the investments by Oilserv in DPI, technology is a first in this part of African continent. This, Oilserv hoped, would lead to more efficient operations, reduced costs and, ultimately, a faster way of getting gas infrastructure projects off the ground and operational for the benefit of the country. Oilserv has also invested in automated ultrasonic technology to speed up this activity and increase accuracy for welding joints’ inspection across all forms of terrain, making it the first company to deploy this technique in onshore pipeline projects, in Nigeria.
The HDD and HTB technology have also brought in efficiency in the aspect of crossings e.g river crossings, road crossings and crossing of other physical obstacles on the pipeline right of way.
Reaching this point has required that the company overcomes series of challenges. On the financing side, it had to invest a lot of time and energy into presenting its case and building relationships with the financial institutions. Regarding the new welding technology, Oilserv spent the best part of two years transitioning to the new technique, with extensive training required for its workforce to master the process.
However, the toil has proven its worth, thanks to the new EPCIC+F business model, the company has been able to secure work on new projects, including the aforementioned AKK project. Meanwhile, the automated welding capability has led to a vastly more efficient construction process, with 22 joints per day being achievable on a 40-inch pipeline compared to around six or seven using the manual method. The automatic ultrasonic-powered quality assurance process has also served to cut project delivery time line and at the same time delivering sustainable benefits.
Looking ahead, Oilserv will continue to work towards its vision to be clear leaders in the
Story type
#resilience (main category)
#environmental sustainability, #technology
Benefits
▸ Oilserv’s new technologies and systems have made efficiency in delivering gas infrastructure installations a reality.
▸ First company to deploy some of these technologies successfully in Nigeria.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Arm yourselves with additional industry-oriented skills and competences, especially in terms of technology to remain relevant in your company.
▸ Be abreast of industry trends and market forces to enable you to forecast the direction of growth development that suits your business.
For government
▸ Policies that encourage cross border trade amongst African countries and foreign investments in the local gas industry.
Oilserv at a glance:
Key products and services: engineering, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning, fabrication, upgrading, repairs, maintenance and project management.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 95%
▸ Others ( non-energy): agriculture – 5%
Headquarters: Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Year established: 1992
Number of employees: 1,200
Revenue: £198m
Revenue from exports: 22%
EPCIC sector in Nigeria and wider Sub-Saharan African region. After taking bold decisions, the firm has shown that it has the resilience and ingenuity to make further progress in years to come.
One Nature
Setting up shop in the US to overcome numerous business hurdles
Thadeu Paravidino CEO
How is One Nature thriving?
One Nature has made life easier for itself and its clients by making the wise move to set up a legal subsidiary in the US, where much of the equipment it distributes in Brazil is produced. By investing the energy and resources into setting up in Florida, and now Houston, the company has also been able to tap into new business opportunities.
The challenge - Since starting out in 2018, Brazil-based One Nature has faced challenges as it seeks to provide world-class environmental solutions for the oil and gas sector. Since its home country lacks domestic manufacturers of offshore assets such as FPSOs and vessels, all operating systems are sourced from companies working abroad. As a result, One Nature has sought to bridge this gap by acting as an expert representative, offering maintenance, spare parts and assistance to operators and asset owners, eliminating the need for manufacturers to establish subsidiaries in Brazil. However, as the company’s representative contracts grew, it encountered legal issues due to the cross-border nature of the agreements and the need for clients to purchase from overseas. In particular, when securing a larger representation contract, insurers identified One Nature as a risk.
To mitigate this, the idea of establishing a subsidiary in the US emerged as a potential solution, although this would pose its own complexities for the Brazilian firm.
The solution - The American subsidiary company was established during the first half of 2020, initially set up in the state of Florida.
Establishing a subsidiary in the US proved to be a strategically wise move for One Nature, not because it has helped to resolve legal complexities and, at the same time, pave the way for further growth.
Indeed, by having a contractual setup between American companies governed by American law, One Nature has been able to secure partnerships with four international companies headquartered in the US, facilitating an expansion in activities back home in Brazil. Prior to this, the firm faced financial constraints, struggling to handle larger sales in the US$600,000
to US$1m bracket, with contractors lacking legal robustness.
What’s more, with the US operation in place, new opportunities have emerged to enter the American market itself. To capitalise on the increasing demands, One Nature relocated the company west to Houston, Texas, setting up a commercial office and warehouse where it consolidated cargo and handled equipment parts destined for Brazil. This move paid immediate dividends, enabling the company to secure a US$2m client and also provide guarantees to international partners. Consequently, sales in Brazil skyrocketed from US$800,000 in 2020 to US$3.5m in 2024, with 11% of the company’s invoices coming from the US market by 2023.
It is therefore clear how the US subsidiary has played a pivotal role in One Nature’s growth, chiefly by enhancing the company’s financial capabilities and unlocking sales opportunities in both Brazil and the American market. Many companies operating in Brazil conduct their equipment acquisitions through the US – by establishing a base here, One Nature has been able to gain access to several key clients, including the likes of SBM, BW, and BRAM (Edson Chouest) for environmental purchases, which were previously inaccessible from Brazil alone.
Getting to this point has not been straightforward, and One Nature has encountered several challenges along the way. For example, the initial decision to open a company abroad came with substantial upfront costs, amounting to at least US$15,000, which covered expenses such as legal fees, accounting services, business information and setting up structures to prevent money laundering.
And even without the added burden of social security obligations, the process remained arduous. For instance, the company faced ongoing financial difficulties, partly caused by Bank of America’s decision to discontinue services for foreign clients, a move which forced One Nature to change banks.
These hurdles have highlighted the complexities of navigating the landscape of international business operations – overcoming them has required resilience and adaptability, which One Nature has demonstrated it has plenty of.
Story type
#scale up (main category)
#export
Benefits
▸ One Nature’s subsidiary company in Houston guaranteed international partners, significant increase in sales that represented 11% of company’s invoice in 2023.
▸ Company has secured a five-year representative contract with a significant partner, bringing optimistic view for the future.
Key findings
For industry
▸ No matter how small you feel or see yourself: think big, and follow the steps of big corporations, but keep your values.
One Nature at a glance:
Key products and services: distributor for high quality engineered products related with environment with focus on water and wastewater treatment solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Rio das Ostras, Brazil
Year established: 2018
Number of employees: 21
Revenue: £3m
Revenue from exports: 12%
Looking ahead, the aim very much is to continue growing. Recently, the company has signed a five-year representative contract with a significant partner, establishing the sort of longterm business it hopes will drive revenues up for many years to come.
Penta Global
Transition from traditional construction to become a fully-
EPC operator
Sujay
Nair
Executive Director
How is Penta Global thriving?
Realising the need to do something different post-pandemic, Mr. Vijayneel Tharol (CEO) and Executive Director Sujay Nair decided to pivot the business towards the onshore and offshore EPC market and invest into resources and new expertise.
The challenge - Few sectors were as deeply impacted by the pandemic as construction was. With travel restrictions, lockdowns and other mandates grinding many projects to a halt, companies such as Penta Global were forced to dramatically scale back and consolidate business activities in order to survive.
Schedule overruns on projects became an even more prevalent concern, with Penta in the unenviable position of having no real visibility or clarity on how to address these concerns. Indeed, even now after several years, such issues continue to pose execution and cashflow challenges.
Another hurdle centred around commodity price fluctuation, a situation which makes tendering difficult as clients often insist on prolonged bid validities and protracted tender processes. Further, the pandemic also served to significantly impact the cost of logistics.
However, despite these extreme challenges, Penta Global knew the market would recover, making it even more important to diversify the business and emerge with a more compelling value proposition for new and existing clients.
The solution - This has involved significant scale-up and transformation throughout the business. Focusing on opportunities to execute small to medium-sized EPC projects in the onshore and offshore space, Penta Global set out a strategy to strengthen and enhance the organisation at all levels, including senior leadership, middle management and project execution.
This work began a few years ago in the pandemic aftermath. Several key leadership appointments have proven to be influential. These include bringing onboard Anish Khalid as a Director, a move which has been instrumental in helping to redefine the firm’s offering by breaking into the EPC space and securing new business opportunities.
To help manage the scale-up, the company has brought in several more experienced industry heads in the form of a new Chairman (Mr. Vivek Prakash), Commercial Director (Mr. Gopi Viswanathan) and Finance Director (Mr. Sisir Mukherjee). With its leadership team strengthened, Penta Global is primed to continue its remarkable post-Covid turnaround.
Alongside this, the company has also invested heavily in resources and equipment, reducing dependencies on third parties to be more self-sufficient and cost-effective. Likewise, Penta has prioritised localisation through meeting or bettering its various nationalisation targets in countries such as the UAE and Indonesia.
All these key decisions have helped the company to make a success of its post-pandemic business strategy.
From the middle of 2021, Penta Global started to bid and subsequently win EPC projects. This was a significant turning point. Over the past 20 years, it has evolved from providing project management and support services to EPC contractors, chiefly through the implementation of project management software, to the provision of fabrication and construction services for large EPC projects, which has gone on to serve as the backbone to the company’s EPC evolution.
Its early work in the fabrication and construction space came from Japan Gas Corporation (JGC), one of Penta’s oldest and most respected clients.
A testament to this relationship is when, in 2018, JGC needed support on a joint venture project in Kuwait after experiencing issues with other contractors. Fortunatley, Penta was completing two major projects in the country, so the opportunity could not have arisen at a better time. Indeed, the company managed to mobilise an execution team of 1,200 people to complete the works despite the sudden request. Its strong background in delivering major construction projects on schedule has served as the perfect segway to the EPC world.
Other EPC work has followed. Currently, the firm is executing five long-term service contracts and two EPC contracts directly from NOCs. In addition, it has also secured several
Story type
#scale up (main category) #transformation
Benefits
▸ Developed a strong robust organisation.
▸ Multiple service contracts and EPC contracts directly from NOCs currently in place.
▸ 60% of the company’s order value coming from EPC projects.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Develop a well-structured, diverse and efficient organisation: people are intrinsic to your success.
▸ Bring in innovation with respect to ESG and develop a healthy culture and attitude towards environment, safety and quality.
For government
▸ Provide clarity on the statutory and regulatory framework for companies to adhere to when it comes to new sectors like green hydrogen.
▸ Engage better with all industry stakeholders.
Penta Global at a glance:
Key products and services: engineering, procurement and construction service provider to the energy sector.
Main industries served: ▸ Oil and gas – 95% ▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Year established: 2004
Number of employees: 3,000
Revenue from exports: 15%
fabrication opportunities with seven projects running concurrently, with all this occurring over the past two years and representing an order backlog of over US$260m. Today, such has been the success of this strategy, Penta now derives 60% of its order value from EPC projects in the onshore and offshore energy markets.
Ponticelli UK
Gaining a foothold in the UK market with a key contract in the North Sea
Story type
#collaboration (main category)
#people & competency, #service & solutions
Benefits
▸ Revenue growth of £10m from 2022 to 2023.
Benoît Lamoussiere
Suzanne Donald Managing Director Business Development Manager
How is Ponticelli UK thriving?
Established in 2019, Ponticelli UK quickly strengthened its position by spearheading the formation of PBS, a consortium with two other globally recognised companies. PBS now delivers a general maintenance and operations contract (GMOC) for TotalEnergies, covering its North Sea assets, as well as EPC services for a large Angolan operator. With over a year still to serve on the existing five-year GMOC contract, PBS have recently been awarded an extension, securing the future for their now 1,100 employees.
The challenge - A subsidiary of the 100-yearold Ponticelli Frères Group based in France, Ponticelli UK was tasked with representing the regional arm of this multinational, highly successful and established organisation with an operating turnover of €1.2bn in 2023. Ponticelli UK MD Benoit Lamoussiere had a big job on his hands.
The division’s aim was simple – to become a leading provider of engineering, construction, and maintenance services, from prefeed engineering through to project completion, with a strong emphasis on sustainability. To fulfil this ambition, it would need to manage projects across various sectors, including oil and gas, petrochemical, and renewable energy, with an array of services covering the entire lifecycle of industrial facilities, ranging from engineering and construction to ongoing maintenance operations.
The solution - Drawing on the resources, expertise and support of its parent firm, Ponticelli UK has hit the ground running.
Today, the company proudly operates with a commitment to lead the energy transition and support businesses in their delivery of innovative energy projects, reinforcing the wider Group’s guiding principle of supporting change in the world.
One of the most important moves came early, when Ponticelli UK chose to strengthen its position in the UK market by developing the PBS consortium organisation. PBS brings together three global companies with aligned core values and complimentary service offerings. PBS harnesses the best from each partner, allowing it to deliver integrated services to the UK energy market.
Much of PBS’ focus thus far has been on delivering strong results for TotalEnergies, and their successful efforts have secured a contract extension.
Commenting on the contract extension, Managing Director Benoit Lamoussiere said: “The extension of the GMOC contract with TotalEnergies, is a testament to the PBS team and their excellent safe and efficient service delivery. With notable achievements across critical work-streams in 2023, including reduction of SECE backlog, we look forward to continuing our quality service and embarking on new projects in the coming years.”
The TotalEnergies contract has been key to establishing a firm foothold in the UK market, and several initiatives internally have also ensured PBS has enjoyed success year after year.
For example, working closely with TotalEnergies both onshore and offshore, PBS has supported the company’s increase in operational efficiencies, while realising a 75% reduction in its SECE backlog. Meanwhile, key personnel have been cross-skilled and upskilled, allowing for seamless work scope completion, meaning PBS can achieve widely while reducing personnel on board, offering still more value to clients. New digital tools have also improved productivity, with remote communications bedded into PBS’s operating processes.
All of this has fed into a highly promising financial performance. Ponticelli UK revenue reached £150m in 2023, up from the £140m recorded the previous year. And with the TotalEnergies contract secured until at least the middle of 2026, PBS has established a firm foundation from which it can continue to grow in the UK energy market. Ponticelli UK has also recently been awarded a contract for EPC services from a large Angolan operator, seeing engineering and procurement delivery from the UK.
▸ TotalEnergies project secured until mid-2026.
Key findings
For industry
▸ A just transition can only be achieved with a continued homegrown energy supply. The road is bumpy, but we need to remain on it, invest and be focused.
▸ Good partnerships and people are key.
For government
▸ Continue to approve new oil and gas licences to ensure the UK can meet its own energy needs with homegrown resources.
Ponticelli UK at a glance:
Key products and services: engineering, construction and maintenance services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 60%
▸ Nuclear power – 15%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 10%
▸ Others (non-energy): industrial, life sciences – 15%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 1921 (Group), 2019 (Ponticelli UK)
Number of employees: 6,000 (Group), 500 (Ponticelli UK)
Revenue: £150m
Revenue from exports: 87.5%
Supporting change in the world
Ponticelli UK provides engineering, construction and maintenance services, renowned for its customised EPC solutions.
Dedicated to safety, performance and sustainability, we handle projects from pre-feed engineering through to completion.
Ponticelli UK is also the contracting lead for Aberdeen-based consortium,
Pix Force
Paving a new, more prosperous path with its proprietary AI solutions
Daniel Rodrigues
Moura
Story type
#technology (main category)
#environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ Revenue record in 2023.
▸ Contract wins with major organisations as Shell, Ocyan and Equinor.
How is Pix Force thriving?
Pix Force has carved out a unique position in the energy sector by using its proprietary AI-powered software to analyse videos and photos and enable enhanced decision-making in an industry 4.0 context. From worker safety alerts and automatic corrosion assessment to oil spill detection, the company has transformed itself into a multi-million-dollar startup supporting several Fortune 500 companies in the space of just eight years.
The challenge - Founded in 2016, Pix Force is a revolutionary technology business. Utilising artificial intelligence and computer vision technologies, the company’s overarching goal is to streamline operations, reduce risks, and increase productivity for its clients through automated image and video analysis.
With much of its business spanning conventional power (60%) and oil and gas (30%), Pix Force has quickly established itself as a disruptive force in the energy market, amassing a workforce of more than 110 specialist employees in the space of just eight years; however, the journey that has brought it to where it is today has not been free of challenges.
Its early years were propelled, to a large extent, by work with the major pulp and paper producer Suzano, deploying its drone technology for fi eld mapping and crop analysis. However, following Suzano’s merger with another organisation, Pix Force was no longer able to rely on the pulp producer’s business, which left the company in a difficult situation and in need of replacing one of its main revenue streams.
What followed marked a true survive and thrive moment for the business. Without being able to quickly adapt and demonstrate its value to alternative prospects, the company’s future would almost certainly have been in doubt. The solution - As part of its efforts to find new revenue streams, the company participated in and won a prestigious startup challenge organised by Shell. This was a true watershed moment for Pix Force, as it not only led to the development of an innovative AI solution for remote mapping, but also prevented layoffs and revitalised the business.
Renato Gomes Founder & CEO Founder & President
Specifically, the Shell startup challenge focused on ESG and led Pix Force’s Co-Founders Daniel Moura and Renato Gomes to conduct a case study on “produced water” - a key area of focus for certain Brazilian governmental entities. Critically, any operator found to have negatively impacted the environment due to a lack of proper treatment or disposal of produced water would be subject to considerable fines. However, at that time, there was a lack of adequate tools to effectively analyse and track these processes. Moura and Gomes identified this gap and proposed the use of remote mapping powered by AI to assist companies in making their processes safer, more efficient and compliant with the stringent regulations.
This successful result not only opened doors in the energy sector, but also led to the creation of one of the company’s main products - Pix Safety – an AI-driven monitoring system for workplace safety. Notably, the company’s software can identify whether individuals are correctly using their PPE equipment during onshore and offshore operations and identify dangerous situations. Further, Pix Safety is fully customisable and can be easily tailored to any client’s specific needs. Ultimately it is an AI solution that works 24 hours a day to prevent accidents and save lives.
Pix Force’s success stories have steered the company onto a new prosperous path and such accolades are corroborated by its financial results, which increased almost 10-fold from2019, to 2023.
Owing to its ongoing focus on innovation, collaboration and client engagement, the company has successfully emerged as a leader in Brazil’s technology sector. With a proven track record in supporting major organisations such as Shell, Ocyan and Equinor, it is now poised for international expansion and continued growth in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Always develop and design solutions alongside with your clients, they are the best source of insights on how you can enhance your products and services.
▸ Embracer technology-driven solutions for enhanced efficiency and safety.
For government
▸ Support for international trade initiatives and market expansion.
Pix Force at a glance:
Key products and services: software development.
Main industries served:
▸ Conventional power – 60%
▸ Oil and gas – 30%
▸ Others (non-energy): mining: 10%
Headquarters: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Year established: 2016
Number of employees: 110 Revenue: £1.75m
Poole Process Equipment
Persevering with an ambitious international expansion strategy
Story type
#resilience (main category)
Benefits
▸ Global revenue has doubled in the last five years.
Peter Johnson
Sumeet Vinayak CEO COO
How is Poole Process Equipment thriving?
UK heat exchanger and pressure vessel manufacturer Poole Process Equipment Ltd has garnered a distinguished reputation for delivering top-notch products and providing swift response services.
Under new ownership in 2018, with an Emirati investor, the company embarked on a transformative journey into international markets, marking a significant shift in its strategic direction. The company already had contracts in the UK with OEMs, many of these had establishments in the Middle East – relationships that could be leveraged to enhance the firm’s opportunities overseas.
The decision to expand into the Middle Eastern market was driven by the recognition of the region’s status as the largest market for oil and gas globally. Leveraging its established reputation for excellence and a customer-centric approach, Poole Process Equipment aimed to extend its reach into this lucrative market segment. Despite being new territory for the company in terms of international expansion, it was determined to uphold its values and draw on decades of experience to provide substantial value for customers in the Middle East.
The opportunity to not only strengthen its market position but also forge lasting partnerships and contribute to the growth and success of the region’s oil and gas industry was clear. However, executing this effectively would not be straightforward.
Amidst the challenging pandemic period, Poole Process Equipment took a bold step in relocating its factory from Saudi Arabia to the UAE. Despite significant logistical and financial strains from early setbacks, the firm persisted, achieving significant success in the latter market.
Through the swift reestablishment of operations, hiring of talented individuals and sustaining high standards synonymous with its UK factory, the firm is now reaping the regional rewards, with tens of millions of pounds of new revenue now coming from across the GCC.
The challenge - Initially, Poole Process Equipment opted to set up in KSA – a move that proved to be a major challenge. Despite positive initial engagements, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the company’s regional business endeavours.
The abrupt halt in operations not only derailed the momentum the firm had built but also caused considerable financial strain. Investments made in securing premises and developing infrastructure in Saudi Arabia became untenable in the face of the pandemic’s uncertainties.
Consequently, Poole Process Equipment was unfortunately compelled to make the difficult decision of abandoning its project in Saudi Arabia, incurring significant financial losses and forfeiting potential opportunities.
The solution - The company got the necessary manpower and machinery in place, then worked to garner market attention through positioning at key regional conferences. At the same time, it also acquired the ISO:9001, ASME U Stamp & R Stamp certification that allowed manufacturing under a trusted design and supply meeting ASME’s guidelines for the design, fabrication, inspection, testing, repair and alteration of Pressure Vessels. The entire process that typically takes 12 months was completed in a quarter of the time.
Having built a design team and through working with local companies on joint tenders, the firm started to win roughly one in 12 bids that it put forward, its efforts in showcasing its UK products and own workspaces also aiding this process. Eventually, interest then began to snowball, with the likes of ExxonMobil in Iraq expressing interest, requesting that the company would manufacture shell and tube exchangers and air-cooled heat exchangers.
With that specific order placed in 2022, Poole Process Equipment further embedded itself into the region, establishing its own full-fledged workshop in Iraq. And since then, the firm has received several additional major orders, with one particular carbon capture project proving critical at present.
Indeed, having worked around difficult beginnings, the merits of Poole Process Equipment’s international have been significant. Not only has the firm managed to successfully tap into new customer bases in key GCC countries such as Iraq and the UAE. Equally, it has also managed to strengthen and diversify its supply chain resilience by establishing suppliers in multiple regions.
Further, the figures also speak for themselves. Indeed, in the last five years the
▸ New customer bases in GCC region but also strengthened and diversified its supply chain resilience by establishing suppliers in multiple regions.
Key findings
For industry
▸ The oil and gas sector remains robust and is projected to persist for the foreseeable future.
▸ Resilience and adaptability are indispensable qualities in business. It’s crucial to persist in pursuing what you believe is right, even in the face of challenges.
For government
▸ Prioritise support for British engineering: instead of companies having to actively seek support, the government should take the initiative to proactively offer assistance to companies.
Poole Process Equipment at a glance:
Key products and services: manufacture and personal service to the oil and gas, power generation and process industries sectors.
Headquarters: Poole, UK; Dubai, UAE Year established: 1965
Number of employees: 70
Revenue from exports: 8%
enterprise has managed to double its global revenue, with the majority of its current leading clients being new to the entire group.
Having started with an empty order book in the GCC, the firm is now generating tens of millions of pounds from the region – foundations from which it will undoubtedly excel moving forward.
Proeon Systems
A three-dimensional success story of diversification
Dr Dorian Hindmarsh Commercial Director
How is Proeon Systems thriving?
Proeon Systems has successfully diversified its offering, reducing its dependency on oil and gas. The company now also provides complex and critical control solutions to sectors such as wind, onshore energy transmission and nuclear. As a result, the business has seen a threefold increase in revenue and a 40% growth in exports.
The challenge - At the core of Proeon Systems offering is its ability to deliver complex and critical control solutions across many sectors where high levels of diligence, quality and safety standards are prevalent. For many years, those services were primarily delivered to the oil and gas sectors with the company supporting onshore and offshore clients, including their subsea assets. However, following the oil crisis that spanned between 2014 and 2016, the organisation recognised that its reliance on traditional energy sectors was not sustainable in the long term.
With the firm’s revenue reliant on a cyclical, volatile and ultimately struggling worldwide oil and gas market, Proeon opted to explore opportunities for diversification.
Indeed, it was much needed. Having grown its workforce from eight to around 40, the company was now struggling to retain its staff and knowledge, with growing concerns about retention and attrition. Diversification, the company concluded, could potentially resolve two issues at the same time.
The soluti on - Upon joining the company as its new Managing Director in 2017, Richard Miller recognised that significant change was needed.
He immediately set about making several strategic and structural improvements. This involved optimising departmental processes and supporting the expansion of the sales team to increase the market engagement efforts and approach clients in a more targeted manner.
However, it wasn’t just an operational overhaul that Miller deemed necessary. Indeed, in the last five years, he has helped spearhead Proeon’s efforts to diversify into two new operational areas – nuclear and renewables.
In the case of the former, the transition remains an evolving process. Having under-
gone the Fit4Nuclear programme before undertaking its first project in 2017 for EDF, this first foray into the sector leant on and benefitted from the firm’s oil and gas knowledge. Critically, its unique ability to work with legacy equipment, and to provide support and upgrade pathways for a nuclear operator directly and its critical equipment was leveraged, with this work continuing to be a benchmark for its operations in the sector.
Proeon’s entrance into the renewables market, meanwhile, has been a resounding success. Having undertaken its first offshore wind project back in 2018, the firm secured a major project break in 2020 owing to an inquiry for a HVDC control room SCADA system at a Dutch wind farm.
