going to the gulf our experience in qatar sam murdock – director of water services enterprise...

Going to the Gulf Our Experience in Qatar

Sam Murdock – Director of Water Services

Enterprise Ireland GCC Trade Mission7th January 2014

Outline of Presentation

• Introduction to Byrne Looby• Our Middle East journey• Lessons learned and benefits

Overview of Byrne Looby

2014• 9 offices, 5 international

• Ireland – 4 • Middle East – 3• UK – 2

• Middle East locations: • Dubai• Doha• Jeddah

• Working in the water, marine and heavy civil engineering sectors

New Office - Dubai

Our work in the Middle East

World’s Tallest Flagpole (Jeddah)

Hodariyat Bridge(Abu Dhabi)

Lusail CP4 (Qatar)

Mesaieed Industrial City TSE (Qatar)

Al Khor STP, Qatar

Aqaba Port(Jordan)

Internationalisation – taking the big leap

With contraction of the Irish market in 2008, we started developing new international centres to generate revenues and spread risk

Middle EastLibyaUK

100% Ire-land

2007 Sales

34% ME

7% EU36% UK

25% Ire-land

2013 Sales

Growth…

2007- 100% of sales in Ireland- 1 office in Dublin- 40 employees- Turnover €4m

Now- 25% of sales in Ireland- 10 offices- 100 employees (>250

with JV partners)- Current annual

equivalent revenue €10m

Our Middle East Journey2009 – Entered Saudi Arabian Market• Selling our traditional specialist services• Tried to replicate what we did in Ireland 2011 – Learnings 2 years on..• Market needs were different from those in Ireland – needed value

focused client services suitable for the market• Our traditional services - low volume and not scalable• Higher trading overheads – need a bigger turnover to be viable –

work only on projects worth €20,000 or more in fees

Needed to diversify, win bigger projects and break even or leave

Water Services and Qatar

• Revised strategy 2011• Diversified service offering• Identified significant

opportunity to deliver water services particularly in Qatar

• New business plan• Supported by Enterprise

Ireland

Route to Market1) Team building

- Build a water services team to supplement existing skills working between Ireland and Qatar

- Purchased PH McCarthy Consulting Engineers in Ireland to supplement capability in late 2012

Route to Market

2) Market entry – partnering, business development- Partnered with local company ASCO- New joint venture partners

- ASCO have over 40 years experience in the Qatari market - Excellent understanding of local conditions, market, customs,

planning requirements as well as client expectations and Qatar Construction Standards

3) Quick Wins

Initial

Short term

Mid term

Long term

- Design elements- Small EPC contractors- Stretched large consultantsRELIANT ON CONTACTS AND INTRODUCTIONS- Small/medium design elements- Medium/large EPC contractorsBUILDING ON EXPERIENCE AND REPUTATION- Sole designer- Water authority/large EPC contractorsCONTINUE BUILDING REPUTATION

- Clients advisor on asset management- Water authorityESTABLISHED REPUTATION

Route to Market

4) Win Bigger ProjectsRoute to Market

Lusail Expressway (Doha, Qatar)• First service tunnel in Qatar• Working with ASCO Qatar

Strategic Tunnel Enhancement Programme (Abu Dhabi, UAE)• Over 40km of sewers across the city

Treated Sewage Effluent Upgrade (Mesaieed Industrial City, Qatar)• QAR 7.5 million water infrastructure

project• Working with ASCO Qatar

Our Vision

Top 10 middle east water and infrastructure consultants in next 10 years

Ingredients for success in Qatar

• On the ground presence • Careful partner selection• Understanding the market• Firm commitment to the market• Cultural understanding and respect• Clear understanding of financial

model and strong financial management

Ingredients for success in Qatar

• Need great people committed to the cause – Qatar is a complex market with global players, staff work very hard

• Willing to travel and live abroad• Relevant technical expertise• Non-technical

management/leadership skills (sales, business development)

• Opportunity for staff to up-skill through working on projects beyond scale in Ireland

Ingredients for success in Qatar

• Enterprise Ireland• Networking (Irish Diaspora)

Benefits

• Developing new skills which can benefit the Irish market in the future

• Recently announced 50 new jobs

• Grown to 90 people• New opportunities which

allow for future growth of the business

Thank you έϛη