Welding and cutting specialist ESAB is keen to show off its green credentials with the opening of its new Jebel Ali facility
Swedish industrial welding and cutting specialist ESAB was keen to show Oil & Gas Middle East around its new, more ecologiaclly sound base in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone.
ESAB, which has been present in the region since 1981, prides itself on the quality of the relationships it has built, particularly in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and to a lesser extent Iran.
Recently the company has had success in Qatar with its mammoth gas projects. ESAB Middle East’s managing director, Johan Fransson points to Qatar Petroleum’s Nakhilat shipyard project where it is delivering about 80% of the welding equipment.
Speaking at the new facility which, which according to company estimates saves 60-70% in energy costs and recycles all of its water in a closed-loop system, Fransson says that being in the region helps to woo existing and new customers.
He highlights the erratic nature doing business in the Gulf as something that takes getting used to: “One challenge is the nature of the business here in that it is so project-oriented because nothing happens, nothing happens, nothing happens and then suddenly it’s all systems go.”
“It’s hard to be geared up to cover everything but it requires that you work very close to the customers so you know what’s going on and you can be prepared.”
The company provided the welding services for the hull sections of the Aker H6 rigs that were made by Dubai Drydocks in 2006.
It has also carried out work on the platforms, decks and jackets in the Karan gas field in Saudi Arabia for J Ray McDermott as well as the Shah gas refinery for Mumbai based construction firm, Dodsal.
Fransson believes that keeping as much of ESAB’s activities as local as possible – whether it be stocking complex CNC welding machines, consumables and spare parts, or training up clients’ workforce – keeps the company competitive and more responsive to the demands of its regional customer base.
Specialists from ESAB’s factory bases in Europe are based in Dubai to be close to the customers and provide technical support and assistance.
“We don’t need any people coming from overseas to install or service any of the things we sell, we have the people right here,” Fransson explains.
He says that as a company, ESAB continues to ride out the fallout of the global downturn and reiterates that the company’s strong local market position has aided it in this regard.
“We probably went through the downturn better than most. Our market position helped us to keep our volumes up because we have been here for so long in addition to having good relations with our customers, partners and distributors.”
Declining revenue can also be due to vagaries in the commodity markets. “Part of what we sell is steel, if the steel price goes down a lot so does our revenue, this really has nothing to do with our performance as a company,” he says.
“A lot of those projects that were put on hold, cancelled or postponed have now restarted, the demand is there, if we are going to get the oil and gas we need for the future,” concludes Fransson.