Now in 2024, this aspect of Proeon’s revitalised offering has gone from strength to strength. Today, whilst each year is different, oil and gas projects account for just 10% of Proeon’s revenue, while conventional and nuclear power each contribute 5%. In the case of offshore renewables, the figure stands at 45%, with the company aiming to continue supporting the growing European wind market, where it is now established with three major offshore wind farms and a growing portfolio of clients.
Back home in the UK, Proeon has also seen a major uptick in national infrastructure projects as the country ramps up efforts to both decarbonise and head towards a cyber-secure future. Now accounting for a further 40% of the company’s revenue, its uniquely skilled team of engineers are developing some of the most robust and reliable control packages to support many large energy developments throughout the UK.
In all cases, Proeon’s full in-house offering has proven to be popular with clients, the company also willingly collaborating with other partners to secure additional expertise and achieve better outcomes as is necessary. With around 80 specialist discipline engineers and support staff at Proeon, strides are being taken across its nuclear, offshore wind, national infrastructure, and hydrogen offerings, the firm stands in good stead to excel as its three key markets continue to provide growth opportunities.
Story type
#resilience (main category)
#diversification, #export
Benefits
▸ Infrastructure projects now accounting for 40% of the company’s revenue.
▸ Clients satisfied with Proeon’s full in-house offering.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Accept that failure is good, you can’t learn from success.
▸ Confront the challenge to do the right thing when it comes environmental issues, business practices, getting in touch with local communities, retain and attracting skills, etc.
For government
▸ Implement a humanity-first agenda at any cost, no excuses.
Proeon Systems at a glance:
Key products and services: complex and critical control solutions across many sectors where high levels of diligence, quality and safety standards are prevalent.
Main industries served:
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 45%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
▸ Nuclear power – 5%
▸ Oil and gas – 4%
▸ Others (energy): gas grid and infrastructure – 40%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 1%
Headquarters: Norwich, UK
Year established: 2003
Number of employees: 80 (Proeon Systems), 14,000 (Group)
Revenue: £10m (Proeon Systems), £1.4bn (Group)
Revenue from exports: 45%
Proserv
Prioritising partnerships to power up profitability
How is Proserv thriving?
The past few years have seen Proserv steadily derive a greater proportion of revenues from the services side of the business. Recognising the need to bring a different approach, the company launched its EPC partnership model to simplify and expand the possibilities open to customers. The strategy has clearly worked, with Proserv now engaged in four such endeavours with EPC firms and building up a strong portfolio of success stories, representing a track record that is becoming increasingly difficult for the market to ignore.
The challenge - With decades of experience, Proserv stands tall as a global controls technology leader delivering solutions for critical infrastructure across the energy sector. At the heart of the business is the development and deployment of technologies that improve the reliability, optimise the performance and, ultimately, extend the operational life of key assets.
As the 2010s ended, the firm identified the need to collaborate with other EPC companies. As each three-to five-year cycle for long-term service agreements ends, a new approach is needed to increase the support offering to asset operators and accommodate their changing needs. This, Proserv concluded, required looking at new offerings – not only for managing client maintenance and installations, but also hardware to allow 24/7 monitoring of ageing production wells.
Proserv knew it had the expertise and networks to offer something different. The key question was how it would package this up into something coherent and practical that would resonate best with customers.
The solution - The answer lay in the development of an EPC partnership model. This has given Proserv and its partners the capability to offer a wider range of products and services, thus reducing the number of contracts to negotiate. Rather than the client trying to match all suppliers to the same goal, Proserv is able to do it for them.
There are three fundamental components to this offering.
The first is collaboration – by aligning with top tier contractors in the Middle East, Proserv can be more competitive at the tender stage while offering the very best capabilities
as a service and support partnership.
The second element is digital. Ongoing technology development is providing cause for excitement, not least with the launch of new Asset Intelligence software which allows for enhanced operational planning and maintenance scheduling. It does so by providing a holistic approach to day-to-day operations and offering ‘predictability’ – through the portal, surveys or engineering drawings are easily tracked and accessed, daily reports are completed and immediately available, and status reports can be examined. Obsolescence management can also be incorporated. The third element follows on from digital and refers to what Proserv calls innovation supporting services and solutions. Here, the company has created Smartbox 2.0, which not only enables live monitoring of production well status, but also supplies H2S readings to allow for safe personnel intervention on site and remote well shutdown in the event of an emergency.
Now three years in, the company has four collaborative EPC partnerships across various operations. And such has been the success of the new approach in the UAE, Proserv has started to replicate this template across the Arabian Gulf.
During the past two years, the firm has also rolled out a new state-of-the-art facility in Abu Dhabi designed specifically to widen its capacity and capability to deliver for client demand. Alongside this, the company is continually increasing headcount to augment its skill sets, a key milestone here coming with the acquisition of Dron & Dickson’s Abu Dhabi-based business.
The new approach has also been vindicated by the securing of projects which it would otherwise have failed to win. For example, in late 2023 Proserv won a five-year contract with a major regional energy company for inspecting and maintaining explosion-proof equipment on offshore facilities. Building on an already strong relationship with the customer, the opportunity arose to reach into other service areas, leveraging newly acquired expertise and software solutions such as Asset Intelligence.
Moving forwards, it is partnerships and collaborations such as this which will continue
▸ Big contracts win and maintenance of a strong relationship with customer.
▸ Increase in company revenue derived from partnerships and collaborations.
Key findings
For industry
▸ New capabilities, new skill sets, new ideas and new innovations are what will take you there and this requires partners and collaborators.
▸ Embrace change and prioritise the future.
For government
▸ Don’t leave the oil and gas market behind.
Proserv at a glance:
Key products and services: subsea and topside controls, digital (SaaS), holistic cable monitoring for offshore wind, intervention workover control systems, measurement, sampling and SCADA systems.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 95%
▸ Renewable energy (including offshore wind) – 5%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 1963
Number of employees: +800
Revenue: US$200m
to define success for Proserv. The trends are certainly promising, with 50% of total company revenue generated from the service element of the business in 2023. Given it was 30% in 2020, it shows how far the strategy has evolved and materialised in a short space of time.
John Bright Operations Director
Raba Kistner
A three-step approach to advancing progress on Gulf Coast energy projects
H. Mickey Barrett PE, Vice President/Principal Engineer: Energy and Infrastructure
How is Raba Kistner thriving?
By breaking down barriers and working with stakeholders across the value chain, including competitors, Raba Kistner is emerging as a genuine problem solver and progress facilitator in key energy projects along the Gulf Coast.
The challenge - Raba Kistner, as a leading engineering consultant based in Texas, knows all too well the challenge of preparing sites for LNG facilities along the Gulf Coast.
These locations are characterised by saturated muck, silts and clays that make it difficult for most equipment to manoeuvre without special measures. Site development can take years to complete before vertical construction can commence.
Raba Kistner was left at a crossroads. The company decided to grasp the situation as an opportunity – a proactive approach was needed, one which would enable rapid site mobilisation and access across challenging locations.
The company knew it had to collaborate with operators, contractors and even competitors. Doing so would drive these LNG projects forward and position Raba Kistner as a go-to problem solver.
The solution - In 2021, the company devised a radical strategy to launch its energy-focused business.
It is centred around an approach to energy projects and construction contracts that involves three steps – follow the money, connect the dots, and exploit your differentiators.
The first step, following the money, is all about Raba Kistner doing its homework – chiefly, leveraging verified data and taking advantage of its key stakeholders’ information. For example, through networking and research, the company found that there was a US$280bn backlog of construction projects along the Gulf Coast. These massive LNG facilities, with individual projects ranging from US$12bn to over US$30bn and construction durations of three to eight years, were driven by the need for port facilities for LNG transportation. With construction materials testing and inspection services typically accounting for 1.25% to
1.5% of construction costs, the potential opportunity for Raba Kistner was estimated to be around US$350m in fees.
Step two is the main collaboration piece. In terms of the Gulf Coast opportunity, Raba Kistner’s Energy Committee met for a day of strategic planning in the summer of 2021. The committee meticulously mapped out all the known LNG projects, assessing their status, such as final investment decisions (FID) or Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approvals, and identified the likely awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.
Armed with this knowledge, the company explored existing relationships, strategically partnering with Fugro, geotechnical engineers with which it was already teamed with on shortlisted projects to pursue, and approaching firms such as Thompson Engineering, Braun Intertec, and Tolunay Wong for potential collaborations. This collaborative approach was key to securing business wins and providing the necessary value to drive these critical projects forward.
Step three entails leveraging differentiators created by teaming up with supply chain partners, including competitors favoured by owners and EPCs. In doing so, Raba Kistner is narrowing the field and presenting clients with their top consultant choices without forcing them to choose one over the other. To further solidify its position, the company recruited two former Braun Intertec execs who had previously collaborated on the Calcasieu Pass LNG project. Shortly after this, it acquired Braun’s Gulf operations, equipment and over 60 staff members, creating a regional presence larger than some of its biggest offices.
This has proven to be a major differentiator. In addition, Raba Kistner and their teammates developed a technique utilising field exploration vehicles and cone penetration testing (CPT) to eliminate excessive laboratory and field testing for major site civil works, providing instantaneous results and accelerating project schedules. This innovative approach has now become the norm adopted by major EPCs on LNG projects across Texas and Louisiana, driving substantial growth for Raba Kistner’s CPT truck and track-mounted rig operations.
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#collaboration
Benefits
▸ Six energy contracts in progress and more on the way.
▸ Major growth observed in the company in multiple fronts.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Adopt the ‘Three-Legged Stool’ approach: develop technical, business development and people skills.
▸ Have a formal strategic planning process for developing success.
For government
▸ Think about what is best for everyone globally.
▸ Be friendly to the energy business world.
Raba Kistner at a glance:
Key products and services: engineering consulting services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 75%
▸ Hydrogen – 15%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 10%
Headquarters: San Antonio, US
Year established: 1968
Number of employees: 802
Revenue: £114m
Revenue from exports: N/A
This strategy has already delivered significant returns. At the beginning, Raba Kistner’s goal for its energy business was to have one major project awarded in 2022 and a minimum of two to three major projects by the year end of 2023. Both goals were exceeded – the company now has six contracts in progress with more on the way.
Across the whole organisation, 2023 was the strongest year in Raba Kistner’s history in terms of fee growth, profitability, business diversification and number of internal career promotions. With its energy division up and running, the firm could be set to break even more records in 2024 and beyond.
Rain for Rent
Adopting a new business to drive the next phase of growth
Mike Parsons UK & Ireland Country Manager
How is Rain for Rent thriving?
After setting up in the UK a decade ago, Rain for Rent has successfully pivoted its delivery model for clients by bringing more of its service scope under its direct control. Now, with the flexibility it needs, the company is opening up a new wave of opportunities.
The challenge - Operating as a family business in the US since 1934, Rain for Rent set up an international division in the UK in 2014.
Building on its legacy and track record in liquid systems engineering, Rain for Rent International provides newly designed mobile storage tanks, filtration units, spill containment and accessories for the petrochemical, refining, construction, environmental and civil sectors, and many other industries which require liquid handling solutions. Today, the group services customers across the European continent from its locations in Germany, the Netherlands and France as well as the UK.
The journey in the UK began through a series of partnerships to help the company establish a firm footing in the market. As a hire company, Rain for Rent opted to leave operations, maintenance and transportation of equipment to established and knowledgeable providers of the industry while focussing on sales and business development. Although the initial approach had proven successful, Rain for Rent has outgrown this model. The last two years in particular have exposed the need for the company to be truly independent and a master of its own destiny. If it was to offer the level of service flexibility to customers that it desired, changed was needed.
The solution - This realisation came in 2021, although it wasn’t until 2023 when Rain for Rent really began to turbocharge the process of transitioning away from a partner-based model.
In many ways, the company reset itself to start-up mode, a reality which gave it the flexibility it was craving but at the same time brought additional pressures and risks, not least around financing and securing a longterm pipeline of work to sustain itself.
Here, the US parent has been key. By providing organic investment, it has placed a significant amount of faith in the UK operation, providing the resources it needs to develop
its team, build a growth strategy and execute it sustainably.
Indeed, last year was a busy and transformational one for the business. In January, Rain for Rent’s UK team presented a business plan to the US group which outlined various scenarios – maintaining the status quo, becoming an independent solutions provider or forming new partnerships. With having the eye on growth and opportunity rather than dependency and sharing control, option number two revealed itself as the way to go.
A suitable property was found in Leeds, and Rain for Rent moved into new premises to store equipment and house offices in July 2023.
Between July and September, the UK operations team recruited additional staff members to support its growth, and the company also invested in forklifts, pallet trucks, warehousing shelving, compressors and other essential equipment alongside an allocation for new inventory.
Another important hire has been the group’s new marketing manager based in Germany to promote the UK business’ new approach –since joining, she has been influential in spreading the message; a key event being an open day for customers and suppliers held in September.
As the process has unfolded, multiple successes have been enjoyed along the way. For example, the company’s product range is newly expanded with more specialist chemical response equipment now in stock to meet specific client needs. This has fed into a growing client base, with regular clients up over the course of just two years. Alongside this, Rain for Rent has served hundreds of other customers on one-off projects, ranging from environmental response to water pump supply.
Several large projects, in addition to a growing pool of regular client work, are driving Rain for Rent’s revenue growth in the UK. This year, the company is budgeting to more than double the income recorded in 2021, when its leadership decided a change in approach was needed to better exploit opportunities in the market.
Now, the focus is on continuing to serve and expand its client base, taking advantage of its newfound freedom to operate with more flexibility and control.
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#optimisation, #service & solutions
Benefits
▸ UK income to more than double in 2024.
▸ Growing pool of client network.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be confident in your vision and listen to experienced people.
▸ Research is key.
For government
▸ Be more realistic with economy: look at what’s really happening, talk to people on the ground.
Rain for Rent at a glance:
Key products and services: temporary liquid handling solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 10%
▸ Nuclear power – 15%
▸ Conventional power – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 70%
Headquarters: Bakersfield, US Year established: 1937
Rapid Solutions
A two-pronged diversification strategy to survive and thrive
Howard Lyn Regional Director
How is Rapid Solutions thriving?
Recognising the need to diversify its offerings and target markets outside of Azerbaijan, Rapid Solutions has undergone a transformation exercise over the past few years. Today, it is now established as a leading contractor of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services to several key players in its target region. The challenge - For many years, Rapid Solutions was operating a healthy business centred around construction and maintenance services targeted to the Oil & Gas industry. The construction services covered electrical, instrumentation, and mechanical disciplines. Whilst the maintenance services covered almost all types of electro-mechanical, rotating and static equipment via a network of certified service facilities in the Caucasus region which straddles Europe and Asia. It operated with a particular specialism in the inspection, overhaul, repair and reclamation of explosion proof (Ex) equipment certified for hazardous areas. However, following years of volatile oil prices and in the aftermath of the global pandemic, the oil and gas industry confronted a transformed landscape. Operators in the Caspian region were aggressively slashing costs, while the market became inundated with companies providing services that Rapid Solutions had previously considered niche offerings. Indeed, as an increasing number of rivals entered the fray and touted comparable services, the company’s specialisation began to lose its distinctiveness. It became evident that adaptation was a necessity – for Rapid Solutions to endure, it required reinvention.
The solution - In 2020, the company settled on a two-pronged diversification strategy that would focus on expanding its service portfolio and tapping into new territories.
Firstly, Rapid Solutions broadened its offering to encompass engineering, procurement, and construction services. This was a logical step, as the company had already garnered extensive experience delivering constructions works to several elite Tier 1 contractors over numerous years. Acknowledging the industry’s pivot towards digitalisation and renewable energy sources, Rapid Solutions also channelled investments into burgeoning service areas such as automation, communications, and intelligent energy solutions. These investments aimed to buttress existing and forth-
coming energy infrastructure to align with broader transformations shaping the sector. Indeed, the move to low carbon and renewable energy sources was a very clear opportunity for the business, not least because it had already built up some experience working on wind farm and solar projects. And while Rapid Solutions has invested more in energy transition than it has generated at present, this is clearly a forward-thinking move that will stand the company in good stead when larger renewable project opportunities come online. Alongside this service portfolio development, Rapid Solutions has ventured into nearby regions that showed promise as burgeoning markets, extending its reach beyond traditional operational areas around Azerbaijan.
Crucially, this diversification was driven not merely by survival instincts, but by a determination to seize new opportunities and lay the groundwork for sustained growth. As a result, the company secured several high-profile contracts and projects from industry-leading operators, including involvement in upgrading the communication infrastructure along one of the world’s key pipelines, spanning 1,768km. Now, Rapid Solutions stands tall as a key EPC contractor for the main and biggest Operator covering the Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye region.
This diversification exercise has been about more than just extending into new services and markets, however. It has also been about people. Throughout the process, the company retained most of its staff by repurposing their skills, with employees transitioned from projects on offshore platforms into more technologically oriented roles. Indeed, the Rapid Solutions team’s adaptability has fuelled the success of the diversification strategy.
The journey of the past few years has also revealed the importance of adaptability and resilience. During this time, the company has learned that a strategy is not a rigid construct, but rather a dynamic blueprint that must evolve in lockstep with changing circumstances.
For instance, its geographical expansion necessitated tweaks to service delivery to cater to national preferences. Meanwhile, the company also had to differentiate itself to compete with firmly established incumbent players. In each instance, and with the assistance of new re-
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#energy transition
Benefits
▸ Portfolio diversification and expansion to new markets.
▸ High-profile contracts and projects win, stablishing Rapid Solutions as one of the main EPC contractors for BP covering the Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye region.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Be patient but persistent with your goals.
▸ Enjoy the rollercoaster ride because you will face ups and downs.
For government
▸ Contractors have a voice and need to be heard, they represent a large percentage of the supply chain.
Rapid Solutions at a glance:
Key products and services: multidisciplinary engineering, procurement, and construction services to the energy industry.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 70%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 15%
▸ Conventional power – 10%
▸ Energy storage – 5%
Headquarters: Cambridge, UK
Year established: 1996
Number of employees: 385
Revenue: £48m
Revenue from exports: 20%
cruits, the company re-examined its goals and trajectory and made necessary recalibrations. Now, with lessons learned and a newly diversified operation in place, Rapid Solutions stands far better placed to serve the ever-evolving energy sector in and around the Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkiye and Kazakhstan regions.
RelyOn Nutec (Copenhagen)
Changing with the times by shifting to blended learning
Andreas Dennak Head of Strategy and Executive Support
How is RelyOn Nutec thriving?
A seasoned training provider to companies operating in the energy sector since 1968, RelyOn Nutec (Copenhagen) has shown that it can stand the test of time. However, after recognising the need to streamline its offering in order to deliver greater value for clients, the decision was made to explore digital models of service delivery and build out a blended learning environment. Through several savvy acquisitions and partnerships, the company now stands taller than ever with a unique proposition to those clients seeking a reliable, flexible and credible partner for sector-specifi c safety training.
The challenge - RelyOn Nutec has been synonymous with training in safety critical industries for well over 50 years. During this time, it has become a truly global company with sites all over the world, specialising in safety and competence services which aid clients in safeguarding their personnel, assets and ecosystems.
Much of its historic growth has been achieved through acquisitions. While this has boosted the firm’s size and scope, the situation it found itself in towards the end of 2018 and into 2019 prompted a change in approach. Indeed, RelyOn Nutec had morphed into a group of training facilities with little operational synergy or point of difference to others in the market. Further, overheads had grown, making it difficult to remain competitive on price.
The solution - The company required a solution which would deliver on two fronts. Not only did it need to streamline its cost base and deliver efficiencies, but it also needed to develop a greater value proposition to justify higher premiums to customers.
One of the key differentiators lied in digital. For decades, RelyOn Nutec delivered its training services to clients almost exclusively in person. While this face-to-face delivery and relationship building with customers is still key, it became clear that some of the theoretical elements of its content could be presented digitally – this, the company’s leadership determined, would help to reduce costs, increase flexibility, and enable clients to receive the same benefits without having to take as much time away from their own day jobs.
Acquisitions, once again, have been key to making this strategy a reality. In 2019, RelyOn Nutec made two key purchases, the first being oil and gas digital learning specialist Cresent’s UK business. The second concerned a tech platform named Rider, which manages training compliance and competence through an online module and has been key to RelyOn Nutec developing an outsourcing model for its clients to cover their training and compliance needs. When the pandemic struck in 2020, the pivot towards a blended approach to learning became even more important. Revenue dropped 83% in one month, making it paramount for RelyOn Nutec to continue developing the remote strand of its offering. Indeed, given the impact of covid, going digital was also no longer a differentiator. To move one step ahead again, the company struck up a partnership with fellow Danish firm Area9 in 2021. As a renowned provider of AI-powered adaptive learning solutions, it has enabled RelyOn Nutec to build out a more responsive, tailored learning journey including flipped classroom learning for clients and their individual employees.
Built on more than 25 years of scientific and mathematical experience, Area9 has more than 30 million learners and 2,000 products on its books. So far, it has generated more than eight billion human responses. Indeed, such a pedigree and track record was always going to make it a perfect match for RelyOn Nutec.
Crucially, these types of services enabled by the Area9 partnership can be delivered via a subscription style basis, offering recurring income. Today, the firm very much stands apart from its competitors, operating with an optimised balance of physical and digital training programmes. This is reflected in the financials, with digital accounting for 14% of total revenues during 2023 – up from 10% in 2021 and 1% in 2019.
Moving forward, the continued growth of this strand will directly bolster RelyOn Nutec’s profitability, not least because digital services carry a margin that is two to three times higher compared to traditional training services which operate at margins of around 20-30%.
Story type
#digital (main category)
#collaboration, #transformation
Benefits
▸ Digital accounting for 14% of RelyOn Nutec’ total revenues during 2023.
▸ Development of a unique and reliable physical and digital training programmes.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Embrace new technology, don’t underestimate what it can do to your business.
For government
▸ Make the world greener in all aspects of what you do.
RelyOn Nutec (Copenhagen) at a glance:
Key products and services: safety and training, competence and compliance company. Moving to be a digital learning provider, consultancy and simulation.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 60%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 9%
▸ Conventional power – 3%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 1%
▸ Others (non-energy): maritime, defence, training – 27%
Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark
Year established: 1968
Number of employees: 1,010
Revenue: £125m
Revenue from exports: 93%
Reflex Marine Ltd
Reaping the rewards from prioritising its people
How is Reflex Marine Ltd thriving?
Reflex Marine has surpassed expectations, achieving record growth despite a significant reduction in its sales team from six members to just one. Recognising the importance of aligning its culture with staff needs and feedback, the company has implemented substantial improvements to its recruitment, retention, and onboarding processes, successfully navigating significant resource-related challenges. With ambitious revenue targets set at £10 million for 2025, the firm is thriving like never before.
The challenge - Founded in 1992, Reflex Marine Ltd specialises in designing and developing offshore personnel and cargo transfer solutions. Emphasising safety, convenience, equipment durability, and cost efficiency, the company and its 25 employees have successfully maintained a renowned industry reputation for more than three decades.
Indeed, the key to Reflex’s sustained excellence lies in the dedication and expertise of its employees. Being a specialist in transfer solutions, Covid-19 has undoubtedly been the greatest obstacle that the firm has faced in recent years. However, in more recent times, it has been the lingering affects of the pandemic that have continued to post challenges across various departments.
Specifically, Reflex points to the challenge of attracting and retaining talent as one that has been particularly significant in recent times. The pandemic has dramatically transformed employment cultures, making flexible and home-based working more common worldwide. Additionally, job hopping has increased, with a 2023 report revealing that over 41% of people who started their current job in 2022 were already actively seeking new roles.
It is this specific challenge that Reflex had been grappling with at length. Indeed, with the retention of key talent having become increasingly difficult, the firm recognised that it needed to find a way to adapt and continually succeed.
The solution - While this challenge didn’t directly impact Reflex Marine’s revenue, it has been a significant source of frustration for the firm. Having always offered competitive salaries, benefits, career development opportunities and personal growth avenues, the firm was finding itself faced with wasted training
costs and inter-team instability due to a rapidly changing workforce.
With so many internal fires arising from the continual overhaul of its staffing base, the firm’s ability to grow and excel became limited. This was particularly evident in 2022, when the firm’s sales resource team abruptly shrank from six to just one.
Interestingly, however, despite this loss in headcount, the firm’s sales actually grew by 40% during this period, surpassing the £6 million milestone that had long remained elusive to Reflex.
This was a lightbulb moment for Reflex. It became clear that the focus shouldn’t be on constantly attracting and retaining the same mix of staff which had been such a struggle and led to inconsistent workflows. Instead, the emphasis needed to shift to market analysts and backing those teams focused on operational support.
To address these issues and support the staff who were delivering results, the firm implemented several strategies. These included flexible working options and more regular, constructive feedback sessions with managers. Additionally, anonymous bi-monthly employee engagement surveys were introduced, covering topics from company catering to role fulfilment, travel options, and training satisfaction.
