Five Minutes With: Abdelrahman Gabr, Clarcor

Through altair, a company supporting the oil and gas industry for 50 years, Clarcor Industrial Air focuses on a few key areas – inlet filtration for gas turbines, dust and mist collection for industrial equipment, and specialty membrane products for microfiltration, venting and apparel applications. We were previously owned by GE, before being acquired by Clarcor in December 2013. Within the Middle East, our filters and inlet systems are installed on many gas turbines providing power, production and oil and gas transportation to the region’s largest companies. 
 
What would you say is Clarcor’s biggest strength?

We are the only filtration company that was ever owned by a gas turbine manufacturer, and that relationship gave us unique insights into how filters play a direct role in gas turbine (GT) performance. Many of the new gas turbines shipped into this region come with Clarcor filters installed, and it’s this knowledge that gives us the best chance to show operators how filters can truly help with GT performance.
 
How has business been for you?

While oil prices have certainly hurt some energy projects, gas turbines in this region continue to operate. And since clean air is a major driver of GT performance, our filtration business has continued to do well. In the last two years, our filters have been installed on 30% of the new gas turbines ordered globally.
 
What are some of the challenges you face working with clients in the region?

Challenges often involve difficult maintenance periods. It’s not easy to change filters when it is hot outside, and stressing the importance of filtration can be difficult. The unique environmental conditions of the region – dust, fog, heat – also cause major challenges for customers. But we are able to solve all these, at the same time, to deliver better performance from the gas turbine despite these challenges. 
 
Have you been affected by the oil price drop and how?

While the oil price drop has certainly had a global market effect, here in the Middle East, there’s still a need to keep pumping oil and gas, even if new projects get delayed. That means gas turbines are still operational at plenty of sites and on pipelines across the region, and they still need filters to deal with the challenges we just discussed. We certainly see some large oil companies postponing new projects, which has an effect on our new systems business.
 
What are your predictions for the rest of 2016?

It is always tough to predict what oil prices will do and the effect this will have on our business. It does seem like things are stabilising and that they may settle down for the rest of the year. We continue to expect a large number of gas turbines to be ordered in this region, which is a good thing for both filtration and industry here in general.
 
Is there anything else that you would like to add?

We see the Middle East as a growing region for gas turbine usage. We are in it for the long-haul. Our customers are our number one priority, and we are investing heavily in supporting them. We plan to continue delivering high quality filters that help operators improve GT performance and save real money. Our technical capabilities when it comes to filtration are a unique asset to these operators.