To better support new staff, the company also revamped its onboarding process to be more effective and straightforward, ensuring that within 72 hours, new hires clearly understand their role within the company. A major part of this initiative focused on emphasising cultural fit for each department during the hiring process, moving away from criteria solely based on academic qualifications or experience, which had proven problematic in the past.
Through these strategic changes, the company engaged many of its longer-term employees, ensuring their voices were heard in shaping this major pivot in HR and hiring strategy. And resultantly, this shift has paid off significantly. In 2023, the firm’s revenues reached £7.2 million – yet another substantial annual increase despite the firm having struggled to hit the £5 million milestone for several years prior to Covid.
Story type
#people & competency (main category)
#culture
Benefits
▸ Flexible working options and employee engagement surveys in order to retain staff.
▸ £7m in revenues in 2023.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Come with a lot of questions and be open minded to feedback. See critical feedback as an opportunity to continue the conversation, not closing the conversation.
▸ The biggest value every company has is its people.
For government
▸ More conversations or an open platform to discuss about developing more businesses in the UK with the intention to export.
Reflex Marine Ltd at a glance:
Key products and services: global experts in crew transfer equipment for offshore industries, 30 years’ experience in the design, develop, manufacture, market safety transfer and equipment accessories.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 88%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 12%
Headquarters: Truro, UK
Year established: 1992
Number of employees: 252
Revenue: £7m
Revenue from exports: 90%
Despite still only having one individual operating in a sales role internally, the firm has now set ambitious targets to reach £10m in revenue come 2025.
Through several simple yet vital changes, the firm has inspired and galvanised a loyal workforce, ensuring their needs are met so they can excel and drive Reflex’s expertise forward for many more years.
Sandra Antonovic COO
From a small family business to an international leader… Reflex Marine has been setting industry standards and pioneering safe crew transfer for over three decades. We offer global excellence across tailored solutions and support.
30+
80+
300+ years of innovation clients across the globe countries, from the Arctic to the tropics
CREW TRANSFER
Leading the way in crew transfer safety
Since 1992, we’ve revolutionised crew transfer on a global scale. With an unparalleled safety record, our carriers are involved in over a million personnel transfers every year – working in the offshore, marine and renewable sectors.
RelyOn Nutec (US)
Operating within a global business, offering it through local delivery
Jenni Lewis Managing Director (Caribbean, Mexico and USA)
How is RelyOn Nutec thriving?
For the Americas, RelyOn Nutec believed that diversification would enable it to succeed through the highs and lows of oil prices and rig counts. In addition to its digital transformation, they aimed at becoming a partner that contributes further value by providing multiple, integrated services. While some of this was facilitated by our Group’s aggressive M&A activity, they also focused on inorganic growth through enhancements to its organisational structure, local footprint and partnerships.
The challenge - RelyOn Nutec experienced similar issues in the America’s region. They fell into a cycle of reactive, marketplace bookings and lacked a comprehensive, long-term strategy that would enable them to compete with competitors and poor market conditions. Add a pandemic that impacted a global economy, and thus resulting in an opportunity for us to reevaluate and reinvent.
While traditional training can be effective, the pandemic, upcoming skill shortage and ambitious acceleration of investments in the United States’ energy sector put pressure on training and capabilities of both the existing and upcoming workforce as well as training providers’ capacity to meet the growing demand. Additionally, the demographics of the workforce is undergoing a generational change which requires them to review effective training practices and understand the unique differences in how these groups consume information.
And while the Americas were instrumental in integrating the recent and planned acquisitions alongside the digital transformation, they had a strong growth strategy of their own. With new centers planned in Mexico and Guyana – as well as partnerships to accelerate progress in the US – RelyON Nutec faced with managing a balance of simultaneous maintenance, integration and growth.
The solution - Its wider digital transformation, and acquisition of platforms and management tools, offered alternatives to traditional training and gave the America’s team a competitive advantage by adding digital, hybrid and virtual training options to its portfolio.
Complimenting this shift was the Americas emergence into Wind Energy. Leveraging RelyOn’s European experience in this sector, the organisation upskilled existing trainers and facilities to expand our catalogue. Partnerships with academia, like Massachusetts Maritime Academy and SUNY Maritime College, made renewable offerings available in the Northeast where most of the wind related projects and personnel are located. The renewables division now accounts for 4% of its annual revenue and has an estimated year on year growth of 11-15% for the next three years.
Regions outside of the US were still seeing traditional oil and gas growth – such as Mexico and Guyana. Leveraging current operations in Ciudad del Carmen and Trinidad and Tobago, they invested in two additional centres: Port of Tampico, Mexico and Houston, Guyana. The Tampico centre, which has been fully operational since late 2022, strengthens the delivery capability and rising demand for safety and technical services support to the Gulf of Mexico region. To date, usage of the newly added centre is up 57% as compared to 2H 2023.
In complement, the country of Guyana expressed a strong commitment to developing the local workforce to meet the rising operational and personnel demands that current and future backlog promises. To answer, RelyOn Nutec formed a strategic partnership with Guyanese-owned Atlantic Marine Supplies Inc. to build a training centre in Houston, Guyana. Through this partnership, they will bring more opportunities for nationals and supporting businesses by offering the underpinning knowledge and practical workshop areas to develop and enhance competence. Center opening is currently planned for early Summer 2024. Last, RelyOn Nutec explored customer value propositions that supplemented existing training catalogue, such as Consultancy, Safety Leadership and Competence solutions. They expanded their local structure to include a Technical Services Division that reinforced the delivery capability in these areas. In just two years, this division has contributed 11% to overall annual turnover with an optimistic forecast for the coming years.
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#collaboration, #digital
Benefits
▸ RelyOn Nutec’s US division has contributed 11% to overall annual turnover.
▸ Renewable’s division accounts 4% of its annual revenue and is estimated to grow 11%-15% in the next three years.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Understand the distinction between ‘managing’ a business and ‘leading’ one. The transition from ‘managing’ into ‘leading’ is what enabled the transformation of RelyOn Nutec Americas business and the success it has experienced to date.
RelyOn Nutec at a glance:
Key products and services: safety and training, competence and compliance company. Moving to be a digital learning provider, consultancy and simulation.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 78%
▸ Renewables – 6%
▸ Others (non-energy): maritime – 9%
▸ Others (energy) – 7%
Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark
Year established: 2000 (in US)
Number of employees: 175 (in Americas)
Revenue: £19.7m (in Americas)
Revenue from exports: N/A
Rotork
Revolutionising ESD solutions
Jon Taylor Head of Business Development, Oil & Gas
How is Rotork thriving?
Bath-based Rotork has developed a game-changing solution in the field of ESD.
In finding an innovative use of existing technologies for partial stroke testing, the company is successfully eliminating the guesswork that has burdened clients with unnecessary plant shutdowns due to a lack of certainty over potential problems. This unique solution enables customers to reduce costs.
The challenge - Established in 1957, Rotork has evolved into a powerhouse with a workforce of 3,300 individuals, generating annual revenues surpassing £700m.
Renowned globally, the company stands as a market-leading provider of mission-critical intelligent flow control solutions for oil and gas, water and wastewater, power, chemical process and industrial applications. Specifically, Rotork strives to support its customers around the world in improving efficiency, reducing emissions, minimising environmental impacts and assuring safety.
The focus of Rotork’s survive and thrive journey centres around its emphasis on enhancing emergency shutdown (ESD) control.
Typically, ESD systems employ single acting actuators with integrated springs to ensure fail-safe operations. It’s a well-established fact that plant operators aspire to maintain uninterrupted operations while prioritising safety, necessitating regular safety checks and verifications. Partial stroke testing (PST), a time-tested technology, plays a pivotal role by diagnosing up to 85% of potential failure modes.
In cases where a valve fails to respond during PST, the system simply registers the valve’s non-movement and triggers an alarm. However, operators are left unaware of whether the valve was on the verge of movement, leading to potentially unnecessary plant shutdowns and subsequent downtime to address a potential issue.
Moreover, implementing PST often requires the operator to utilise valve positioners to facilitate testing, resulting in a continuous steady-state air loss. Each device may leak millions of litres of air annually, and in facilities with numerous devices, this cumulative loss escalates electricity expenses and contributes to unnecessary atmospheric venting.
The solution - To address these challenges, Rotork has spearheaded the development of an innovative electronic system designed to operate solenoid valves. Known as PIC0, this solution boasts a unique capability to throttle the solenoid valve, thereby reducing the volume of air passing through while facilitating swift emergency shutdowns. This not only instils confidence in operators regarding the assessment of system integrity in a controlled and timely manner but also mitigates the risk of over-stroking during operations, thanks to its ability to conduct PST at lower speeds.
During PST procedures, Rotork’s solution follows the standard protocol of venting out a specific amount of air in order to achieve a predetermined valve position. As with all existing PST systems, it is entirely possible that a build-up of friction will prevent the valve from moving. However, what sets Rotork apart is PIC0’s Spring Side Pressure Assist, a distinctive approach of applying pressure to assist the spring from the opposite side of the actuator piston, thereby equalising pressure on both sides of the piston. This normalisation of pressure effectively eliminates the effects of air pressure from the equation, leaving only the effects of spring force against friction.
In essence, this removes the guesswork, minimising downtime by providing greater certainty over issues. If the valve fails to move during testing, it unequivocally indicates that the valve will not close in an emergency, thus warranting immediate attention. Equally, it will typically free the ‘stuck’ valve; the performance of which would otherwise remain uncertain.
Notably, while this technology has been available for several years, Rotork has pioneered its application for PST, garnering high praise from clients.
Having introduced the PIC0 Spring Side Pressure Assist in mid-2023, Rotork’s foremost objective now is to further expand its transformative solution into the market and capitalise on the burgeoning pipeline of potential projects, which continues to grow in size and significance.
Story type
#innovation (main category)
#technology
Benefits
▸ Rotork setting foot to further expand new solution into the market.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Always search for innovation and improvement.
▸ Look beyond costs when buying solutions and open eyes to specifications.
For government
▸ Review previous decisions regarding the approval of LNG liquefaction facilities. Although gas is obviously still a hydrocarbon, it is an important transition fuel to reduce dependency on coal, which is far more harmful.
Rotork at a glance:
Key products and services: missioncritical intelligent flow control solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 46%
▸ Chemical, process and industrial –30%
▸ Water and power – 24%
Headquarters: Bath, UK
Year established: 1957
Number of employees: 3,300
Revenue: £719m
Revenue from exports: 95%
Royal Dutch LV Logistics
A multi-faceted response to safeguard against a series of logistics market challenges
Henry Rios
Group Director Commercial, Energy & Capital Projects
How is Royal Dutch LV Logistics thriving?
Operating in a highly complex environment, Royal Dutch LV Logistics has been extremely busy implementing a range of strategies designed to make it fit for the future. Such activities, so far, have spanned the embracement of automation technologies, development of sustainable practices, investment in employee training and wellbeing, and collaboration with external partners.
The challenge - With a rich history dating back over a century, LV Logistics received the Royal Warrant in the Netherlands in 2021 to become officially known as Royal Dutch LV Logistics. It is an extremely exclusive recognition, one which celebrates the contribution that the company has made over several years.
Today, LV is engaged in numerous activities which support companies up and down the energy value chain – these include transportation, project management, warehousing, inventory management, freight forwarding, customs brokerage and supply chain management services.
However, the logistics industry faces various challenges that LV must navigate effectively. These include supply chain disruptions caused by natural disasters or global events, inadequate transportation infrastructure, fluctuating fuel costs and labour shortages. Meanwhile, regulatory compliance, technological disruptions, evolving customer expectations and sustainability pressures further compound these issues and add to the complexity of the logistics landscape.
For LV to thrive, it must strategically plan, innovate technologically, ensure compliance and collaborate within the industry to adapt to changing market dynamics and ensure long-term success, all while addressing operational inefficiencies, wage pressures, and the need for greener practices.
The solution - To address this plethora of challenges, LV is implementing solutions across numerous areas.
For example, the company is investing in key technologies such as IoT sensors, blockchain and advanced analytics to improve supply chain visibility and enable real-time tracking of goods and proactive risk management. At the same time, it is advocating for infrastructure improvements and investing in alterna-
tive transportation modes like rail and waterways to diversify transportation networks.
Sustainability has been another critical focus. Here, LV is in the process of adopting fuel-efficient vehicles, optimising routing, and scheduling to minimise fuel consumption and exploring alternative energy sources, all with an aim of becoming a net zero enterprise. Alongside this, the company is implementing a range of other eco-friendly initiatives centred around the use of renewable energy sources and the optimisation of packaging to reduce waste.
Retaining, developing, and attracting talent is also crucial. To compete in a tough labour market, LV is committed to offering competitive wages, training programmes and career advancement opportunities. In 2023, the firm set up a new online training school for all staff to engage in, with modules covering key topics such as first aid, wellbeing, industry skills and general business knowledge. This is all feeds into its ambition to create the safest and healthiest working workplace possible, an enabling environment which will help it to exceed client expectations through exceptional service delivery.
Additionally, the company is also embracing automation and robotics to augment human workloads and make its proposition more attractive to employees and prospective candidates. Indeed, emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning and predictive analytics are helping LV to optimise operational processes, enhance decision-making and improve customer experiences. Here, the firm is focusing on providing personalised and transparent services, including real-time shipment tracking, flexible delivery options and responsive customer support channels.
Communication and collaboration are other important priorities which are helping LV to embrace best practice and a culture of continuous improvement. For instance, the company has forged strategic partnerships with suppliers, carriers and other stakeholders to enhance collaboration and efficiency throughout the supply chain, working closely with industry associations and government agencies to address common challenges. Furthermore, feedback from employees, customers and partners is being utilised to identify areas for optimisation and process improvements. By implementing this wide variety of solu-
Story type
#people & competency (main category)
#environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ Strategic partnerships with suppliers, carriers and other stakeholders forged.
▸ Development of a safe and healthy workplace environment.
Key findings
▸ Embracing sustainable solutions with 27 hectares site. LV adapting to reduce the CO2 climate issue.
▸ Investing continuously in knowledge, quality and wellbeing of its employees.
▸ Embracing and developing innovative and digital services.
For industry
▸ Engage with numerous organisations.
▸ Be transparent on how to get client’s work.
For government
▸ Stick with long-term vision and deliver on it.
Royal Dutch LV Logistics at a glance:
Key products and services: international logistics services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 35%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 10%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 5%
▸ Energy storage – 2%
▸ Others (energy): EfW – 3%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 40%
Headquarters: Vlaardingen, Netherlands
Year established: 1921
Number of employees: 850
Revenue: £188m
Revenue from exports: 75%
tions, LV is not only gradually futureproofing itself against a series of market challenges, but also setting itself up to improve operational efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and achieve sustainable growth in a rapidly evolving market.
S3 ID
Redesigning its solutions and strategy to better target the onshore market
How is S3 ID thriving?
Rob Speirs
Managing Director
After being successful in the offshore segment of the oil and gas industry for many years, S3 ID wanted to better apply its expertise to clients in the onshore space. Realising some tweaks and adjustments needed to be made, the company took its time to research, develop and sell an evolved offering to existing and prospective customers. Now, five years on from when the research phase began, commercial opportunities are starting to materialise.
The challenge - For well over 15 years, S3 ID has been providing tech-driven solutions to health and safety challenges faced by asset operators. Its unique range of wireless location awareness solutions are Ex-certified, making them suitable for use in hazardous atmospheres where explosive gases could be present, and have been developed off the back of extensive first-hand experience serving the onshore and offshore energy industries.
Over the past five years, the company has aimed to enhance its presence in the onshore market, building upon its established strength in the offshore sector. With a historic strength lying in the offshore sector, S3 ID had initially believed its strategy and solutions would naturally carry over to clients in the onshore trade. Admittedly, however, this assumption led the company astray in some instances.
To properly penetrate the onshore market, and therefore diversify its revenue base and spread risk, a strategic pivot was required.
The solution - The move to better target onshore coincided with the appointment of Rob Speirs as Managing Director in 2018.
Through 2018 and 2019, the first steps of the plan were all about getting prepared. During this time, S3 ID and its team conducted detailed market research and spoke to existing clients in key territories such as Qatar, Thailand and Malaysia about their onshore sites and requirements.
Several conclusions were made after studying customers, the competition and where S3 ID’s current portfolio of products and solutions sat. Crucially, the company decided to pursue opportunities downstream oil and gas. It developed new solutions that spoke to customers and potential customers in this
market and, once marketing materials were produced, Rob and his business development team began to travel the world to put their new offering in front of prospects.
Although the major mechanics of its offshore suite of products remained similar, key alterations were made to account for the higher number of workers typically found in onshore sites. Additionally, client feedback indicated a need for solutions focused more on improving productivity rather than solely on safety. These observations led to new features such as logging the time and attendance of workers, with attention also being paid to making its software more user friendly with enhanced reporting functions and a broader scope of applications.
Much of this development occurred during 2020 and 2021 when the covid pandemic brought a lot of on-site activity to a halt. Come 2022, S3 ID was ready to pursue projects and bid for contracts.
Fast-forward to 2024, and the revamped product suite is starting to gain some tangible traction among significant players in the downstream oil and gas market. The company has secured its first major onshore project in March, striking a deal with a major global Operator to design a bespoke product for its assets in Malaysia. By the end of the year, S3 ID expects to have secured another two projects along with three additional contract wins in the offshore space.
These developments are certainly promising. Five years in the making, the decision to revisit how it approaches the onshore market is on the verge of paying dividends – if its forecasts prove accurate, 2024 will see the company generate 20% increase in revenue from its new onshore business line.
Patience and persistence, alongside some innovative ingenuity, has enabled S3 ID to successfully diversify its business and de-risk for the longer term. As more clients in the onshore space see the merits of its re-designed safety and productivity solutions, momentum should continue to build.
Story type
#resilience (main category)
#diversification, #innovation
Benefits
▸ First major onshore contract win in 2024 with a major global Operator.
▸ S3 ID projects to increase revenues by 20% in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ It can be tough out there. Create a strong and loyal team and keep your customers close.
▸ Understand the fine balance between ambition and practicality but don’t ever give up on the ambition.
For government
▸ More support for small business.
S3 ID at a glance:
Key products and services: safety and security systems for the oil, gas and energy industry.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas –100%
Headquarters: Rotherham, UK
Year established: 2007
Number of employees: 25 (UK)
Revenue: £3m
Revenue from exports: 95%
Safelift Offshore
Capitalising on Middle East market opportunities postCOVID
Steven Simpson Managing Director
How is Safelift Offshore thriving?
Having invested significantly in expanding both its renewables and oil and gas capabilities, Safelift is cashing in on several streams of new opportunities. With a particular focus on the Middle East, the company is gearing up for long-term export-led growth, with ambitions to establish an overseas base for the first time firmly on the horizon.
The challenge - Founded in 1994, Safelift is a proud UK manufacturer and exporter of safety-related lifting and manual handling equipment for global clients across a multitude of sectors. Employing more than 30 staff, it serves organisations across the UAE, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Germany, the Netherlands and beyond.
Pre-covid, the firm had been excelling. Revenues and profits were high, with business booming in both traditional and energy transition markets. However, the pandemic had a major impact. Revenues and margins were reduced due to postponed projects and cutbacks on shutdowns and general maintenance.
Recognising it was over-reliant on the UK oil and gas market, the firm knew that it needed to change tact and diversify its client base –doing so would enable it to minimise the peaks and troughs it had experienced during tough market conditions.
The solution - Safelift has spent the past two years licking its wounds and bouncing back, opting to pursue a fresh approach that would enable it to capitalise on opportunities within changing markets.
Here, expanding geographical reach and presence in export markets has proven pivotal for the company. As certain locations have heightened their health and safety requirements, Safelift has taken advantage.
The Middle East has proven particularly promising, with many organisations in the region requiring upgrading their equipment in line with modern global standards. Here, Safelift has worked closely alongside clients and prospects, highlighting key risks that were being taken for small cost savings.
Having first realised the opportunities in the region in 2017/18 following its attendance at
ADIPEC, where multiple operators and specialists queued up to speak with the company, it began pivoting to offer its services more directly overseas from 2018/19 onwards, with more active visits to the region helping to bolsters its client base.
After establishing a foothold in the time since, Safelift is now looking at the Middle East and Europe through a longer-term lens, working to invest in and expand its capabilities in relation to both oil and gas projects and renewables. This has included adapting products for renewable markets, underpinned by R&D and engineering investments.
Overall, the company has hired specialists and spent over six-figures on Middle East-related R&D over the last five years, with plans to recruit a further six staff dedicated to its operations in the region. At the same time, the firm is currently working on the funding for a new 863-square-metre fabrication facility, with construction planned for 2024/25.
To date, Safelift has invested more than £1m in growing its presence in the region – expenditure that appears to be paying off. In 2022, the company recorded revenues of £4.8m, with £250,000 coming from the Middle East and £700,000 driven by renewables. In 2024 overall revenue is expected to jump to £6m, with £800,000 anticipated to come from the Middle East, and £1m from renewables.
With significant plans on the horizon, including LLC discussions with an in-country partner in the aim establishing a manufacturing facility in the UAE, the opportunities for Safelift will only continue to heighten moving forward.
Story type
#export (main category)
#diversification, #energy transition
Benefits
▸ Big investments in the Middle East region in R&D and new hires are paying off as company recorded revenues.
▸ Increase in revenues from renewable energy.
Key findings
For industry
▸ The energy sector is vital to UK security. Encourage people to think hard before opting out because it provides so many opportunities in UK home market and globally.
▸ Health and safety are critical, no corners can ever be cut, not just in oil and gas, but across all sectors.
For government
▸ Huge advocate of how good UK energy is. Embrace what we’ve got and don’t jeopardize our future.
Safelift Offshore at a glance:
Key products and services: design and manufacture safety-oriented lifting and manually handling equipment, for clients across multiple sectors.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 70%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 20%
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 4%
▸ Nuclear power – 2%
▸ Others (non-energy): defence, marine, construction – 4%
Headquarters: Kemnay, UK
Year established: 1994
Number of employees: 33
Revenue: £5.1m
Revenue from exports: 35%
Samuel Knight
Creating new energy industry recruitment talent and delivering a holistic talent service for their energy customers
Dan Kerr
Managing Director - Energy
How is Samuel Knight thriving?
Samuel Knight International has undergone a transformation on two fronts.
Its energy division, Samuel Knight Energy, has pivoted towards offering more of a turnkey, one-stop recruiting solution for clients seeking to source talent requirements for entire project scopes. This led to the formation of Samuel Knights Projects, which now accounts for around a third of energy-related revenues. Alongside this, the company has changed the way it sources its own talent, opting to hire based on potential and training new recruits from the ground up in specialised niche areas of the energy sector.
The strategy has paid off, with a promising stream of project involvements being completed during the past three years, alongside an increase in internal headcount, expertise and knowledge, and staff retention.
The challenge - There is a huge skills shortage within renewable energy. Many firms cite their struggles to hire good engineers to support their growth plans, partly because it remains a relatively new market and skills are still being developed.
Samuel Knight’s OEM customers were having challenges with candidate attraction and retention with their O&M teams, with many workers leaving projects before completion.
For Samuel Knight Energy, not only was it facing a challenge to find the recruitment talent it needed to fulfil clients’ needs in the renewable space, but it was also facing a challenge to find skilled recruiters with energy industry experience to join SK Energy.
The soluti on - A conversation with GE in 2022 sparked a series of events which inspired the launch of a brand-new business unit, Samuel Knights Projects.
GE was the main contractor working on a project in Markbygden, Sweden, with SK Energy providing individual contractors to provide troubleshooting activities. After receiving positive feedback, GE changed its personnel strategy and was seeking to outsource other scopes of work, including retrofitting and
major component exchanges. SK Energy was already supplying contractors for similar projects, so took the opportunity to bid for a more comprehensive, catch-all recruiting solution that also covered the provision of tooling, PPE, on-site transportation, accommodation and compliance/HSE checks.
Off the back of this, SK Projects was launched as a division specifically designed to provide full installation, commissioning, service and maintenance teams to its customers. This also includes continual training, meaning the technicians are qualified to the appropriate technical and safety standards and are more likely to stay for the duration of a project.
To provision this level of service, SK Energy has had to adopt a new approach to its own recruitment – one which seeks to hire on potential rather than experience. The company created the SK Academy, a learning & development function set up specifically to train recruiters with no previous experience, and now actively seeks graduates from the Northeast of England region, training and developing them from the ground up and providing constant mentoring along the way. They specialise in a narrow part of the industry, generally with a specific geographical focus – the upshot being that, within a short period of time, they develop deep market knowledge within their particular niche. The creation of the SK Academy has increased graduate retention from 65% to 90%, reducing the break-even time for graduates from 11 to six months.
Albeit in the early days, the fresh approach adopted by SK Energy and the new SK Projects is already starting to yield success. So far, SK Projects has completed seven projects with clients, the longest being over a two-year period. Currently, the division is supplying teams to two OEMs, with a third being signed in April 2024.
From a financial perspective, the trends are also looking promising, with SK Projects now accounting for around a third of the annual revenue generated by SK Energy, which produces the largest amount of income across the Samuel Knight International group. At a group level, turnover is also growing steadily, with
▸ SK Projects division completed seven projects and is now supplying teams to two OEMs.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Rather than shuffle between competitors, create talent yourself.
For government
▸ Make the raising of funds as easy as possible.
▸ Support critical industries in developing people.
Samuel Knight at a glance:
Key products and services: global recruitment and project management expert.
Main industries served:
▸ Onshore renewable energy – 45%
▸ Conventional power – 30%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 10%
▸ Energy storage – 10%
▸ Nuclear power – 5%
Headquarters: Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Year established: 2014
Number of employees: 56
Revenue: £20.1m
Revenue from exports: 66%
2023’s revenue (around £20.1m) more than double that recorded in 2019 (around £9m).
With a new approach to finding and deploying talent in a tough market now bedded in, alongside its transformed hiring and development process, Samuel Knight looks far better placed to help fulfil the skills needs of the future.
Schneider Electric
Leading by example to become a global sustainability leader
Chris Dartnell SVP for Power Systems
How is Schneider Electric thriving?
As a global powerhouse in energy management and automation solutions, Schneider Electric has firmly embraced sustainability as its guiding ethos.
While historically rooted in traditional energy sectors like oil and gas, the company swiftly pivoted to address the pressing challenge of greenhouse gas emissions. Leveraging its vast expertise and resources, Schneider Electric is spearheading decarbonisation efforts not just for legacy industries but across diverse sectors.
With dedicated sustainability and process electrification consulting, partnerships in UK transport electrification, and through nurturing emerging green tech, Schneider Electric exemplifies agility and steadfast commitment to driving positive environmental impact as a trusted ally.
The challenge - Schneider Electric, as a global leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, is on a sustainability mission.
Traditionally, much of its work has been in traditional power industries, especially oil and gas. In recent years, as well as the disruption caused by Covid and the subsequent supply chain challenges faced since, the company has witnessed the continuous threat from growing greenhouse gas emissions and has long recognised the need to take decisive action to curb and reverse the trend.
It also knew it could make a huge difference given the formidable resources and talent at its disposal. Leveraging this, Schneider Electric has sought not just to decarbonise the traditional energy sector, but support clients across all industries in their bids to reduce emissions and become more sustainable.
The solution - Crucially, the company knows that it can achieve big things without having to reinvent the wheel.
This is because a lot of the technologies which can help clients to decarbonise already exists – in the heavy industry segment, for example, the company believes that existing solutions can drive 30-40% decarbonisation.
Schneider Electric, as one of the largest industrial software companies in the world, is already helping to make this happen through
its energy management and automation technologies and services.
In recent times, it has created a consulting business, dedicated to supporting clients on their decarbonisation journeys, a key focus being to enable customers to measure various sustainability metrics and build out longterm strategies. Here, the unit works closely with chief sustainability officers, its ultimate aim being to be a positive force for change by building up credibility and demonstrating results with clients. More recently, expert consultancy has been established to help heavy industries accelerate decarbonisation through electrification of their processes and assets, with technologies existing today.
In the UK, meanwhile, Schneider Electric is heavily involved in the decarbonisation of the country’s transportation networks by supporting the scale up of electric vehicle adoption. The company operates several factories in the country, including a large electrical distribution site in Leeds which supplies switchgear to the energy sector, as well as another factory in Scarborough which produces switchgear for electricity grids and EV charging infrastructure.
Schneider Electric also supports the development of other sustainable technologies in their journeys to market, with key focus areas at the moment being in areas such as carbon capture and electrolyses, the process behind the production of hydrogen fuel.
Alongside bringing solutions into the real world, the company is very active on the networking and thought leadership front. Its Sustainability Research Institute, for example, has been engaging on the world stage for several years now, leading conversations around carbon reduction and facilitating knowledge sharing among stakeholders.
Much of that insight comes from sustainable practices being carried out within Schneider Electric itself. Indeed, the company seeks to become the world’s most sustainable company, a feat it achieved in 2022 when it came top of a list of rankings produced by Corporate Knight. It has also been named in 2024’s Top 100 for the 13th year in a row. This is no surprise, not least because all of its 153 factories spread across 38 countries are on track to become net zero operations within two years. In addition, Schneider Electric
Story type
#energy transition (main category)
#digital, #environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ Named in Corporate Knight’s Top 100 sustainability ranking for the 13th year in a row.
▸ On track to have full net zero operations worldwide within two years.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Choose to really have an impact on decarbonisation. Be conscious of what you say and do.
▸ Don’t procrastinate: choose existing solutions and keep up to date with technologies.
For government
▸ Stop delaying energy transition projects. Have a sense of urgency.
▸ Require that companies publish emission reports and prohibit less efficient equipment.
Schneider Electric at a glance:
Key products and services: digitalisation, energy management and automation solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 40%
▸ Carbon capture and renewables –10%
▸ Conventional power – 9%
▸ Nuclear power – 5%
▸ Others (energy) – 36%
Headquarters: Paris, France
Year established: 1836
Number of employees: 153,000
Revenue: £30.1bn
Revenue from exports: 90%
seeks to use 50% sustainable plastics, acting as a customer as well as a supplier to its petrochemical clients.
Looking ahead, the company will continue to build long term partnerships with suppliers and customers, many of which see the firm as a strategic partner and crucial contributor to their sustainability strategies.
Score
Score’s Gas Turbine division is making more out of its assets and capabilities
Paul Stein Managing Director of Gas Turbine division
How is Score’s Gas Turbine division thriving?
Despite performing solidly for two decades, Score’s Gas Turbine division was somewhat stuck in a rut. The status quo carried significant risk because the division relied on a small pool of clients, and it showed no sign of changing. In 2022, a fresh approach was adopted, one that looked to spread risk and better utilise the division’s assets. Fast-forward to 2024, and that decision is paying off.
The challenge - Score’s Gas Turbine division was established more than 20 years ago. An independent supplier of aeroderivative gas turbine services based out of a leading-edge facility in Aberdeenshire, the company specialises in overhaul, repair, upgrade, modification, testing and supply of gas turbines, fuel systems and accessories.
During its time, Score has built up trusted relationships with major OEMs, including GE, Parker, Woodward, and Honeywell, carving out a reputation for reliability.
However, when new Managing Director Paul Stein joined the Gas Turbine division in 2022, he immediately saw that the division was over reliant on work from a small number of major clients. Recognising the need to de-risk, the decision was made to explore how Score’s Gas Turbine facilities and expertise could be leveraged by a wider range of customers for different applications. The challenge, therefore, lay in putting together and executing a strategy to realise this untapped potential.
The solution - Paul Stein assembled the company’s Gas Turbine management team together early on to explore the journey needed to drive different behaviours and accountability. The first wave of change emerged through the shift towards a culture of empowerment that fostered a sense of ownership across the organisation, blended with an open-door policy that motivated colleagues to come forward with new ideas and suggestions.
A second wave of change came through the introduction of clear operational and financial metrics that drove improvement in key areas such as on-time delivery, utilisation, and costs. Furthermore, the metrics enabled the collection of data that was used to make tactical and strategic decisions.
To help embed these new values and culture, several management workshops were held
in the early months of the transformation, with LEAN workshops also involving dozens of employees. In addition, townhalls have been made a staple on the calendar, these meetings occurring every quarter to share growth ideas, business performance and leadership activities.
Changing the mindset of the team has been a huge priority. Paul Stein and his leadership team knew the division had the capabilities to execute its new strategy, with several colleagues holding multiple decades of experience. At the other end of the scale, getting younger talent into the business has also been prioritised, the company’s apprenticeship programme now one of the biggest of its kind in the UK and award-winning.
Success has been felt on many fronts, not least around the reinvigorated culture and behaviour among employees, who actively provide feedback on how the workplace has changed for the better.
In terms of providing a greater scope of services, this has also applied to longstanding clients who are now leveraging Score in new ways. For example, it has broadened its channel partner arrangement with Baker Hughes, which uses Score’s facility for work on fuel systems and compressors, offshore field services and warehousing, as well as customer meetings and inspections. In 2023, this work generated revenue growth, and provides a solid platform to build on.
Overall revenue figures are also on the rise. Between 2021 and 2024, Score’s Gas Turbine division’s turnover increased 20% per year.
Now, the aim is to continue growing the Gas Turbine division building on its recent growth, with opportunities in the energy transition market being of particular interest. Here, the company is on the early stages of an exciting project with a partner to prove a concept for a new carbon capture test cell. Indeed, having injected a new sense of purpose and ambition across the organisation, Score’s Gas Turbine division is now primed to accelerate its growth further over the next few years.
▸ Score’s Gas Turbine division’s turnover grew by 20% annually, between 2021 and 2024.
▸ Strengthen partnership with big names such as Baker Hughes which has generated a growth in revenue.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Have a vision in your mind about where you want to take the business, then look at the people you have in place to decide if they can help you get there.
▸ Be aware of your own weaknesses, and make sure you have a team around you to support you accordingly.
For government
▸ Learn quickly from past lessons, e.g. coal industry – it had no strategy for transition.
Score at a glance:
Key products and services: a global provider of advanced engineering technology services in the fields of valve and emissions management, gas turbines, surface technologies, energy, defence and aerospace.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and Gas
▸ Energy Transition
▸ Mining
▸ Power
▸ Utilities
▸ Defence
▸ Aerospace
Headquarters: Peterhead, UK
Year established: 1982
Number of employees: 2,160
Revenue: £350m
Revenue from exports: 65%
SecurEx
Finding a niche, taking a risk, and reaping the rewards
William Bedford Technical Director
How is SecurEx thriving?
Formed on the shoulders of a well-established family business, SecurEx Technology has evolved from being something of a punt on a new idea to a fully-fledged security and safety company which has become a go-to player for firms operating in challenging Ex environments. With a growing portfolio that is being driven by enquiries received from clients across various industries worldwide, the future looks bright.
The challenge - SecurEx knows the market for security and safety solutions inside-out. Set up in 2015, its modus operandi has been to collaborate with top-tier partners in the security industry to deliver premier solutions tailored for both safe and hazardous environments across multiple markets, including oil and gas, renewables and pharmaceuticals.
But getting there has not been straightforward. The inspiration behind the formation of the company was to bring something different to the family firm, Wath Group. SecurEx saw a gap in the market, but taking the leap involved absorbing a high degree of risk and up-front investment. Alternative means of financing was needed in the form of loans and private investment, making it imperative that the new venture succeeded.
The solution - Despite the risks, SecurEx always had the advantage of being backed by Wath, which continues to manufacture its portfolio of safety products for use in harsh hazardous (Ex) environments.
Development of these highly niche technologies and solutions has taken place entirely inhouse. Crucially, SecurEx was making moves before any competing company spotted the opportunity, a big potential advantage, but one that meant William Bedford was on his own. Investing long hours in building out concepts from home, he has also taken on board feedback from clients and integrators, listening to their pain points and attempting to create solutions to their problems.
The first major innovation, and still the firm’s hero product, is the Ex Electromagnetic Door Lock. This unique certified device works with the company’s door controller and access products, as well as third-party ACU systems, to provide a highly effective security solution for access control in haz-
ardous areas. SecurEx was the first to bring this type of device to market, and with its connections from Wath Group, the product has gone on to sell itself. Indeed, the SecurEx lock has become something of a go-to in the Ex lock domain.
After this initial success, customers soon came knocking on SecurEx’s doors with questions about other challenges facing them in hazardous environments, creating a natural pipeline of product developments that continues to keep the firm busy. Today, its portfolio consists of a range of access control solutions, intruder detection and alarm systems and accessories in addition to the Ex Electromagnetic Door Lock.
Investment in technology early in the process has also been a wise decision. During the transition from developing the first Ex Electromagnetic Door Lock to manufacturing, the company invested in computer numerical control (CNC), a method that automates the control, movement and precision of machine tools through the use of preprogrammed computer software embedded inside the tools.
This has enabled greater production efficiencies and helped SecurEx fulfil an order book that continues to grow. After selling its first Ex Electromagnetic Door Lock product in 2018, revenue from this category, also commonly referred to as mag-bars, has climbed steadily, reaching £150,000 in 2021 and £600,000 in 2023. Newer products like alarm systems, meanwhile, accounted for £300,000 in income last year and are forecast to reach £500,000 in sales during 2024.
The Middle East continues to be a fruitful market. For instance, SecurEx has supplied to multiple companies working on the North Field Expansion Project in Qatar since securing its first contract there in 2021. Well over £1m of value has been derived so far, with key products sold including the Ex Electromagnetic Door Lock, PIR sensing system and RFID readers.
Having mastered and cornered a niche market, Wath Group has reaped the rewards of taking on risk and backing the innovation instincts of its family. Almost a decade into existence, SecurEx has built up a reputation for highly bespoke and technical problem solving for companies in all manner of complex and hazardous operating environments.
Story type
#technology (main category)
#scale up
Benefits
▸ Sales figures reaching new record heights.
▸ Niche market secured.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Don’t over engineer and don’t be over complex – there’s beauty in the simple answers.
▸ Believe in Pareto’s rule of 80–20.
For government
▸ Governments need to incorporate better Ex visibility for regulations in the UK to prevent noncompetent personnel installing equipment into Ex areas.
SecurEx at a glance:
Key products and services: uniquely UK based, specialises in hazardous area security for the modern world.
Sensia is an enterprise at the forefront of digital transformation in the oil and gas industry. Established less than five years ago, the company has gone from strength to strength, developing a highly sophisticated suite of digital solutions designed to meet a series of specific challenges faced by oil and gas operators around the world. With proven case studies now under its belt, the firm looks set to further build its reputation and capitalise on continual digital optimisation efforts among market players globally.
The challenge - As a joint venture between Rockwell Automation and SLB, Sensia has some serious pedigree. Indeed, the company is renowned as a champion of energy industry innovation, combining SLB’s deep oil and gas domain knowledge and Rockwell Automation’s rich automation and information expertise to deliver intelligent, integrated automation solutions to sector specialists.
The firm’s digitalisation and automation capabilities are impressive. Indeed, its solutions are specifically designed to sense, think, control and optimise every aspect of the energy production process to make its clients’ operations smarter, safer and more sustainable. However, it’s not all been plain sailing for Sensia since its establishment in 2019.
Moving beyond the traditional automation solutions that are available in the energy sector is a difficult place to reach in a mature and conservative industry. Combine this with strict safety guidelines and cyber security risks, it is easy to see why the digital solutions available in other industries have not been so quick to be adopted.
Sensia concentrated its digital development efforts on enhancing operations, by gathering field intelligence, analysing data and reporting the best outcome to take. In short, using real time data to make key operational decisions.
The solution - As soon as Sensia was established, the company set about ironing out any potential creases as quickly as possible with the combining of the parents contributed business units. As well as prioritising change management to ensure that the merger would settle at speed, the firm also placed major emphasis on the importance of integrating its Sales and Operations teams.
Cross training across the firm’s four key business units – Process Automation & Safety Solutions, Measurement Solutions, Digital Solutions, Lift Control Solutions – was prioritised to ensure all employees were up to speed on each of its core business units. The firm has also focused on evolving its digital platforms to provide a series of production-based applications, rolling out several new products.
Here, Sensia’s QRATE HCC2 hyperconverged controller stands as a prime example. A robust, secure, flexible and scalable edge controller platform leveraging a dedicated RTU controller with a modern IoT Edge processor and LTE communication, it is an ideal solution in aiding enterprises to manage their assets out in the field.
Indeed, QRATE HCC2 solves several prominent challenges in this domain, spanning everything from remote terminal unit information gathering to cloud interpretation and data protection requirements. By offering a package that delivers in terms of low power, cyber security, edge technology and data transfer, the firm has seen resounding feedback from its clients.
In one instance, an oilfield player came to Sensia requiring assistance in the management of an oilfield comprising hundreds of wellheads. By in turn helping its client to gather information more quickly and accurately, it has enabled the operator to make informed decisions at speed, with Sensia receiving a game changing, highly positive testimonial as a result.
Beyond Sensia’s QRATE HCC2 hyperconverged controller, its clients have also benefitted significantly from the firm’s Avalon product. An open platform that can integrate seamlessly with existing IT/OT investments, Avalon can unlock the hidden potential of assets, allowing clients to visualise and control all aspects of their oil and gas operation. By collecting the right data and contextualising it into real-time diagnostics, production trends and KPIs, organisations become empowered with Avalon in a variety of different ways.
Indeed, the evidence in favour of digitally connected oil and gas operations is overwhelming. From improving production rates and resource recovery to reducing operating costs and asset downtime, the case to be made for Sensia’s
Story type
#digital (main category)
#innovation, #service & solutions
Benefits
▸ Building closer relationship with customers, Sensia has received a game changing, highly positive testimonial.
▸ More companies looking to digitally transform their operations.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Encourage and support the future green energy jobs and opportunities.
▸ See good on your promises – push for those targets, don’t let it be all talk. It needs to come from the top.
For government
▸ Government needs to take a long-term view – we need energy security. We need a proper plan.
Sensia at a glance:
Key products and services: automation solutions provider.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 70%
▸ Hydrogen – 10%
▸ Carbon capture – 20%
Headquarters: Houston, US
Year established: 2019
Number of employees: 1,500
Revenue: £358m
Revenue from exports: 30%
offering is clear. According to Upstream Intelligence, big data could help companies extract 80 billion additional oil barrels globally. Further, Chevron Technology Magazine highlights that production could increase 8% and operating costs decrease 25% from digitally connected oil and gas operations.
With more and more oil and gas companies looking to digitally transform their operations to capitalise on these potential merits, Sensia undoubtedly stands to make the most of a growing market moving forward as a disruptive, proven player in the provision of key solutions.
Sepakat Energy
Journeying
on a business improvement roadmap to profitability
Dzairenny Muslim Managing Director
How is Sepakat Energy thriving?
Asset integrity and specialised maintenance company Sepakat Energy is reinvigorated after investing in the development of leadership capabilities and implementation of a business improvement pathway. Now, with a new direction and proper processes in place, the company is operating on a firm footing and turning a profit in its home country of Brunei.
The challenge - In the period between late 2019 and early 2020, Sepakat Energy, having been in operation for just over five years, faced a critical challenge. Cashflow sustainability was a major concern as the company had not secured any long-term contracts with local operators. Meanwhile, the commercial arrangements with existing clients were not commercially favourable, and the business was heavily reliant on shareholders’ capital injection, accumulating significant accounts payable and debt.
Adding to the challenge, Sepakat Energy’s Technical Manager announced his departure to rejoin a large international oil and gas service company, citing the reviving market demand for his expertise.
Despite this, the firm was confident it had the right offering. In establishing technical partnerships and representation agreements with international companies offering unique capabilities, Sepakat Energy knew that in Brunei’s market, dominated by a single major operator awarding long-term multi-year contracts, securing new work would be a matter of patience.
However, if the company continued with business as usual, it would not survive in the short term due to its depleted financial capability.
The solution - Dzairenny Muslim and Liana Radzak, Sepakat Energy’s co-owners, decided to take hands-on action and fully invest their time in the business, prioritising this venture ahead of other entrepreneurial and employment commitments.
In an effort to enhance their capabilities as owners and managers, the owners invested in self-development through coaching and workshops. They explored various avenues to improve their leadership capabilities – this included hiring a business coach to provide guidance and mentoring, attending business
leaderships workshop, and signing up for Brunei Shell’s Energy Business Academy 2.0, where they had access to an exeprienced business mentor.
Alongside this, the duo developed a business improvement roadmap to steer Sepakat Energy back into financial sustainability.
Here, they identified areas of the business that needed improvement and worked on, setting out a plan to achieve those improvements and close the identified gaps. These included financial discipline and governance, including proper record-keeping and reporting, as well as the setting up of formal HR procedures and processes.
Sepakat Energy also invested in the implementation of critical business IT systems such as Office 365, Zoho Books for financial management, and Track & Roll/People Hum for HR management. Furthermore, the company implemented a quality management system and secured ISO9001 certification in 2023.
Meanwhile, to enable competitiveness and support operational cash flow, the company renegotiated its existing rates for manpower and equipment and renegotiated existing financing credit lines with its bankers. Hires have also been made, with personnel taken on in finance, HR, admin, and operational roles, with many of the positions filled by talented graduates identified through the Brunei government’s i-Ready scheme.
Now, with a better organised and managed business, Sepakat Energy has transitioned into a stable entity which, ultimately, is better able to provide clients with asset integrity and specialised maintenance services.
After making losses in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the company moved into the black in 2022 by generating profits for the first time in the company’s history from a revenue of around B$4.6m. Last year, it went one step better, almost doubling its turnover to B$9m and maintaining a profit despite a period of rapid growth in headcount. With a team of just 12 employees in 2019, Sepakat Energy now has more than 100 full time members of staff on its books in 2024.
Its revenue pipeline is also looking solid, with several contracts involving pipeline maintenance and inspection, parts provision, ma-
Story type
#resilience (main category)
#transformation
Benefits
▸ Sepakat’s turnover has almost doubled in one year, maintaining a profit despite a period of rapid growth.
▸ Staff has grown from 12 employees in 2019 to more than 100 in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Focus on business fundamentals and organisation.
▸ The O&G industry in general has historically lagged in the largescale adoption of technology. This gap needs to be addressed and closed in order for productivity and efficiency gains.
For government
▸ Access to financing for SMEs in the early years of their development is key.
▸ Digital transformation support including incentives and training for adopting new technologies and tools should be offered.
Sepakat Energy at a glance:
Key products and services: energy services business, focused on asset integrity and specialized maintenance services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Kuala Belait, Brunei Year established: 2013
Number of employees: 103
Revenue: £5.76m
Revenue from exports: N/A
terial preservation services and laser scanning and dimensional control and surveying services currently underway, the longest of which ending in November 2029. After taking a step back to evaluate the business, and dedicating more time to it in the process, Sepakat’s owners have successfully steered the ship back on course.
Serimax
On a diversification drive into utilities and renewables
Commercial & Operations Development Director
How is Serimax thriving?
With rich historic roots as a welding specialist serving the oil and gas sector, Serimax is embracing the transition into utilities and renewables. Starting to realise its transformation plan in 2020, the firm has already ensured that 45% of its welding activities are outside of its core market, applying its renowned solutions to valuable new clients in a diverse variety of sectors.
The challenge - As a renowned provider of integral welding solutions for a multitude of major energy projects globally, the firm’s expertise has previously been applied to the oil and gas sector – an association it is now continuing to diversify further from as it works to move into utility pipeline installations for the renewables sector, covering wind, hydrogen, nuclear and carbon capture.
For Serimax, adaptability and visibility are key in supporting the renewables verticals it is targeting, and the need to partner with an experienced welding contractor is essential to their clients’ success. In addition to this, Serimax is backed by a large Research & Development Facility in its WTC (Welding Technology Centre, Paris, France), and building brand awareness around this is pivotal in showcasing its innovative welding solutions for any scenario for the target markets.
Internally, the need for adaptation was key for this. Serimax is lucky in the fact that it has its own in-house training school, where its welding apprentices have been steadily graduating since 2003 with up to 19 welding codings. This training facility is able to identify and provide the key certification for new industries and propel skilled resources into the ‘newer’ industries whilst adopting their base trade skills.
The solution - In many ways, the firm has found moving the dial towards renewables a natural endeavour, with the transfer of skills and knowledge being seamless. Its long history of manufacturing workable solutions in the field to ensure a safe, quality and productive output is achieved has made this possible. On the flip side, several hurdles have been encountered along the way as Scotland has set itself a tough target of hitting net-zero
Marketing Consultant
targets by 2045, five years ahead of the rest of the UK. Indeed, the firm has had to engage in lengthy discussions with key players in the wind industry, highlighting the importance of being involved from the design phase. Despite this, Serimax has continued to make steady and consistent progress in its strategic transformation.
Since 2020, the firm has successfully branched out into utility pipeline installations and added renewables, carbon capture, hydrogen pipelines and floating wind to its portfolio of activities. Such is the success of these new areas of operation, 40% of Serimax’s staff now work in activities outside of oil and gas, with the firm securing several major contracts.
Perhaps the most notable among these is the work being completed for the Strategic Pipeline Alliance (SPA) – a consortium of five companies looking to develop a 500-kilometre utility pipeline comprising 200 kilometres of steel.
Serimax is responsible for completing the E-Joint end prep and welding work, for which it has created a bespoke solution, positioning itself as a valuable welding partner.
Here, the company is already leaving a positive impression. Critically, the client has expressed that Serimax’s unique approach has dramatically reduced internal pipe repairs –a technique it plans to adopt for every one of its steel pipes moving forward to prevent costly, wasteful and avoidable repairs.
Looking ahead, Serimax itself is now looking at wind turbines and offshore floating wind as the next big phase of its evolution. Meanwhile, it is also engaged in ongoing conversations with Scottish ports as it looks to play a significant role as a supply chain partner to the renewables sector. Serimax is in the key position to support the Inverness & Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, as one of the founding partners in this initiative, as the area launches into an incredible investment period in the local area for the Renewable Energy Sector. Serimax has already an innovative welding solution developed specifically with the wind structure in mind.
Serimax has recently been granted the status
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#diversification, #resilience
Benefits
▸ Serimax successfully diversifying, with the renewables market coming next.
▸ About 45% of the company’s profits now come from outside oil and gas.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Invest in training and education, it has never been so important.
▸ Work together in the early stages of project to make things happen faster.
For government
▸ Bring the industry’s leadership together.
Serimax at a glance:
Key products and services: welding and pipeline fabrication.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 60%
▸ Others (non-energy): water – 40%
Headquarters: Evanton, UK (Serimax)
Roissy-en-France, France (Group)
Year established: 1978
Number of employees: 137 (Serimax), 600 (Group)
Revenue: £32m
of ‘Fit for Offshore Renewables’, one of the first seven companies in the North of Scotland.With 45% of the business’s profi ts now coming from outside oil and gas, the firm’s reducing dependence on its historic core market, and progress with its transition goals, continues to provide greater cause for optimism by the day. This embraces their goal to secure net zero by 2035.
Murdo MacAngus
Zoe de Crécy
Siemens Energy
Repurposing a proven onshore gas turbine for the FPSO market
Daniel Tomicic Head of Project Management, Oil & Gas
How is Siemens Energy thriving?
After a decade of successfully serving onshore applications in the energy sector, Siemens Energy’s SGT-750 gas turbine is now being deployed in the offshore world. A notable project to fit an Australia-bound FPSO with the turbine has given the company the perfect opportunity to evolve the product, an opportunity the company has grabbed with both hands.
The challenge - Siemens Energy is on a mission to support the decarbonisation of power generation. It is doing so by enabling the integration of renewable energy into grids through the use of reliable, efficient and low-emission turbines which deliver the baseload and/or supplement the fluctuating supplies from renewable sources.
These include the SGT-750 breed of gas turbine. A lightweight and energy effi cient model, the SGT-750 has a track record of successful performance after years in operation and verifi ed results in various applications, the most common being for use in power generation and compressor applications such as pipelines and LNG.
Recently, Siemens Energy saw an opportunity to enter the FPSO market with a dual fuel SGT750. A first for the sector, the pressure was on for the company to get it right.
The solution - Siemens Energy began to target the FPSO market in 2020. The sector is competitive, but the SGT-750 carried a number of advantages due to its excellent record onshore in terms of performance, low failure rate and strong heat rate, as well as its ability to fit with a heat recovery unit. The unit is also very compact, making it suitable for mounting on a floating structure with limited space. From 2021 onwards, the key priority has been to get the SGT-750 fit for purpose and onto FPSOs. Once in play, Siemens Energy will be able to start building up a track record in the offshore industry.
The most significant of these initial forays is taking place in Singapore in the form of a €190-195m contract to install five units onto an FPSO. Kicking off at the end of 2021, the
SGT-750s are currently being installed as a combined cycle plant with steam generation and heat recovery. The completed FPSO will be deployed in the Asia Pacific region.
For Siemens Energy, it has been a challenging endeavour from the outset.
Despite not having a finalised design at the bidding stage, Siemens Energy’s bid management and sales teams worked diligently with the client teams to successfully identify and mitigate all risks, ultimately securing the contract.
Initially, there was anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the project’s risk elements – however, with all five units now built, tested, delivered and with proved performance above nominal power to customer satisfaction, these concerns have well and truly subsided.
While the project faced challenges such as parts delays and geopolitical events leading to force majeure claims, it is expected to be a win for Siemens Energy. Internal areas for improvement were identified through a ‘lessons learned’ workshop, including finalising clarifications during the sales phase, streamlining customer documentation, and guiding the customer to focus on interface-related comments.
Most notably, the project has resulted in an industrial gas turbine capable of dual-fuel operation throughout the entire load range, a capability previously limited to aero-derivative products. With the increasing trend towards combined cycle solutions in FPSO, the Project serves as an important reference for Siemens Energy’s competitiveness in this segment. The collaborative efforts have fostered a positive relationship with the customer, who is already providing favourable feedback about the company to the market.
As more success stories such as this begin to materialise, Siemens Energy can expect to see demand growing for the SGT-750 in the FPSO sector. For now, it is very much a case of watch this space.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#energy transition, #technology
Benefits
▸ Demand expected to grow for the SGT-750.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Work as a team and a partner with your customer. A good relationship with a client is the key factor to success.
▸ Be transparent when working, internally and externally.
For government
▸ Look at companies’ portfolio and stringent work on lowering emissions and support them.
Siemens Energy at a glance:
Key products and services: energy technologies solutions and services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas
▸ Renewables
▸ Independent power generation
▸ Pulp and paper
▸ Marine
▸ Others
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Year established: 2020
Number of employees: 95,671
Revenue: £26.5bn
Revenue from exports: 100%
SOURCE
Bring its innovative Hydropanel technology to new markets
How is SOURCE thriving?
Rob Bartrop CRO
With its revolutionary way of producing and storing drinking water, SOURCE is providing a sustainable solution for organisations in need of reliable supply to hydrate workforces and residents. After gaining quick traction in markets such as the US and Australia, the company is progressing in previously challenging markets, including the GCC.
The challenge - SOURCE has pioneered a game-changing means of producing safe drinking water for individual, commercial and industrial use cases. Its patented Hydropanel solution uses only sunlight and air to generate sustainable supplies of water, making it accessible in almost every climate and location worldwide. Crucially, this all happens off-grid with no required infrastructure, all while preserving levels of groundwater.
Set up in 2014, the company has already gained traction. SOURCE’s commitment to social good is recognised as a Public Benefit Corporation, evidenced by its inclusion in Fast Company’s 2020 list of the most innovative companies in the social good sector.
From a commercial perspective, Hydropanel had been receiving mixed responses from different markets. In the US, players in the private and public sectors jumped to adopt the solution, while there was also substantial support from educational institutions. This swift acceptance demonstrated its viability and appeal in specific contexts, with global NGOs and philanthropists such as the WWF and USAID adopting the Hydropanel and implementing it in South Africa and Asia Pacific. However, because the non-extractive nature of its technology is new to many government officials and regulatory agencies, project approval doesn’t happen quickly. Other international markets such as the GCC have proven tougher nuts to crack, calling for a change in strategy – one geared around building trust and nurturing relationships in these regions.
The solution - SOURCE therefore adjusted its approach to emphasise engagement, education, and fostering long-term relationships with potential clients and partners.
There are several key messages. From a technology perspective, the fact it is scalable and designed for off-grid operation without electricity or infrastructure, marks a significant
innovation. Historically, transporting drinking water from its source to demand points has relied on aging infrastructure. Moreover, traditional well water poses challenges.
SOURCE Hydropanels offer a distinct solution, generating high-quality drinking water onsite using solar energy and air. Through solar-powered fans, each Hydropanel draws in air, passing it through water-absorbing material to convert water vapor into clean, mineralised drinking water. This water is stored safely until required, ensuring both health and taste benefits.
The company has always had a compelling story to tell. Its mantra is built around providing a solution that not only addresses individual needs for clean and sustainable water, but also contributes to a larger movement towards environmental responsibility and resource independence.
By focusing on education, ease of access, and trust-building, SOURCE’s new strategy aims to position the Hydropanel not simply as a product. More than that, it is a key player in the global shift towards more sustainable living practices. The company is doing this by creating awareness and informational campaigns, facilitating and pursuing sales for medium-sized purchases to build trust in its partnerships, and engaging with the governments and trusted companies.
Several projects and developments have taken off. For example, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation is supporting its communities and students by installing 400 SOURCE Hydropanels in two communities and two schools, helping to ensure a resilient source of clean drinking water for many years to come.
In Oman, a partnership is underway with Renaissance, the country’s leading accommodation, services solutions and integrated facility management company which also has a growing presence in UAE and Qatar. Using SOURCE Hydropanels, the company will generate sustainably sourced drinking water for Renaissance Village Duqm (RSVD) in Oman’s Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD), with plans to expand to additional sites.
Breakthroughs such as these represent important inroads into markets which SOURCE had previously struggled to gain traction in. In-
Story type
#environmental sustainability (main category)
#technology
Benefits
▸ Increasing engagement and interest from potential and existing clients.
▸ Presence in over 50 countries.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Think outside the box and embrace continuous learning.
▸ Work together to tackle global problems such as drinking water scarcity.
For government
▸ Embrace new technologies and simplify their adoption process.
▸ Advocate for renewable and clean solutions, enabling consumers to play an active role in sustainable practices and thereby alleviating the sole burden from the government.
SOURCE at a glance:
Key products and services: world’s first renewable water supply.
Main industries served:
▸ Energy – 35%
▸ Others (non-energy): communities, schools, hospitals, government –65%
Headquarters: Scottsdale, US
Year established: 2014
Number of employees: 320
deed, since adopting its new positioning strategy, the organisation has seen increased client engagement and interest with both new and existing customers.
Now in 52 countries and counting, SOURCE and its Hydropanel solution are certainly ones to watch as the world seeks to stabilise and futureproof a sustainable drinking water supply.
Special Piping Materials
Passing a test of resilience and diversification to overcome a challenging period
Les Buckley CEO
How is Special Piping Materials thriving?
Founded in 1989, Special Piping Materials (SPM) has supplied the oil and gas industry with exotic stainless steel products, including duplex and super duplex, pipes fittings and flanges. With a reputation for quality and excellent service, SPM is now firmly established on almost all approved vendors lists of oil and gas companies and EPC contractors. Recently, all industries have had to respond to the difficult conditions caused by COVID and the war in Ukraine. The price of raw material almost doubled, which had a far-reaching impact on the whole supply chain. However, SPM continued to re-stock, although on a smaller scale, allowing the company to continue to be profitable through those two to three years.
One of SPM’s main strengths is that it is open 24 hours per day. Offices and warehouses are located in England, Scotland, Singapore, Australia, the UAE, Brazil and the US. Now, in 2024, conditions have stabilised, and SPM can move forward. Due to a strong cash flow, in 2022 it was able to diversify and create a new company: Special Metric Materials Ltd.
The challenge - The renewables sector and global warming have made it clear that the future of oil and gas is limited. Although the market for new products like lithium (for batteries) and the progression of FPSOs is still strong, SPM searched for a way to diversify.
Water treatment has proved to be the right answer. The sector was a great fit because the product is still stainless steel pipe, fittings and flanges – but in metric and ISO thin wall sizing, in contrast to SPM’s core products for oil and gas, where the products are generally imperial, with a heavier wall thickness.
The solution - So, Special Metric Materials Ltd (SMM) was established in 2022, a sister company to SPM. SMM is built to serve the water treatment and business services sectors. The experience and know-how of SPM, a similar model of company, carrying stocks of pipes and fittings, has expediated the process. The operation requires competitive pricing and next-day deliveries. High quality product goes without saying. To help with the transition, SMM hired an experienced specialist and built a relationship with a Scandinavian manu-
facturer of metric stainless steel welded pipes and fittings – OSTP – one of the world’s leaders of this product. Together with OSTP as a partner, SMM supplies the water, process and building services sectors with key items such as metric and ISO stainless steel piping systems, a range of Tru-Bore®, ISO and hygienic materials.
David Garratt, a director of OSTP, commented: “SMM is one of OSTP’s key partner distributors and stockholders in the UK, for welded stainless steel metric Tru-Bore® products and in addition welded ISO and ANSI pipes and fittings. Their progress in the last three years has been impressive and we look forward to supporting them in the coming years”.
The success of SMM arrived quickly. In 2023, the company, in its second year, was profitable. 2024 is extremely busy and the future is looking bright with over 100 customers on the books. In-house projects include supplying the materials, through contractors, for football stadiums. In June 2024, SMM is moving premises to a 52,000ft² unit. More stock will follow, and the size of the unit will enhance its ability to provide an even better service. Meanwhile, after just over two years, SMM’s headcount is now 15 and growing. Indeed, several factors have contributed to the rapid success enjoyed by SMM so far. Starting from scratch with an experienced manager, and a staff who knows the product inside out, has expediated the whole process. Teething problems have been eliminated earlier than usual.
Alongside SMM, SPM continues to flourish. An interesting project is ongoing – supplying the stainless piping system for a lithium plant being constructed for Tesla. Desalination plants also use super duplex, a material which is used where brackish water is present. It should be noted that material carried in stock by SPM is tested in accordance with NORSOK, ISO 17781 and provided by M650 approved manufacturers.
Combined, the two entities are forecast to generate almost £60m of business in 2024, with £9m of that coming from SMM. With two successful brands, the organisation is set up to thrive in the coming years.
Story type
#diversification (main category)
#collaboration
Benefits
▸ Significant supplies of piping materials to a lithium plant being constructed for Tesla.
▸ Revenue forecast for 2024 at £60m.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Recognise who are the potential key figures in your business and provide the right incentives and work environment to allow them to flourish.
▸ Understand the importance of cash flow, especially when in the stocking and manufacturing business.
For government
▸ Lower corporation tax to allow businesses to grow and invest.
Special Piping Materials at a glance:
Key products and services: stockholder and supplier of piping components.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 80%
▸ Nuclear power – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy): water – 15%
Headquarters: Dukinfield, UK
Year established: 1989
Number of employees: 80
Revenue: £45m
Revenue from exports: 80%
SPP Pumps
Investing in the next generation of technicians to futureproof its business
Robert Tichband COO
How are SPP Pumps thriving?
Building on a legacy which started in 1875, SPP Pumps is investing in the future through its new apprenticeship programme. In a short space of time, the company has already recouped its investment into new machinery to accommodate the initiative, at the same time reducing its reliance on costly subcontracting processes.
The challenge - SPP Pumps has truly stood the test of time. Armed with a rich legacy spanning close to 150 years, the company remains a prominent manufacturer of centrifugal pumps and associated systems. Today, it excels in the design, supply and servicing of pumps and is renowned for its fire pump packages and highquality equipment tailored for a wide range of applications across a diverse array of sectors all over the world.
However, even the most formidably experienced firms encounter challenges, and SPP has had to negotiate its fair share since its founding in 1875. Among the most recent obstacles faced by the company have been high subcontracting costs and delivery delays, prompting it to consider the value of bringing more of its processes in-house.
The solution - Doing so requires a steady pipeline of talent coming into the organisation. Over the years, SPP has found it difficult to recruit skilled technicians, prompting a move in 2023 to recruit from the bottom and train people in-house to SPP standards and cultural values. Alongside this, SPP sought to invest in its in-house machine shop and give it a new lease of life, bringing in new technologies and efficiencies to help make it more competitive in the modern industrial world.
These activities have been centred around a new apprenticeship programme called Future Cell. Designed and implemented by the machine shop team, it gives apprentices and those wishing to retrain or further their training the opportunity to learn from experienced colleagues and take
part in exciting challenges, working on real-life pumping products and projects.
To deliver the programme, which currently has five apprentices onboarded, SPP invested in two new CNC machines with remote monitoring and wireless probing, allowing trainees to develop their programming and machining skills whilst producing critical pump components. SPP also purchased three conventional machines, enabling trainees to become proficient in the underpinning knowledge essential to CNC machining and production engineering.
The initiative has already been a resounding success. So far more than 3,000 machining hours have been achieved, activity alone which has covered the investment into the new equipment. One former apprentice, Ben Warren, who also went through a programme at SPP, has impressed to the point where he is now in charge of the Future Cell and received a rising star accolade at the BPMA awards.
From a purely practical perspective, the Future Cell initiative has enabled SPP to reduce its reliance on subcontracting, with 10 apprentices going onto full-time employment with the business over the past two years.
In terms of financials, a key indicator of success has been how SPP is generating greater income with a smaller team, which came about during the pandemic period as projects were put on hold. In 2018, the company turned over £45m with a headcount of over 310. In 2024, with a team of 260, SPP is forecasting revenues of £70m.
It is an impressive feat, one which the firm seeks to build on as it grows its team again through the Future Cell programme. Indeed, growing awareness of the initiative and broader opportunities to develop careers in the sector has been a priority, the team supports primary school visits,
Story type
#people & competency (main category)
#optimisation, #scale up
Benefits
▸ Revenue forecast of £70m in 2024.
▸ Over 90% of staff retention level.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Value the people, organisation is nothing without them.
▸ Recognise the importance of communication and make sure you communicate effectively.
For government
▸ Be more realistic about oil and gas and admit it as part of the solution.
SPP Pumps at a glance:
Key products and services: design, manufacture and service of centrifugal pumps and pumping solutions.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 63%
▸ Carbon capture – 2.8%
▸ Energy storage – 2.8%
▸ Conventional power – 1.4%
▸ Others (non-energy): water, others –35%
Headquarters: Coleford, UK
Year established: 1875
Number of employees: 375
Revenue: £110m
Revenue from exports: 70%
secondary school careers events, scouting engagements, STEM activities, and work experience placements.
With staff retention levels north of 90%, SPP looks to have a sustainable, future-proof team that can deliver even more success for clients and the company in years to come.
STATS Group
Embarking on a promising path under new ownership with fresh ideas
Leigh Howarth CEO
How is STATS Group thriving?
After trebling its business during 10 years of stewardship under CEO Leigh Howarth, STATS Group has entered a new phase of development after being acquired by Japanese firm Mitsui in the summer of 2023. With Howarth still at the helm, the company’s strategy for 2024-2026 has been defined –one which identifies a series of clear goals and objectives wrapped around the ongoing vision of being a first-class, specialist tools and technology services provider for a safer energy industry.
The challenge - STATS Group has come a long way since it was founded in 1998. Today, the company has operations in nine countries, making it a global player in the field of pipeline repair equipment manufacturing and engineering services. Over more than 25 years, its reputation has been built around excelling in the servicing of large-diameter, high-pressure pipelines, a process which requires advanced technical capabilities unique to STATS. Over the years, the company has carried out thousands of high-criticality projects for major national and international energy companies and pipeline operators in many countries around the world.
Its current CEO, Leigh Howarth, has been steering the ship for a decade, during which time STATS has grown its revenue from £26m to £75m last year. Now, with new ownership on board, the time has come to further accelerate the company’s strategy.
The solution - Mitsui took an interest in STATS for several reasons. Within the context of moving to a more circular economy, the demand for services capable of prolonging the life of ageing energy pipeline infrastructure through maintenance and repairs is expected to continue to grow.
At the same time, the ongoing energy transition process creates a necessity to convert existing pipeline infrastructure to the supply of hydrogen. In addition, the capturing, transportation, and storage of carbon dioxide is required to support a decarbonised society. Seeing that STATS is ideally positioned to provide its products and services to support these emerging market opportunities, Mitsui made the decision to invest, with the
takeover being announced in June 2023.
Speaking at the time, Howarth commented: “The acquisition of STATS is complementary to Mitsui’s plan to establish a strong, sustainable presence in the pipeline maintenance market as a service provider. Having worked with the Mitsui team for several months now, we’re delighted to be formally joining forces to pursue opportunities in both the traditional oil and gas pipeline markets and the emerging low-carbon markets.”
STATS will continue to deliver its services, products and solutions to customers from its existing operational bases across the globe, but will do so while under the umbrella of a refined strategy for 2024-2026, taking into account the broader opportunities Mitsui will bring to the company.
The three-year plan is framed around a stated vision “to provide specialist tools and technology services for a safer energy industry”. Specifically, this entails hitting a series of objectives over the period, led by a goal to avoid incidents in the pursuit of generating annual revenues of £100m by 2026, improving operational efficiency by 10% and delivering on its product innovation and development plans. Alongside this, other key targets involve reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building out internal capabilities, and increasing the diversity of its workforce.
Underpinning these goals are four core values – teamwork, respect, delivery and innovation. Adhering to these will ensure STATS works as one global team, operating with integrity and committing to reliable and responsive delivery for clients, while acting with curiosity to pioneer new solutions. All STATS operating regions, each run by different regional leads, will operate under these parameters – helping to optimise processes and behaviours and, ultimately, consistency across the Group’s global activities.
Based on how STATS has developed with Howarth as CEO to date, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the company enjoying further success as it journeys through its three-year strategy, now in conjunction with Mitsui. It has demonstrated it has market leading technology which is
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#culture, #optimisation
Benefits
▸ Refined strategy aims to generate revenues of £100m by 2026, improve operational efficiency by 10% and deliver on its product innovation and development plans.
▸ Company takes pride in its market leading technology combined with a customer-centric culture.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Do not underestimate the length of time and amount of money it takes to transform from UK to international business.
▸ Focus on consistency, communication and trusted leadership.
For government
▸ Commit to a long-term strategy, for the good of society.
STATS Group at a glance:
Key products and services: supply of pressurised pipeline isolation, hot tapping and plugging services to the global energy industry.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 99%
▸ Hydrogen – 1%
Headquarters: Kintore, UK
Year established: 1998
Number of employees: 400
Revenue: £75m
Revenue from exports: 90%
combined with a customer-centric culture of understanding clients’ pain points and providing solutions to problems. The company takes pride in providing opportunities for its talented employees to be stretched – people who will be central to ensuring business excellence, innovation and growth in the years ahead.
Sulzer GT Aero Ltd. (Alba Power)
Revitalising the business through a full integration into a global parent
James Davies
Managing Director
How is Sulzer GT Aero Ltd. thriving?
As a result of the acquisition by Sulzer, the former Alba Power is now undergoing a full integration process with its parent company. While Sulzer is widely recognised for its expertise in pump services, it is also a significant player in rotating equipment services. Leveraging this strong foundation, Alba Power, now known as Sulzer GT Aero Ltd, has been designated as the primary hub for aeroderivative gas turbine services within the broader Sulzer organization, enabling us to deliver even greater value to our customers.
The challenge - For more than 20 years, Alba Power was a family-owned business specialising in the service, inspection, repair and overhaul of Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney and other aeroderivative gas turbines, as well as power turbines and controls.
Switzerland-based Sulzer acquired the company in 2019, allowing Alba to operate as usual following a partial integration. In the past two years, however, it became clear that a complete integration was necessary in order to achieve global growth ambitions.
As part of this, the local business is to be rebranded and reorganized, and significant investments are being made in people and processes, equipment and facilities.
The solution - Integration of a privately-owned company is always a delicate matter, but it can be particularly sensitive when the company has been successfully operating for two decades. The benefits, however, can also be significant. With its Aberdeen centre of competence for aeroderivatives, Sulzer GT Aero is uniquely positioned to provide local service while also extending support to the broader Sulzer organization.
James Davies was appointed Managing Director in September 2023, and is spearheading a number of initiatives to ensure a seamless integration.
Apart from positioning the aeroderivative gas turbine services hub for Sulzer, a top priority is to establish a one-team culture and offer employees a broader purpose and sense of belonging to a larger company. In order to reach its growth goals, the company has recruited up-skilled leaders for HR, sales, operations, engineering, purchasing and
next-generation technicians. An apprenticeship program that had lain dormant for four years has also been revived. The company has recruited 15 new employees, representing a significant investment in its future and long-term potential.
The next wave of investment in Aberdeen is already in motion for 2024, which plans to address the location’s physical facilities. Here, new yard tarmac, fixtures and tooling will be installed, and the storage system will be completely revamped. This is particularly important, as it will enable more comprehensive operational efficiency gains at the facility to free required resources and best ensure timely delivery for our customers.
Processes will also get attention. As part of the ongoing integration, both time and money are being allocated to new, more scalable systems that allow superior cost tracking and other internal processes and align with Sulzer’s systems. As part of its investment plan, Sulzer GT Aero has also earmarked investment to enhance output quality and improve processes, including implementation and training and for standardised operating procedures. The ultimate goal is to provide an enhanced customer experience in accordance with global Sulzer service standards.
The most significant investment to date, however, has been around the integration of Sulzer GT Aero’s capabilities with Sulzer’s wider network and key suppliers. Carried out in collaboration with Sulzer’s manufacturing locations across Europe, this investment has resulted in production parts that are already proving themselves in operation at customer sites.
It has been a busy period, but one that is yielding some promising results. Due to available market opportunities, Sulzer GT Aero is expected to grow substantially during 2025 while maintaining its existing customer base. Many people are unaware that Sulzer is an important player with much transferable experience and expertise to offer the industry. Sulzer’s substantial investment, parental guidance and commitment to Sulzer GT Aero is a major milestone in the company’s history, promising many growth opportunities for the future.
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#resilience
Benefits
▸ Reduced engine repair and overhaul turnaround times.
▸ Enhanced customer experience.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Seek expansion and growth.
▸ Be resilient.
For government
▸ Support apprenticeship programmes, R&D, innovation projects, etc.
▸ Enable growth in manufacturing via expansion of light and heavy industry.
Sulzer GT Aero Ltd. at a glance:
Key products and services: independent service provider for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of legacy Rolls-Royce (RR) aero-derivative gas turbines and power turbines.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 90%
▸ Conventional power – 9%
▸ Nuclear power – 1%
Headquarters: Winterthur, Switzerland
Number of employees: 13,000
Revenue: £3bn
Revenue from exports: 70%
Technical Royal Excellence
Meeting the demand for a one-stop shop solution
Tanweer Ahmed General Manager
How is Technical Royal Excellence thriving?
Technical Royal Excellence (TRE) continues to keep a finger on the pulse of energy market requirements. Having recognised the demand for a one-stop crane and lifting solutions shop, the company is now providing a suite of new integrated services to clients across the industry. After dramatically expanding both market share and revenue because of these recent service alignment efforts, as well as making several savvy technology investments into VR training and software-based reporting and certifi cation, the UAE-based firm has continued to rise to a series of new and evolving challenges.
The challenge - Established in 2014 under the umbrella of Royal Marine Group incorporated in 2001, UAE-based TRE provides products and services in several specialist areas, from lifting inspection and crane maintenance to training, equipment rental and non-destructive testing (NDT).
Currently, a major part of its offering lies in third party inspection services. However, the company has faced a series of challenges here in recent times.
Having previously prepared inspection reports using relatively old school Microsoft Office applications such as Word and Excel, it found that its process was fraught with challenges. Not only was it time consuming, but also inconsistent and subject to errors that would result in client complaints.
In addition, the company had also struggled because of its dependencies on other parties in arranging the testing of equipment, with the presence of inspectors needed to witness and verify the testing being a particularly common hurdle. Indeed, arrangements were usually made by other suppliers, causing delays for TRE’s clients.
Thus, it was diffi cult to get all stakeholders aligned within a specifi c timeframe, with TRE’s surveyors regularly losing hours of time from waiting around, harming their productivity and job satisfaction through unplanned overtime and long hours.
With the vast majority of crane and lifting
equipment manufactured in Europe, North America, and Australia, the non-availability of parts and trained technicians was also adding to delays and operational disruptions. And now, with Gen Z joining the industry, TRE has also had to work to adapt its training methods for a wave of new employees that prefer innovative or technological learning models.
The solution - TRE continuously analyses areas for improvement and ways in which it can more closely align with its energy sector needs, working to provide innovative and value-added solutions for its clients and employees.
Regarding the latter, the company has recently implemented a new crane operator training scheme which leverages virtual reality and is highly acclaimed by industry experts. Not only should this shift serve to enhance its training delivery overall, but it will also closely align with the needs of new Gen Z starters.
Internally, it has recently implemented software-based reporting and certification solutions, carefully designed in line with industry needs, to eliminate the inefficiencies and errors it was encountering by relying on the Microsoft Office Suite for complex reporting needs. Indeed, as anticipated, this initiative has yielded significant accuracy and efficiency improvements.
Additionally, the company recognised the struggles that rig operators, marine specialists and EPCs have faced in getting a single solution that aligned with their crane and lifting needs. To address this, the firm is working to include several new integrated services that are allowing it to be a one-stop shop for its clients. Here, TRE is now offering lifting surveyor services, crane maintenance and overhaul, testing equipment such as water weights, solid weights and load cells, SLI calibration and trouble shooting, NDT services, health and safety trainings all in one coordinated package. Resultantly, the company has successfully established itself as a supplier of choice among many industry professionals, enabling them to do business with one single supplier rather than working with four or five different partners.
With these changes being implemented since Q2 2022 onward, the firm is already enjoying
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
Benefits
▸ Revenue growth of 63% in 2023.
▸ Company headcount increased 23%.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Focus now on sustainability to move towards clean energy as soon as possible.
▸ Look for innovative solutions.
For government
▸ Provide funding for new business initiatives with sustainable goals to ensure a green future.
Technical Royal Excellence at a glance:
Key products and services: consulting, inspection and training services to a variety of industries.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 88%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 12%
Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Year established: 2014
Number of employees: 40
Revenue: £6.1m
Revenue from exports: 10%
significant success from its efforts just two years on.
The figures speak for themselves. Not only has TRE increased its market share from 18% to 35%, but it also achieved 63% revenue growth in 2023, with its crane and lifting activities directly responsible for 15% of overall revenue. Meanwhile, TRE’s headcount has grown 23%, and with profit margins exceeding 21%, the firm has laid the foundations from which it can continue to reap significant rewards moving forward.
TenzorGEO
Uncovering new markets and applications for its seismic data capabilities
Ivan Starostin CEO
How is TenzorGEO thriving?
To futureproof itself against market challenges, TenzorGEO has expanded into new markets and verticals within the energy sector. Moving away from reliance on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS), the firm has also unlocked a new, potentially lucrative avenue in the carbon capture and storage space – a sector which stands to benefit from its CO2 monitoring solutions.
The challenge - Since 2018, TenzorGEO has brought significant geophysical expertise to the oil and gas market from its base in Aberdeen. Specialising in the acquisition, processing and interpretation of passive seismic data, the company helps clients to optimise economic recovery and extend the lifespan of both onshore and offshore fields.
Over the past three years, TenzorGEO has been faced with significant challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the oil and gas industry, resulting in fluctuating prices, reduced demand and industry bankruptcies. Additionally, the firm came up against the deferment of exploration investments due to economic uncertainties, shifting government agendas towards lower-carbon energy sources, project delays, budget constraints, intense competition, and environmental and social concerns regarding fossil fuels.
To address these headwinds head on, the company needed to adopt a new and proactive approach – one which would solidify and widen its message to the market around the value of leading-edge passive seismic data analysis as a means of extending asset lifespans.
The solution - This approach has, so far, involved activities across numerous strands. From a territorial perspective, TenzorGEO changed its operating focus to markets outside of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS), recognising that the international oil and gas industry is constantly seeking new technologies to help solve challenges. Specifically, the firm has targeted the UAE and Australia through strategic recruitment, considered market research and tenacious networking, a process which has already yielded promising results.
As well as broadening its horizons geographically, TenzorGEO has also looked at how it
can apply its expertise to solve a wider range of subsurface challenges faced by companies in the energy sector. Here, it worked closely with a partner in the Middle East, going through a feasibility study, capability testing and pilot project in its field asset.
Efforts have also been redirected into applying the company’s technology in the carbon capture and storage space, the firm developing a means of monitoring the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) in subsurface reservoirs. Named Cuttlefish Carbon Guard (CGG), this CO2 monitoring solution has been the subject of a pilot at study in the Middle East, with multiple engagements and promising prospects on the horizon.
As these developments have unfolded, TenzorGEO has contemplated the way in which it sells its solutions and expertise. Now, the firm is considering a software-as-a-service (SaaS) type of business model, where client organisations deploy their own sensors and leverage analytical software modules installed by TenzorGEO. The company is seeking investment to explore this opportunity, the aim being to provide a means for clients to improve the quality of their passive seismic data profiles and analytical capabilities.
Alongside this, the firm is seeking to position itself as a thought leader among stakeholders in the sector, contributing to academic debate through the drafting of articles and delivery of presentations to industry audiences. The company is also engaging in its own learning exercises, finding organisations willing to take on a degree of risk and be early adopters of technologies, understanding their pain points, and innovating solutions to problems. It is also engaging academia in the UK and US to see what else it can do with the data it handles on a daily basis.
Through these concerted efforts, combined with active engagement with academia in the UK and US to see what else it can do with the data it handles on a daily basis, TenzorGEO is starting to see the benefit.
The market is beginning to realise the value of and need for passive seismic monitoring, a trend reflected in improving performance which has seen TenzorGEO achieve £1m in revenue in its first year. Meanwhile, its team continues to grow organically and benefit from extremely high retention levels, with
Story type
#export (main category)
#innovation, #service & solutions, #technology
Benefits
▸ Improving both the well hit rate of commercial oil while reducing exploration and appraisal costs.
▸ Better help clients to implement appropriate risk management strategies to mitigate risks that can compromise the integrity of reservoirs to ensure project safety and success.
▸ Support companies to ensure regulatory compliance, optimise project performance, and achieve environmental sustainability goals, ultimately contributing to the success and long-term viability of their projects.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Never give up, stay true to what you believe in. Silence the negative voices around you.
▸ Learn how to be “aggressive”, a doer. Resilience and discipline are key.
For government
▸ Better understanding of the challenges SMEs and startups face in the industry.
TenzorGEO at a glance:
Key products and services: acquisition and interpretation of passive seismic data.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 50%
▸ Carbon capture – 50%
Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 2018
Number of employees: 8
Revenue: £1.5m
Revenue from exports: 70%
the only departures occurring as a result of talent being headhunted.
With more plans and potential investment in the pipeline, TenzorGEO has many reasons to be optimistic for the years ahead.
TKR Engineering
Building a formidable reputation in just five years
How is TKR Engineering thriving?
Founder
TKR has achieved more in just five years than many similar firms have in more than a decade.
Through an unwavering commitment to continually enhancing its employee base, upholding its core values, improving its internal structures and processes, and developing bespoke solutions, the company has excelled, securing much of its business from repeat customers that have seen the value in its tailored problem-solving approach.
The challenge - Established in 2019, Malaysia-based TKR has quickly become renowned as a disruptive force in the field of civil engineering, structural maintenance, metal structure design and custom fabrication, and oilfield equipment and services.
Of course, being a new market entrant, the firm has had to overcome several hurdles to not only grow but equally futureproof itself as a viable, successful organisation for years to come. Indeed, the firm started life operating in Sarawak – a Malaysian state based in Borneo that is not the largest market, yet one that is relatively competitive.
Against this backdrop, the firm undoubtedly needed to differentiate itself to become considered a reliable, credible entity that would be able to not only meet but exceed the needs of its customers on a consistent basis.
The solution - It is within this context that the company opted to focus its efforts and overall growth strategy on value creation for customers, ensuring that it provides exceptional service through the delivery of superior quality projects that meet budget and scheduling goals.
For this to be achievable, the firm’s workforce and culture were critically important.
Indeed, TKR has continued to prioritise the recruitment and retention of key industry talent, providing competitive packages and a series of additional benefits in order to attract those that it believes are a perfect fit for its unique culture of working.
Here, emphasis is also placed on empowering employees, giving them the freedom to take decisions, with management only intervening where necessary. By trusting its people to deliver their work successfully, the firm finds it can sustain a strong working culture and higher levels of employee satisfaction.
There are, of course, guidelines that employees are expected to abide by. Specifically, the company asks that its workforce embrace and embody TKR’s six core values, applying these throughout their operations on a day-to-day basis. Critically, these are integrity, professionalism, commitment, innovative, teamwork, and health and safety.
Albeit vitally important, it is not just the firm’s workforce that are vital to ensuring that TKR is able to operate successfully. Additionally, it continues to invest in the improvement of its processes and procedures, as is demonstrated by its securement of ISO 9000 certification.
A set of internationally recognised standards for quality assurance and management, aligning with these has served as an excellent enabler to instil a culture of organised and systematic working. By combining the right talent with the right systems and structures, the risk of errors and unnecessary mistakes can be eliminated, serving to improve the quality of the firm’s services, and its ability to consistently meet customer expectations. Further, this accreditation provides assurances upfront to potential customers, helping to move prospect further down marketing and sales funnels.
In addition to its processes, TKR continuously invests in equipment, tools and technologies. Indeed, the company doesn’t take its new position in the market for granted, continuing to keep a finger on the pulse of technology development year by year. This includes carrying out extensive R&D within its facilities and solutions, with a view to deliver customised solutions that meet its customers’ requirements.
Interestingly, the firm also focuses significant attention on developing unique prototypes to provide proof of concepts, demonstrating its commitment to excellence and enhancing internal capabilities.
Through these efforts, and an unwavering focus on centric-centric success, TKR has quickly established a strong market reputation, with a large proportion of its business coming from repeat customers. With its focus for 2024 centring on everything from improving its development and deliverance of customised solutions, empowering its esteemed engineers to solve increasingly diverse and complex customer problems, and expanding overseas as it continues to grow, the future undoubtedly looks bright for a company so young.
Story type
#culture (main category) #technology
Benefits
▸ As a result of company’s efforts to improve its process and procedures, TKR Engineering has secured its ISO 9000 certification.
▸ Internal management were made to sustain a strong work culture and improve employee satisfaction at the workplace while embracing TKR’s six core values on day-today activities.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Embrace technology and innovation by staying updated with the advancements and investing in R&D to offer customised solutions.
▸ Innovation comes from fostering a culture of innovation by encouraging creativity and new ideas. A good management needs to provide platforms for employees to share and celebrate successes while also learning from failures.
For government
▸ For policymakers to facilitate international trade and partnerships to boost the competitiveness of energy industry companies.
TKR Engineering at a glance:
Key products and services: civil engineering, structural maintenance, manufacturing and oilfield equipment and services.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 80%
▸ Others (non-energy): civil engineering – 20%
Headquarters: Sarawak, Malaysia
Year established: 2019
Number of employees: 50
Revenue: £2m
Revenue from exports: N/A
Tang Siong Chung
Turner & Townsend
Deploying QuanTTum across the world to assure asset delivery on time, in scope and to design specification
Story type
#service & solutions (main category)
#collaboration, #digital, #innovation
Benefits
▸ Faster delivery for less: Near real time visibility of construction progress from anywhere in the world.
David Whysall
How is Turner & Townsend thriving?
A decade in the making, Turner & Townsend’s QuanTTum solution continues to amass new and cutting-edge capabilities which are enabling clients to design and build energy assets around the world more effectively.
The challenge - Turner & Townsend embarked on a mission to make a difference to how energy infrastructure assets are designed, controlled, and delivered. Witnessing first-hand the struggles that clients have had in managing such huge scope developments and their supply chains, the company knew that if it could offer real visibility over performance across the project lifecycle, huge rewards could be gained.
The solution - Turner & Townsend’s answer is QuanTTum, a highly intuitive assurance service tool, it provides asset visualisation throughout project development and delivery. Pre-construction, the QuanTTum service offers energy and natural resources projects independent model verification to provide an objective analysis of the project’s design model. It performs data harvesting and measurement analysis, extracting quantities and weights and segmenting them according to the work breakdown structure. Accurate bills of approximate quantities and bills of quantities are produced and live-linked to the model, with unmeasured balances highlighted to support development of estimates.
During asset construction, progress is digitally reflected on the model, providing a clear and transparent audit trail through remeasurement and reporting. In addition, an accurate digital asset based on the design data, quantities, and costs can be used for asset management activities and to support future project development during project closeout and legacy stages.
In 2020, QuanTTum became the digital core of Turner & Townsend’s projects control methodology. Fast-forward to 2022, and cutting-edge features such as LiDAR and scanning technologies were added, offering the ability to collect construction site data from anywhere in the world and update models to show progress. This enabled teams to visual-
Sarah-Jane Finlayson
Global Managing Director –Energy and Natural Resources Director (Global Business Generation)
ise their projects with unparalleled clarity and enable the control of cost, schedule, risk and quality like never before.
Through QuanTTum, Turner & Townsend has been able to build long and fruitful partnerships with clients. Its ability to identify and resolve schedule and cost issues quickly and efficiently is bolstering both its brand reputation and revenue growth to boot.
In North America, for example, the company is supporting several major conventional and low carbon projects. Here, QuanTTum is being leveraged to provide visibility in both the design and construction phases, with LiDAR scanners being used to measure progress and feed back into the model . The service is enabling total visibility of change throughout the project development and construction phases, with critical projections on cost, weight, scheduling and other parameters enabling timely, targeted interventions when needed.
Indeed, such has been QuanTTum’s impact on one major onshore liquefied natural gas project, the client has benefitted from an ~90% reduction in survey costs, with over 2,500 project hours equivalent saved so far. On another major floating liquefied natural gas project, differences did emerge between Turner & Townsend’s data and the contractor’s material take off (MTO) for 14 topsides modules. Following collaboration, the contractor resubmitted their MTO, aiding the client to negotiate conversion of the topsides more accurately from a reimbursable to a lump sum contract.
Work is ongoing, with many major clients now writing QuanTTum into their employer’s information requirements for their projects to enable improved transparency during the design and construction.
The impact this is having on some of the world’s largest energy projects is testament to the constant refinement and development Turner & Townsend has invested into the QuanTTum offering. As more and more clients extract value, momentum will only continue to build in the coming years.
▸ Supported client to reduce surveying costs by 90%, with 2,500 project hours equivalent saved.
Key findings
For industry
▸ There is an urgent need to build more balanced and more sustainable societies. Construction is a key enabler for this change, but successful delivery depends on industry transformation.
▸ By driving innovation, embedding social, environmental and economic impact and improving productivity across energy transition critical projects and programmes, we can accelerate performance and realise essential change.
For government
▸ Progressive decline in major programme performance continues to erode confidence from investors and stakeholders.
Turner & Townsend at a glance:
Key products and services: global consultancy business in the real estate, infrastructure and natural resources sectors.
Main industries served:
▸ Conventional and low carbon energy – 26%
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 23%
▸ Transmission and distribution – 17%
▸ Nuclear and hydro power – 15%
▸ Mining – 19%
Headquarters: Leeds, UK
Year established: 1947
Number of employees: 12,500
Revenue: £1.225bn
Revenue from exports: 60%
TÜV Rheinland Industrial Services
Broadening horizons after being acquired by TÜV
Rheinland
Kevin Walls
Operations Manager
How is TÜV Rheinland Industrial Services thriving?
TÜV Rheinland Industrial Services (TRIS) has enjoyed a relatively seamless and successful integration during its first year under the TÜV Rheinland banner. By combining skillsets across teams and territories, the newly established unit is able to better serve customers and target new business which it otherwise would not have had a chance to win.
Fast-forward a year, and TRIS is already ramping up its presence in the UK through a new location in Aberdeen. And with headcount increasing through a busy graduate and apprenticeship programme, the firm is futureproofing its workforce, firmly in the recognition that it remains, first and foremost, a people-based organisation.
The challenge - Just over a year ago, TRIS was operating as a part of ABB under the name of ABB Consulting Services after the Swiss firm acquired Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Engineering and Consulting capability in 2001. Its core business involves a wide range of services including process safety, asset integrity, inspection services and projects for companies and organisations around the world.
In May last year, the company was acquired by TÜV Rheinland from ABB to form TÜV Rheinland Industrial Services Limited (TRIS), its key aim being to rapidly expand its service offering and develop into a one-stop shop offering for its customers. In addition, the entity sought to deepen its ties in the energy transition and decarbonisation segments of the market.
The solution - The integration process began in earnest, with key leadership from both parties setting about a process of identifying how the skills held in the ABB Consulting could marry up with those in TÜV Rheinland at an organisational and service delivery level.
This has taken place both from a UK and a global perspective. Here, significant time and energy has been invested in building out an internal network across TÜV Rheinland where different teams can collaborate and offer new services.
This has already delivered early benefits to end operators, for example, in Eastern Europe, where TUV Rheinland is now providing a key customer in the Petrochemical Sector, asset integrity services in addition to non-de-
Gaynor Woodford
Sustainability Lead –Western Europe
structive testing (NDT) work, to extend the life of their plant. Had the two parties not joined, it would not have been possible to secure this multi million Euro growth opportunity and contract.
At the same time, the acquisition and integration of teams has helped to better serve existing customers, especially in regard to inspection work. Here, TÜV Rheinland has been able to reduce downtime and provide efficiency gains for a number of clients.
Indeed, most customers have been receptive to the new ownership, which has had the advantage of being associated with two highly recognisable and respected brands in the form of TÜV Rheinland and TRIS (ex-ABB).
As a result, the company has seen more opportunities open up in areas which complement the sectors TÜV Rheinland works in, thus giving it access to a far wider market than it was previously.
Although only a year into its new chapter, TRIS can recount successes on multiple fronts so far.
In terms of personnel, the UK team has grown by 10% and includes a healthy mix of experienced heads and next generation talent, in no small part thanks to a graduate and apprentice programme which has onboarded 12 new starters over the past year. Safety has also remained a major priority, with TRIS commanding an impeccable record of zero injuries and accidents.
Meanwhile, the company has been able to maintain a strong customer retention rate and moved into new sectors such as nuclear, and geographical reach has been extended thanks to a new presence being built up in Aberdeen.
These new opportunities are also being made possible to exploit thanks to a stronger willingness to take risks, experiment with new ideas and test the waters.
This is no better demonstrated than by the enhanced sustainability-related value TRIS can now offer to clients seeking to decarbonise. By integrating with TÜV Rheinland, the company now possesses the skills and resources to properly baseline and measure greenhouse gas emissions, with carbon footprinting and life cycle analysis now being a key service in the TRIS portfolio.
▸ Moving into new sectors and expanding geographically.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Help shape the journey to net zero and work towards a common goal across industries and sectors.
For government
▸ Include green skills in the basic educational system to support the transition.
TÜV Rheinland AG at a glance:
Key products and services: certification, inspection, project management and training services
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 40%
▸ Conventional power – 10%
▸ Nuclear power – 5%
▸ Hydrogen – 5%
▸ Carbon capture – 5%
▸ Energy storage – 5%
▸ Others (non-energy) – 30%
Headquarters: Cologne, Germany
Year established: 1872
Number of employees: 22,000
Revenue: £2bn
Revenue from exports: >30%
TÜV SÜD Energietechnik GmbH
Advancing advisory services to better serve the energy transition market
Karlheinz Russ
Executive Senior Vice President, Infrastructure and Sustainability
How is TÜV SÜD Energietechnik GmbH thriving?
TÜV SÜD Energietechnik (TÜV SÜD ET) GmbH has embraced a strategic and cultural shift towards faster-moving, agile advisory services for clients operating within the energy transition market. Now bringing its vast and valuable experience to projects across a far broader range of industry segments, and aiming to enter such projects at an earlier stage, the company stands as a reliable and knowledgeable advisor for clients engaged not just in Germany, but around the world.
The pivot is already paying dividends, helping TÜV SÜD ET to offset reducing nuclear sector revenues. This year, the firm has forecast advisory division income to total around €6m – almost three times the figure achieved in 2022, its record year to date.
The challenge - TÜV SÜD ET, for many years, has been reliant upon a revenue stream from the German nuclear sector. With a long-term, stable base of income that served as the company’s foundation, the thought of transformation into other lines of business had always seemed unnecessary.
This all changed a few short years ago. Indeed, the last three nuclear power plants in Germany were shut down on 15 April 2023, signalling the end of the nuclear era in the country, at least for the time being. Seeing this coming, TÜV SÜD ET knew that it needed to seek out other revenue-making opportunities, not only in Germany, but in other European and global markets where the energy transition process could benefit from the formidable expertise the company houses.
It needed a new approach, one which would better meet the needs of its client base and wider energy market while also enabling it to retain key skills, honour its roots, and retain the essence of its DNA.
The solution - The wheels for this strategic shift were put in motion as early as 2019, and the process has continued to unfold and develop ever since.
This has taken the form of developing a new line of advisory services within the company. The key objective was to find a way to bring its experience to the earlier phases of projects across all energy sectors, and apply it to
key decarbonisation, standards and regulatory challenges faced by customers.
Although such a sea change may have appeared somewhat daunting, it is not the organisation’s first major transition. Towards the end of the 2010s, a similar scenario was unfolding in another TÜV SÜD daughter company operating in a somewhat closed market. Here, the company set its sights on the Saudi construction industry as a means of diversification, building up a new team to secure a project which eventually generated €1.5mn of revenue and opened the door to a whole new commercial arena.
Seeing potential synergies here, TÜV SÜD ET decided to consolidate experience by merging the advisory services of the above mentioned TÜV SÜD daughter company with its own business and strategy. This integration, which has involved the movement of people and alignment of systems and IT, has been a crucial move. Now, the company can market itself as a one-stop shop style partner for prospective energy transition clients seeking to overcome technical, safety and regulatory challenges. At the same time, geographic focus has been widened, with services offered globally to clients as far away as South Korea, UK and the Nordics.
Obstacles have appeared along the way, as is inevitably the case with any transformation of this scope. Culturally, TÜV SÜD ET is coming from a highly regulated, closed market where there were set ways of doing things that had stood the test of time. This is the opposite to much of the energy transition market, which naturally embraces a higher degree of risk, moves fast and relies on testing new concepts in the real world. While a change in mindset has been necessary to operate in this new space, for TÜV SÜD ET employees, involvement in the early phases of projects opens up a new and inspiring line of work.
And according to the numbers, these opportunities are being taken. At the time of writing, the company has a full diary of advisory work for the first half of 2024, secured €1.5m of new business so far this year, and a future potential pipeline in the form of €10m in project tenders.
Such is the traction being gained, TÜV SÜD ET expects to report €6m in advisory revenues
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#people & competency, #service & solutions
Benefits
▸ TÜV SÜD ET’s advisory work diary full for the first half of 2024.
▸ A future potential pipeline in the form of €10m in project tenders.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Motivate youngsters to study engineering.
▸ Use transformation for future growth. Be open-minded for new technologies, experiences and opportunities.
For government
▸ Decrease bureaucracy without losing safety. We normally need six years to build LNG infrastructure, but due to lack of supply from Russia we had some of it built in six months. Learn from this.
TÜV SÜD Energietechnik
GmbH a glance:
Key products and services: technical safety evaluation services for civil nuclear safety.
Main industries served:
▸ Nuclear power – 90%
▸ Hydrogen – 4%
▸ Oil and gas – 3%
▸ Others (non-energy): green steel –3%
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Year established: 1959
Number of employees: 209 (TÜV SÜD ET), 28,000 (Group)
Revenue: £25m (TÜV SÜD ET), £2.6bn (Group)
Revenue from exports: 10%
for the year, making it responsible for over 20% of company-wide income. This is almost triple the record €2.2m recorded in 2022, setting the bar high as the transition to advisory-style services continues in earnest.
Tyde Digital
Turning
the tide on its own value proposition
Martyn Cowie Managing Partner
How is Tyde Digital thriving?
Recognising that it needed to offer more to clients, Tyde Digital set about a root and branch transformation of how it did business. After a long and sometimes painstaking exercise, the company is now looking ahead to its target of breaching the US$2m turnover barrier as it continues to grow at a rapid rate.
The challenge - With 16 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, Martyn Cowie and his long-time colleague Malik Mahamoor knew there was a gap in the market for a new service provider to help companies move forwards with technology adoption. Throughout their careers, the pair identified similar pain points in relation to low technology utilisation, inconsistent processes and people development, and limitations in available data to make better decisions.
Tyde Digital was born to address these challenges. Not only that, but it was also designed to re-define the digital transformation landscape – up to this point, the only transformation options appeared to be a mix of the expensive ‘big 4’, biased technology consultants or under skilled/over worked internal teams.
In the early period of Tyde Digital, the company was focused on providing business intelligence as a service, meaning it was essentially providing real time data to clients that was pulled from their existing systems. The team struggled to build momentum, realising they were essentially providing clients with data, in a quicker way with aesthetic visuals but added limited strategic value. To really kick on and provide an alternative to the established names, the time had come to redesign the service offering.
The solution - Cowie and Mahamoor went about it in a somewhat unconventional way, delivering their own services to themselves with subsequent internal interviews helping to develop the technology and processes needed to enact meaningful change.
One of the first steps taken was to redefine the “bigger why” and establish exactly what success looked like. Following this, the team mapped out its current operational flow and focused on defining how it worked from demand through to cash in the bank.
The company then mapped out its delivery model – Develop, Deliver, Drive – which also detailed its customers’ journey at a granular level. From here, the team we able to re-develop key messaging and proceeded to generate new content to drive sales activity. They also invested in redefining their marketing strategy to help craft and distribute new messaging to prospective clients which both educated and inspired through thought leadership.
Much time has also been spent networking. Although this has required significant attention and investment of time, word of mouth remains a powerful selling tool and has been crucial in helping Tyde Digital build familiarity and credibility across the industry. However the best selling tool will always be the success achieved by clients who have worked with Tyde Digital.
These activities have paid dividends on multiple fronts. Tyde Digital is now running numerous projects in tandem and has gained a thought leadership foothold in the market through invitations to speak at key conferences. In the Middle East, such events include the Oman Industry AI forum under the patronage of the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology.
From an employee development perspective, the company is now able to create compelling career plans, enabling it to bring in talented graduates as junior business analysts and data engineers and provide them with a roadmap to managing projects.
Attracting and retaining talent will be key to providing best-in-class services to clients for the long term, many of whom are already providing positive feedback on their relationship with Tyde Digital. Common themes include the company’s expertise, meticulous attention to detail, practical approach and commitment to delivering valuable results that feed into digital transformation journeys.
Such is the positive momentum being built up, Tyde Digital expects to hit the US$2m revenue mark in 2024 having recently secured its first ever seven-figure contract. In growth terms, this would represent a remarkable 856% increase on 2023, which itself saw turnover rise 243% versus 2022.
Story type
#scale up (main category)
Benefits
▸ First ever seven-figure contract secured.
▸ Tyde Digital expects to hit the US$2m revenue mark in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Self-awareness and strong relationship are superpowers.
▸ Focus on delivering value, thought leadership and perspective to the audience rather than pitching products or services.
For government
▸ The tendering process could be redefined to open up to new companies that are bringing innovative ideas into the energy sector.
Tyde Digital at a glance:
Key products and services: strategy development, process engineering, data engineering, software development, business analysis, coaching & training and consultancy.
After making the bold decision to take a big step back and assess its value proposition, Tyde Digital has transformed its prospects in the space of a few short years. There is surely much more to come.
Vaz e Dias Advogados & Associados
Using high-performance, project-specific teams to protect international energy patents
Marina Castro dos Santos
Head of Patents and Innovation
How is Vaz e Dias Advogados & Associados thriving?
Vaz e Dias Advogados & Associados’ story is one of incredible innovation. In creating dedicated project teams comprising the ideal mix of experienced technical specialists with knowledgeable energy industry professionals, the law firm has been able to provide immense value to its international clients in the highly complex and pressurised area of intellectual property.
The challenge - A Brazilian law firm specialising in intellectual property, Vaz e Dias Advogados & Associados is focused on assisting entrepreneurs in the proprietary protection of their intangible assets, providing legal support for commercial transactions aimed at exploiting intellectual knowledge and technological innovations.
Founded in 2011, the Rio de Janeiro-headquartered company has encountered several challenges in the space of just 13 short years.
With intellectual property, particularly in the context of patents, and not widely understood by technical individuals, the company found it was having to hire technical specialists and train them for approximately two years to ensure they are up to standard.
With a lack of readily available talent, the firm has found that devising technical strategies in the field of patents can be a daunting task. Similarly, organisations often lack a deep understanding of intellectual property issues, frequently presenting Vaz e Dias with complex urgencies that need to be resolved or at least mitigated within short timeframes. In the energy sector, this complexity can be even greater, often involving countries with unique and sometimes inaccessible intellectual property rules and laws.
The solution - To solve these issues, the company opted to establish a new, innovative Patents and Innovations Department.
For Vaz e Dias, it’s not feasible to have a specialist from every technical area for each different patent application. Indeed, such a structure would entail extremely high maintenance costs and long periods of professional downtime.
To create high-performance teams capable of solving complex puzzles swiftly and in
sync with high-performance, multidisciplinary teams worldwide, the firm has instead taken a different approach.
Specifically, Vaz e Dias delegates urgent and strategic cases to its most experienced technical specialists, who then select a team of knowledgeable professionals to assist them in communicating with correspondents. In assembling multi-disciplinary teams in this manner, the company can optimise communications and provide its specialists with the materials and support required to develop the most effective strategies.
Such an approach has proven effective in helping a wide array of clients across the energy sector.
NSG Engineering stands as a prime example. A leading company in consultancy, offshore and subsea naval projects, it came to Vaz e Dias with a significant problem. Having participated in a project with other major companies in the oil and gas sector, it had developed a new technology, only to find that another organisation involved in the project had then filed an international patent for that very solution.
Upon realising this, NSG Engineering swiftly sought a law firm in an attempt to protect its intellectual property, with Vaz e Dias quickly approached owing to its expertise in patent law.
In response, Vaz e Dias’ technical team gathered with its international specialists to assess the status of the new patent application, before devising an innovative strategy involving three jurisdictions: Brazil, the United States of America, and the European Patent Office (EPO).
Since the other company’s international patent had been filed less than a month before NSG Engineering came knocking, Vaz e Dias quickly drafted a provisional application to be filed in the United States, buying time to gather more information about the infringing company’s application.
With copycat inventions not always totally informed about the inventive details, the two parties worked to emphasise these in NSG’s application. In doing so, the international application that was filed received excellent feedback from the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), while the infringement company’s application faced tough scrutiny.
Story type
#culture (main category)
#collaboration
Benefits
▸ Vaz e Dias’ project-tailored team has received excellent feedback from the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).
▸ Revenue growth from its patent department.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Technology is growing at absurd speeds. You must invest in highperformance tools and think about groups of multidisciplinary professionals.
For government
▸ Focus on the diffusion of the intellectual property culture.
Vaz e Dias Advogados & Associados at a glance:
Key products and services: legal services.
Main industries served:
▸ Engineering - 41%
▸ Life science - 37%
▸ Others (non-energy) - 22%
Headquarters: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and São Paulo/Brazil
Year established: 2011
Number of employees: 24
Revenue from exports: N/A
Owing to this rapid intervention from Vaz e Dias’s project-tailored team, NSG Engineering’s patent proceeded through the normal processing course, being filed in Brazil and Europe, which were jurisdictions of interest to NSG for possible future validation. Indeed, it is a prime example of the benefits that Vaz e Dias’s new strategy of creating high-performance, project-specific teams can provide to clients. With revenue from its patent department growing consistently since the establishment of the Patents and Innovations Department in 2018, this approach will no doubt enable the company to further enhance its reputation in the energy market
Venterra
A unique offering underpinned by integrated offshore wind specialists
Paul Doherty Executive Vice President Engineering
How is Venterra thriving?
With renewable energy being an absolutely pivotal piece of the global decarbonisation puzzle, Venterra is developing a best-inclass services enterprise capable of meeting growing demand. By acquiring and integrating select companies in the sector, adding its management expertise and leveraging capital to fuel its expansion, the firm has grown exponentially in the space of just three short years.
The challenge - Offshore wind is a key component of the renewable energy mix that will be critical. However, if global targets regarding the installation of offshore wind capacity are to be met, several barriers need to be tackled head on in order to facilitate progress.
Venterra sees the highly constrained and fragmented supply chain that the offshore wind sector is reliant upon for projects to be developed and delivered as a major hurdle. Current delivery models are dominated by large developers, OEMs and Tier 1 contractors, with smaller project-enabling enterprises often finding themselves under-capitalised, struggling to hold their own.
In an effort to change this narrative, Venterra is seeking to aggregate a selection of highly specialist smaller players, enabling them to more easily bring their value-added solutions to the table in an end-to-end offshore wind offering.
The solution - Indeed, since 2021, Venterra has been bringing together specialist supply chain businesses that provide complementary technical services and products. Together, these complementary businesses are providing a joined-up and streamlined offering to developers, offshore contractors and other industry groups.
Part of Venterra’s aim is to scale up these companies so that they can collectively better manage and mitigate risk, avoiding the need to resort to pushing liabilities down the supply chain to smaller contractors.
June 2021 marked a key milestone in its venture, the firm acquiring its first firm in the form of Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) – a specialist offshore engineering and design consultancy. Since then, Venterra has expanded the number of specialist technical companies in the group to nine, the latest
and largest acquisition to date being CAPE Holland, agreed in August 2023.
Together, these entities collectively provide a range of services across the offshore wind farm lifecycle, from early-stage project development, engineering and installation to supporting operational activities and decommissioning. As a group, they comprise a 600-strong global workforce made up of highly technical offshore wind experience, knowledge, and skills across a significant range of topics, services and markets, many of whom have worked for key offshore wind developers, OEMS and Tier 1 installation clients.
Venterra is strategically reforming and combining the expertise and experience of its companies into clearly defined service lines that align directly with the work scopes of the offshore wind industry.
Its development and engineering services cover advisory and project management, geoscience, data measurement and survey, environmental and consenting and engineering and design. Its build and construction offering also provides heavy lifting, equipment handling, vibro lifting and driving and grouting solutions to meet all build planning, logistics, foundation installation and moorings requirements.
It is the firm’s integrated approach that enables it to bring greater value to the table, engaging across client portfolios rather than single scopes. Its exclusive focus on the offshore wind industry means it is able to offer a no-compromise, dedicated and specialised service that sets it apart from others in the market.
Moray West, Ocean Wind’s 882MW offshore wind project in the east coast of Scotland, is an example of Venterra’s extensive capabilities. Seven of Venterra’s nine companies have been involved in the project over the past decade – from providing critical early-stage engineering and development services through to supporting the installation of the turbine foundations.
Of course, Venterra’s success relies on its ability to find like-minded organisations that are the right technical and cultural fit –something that isn’t always easy. With oil and gas prices being higher at present, those or-
Story type
#scale up (main category) #collaboration, #energy transition
Benefits
▸ Over 600 staff joined in just three years.
▸ Over £100m in annual revenues secured, with a 12% growth expected in 2024.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Work together and collaborate. The only way to achieve ambitious government targets is by joined up thinking.
For government
▸ Listen to the united voice of the industry.
▸ Support more Tier 2s and levels below, not just Tier 1s.
Venterra at a glance:
Key products and services: holistic offshore wind services.
Main industries served:
▸ Offshore renewable energy – 85%
▸ Others (non-energy): decommissioning – 15%
Headquarters: London, UK
Year established: 2021
Number of employees: 620
Revenue: £110m
Revenue from exports: 60%
ganisations who might be a good match may currently have greater interest in working in oil and gas rather than transitioning solely into offshore wind, for example.
Not only has the enterprise grown to include more than 600 staff in just three short years. It has also secured more than £100m in annual revenues, with revenue, profit and headcount increasing year on year. Looking at pro-forma statistics, revenue has increased 12% per annum in the last three years, with a similar trajectory anticipated for 2024.
With annual growth rates for the offshore wind sector ranging between 30-50%, Venterra is seeking to capitalise by continually scaling up its offering. As an entity that is solely focused on this specific market, with expertise in all stages of offshore wind, it certainly stands in good stead to do so.
Venture Plus Consultancy Services
Prioritising transparency
and
innovation to enhance client services
Mohammed Malayampalli
Finance
and Compliance Manager
How is Venture Plus Consultancy Services thriving?
Venture is transforming the delivery of public relations services in the UAE. Through its focus on enhancing client understanding, maintaining full-service transparency, and leveraging technologies to provide an improved, innovative offering, the company is continuing to build its competitive advantages in the market.
With dramatic revenue enhancements having been realised in 2023, Venture is now focused on incorporating AI into its proposition in an innovative, relevant manner. Here, it is piloting the implementation of AI consultants to support its clients, with the final version anticipated to be implemented by the end of 2024.
The challenge - Since its establishment in 2008, Venture has consistently worked to enhance its public relations consultancy services offering and gain a competitive edge. By actively tapping into new technologies, the firm seeks to provide best-in-class services to its customers with transparency and cost benefits.
This has been the mindset of Venture since 2014. However, its position as an industry disruptor has presented a variety of hurdles in the past decade.
Internally, the last three years have been particularly challenging. Despite its confidence and belief in rigorously developing innovative, technologically backed models, adapting a pace hasn’t been easy. Indeed, Venture’s team had been used to completing their jobs manually, hampering the speed of change that the company hoped to target.
Externally, the company has also faced difficulties. While public relations services are very common in the UAE, few service users were familiar with the technicalities, timelines and complexities involved. As a result, Venture had found that many firms had been misguided, with a lack of transparency regarding key processes. Indeed, few are aware of the significant progress that the UAE has made in digitising public relations services. For Venture, a major challenge has, therefore, been altering customer perspectives and helping to bridge this knowledge gap.
The solution - Presented with these two challenges, the company has adopted a multi-pronged approach in finding solutions.
Regarding its internal challenge, Venture has prioritised the training and education of its internal compliance teams, ensuring that they have a key understanding of Venture’s innovative service delivery models ambitions. Not only has this ensured that its team are strictly aligning with new critical processes and procedures. Equally, staff members are also now contributing to platform improvements to further optimise its service delivery efforts.
Externally, meanwhile, the firm has prioritised communication and visualisation, working to fundamentally alter its prospective clients’ mindsets. To this end, it has been offering onemonth free trials of its platform and services, enabling clients to familiarise themselves with its alternative, innovative approach to public relations services.
Indeed, such an approach has proven critical in allowing the firm to win several new contracts. It has been particularly valuable for overseas firms that have little to no prior knowledge of the UAE’s rules and regulations, for example, providing clarity and visibility into key national legal requirements.
Venture hasn’t stopped here either. Indeed, with its eyes firmly set on finding and implementing continuous operational and service improvements, it is now working to introduce what it describes as “AI consultants” that will be available to support clients at any time of day, with any information they may require.
This latest aspect of the firm’s journey is anticipated to be significant. So much so, that Venture CFO Mr. Mohammed Shareef Mlaayampalli is currently doing a Doctoral programme on the “Use of Artificial Intelligence in Management Consultancy Business in the UAE” as part of his studies at Golden Gate University in San Francisco.
Critically, Venture began to implement AI in this way during 2023, piloting its digital consultancy offering with several clients. Through these efforts, it’s anticipated that the final product will be ready for launch come the end of 2024.
Story type #transformation (main category)
Benefits
▸ Several new contracts win.
▸ Record annual revenue in 2023.
Key findings
For industry
▸ In today’s rapidly changing technological era, businesses must foster innovation and adaptability to succeed.
▸ True success in an organization comes from building collaborative teams where everyone is empowered as a leader.
Venture Plus Consultancy Services at a glance:
Key products and services: consultancy services.
Headquarters: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Year established: 2008
Number of employees: 35
Undoubtedly, this new string to the Venture bow will only serve to further enhance the company’s revenue that has been on the up of late. After seeing a gradual increase from US$6.4m in 2019 to US$7.6m in 2022, the firm recorded annual revenues as high as US$12m in 2023.
Such figures are testament to the firm’s unwavering commitment to its mission. By prioritising transparency and innovation in order to enhance client services, the company is clearly already reaping the rewards.
Voovio
Meeting the unique needs of MENA clients through agile persistence
How is Voovio thriving?
Ahmed
Alaa Sales Director, MENA
Established in 2017, Voovio has quickly built upon a renowned reputation as a technological disruptor in the energy sector. Through the provision of its cutting-edge digital platform solution, the firm is empowering operational excellence among field operators around the world.
After successfully established itself in European and US markets, the firm has adapted everything from its typical operating processes to its marketing strategies to gain greater traction in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The challenge - Voovio is transforming the landscape of operational training. At the core of the company is a state-of-the-art solution that harnesses proprietary enhanced reality technologies to help optimise the performance of field operators.
This groundbreaking technology has proven a hit in Europe and the US, enabling the creation of precise digital replicas of operational assets complemented by sophisticated standard operating procedure simulators. With this advanced resource, Voovio can support field operators as an ever-present, 24/7 virtual subject matter expert, providing indispensable guidance and insight throughout entire project lifecycles.
Having established the brand in western markets, Voovio turned its attentions to new frontiers – namely MENA. Here, the marketing team set about leveraging the firm’s traditionally successful methods to increase exposure in the region. However, they quickly found they were up against some previously unseen resistance.
In MENA, Voovio’s highly advanced technologies faced challenges regarding more limited awareness of technologies, and resistance to adoption owing to the firm’s limited track record in the region. Further, the company found that many of its potential prospects viewed its solution as a nice to have – not an essential tool.
The solution - To overcome these stumbling blocks and succeed in MENA, Voovio chose to adapt its approach, opting to leverage a new regional-specific strategy that has been in deployment for the past 18 months.
Key to this has been strategic outreach, the company aiming to build trust through sharing successful case studies and demonstrating the tangible value that its solution provides in the way of operational excellence.
Here, a high level of networking has been carried out, often with technical involvement in order to directly illustrate the merits of the Voovio solution to clients and prospects. This, coupled with a wider partnership approach with agents, has provided the firm with greater visibility and traction with key contacts in markets such as Abu Dhabi and Oman.
Attempts to land large NOC contracts have proven tricky given the firm’s lack of a regional or client-specific track record. However, it has sought to persevere, targeting important prospects in multiple ways, from technical conferences to conversations via digital channels. The company has also sought to demonstrate the viability of its product to operational teams directly, focusing on aspects such as ROI, with the Voovio digital simulator solution enabling operating teams to access plants remotely.
After holding several meetings with management and dozens of meetings with the technical teams of one particular client, the firm has also brought its IT teams into the process earlier than usual, owing to the demands on security clarity in the MENA region.
Indeed, being flexible and adaptable in these ways has been critical, providing potential clients with the confidence that their needs will be met when embracing these new technologies.
From technological challenges and resource limitations to market dynamics and resistance to change, the company faced several hurdles in securing contracts with key clients and gaining a foothold in the region. Integrating new technologies and systems often presented technical hurdles, such as compatibility issues or learning curves for employees, for example. However, perseverance has paid off, the company having won its first contract in MENA with a blue-chip client.
With both KPIs and sales statistics performing well, Voovio is now on an upward trajectory in the region. With these initial
Story type
#digital (main category)
#service & solutions
Benefits
▸ Company now on an upward trajectory in the MENA region.
▸ Initial contracts being secured.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Embrace change and foster innovation.
▸ Invest in talent and collaboration.
For government
▸ Support industry innovation and encourage entrepreneurship.
▸ Invest in education and commit to inclusivity.
Voovio at a glance:
Key products and services: everpresent 24/7 virtual subject matter expert, offering indispensable guidance throughout the entire life cycle of a field operator.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 80%
▸ Conventional power – 10%
▸ Others (energy) – 10%
Headquarters: San Sebastián, Spain
Year established: 2017
Number of employees: 62
contracts having laid the groundwork, acting as key case studies for other regional prospects, sustained growth is now anticipated moving forward.
VWS Westgarth (part of Veolia Group)
Charting a new course to support FPSO operators’ carbon reduction agendas
Renewable Energy and Technical Innovation Manager Marketing Coordinator
Carol Easton
How is VWS Westgarth thriving?
Carving a reputation for excellence in the offshore energy landscape for its leading-edge water management solutions, Veolia’s VWS Westgarth is looking to futureproof its business by taking the carbon emissions reduction challenge head-on.
Recognising the need to help FPSO operators cut down on their environmental footprint, the company has devised several promising solutions designed to reduce, reuse and recycle across key water management processes. This includes sulphate removal for water injection and seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) for the production of fresh water.
Now, the time has come to present compelling financial cases to prospective clients and enter the commercialisation phase of the strategy.
The challenge - For several decades, VWS Westgarth has supported Veolia’s purpose to develop a more circular economy through the design and provision of innovative and sustainable solutions for water, waste, and energy management. It does so by capitalising on its extensive experience in water treatment and gas processing systems, as well as its module integration know-how, to provide clients with solutions that help to abate their carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.
Today, VWS Westgarth is recognised as a world leader in offshore water treatment system design and process integration, its customers comprising leading integrated energy companies (IECs) and global FPSO contractors.
However, while its core oil & gas business remains highly successful and profitable, the company is cognisant of the fact that the sector needs to decarbonise as part of the energy transition process. in response, the past couple of years have been spent strategising a new set of services geared around helping clients to reduce their emissions, especially those operating in the prolific FPSO segment.
The solution - Key actions during 2023 have
Business
Iain Scott
Development Manager
▸ Promising results already found across different exploratory emissions reducing solutions that can be applied individually or collectively to improve an FPSO’s operational and embedded carbon footprint.
▸ Positive feedback from partners and providers.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Diversify in order to do the right thing for net zero and to keep business alive.
included a significant amount of internal reflection on the current scope of supply and looking beyond with a bolder vision. A major part of this has been engaging in discussions with companies and clients in the oil & gas and renewable energy sectors to understand how VWS Westgarth can become a partner in greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
Experienced colleagues within the organisation have been assigned to the new portfolio, which seeks to reduce the carbon footprint associated with various water treatment processes in three major ways: power usage, chemical usage and waste generation.
Across these categories, VWS Westgarth is seeking to incorporate reduce, reuse and recycle principles. In terms of energy usage, the company has developed a case study to investigate the viability and impact of energy recovery in combining two key processes – sulphate removal for water injection, and seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) for the production of fresh water.
Technology was identified to reuse high-pressure reject stream, with the operational, layout and economic impact assessed. The results appear extremely promising, with up to 30% reduction in power achievable with only a marginal impact to the footprint and overall cost of a sulphate removal module. This one solution, out of a portfolio of innovations, would contribute to at least 1% reduction of an FPSO’s GHG emissions.
Reducing and recycling waste has been another key focus area. Here, Veolia is already investing in a pilot unit in Brazil, and there are also small-scale pilots already in motion in the market that could fit to FPSO plastic waste disposal.
VWS Westgarth can also deliver carbon reductions through upgrading its own equipment, with new equipment specifications over the next five to 10 years carrying the potential to reduce FPSO emissions by at least 1%.
For government
▸ Establish stable net zero-related regulatory environment, carbon taxes and drivers of behaviour.
VWS Westgarth at a glance:
Key products and services: design, build, upgrade and service of water treatment process systems for water injection and produced water treatment.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 100%
Headquarters: Glasgow, UK
Year established: 1983
Number of employees: 220,000 (Group), 160 (VWS Westgarth)
Revenue: £77m
Revenue from exports: 90%
With various emissions reducing solutions being explored, the priority now is to present compelling business cases to clients and other stakeholders across the value chain. Engagement has so far been positive, with several collaborative agreements with partners and technology providers being struck. VWS Westgarth can also draw on its already strong relationships with FPSO operators, as well as its formidable reputation, as it seeks to start commercialising what could be a futureproofing line of business for the decades ahead.
Vysus
Poised to reap the rewards of proactive ESG solutions
innovation
How is Vysus thriving?
David Clark CEO
Vysus Group is finding new ways to enhance its value proposition since becoming a solo entity three and a half years ago. In collaboration with secure platform expert Siccar, the organisations have developed Databox, an innovative ESG emission assurance solution that enables real-time emissions monitoring visualisation to drive impactful action.
With new legislation such as CBAM on the horizon that is set to necessitate accurate and verifiable carbon emissions data at a granular level, Vysus is poised to reap the rewards of its proactive innovation in the years to come.
The challenge - Vysus is a technical and regulatory consultancy supporting clients throughout the energy, renewables, grid and complex infrastructure sectors. Headquartered out of Aberdeen with a 300-strong workforce, the group operates on a global basis, with 80% of its revenue generated in overseas markets.
The firm was formed following a strategic carve out from the Lloyd’s Register Group, with the organisation’s energy division (now Vysus) acquired by Inspirit Capital. However, that’s not to say that the new entity’s first few years have not been without its challenges.
The firm has set itself ambitious goals. It has sought to complete five divestments in a difficult M&A market, all while maintaining focus on its client needs. It has worked to expand further into the renewables sector, helping its clients with the complexities of the energy transition by providing high-end consulting and advisory support, including new projects in hydrogen, carbon capture and storage technologies. And it has strived to retain the fantastic breadth of expertise and knowledge of its people, while also building out close-knit technology partnerships with various organisations, including Siccar.
The solution - The latter partnership has been among the most significant in recent times.
One of Vysus’ primary concerns has been developing a robust, integrated, automated and auditable ESG emission assurance solution capable of simplifying and streamlining setup, measurement and reporting requirements across a broad range of corporations and companies.
With core market expertise and presence in ESG emissions assurance and analysis for over
20 years (with Vysus renowned as a fully licensed AA1000 assurance provider), the firm identified a clear need for digitalisation of this service to allow continuous monitoring and analysis of key ESG metrics.
Indeed, the ESG assurance sector has traditionally been paper-driven with spreadsheet solutions commonplace across market. In recent years, several portal solutions have been introduced, yet these are typically linked back to simple spreadsheets and databases – something that is not adequate in the modern environment.
With the ever-increasing complexity of ESG regulations and requirements which will come into force across many regions in the next three to five years, Vysus looked to develop a suitable solution.
Following discussions with various potential partners, the company identified Siccar as a business with the expertise and experience in secure data management technology and a team closely aligned to its values and vision for the future of ESG management. Indeed, the combination of Vysus’s consulting experience with Siccar’s blockchain implementation is unique.
Having first consulted Siccar in 2022, the pair have developed and modelled the solution, known as Databox, with a formalised collaboration in 2023. Since then, they have taken the product to market, completing a significant demo with Tendeka in Aberdeen (owned by TAQA Saudi Arabia).
In this test case, the client realised several benefits. With Databox, Tendeka became empowered to control its emissions data; visualise emissions activity to improve understanding and decision making; identify opportunities to lower its carbon footprint; provide traceable, accurate ESG reports; put itself in a position to meet regulatory requirements; optimise processes, operations and investments; and more.
Following the successful pilot, Vysus is now seeing increasing interest, with significant anticipated growth in the deployment of the Databox platform in the coming 12-24 months.
This will in part be driven by the introduction of significant legislation (such as CBAM) across Europe, the UK and US. Set to come into force on carbon measures across a wide range of supply chain products and services, such leg-
Story type
#collaboration (main category)
#digital, #environmental sustainability
Benefits
▸ Collaboration with Siccar as an important path to succeed.
▸ Increasing interest, with significant anticipated growth in the deployment of the Databox platform.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Get in front of people, get to know your partners. Don’t assume, get to know them. When things get tough, keep open dialogue going.
For government
▸ Get longer term strategic thinking and alignment.
▸ Be more honest about what net zero really means. Explain the challenges but also the urgent need.
Vysus Group at a glance:
Key products and services: technical and regulatory consultancy across energy, renewables, grid and complex infrastructure.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 40%
▸ Offshore renewables and infrastructure – 18%
▸ Nuclear power – 10%
▸ Onshore renewables and grid connectivity – 10%
▸ Others (non-energy): food and pharma – 16%
▸ Others (non-energy): marine - 6%
Headquarters: Westhill, UK
Year established: 2020
Number of employees: 300
Revenue: £56m
Revenue from exports: 80%
islation will necessitate accurate and verifiable carbon emissions data at a granular level.
As a solution that offers a unique capability to provide assured data sets from existing business systems and production data on a continuous basis, Databox is in prime position to support companies in navigating these expanding regulatory requirements and setting their decarbonisation targets.
Walter Tosto
Broadening horizons by innovating a novel hydrogen storage solution
Bora Aydin Business Development Manager
How is Walter Tosto thriving?
Not content with serving the same core markets which have seen it be successful since its inception nearly seven decades ago, Walter Tosto decided to utilise its formidable in-house expertise to explore new innovation that can support applications in energy transition. These include a novel hydrogen storage tank, the development of which has now reached the verge of commercialisation and brings the company a step closer to entering a rapidly growing market.
The challenge - Since 1960, Walter Tosto has forged a reputation for being a top manufacturer of critical, long lead equipment such as heavy wall hydrocracking, hydrotreating, GTL and EO reactors, high pressure heat exchangers for various applications within oil and gas, petrochemical, power and energy, food and pharma markets. With all activities handled in-house, the company perform mechanical design, fabrication and construction of large and critical equipment without limitations in shell thicknesses and component weights, making it a valuable partner to many licensors, EPCs and end-users around the world.
In 2020, a new chapter was signalled with the arrival of an ambitious new Business Development Manager – Bora Aydin. Drawing on his background, he and CEO Luca Tosto have embarked on a diversification exercise into new markets such as hydrogen and decarbonisation. Rather than rely only on established lines of business such as oil and gas, the decision was made to increase activities, expand the product range and build out the company.
The solution - A new taskforce designed to explore these options was established when Bora joined, that team now standing at half a dozen members.
Its initial remit was to conduct R&D work into potential solutions for new markets steered towards clean energy and energy transition, with hydrogen being a particular focus given Bora’s experience in the sector. To date, the team has collaborated on more than 50 prospects and concept projects, with around five moving into full-blown development and production.
The most significant of these is a sustainable hydrogen storage tank that does not
involve the creation of waste metal. Initially the concept was formed in 2021 as just an idea, though it quickly progressed to product development during 2022.
The high-pressure tank can be designed and fabricated for diameters of 2.5-5.5 metres, with the ability to transport by ship or truck. Its purpose is to serve applications where there could be a need for a significant amount of hydrogen production and storage – these include hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, glass production sites, refineries, as well as intermitted renewable power.
Safety has been prioritised, a key feature being an internal coating that minimises risk of hydrogen embrittlement and fatigue of steel. This is a key requirement for potential customers, who are now being approached by Walter Tosto as it formalises its marketing launch and collateral for the product. Early signs are promising, with the firm expecting to receive orders by the end of 2024.
Targeting this market appears to be a savvy move given the direction of travel. The integration of hydrogen storage technology is gaining traction, particularly in its integration with power networks. This approach facilitates the storage of renewable energy in large quantities over extended periods, thus reinforcing the resilience of energy infrastructures. In the EU, a collaborative investment initiative between Germany and Spain worth US$9.82bn is exploring the development of renewable hydrogen storage, the aim being to achieve a hydrogen capacity of 5GW by 2030, with further plans to expand to 10GW by 2040. Globally, according to King’s Research, the hydrogen storage market was valued at more than US$2.5bn in 2022 and is set to grow at a CAGR of almost 15% in the coming years, reaching US$6.74bn by 2030.
With its reputation for reliability, Walter Tosto is well-placed to enter new markets, not least because its longstanding hallmark of quality will be stamped on any product it produces. As the energy transition journey continues, and alternative fuels such as hydrogen assume a greater role, companies which make early moves in creating solutions to support these moves stand to benefit. Walter Tosto, thanks to its ambitious R&D and scaleup strategy, could well be one of those as it brings its hydrogen storage tank to market.
▸ Having a significant role in the comprehension of safe operation and in the progress for the realisation of innovative hydrogen storage solutions.
▸ Being a leader to deliver industrial solutions for the objectives set out in the developing hydrogen strategy and market.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Enthusiasm! Keep on learning and be modest, accept that you do not know everything.
▸ Always invest in innovation and R&D, don’t ever lead to conclusions without trying first.
For government
▸ Contact with technical people from the industry to understand the challenges they are facing.
Walter Tosto at a glance:
Key products and services: oil and gas, chemical, petrochemical, fertilizers, energy, food & pharma.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 59%
▸ Nuclear power – 9%
▸ Others (energy) - 30%
▸ Others (non-energy): food and pharma - 2%
Headquarters: Chieti, Italy
Year established: 1960
Number of employees: 650
Turnover: £94m
Revenue from exports: 95%
Wärtsilä
Sailing side by side with the maritime sector as it ventures towards net zero
How is Wärtsilä thriving?
Matteo Natali
VP Marine Strategy
Wärtsilä is proactively investing in decarbonisation technology and alternative fuel solutions to help maritime players meet the net zero emission targets by 2050 set out by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
The company’s efforts to spearhead this journey have yielded significant results. Wärtsilä is now perceived as a thought and technology leader in decarbonisation. This has led to a significantly stronger market position both in equipment sales and vessel retrofits.
The challenge - In July 2023, the IMO revised its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) strategy, outlining several key targets. This included an enhanced common ambition to reach net zero GHG emissions from international shipping by 2050, a commitment to ensure an uptake of alternative and near-zero GHG fuels by 2030, as well as indicative checkpoints for international shipping to reach net zero GHG emissions for 2030 and 2040.
While 2050 might appear to be distant, it’s crucial for the shipping industry to take immediate action, as vessels ordered today will still be in operation by 2050. This represents an incredibly rapid transformation, which will have significant implications for both the newbuild and retrofit markets.
Indeed, the upcoming decade will be pivotal in maritime companies making a significant change, and here, Wärtsilä is working hard to innovate, develop and enhance key supportive maritime net zero solutions.
Decarbonisation can be achieved through different pathways. While short term targets can be reached through asset and operational efficiency, net zero will require a fundamental shift towards sustainable fuels. Looking at the alternative fuel uptake so far, it is clear that the transition is underway already. Currently, about half of the vessel shipbuilding orderbook is designed to operate on alternative fuels, a proportion that is anticipated to steadily grow in the future.
The solution - This focus began to ramp up in 2018 after the IMO released its first greenhouse gas strategy. Wärtsilä turned the majority of its attention to furthering its position as a key industry disruptor in the decarbonisation space.
Here, the company laid out an ambitious Future Fuels Roadmap, looking at how alternative
fuels such as ammonia and methanol could be deployed in the maritime industry. Further, the organisation also pursued strategies in fuel efficiency, looking at everything from energy saving devices to hybrid systems, batteries and voyage optimisation. Moreover, Wärtsilä set itself as a pioneer in onboard carbon capture and storage solutions. The ambition is to drive decarbonisation in maritime, support all decarbonisation pathways and become the preferred business partner of ship owners and operators in their decarbonisation journey.
This strategy has continued to evolve over time as priorities, future fuels and efficiency preferences have changed. That hasn’t been straightforward – leading the transition through costly investments and disruption is risky.
Given the vast array of sustainable fuels to select from, and the anticipated costs in 2030 being significantly higher than today’s fossil-based fuels, shipping operators are understandably unsure about the timing and methods of decarbonisation. This is amplified by the fact that the supply chains for sustainable fuels and associated bunkering infrastructure are still in their infancy. Amid such uncertainty, the inclination might be to procrastinate and postpone action until a clearer path emerges, costs decrease, and technology progresses. However, decarbonisation can only be achieved through proactive measures.
Getting this right has required a combination of efforts. The firm has had to retain a strong market understanding in different markets around the world and maintaining daily contact with its customers. It has also had to establish itself as a thought leader to change the hearts and minds of its clients more effectively, which means evolving from merely being an equipment provider to becoming a strategic partner in ship operators’ journey towards decarbonisation, standing alongside them as technology consultants. Further, it has had to be proactive, moving before others to retain its disruptive edge in the market.
In support of this, Wärtsilä increased the R&D spending from annual 3% to an annual 4% of net sales, as well as building its internal competence. As part of this, it has launched the Decarb Academy, with 10 e-learning modules for staff members covering everything from technology and regulations to fuel. Here, thousands of its employees have already been trained.
▸ Wärtsilä’s diversification strategy is proving to be successful as it has nearly doubled its market share in future fuels versus conventional fuels.
▸ 90% renewal rate across maintenance agreements.
Wärtsilä at a glance:
Key products and services: global leader in innovative technologies and lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets.
Main industries served:
▸ Energy: 50%
▸ Marine: 50%
Headquarters: Helsinki, Finland
Year established: 1934
Number of employees: 18,000
Revenue: £5.13bn
Revenue from exports: 95%
Having taken significant strides forward on all fronts in its efforts to spearhead the maritime energy transition, Wärtsilä is readily reaping the rewards.
In several areas, the company’s market share in future fuels is remarkably higher versus conventional fuels. For example, while its overall share in four-stroke medium speed main engines stands at 45% as of mid-2024, it is over 70% in alternative fuels. Equally, while its market share for auxiliary engines overall is 15%, it is 25% for alternative fuels.
At the same time, the organisation also leads a newly established market involving the upgrading and retrofitting of engines for more efficient and future fuels. Here, the company has seen a over 30% increase in the number of vessels it has under long term maintenance agreements between 2019 and 2023, with 30% of its engines under maintenance agreement in 2023, and a 90% renewal rate across these maintenance agreements. Such statistics are testament to the bold, proactive steps that the company has continued to take. In proactively positioning itself as a market disruptor and thought leader in new energy solutions, Wärtsilä has established itself as a leading technology partner of its clients for the future and positioned itself to capitalise on market developments moving forward.
WeConnect Energy
Building up resilience in readiness to enter new verticals
Richard Madden CEO
How is WeConnect Energy thriving?
Launching on the eve of the global financial crisis in 2008, WeConnect Energy has successfully navigated its early challenges and entered a new chapter of its journey. By diversifying into the corporate and low carbon recruitment markets, the company is leveraging its built-up resilience. This strategic shift is making significant progress possible in key regions such as the GCC, where National Oil Companies (NOCs) are looking to future-proof their operations in alignment with energy transition priorities.
The challenge - For any enterprise setting up in 2008, the timing could be considered extremely unfortunate. Few saw the global financial crisis coming, an event which put many startups and established companies alike out of business.
Getting a specialist oil and gas recruitment business off the ground is challenging enough without such trying circumstances. Yet this is exactly the reality that faced Edinburgh-based WeConnect Energy. Set up to support oil and gas firms fill highly skilled upstream positions, it drew on its experience in subsurface and drilling, and the well-established networks they had built up in this time.
The financial crisis provided the ultimate test of the company’s viability and resilience. During its early years, maintaining financial stability was the primary goal, a journey which involved overcoming numerous challenges and a whole heap of entrepreneurial spirit.
Now, that resilience is being leveraged to help WeConnect Energy diversify beyond oil and gas.
The solution - This process, which kicked off around September 2022, has involved the creation of a renewed mission and vision – to connect the world’s energy experts in a way that aligns with the global energy needs of today and the future.
The first step was a simple one. Up to this point, the company was known as Subsurface Global, a brand which its leadership determined was not the right fit with the new vision. A new brand name, WeConnect Energy, was thus born in September 2023, with the next key task being to bring all colleagues on board.
In parallel, WeConnect Energy has launched a division dedicated to low carbon and renewables, attracting talent from rival companies to bolster its expertise in these areas. This strategic expansion is not a departure from the oil and gas sector but an inclusive approach to serve a wider range of energy sectors, including corporate and low carbon clients primarily in the UK and UAE markets. Crucially, the company recognises the significant opportunities presented by existing clients in the oil and gas sector as they navigate their path towards decarbonisation and engage with the energy transition. WeConnect Energy is committed to supporting these clients through this transition, demonstrating an exciting potential to explore new ideas and collaborations within the evolving energy landscape.
Indeed, there is no reason why WeConnect Energy cannot replicate a similar model to the one which has seen it succeed in the oil and gas space to this point – one based around building up networks and communities of experts. Initial sectors being targeted include offshore wind, carbon capture and hydrogen, with the new team investing time and resources into building connections and raising the WeConnect Energy profile. In time, the aim is to expand into the nuclear market.
Along the way, the company will no doubt continue to encounter teething issues. To date, these have included onboarding longstanding staff deeply involved in the traditional business, as well as convincing existing and prospective clients that WeConnect Energy is taking the low carbon world seriously. At the same time, it is important for the current client base to feel as if they are not being left behind.
Evidence of the approach working can be found in the UAE. Here, WeConnect Energy is already closely aligned with NOCs to provide new skills as they transition into low carbon endeavours, offering services such as executive search, permanent recruitment, contracting individuals and consultancy services around building new teams.
In terms of numbers, it is difficult to quantify the success of the strategic pivot given its nascent state. That said, in 2023 the
Story type
#scale up (main category)
Benefits
▸ First time recording 5% of income from non-oil and gas business.
▸ Turnover quadrupled between 2020 and 2023.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Major operators can do more to be advocates for net zero and the diversification of the energy matrix.
▸ Build good teams of people to navigate market changes, the world evolves quickly and adaptability is key.
For government
▸ Enable an orderly transition and avoid another coal vacuum.
▸ Give enough resources for the supply chain to bring the transition to life.
WeConnect Energy at a glance:
Key products and services: specialist recruitment and contracting company for the energy sector.
Main industries served:
▸ Oil and gas – 95%
▸ Others (energy): corporate, low carbon – 5%
Headquarters: Edinburgh, UK
Year established: 2008
Number of employees: 21
Revenue: £22m
Revenue from exports: 65%
company generated 5% of its income from non-oil and gas related activities for the first time. This is a promising sign, especially given the firm is steadily growing turnover year on year, with revenues quadrupling between 2020 and 2023.
Whessoe Engineering
Removing a barrier to entry for liquid hydrogen
Jane Tucker Business Development Director
How is Whessoe Engineering thriving?
Having relied on traditional energy markets such as liquified natural gas to sell its storage tank design solutions to for many years, Whessoe Engineering reached a point where it knew diversification was the key to securing its future. Identifying the hydrogen sector as a space where it could add value, the company has designed a liquid storage tank which solves a crucial problem in making H2 a viable alternative fuel of the future.
The challenge - With roots dating back all the way to 1790, Whessoe Engineering boasts a hugely rich legacy in the engineering and contracting space that very few companies can dream of rivalling.
Over the past four decades, the firm has concentrated on specialising its expertise in the storage and handling of liquefied gases, including cryogenic, low-temperature and pressurised forms. Today, Whessoe’s extensive experience and deep knowledge position it as a trusted authority in this highly technical field, enabling it to provide innovative solutions that meet the unique challenges of working with liquefied gases across a wide range of applications and industries.
However, no company which has been in existence for over 200 years can survive this long without adapting to changing market conditions and dynamics. In recent times, Whessoe’s leadership recognised the need to evolve once again, not least due to the global trend towards green energy and alternative fuels such as hydrogen.
The solution - After considering several diversification strategies, the company decided to concentrate on developing a storage tank solution liquified hydrogen and improve their solution for ammonia.
Hydrogen’s potential as an alternative fuel is well documented. However, there are three key barriers to entry, including the cost required to cool and convert it to liquid, and complexities around shipping it from one place to another.
The third barrier is storage. Knowing it housed the expertise to develop a solution, Whessoe Engineering soon recognised the opportunity available if it could help the sector overcome this obstacle and bring hydrogen closer to full realisation as a viable fuel.
A hydrogen roadmap was devised by the company and its parent in 2020, with the parent firm agreeing to fund the development of a new liquid hydrogen storage tank.
Work on the tank design started in 2021, the project progressing through various stages over the ensuing years. The process started with a significant amount of research and time being invested in carrying out a basic design of a 40,000 cubic metre tank to prove the concept. In addition, several major considerations and potential challenges were investigated, including the need to deal with extreme temperatures, vacuum options and anticipating what customers’ needs would be in the future.
After this, more than a year was spent in the detailed design phase, with DNV providing third-party approval of the design in 2023. Today, testing and optimisation continues as Whessoe enters the final stage of its roadmap.
In terms of turning this into a real business opportunity, Whessoe does not expect monetisation to begin in the immediate term, the motivation for the project being a desire to remain ahead of the curve.
With that said, the company has received expressions of interest from a party which outlined the need for several 40,000-cubic-metre tanks. There is also interest coming from the shipbuilding industry, which is seeking to get ahead of the game and find solutions to storing hydrogen on vessels for transportation.
Internally, the project has also brought many positives. Its engineers have been challenged to think differently and thrived in the opportunity to work on something new and truly innovative, and in the longer term, Whessoe sees this as a way of attracting and engaging new employees.
The most important success factor, however, is the solving of the ‘how do your store it’ conundrum which has been cause for hesitancy in hydrogen uptake. With a viable solution in the offing, Whessoe could well help to unlock this alternative fuel as a key component of the energy transition.
▸ New way of attracting and engaging new employees developed.
▸ Company read for the industry’s future needs.
Key findings
For industry
▸ Decide whether you are committed to a greener future or not without the governments backing. Put your money where your mouth is.
For government
▸ Consider pushing for a global carbon tariff scheme.
Whessoe Engineering at a glance:
Key products and services: engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPC&C) services.
Main industries served:
▸ Energy storage – 100%
Headquarters: Darlington, UK
Year established: 1790
Number of employees: 60
Revenue: £7m
Revenue from exports: 100%
Wood
Designing a better future
Daniel Carter President of Technical Consulting and Decarbonisation
How is Wood thriving?
Wood is focused on addressing two macrolevel challenges for its clients – finding practical and innovative ways to reduce carbon intensity, and harnessing the power of data, automation and AI to drive efficiencies.
From energy and mining to chemicals and life sciences, all clients are looking for ways to become more sustainable. For Wood, this has presented opportunities to design solutions that will enable its clients to reduce emissions while optimising the efficiency of their assets. Almost every scope it delivers today has a decarbonisation element, representing one of the fastest-growing areas of the business.
In parallel, Wood is working with clients to increase output, reduce cost, and improve safety all while reducing emissions through data-driven insights. From supporting early concept studies to extending the life of industrial assets, the company strongly believes that its combination of subject matter expertise alongside the power of digital can drive significant value.
The biggest challenge facing industry is how to deliver these results at pace. Progress cannot be achieved through talk alone. There is a great opportunity to design a more evolved and diverse energy ecosystem, one that is secure, sustainable and equitable, it just needs urgent action to accelerate.
The challenge - Operating globally to devise and design solutions across the energy and materials markets, gives Wood a wealth of delivery and project data. This enables it to pinpoint trends, better advise clients on investible and viable projects and identify the most critical challenges. The company has seen significant demand for its subject matter experts as clients look to strike the balance between designing new industrial assets and optimising or extending the life of their current portfolio – driving efficiency, lowering carbon, reducing cost, and improving safety.
The solution - A multi-dimensional operating environment requires Wood to have multidimensional thinking. As a people business, it boasts some of the industry’s most remarkable subject matter and deep domain experts. This combined with its knowledge of implementing new and evolving technologies has allowed Wood to establish pathways and designs that will not only deliver cost-effective and efficient solutions but also drive the future of industry and enable the scalability of critical solutions. There are several exciting examples of this, with a particular focus on decarbonisation and the deployment of digital tools.
Partnering with OMV, Wood has been working to deploy ReOil, an innovative, chemical-based, plastics recycling technology that will create a circular economy for end-of-life plastics. With its client Teck Resources in Canada, the company is designing a first-of-its-kind carbon capture solution deployed on a zinc and lead smelter. Within digital, it has invested in the development of AI tools to help reduce emissions and optimise maintenance efficiency. In one case, Wood’s AIdriven predictive maintenance tool has helped a client in the North Sea reduce maintenance costs by 25%. As a result of this digital success, Wood has been recognised as a leader in digital solutions for asset management by leading independent research and advisory firm, Verdantix.
The firm has also completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) scope for the first phase of Saudi Aramco’s Accelerated Carbon Capture and Sequestration (ACCS) project in Saudi Arabia, expected to be the world’s largest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) hub, upon completion. With an ambition to further reduce carbon emissions from its upstream operations, the first phase of the ACCS project intends to capture carbon emissions from Aramco gas plant facilities near Jubail, on the east coast of Saudi Arabia, as well as from thirdparty emitters. This approach enables Wood to ensure the sustainability of Aramco’s core oil and gas operations, a core driver for the Saudi economy, while simultaneously introducing
Story type
#transformation (main category)
#digital
#energy transition
#people & competency
Benefits
▸ Sustainability-related projects accounted for 22% of Wood’s revenue in 2023.
▸ Internal transformation to reduce employee turnover and improve retention.
Key findings
For industry
▸ It’s important to recognise when change is needed, and then make sure the change is ‘focused’.
▸ Operators must be more proactive and less reactive to build sustainable decarbonisation pathways.
For government
▸ More consistency is needed in general. The supply chain takes longer to react to government change and needs this consistency to invest and grow in the right areas.
Wood at a glance:
Key products and services: consulting and engineering.
UK Headquarters: Aberdeen, UK
Year established: 1982
Number of employees: 36,000
Revenue: £7.08bn
cutting-edge technologies. Beyond this, Wood also collaborated with Aramco on its Digital Twin & Transformation frameworks to identify and rank 100+ opportunities during the prefeed and feed phases of the Safaniyah and Manifa Project, enabling significant efficiencies and cost avoidances during the EPC phase.
In the face of all the challenges, there are significant opportunities. While the solutions to diversifying Wood’s energy and materials sectors are not linear, the company has proven throughout its long history that it excels in the complex.
