mep eta

MIDDLE EAST NEWS UPDATE | 04BIG PICTURE | 09

COMMENT | 14INTERVIEW | 16PRODUCTS | 52

THE LAST WORD | 56 An ITP Business Publication | April 2011 Vol. 6 Issue 4Essential information for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC professionals An ITP Business Publication | August 2012 Vol. 7 Issue 8

Meet KS Shah Ali and AK Saksena of ETA Star, plus 24 more companies changing the face of MEP in the region and the smart people who lead them

MIDDLE EAST NEWS UPDATE | 04BIG PICTURE | 09

COMMENT |14INTERVIEW | 16PRODUCTS |52

THE LAST WORD |56

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Meet KS Shah Ali and AK Saksena of ETA Star, plus 24 more companies changing the face of MEP in the region and the smart people who lead them

HVA

C

UPDATE ON PAGE 50

DISTRICT COOLING PROSPECTS AND PIPELINES

FOR THE REGIONAL DISTRICT COOLING INDUSTRY

RECYCLE WATER OPTIONS FOR SENSIBLE REUSE OF A VITAL RESOURCE

ALSO: WHAT HAPPENED TO HASTIE ?

KS Shah Ali

AK Saksena

ENGINEERINGGENIUS

25

www.constructionweekonline.com

ENGINEERING GENIUS The 25 companies pushing the industry’s engineering boundaries in the last year

August 2012 | MEP Middle East 1

AUGUST 2012 VOLUME 7 ISSUE 08

CONTENTS04 NEWS

QSTec’s $1bn polysilicon plant to produce solar technology in Qatar

10 NEWS UPDATE Problems and promise in the dis-trict cooling pipeline

12 NEWS UPDATE GCC HVAC innovates and escalates

14 COMMENT Will Skidmore on how water will become dangerously scarce

52 PRODUCT FOCUS Check out the latest MEP related products in the market 56 THE LAST WORD Charles Blaschke, MEP BIM manager at iTech, explains iCap

WARMING THE WATERSEcotherm brings free floating turbulator technology to Dubai’s Grosvenor Hotel

QATAR’S SHINING STARSCathal McElroy meets the men at the head of ETA Star’s Qatar operations

HASTIE DEPARTUREPeter Ward looks into what happened at the now bust Australian MEP firm

30

22

46REFRESHING RECYCLINGMEP Middle East looks at how has the use of recycled water in cooling systems improved in the Middle East?

16

50


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HVAC

COMPANIES TO KNOW

MIDDLE EAST NEWS UPDATE | 04COMMENT | 16

OPINION | 18INTERVIEW | 32PRODUCTS | 54

THE LAST WORD | 56 An ITP Business Publication | April 2011 Vol. 6 Issue 4Essential information for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC professionals An ITP Business Publication | May 2012 Vol. 7 Issue 5

ALSO: TIM ARMSBY ON LEGAL ISSUES IN THE GCC

SULTAN OF HIS DESTINYBEC’S SURESH VIRMANI TELLS US ABOUT HIS OMAN SUCCESS STORY

QATAR MEP FORUMTALKING TO THE EXPERTS ABOUT QATAR’S MEP PROSPECTS

BAHRAIN’S BIG SPLASHExploring the MEP works behind the GCC’s first indoor-outdoor water park

HVAC

REFRIGERANT ANALYSIS

MIDDLE EAST NEWS UPDATE | 04COMMENT | 16

OPINION | 18INTERVIEW | 32PRODUCTS | 54

THE LAST WORD | 56 An ITP Business Publication | April 2011 Vol. 6 Issue 4Essential information for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC professionals An ITP Business Publication | April 2012 Vol. 7 Issue 4

ALSO: MANISH HIRA ON HIS INSULATION STRATEGY

RELATIONSHIP GURUANEL MEP’S PAUL

MCFARLANE ON LEARNING FROM DUBAI’S MISTAKES

EFFICIENCY MANAGEMENTDOES THE INDUSTRY UNDERSTAND BMS?

NOTA DROP

TO SPARECan MEP save our most precious resource?

MODEL DESIGNWHY IS BIM BEING IGNORED

BY THE MEP INDUSTRY?

HVAC

UPDATE ON PAGE 50

MIDDLE EAST NEWS UPDATE | 04COMMENT | 16ANALYSIS | 20

BIM | 46PRODUCTS | 52

THE LAST WORD | 56 An ITP Business Publication | April 2011 Vol. 6 Issue 4Essential information for mechanical, electrical, plumbing and HVAC professionals An ITP Business Publication | June 2012 Vol. 7 Issue 6

ALSO: JOHNSON CONTROLS ON THE LAUNCH OF PANOPTIX

BIM CONCEPTS APPLIEDTHE TEAM FROM OGER EXPLAIN HOW BIM MAKES A DIFFERENCE

SEVEN WONDERSA QUICK TOUR AROUND SEVEN OF THE BEST AND BIGGEST MEP PROJECTS IN THE GCC

SKY HIGHHow do you provide lifts, AC, pools and maintenance 90 fl oors up? We fi nd out on a visit to 23 Marina

2 MEP Middle East | August 2012

NEWS UPDATE

4 MEP Middle East | August 2012 www.constructionweekonline.com

CONTRACT

Qatar Solar Technolo-gies (QSTec) has signed a Memorandum of Un-derstanding to help utili-ties company Kahramaa to distribute solar en-ergy in Qatar.

Dr Khalid Klefeekh Al Hajri, chairman and CEO of QSTec and HE Engr. Essa Hilal Al-Ku-wari, president of Kah-ramaa both signed the MOU at the latter’s of-fice in West Bay, Doha.

Dr Al Hajri said: “So-lar energy is definitely emerging in Qatar and is the key to providing a sustainable alternative source of energy, whilst conserving and protect-ing the country’s natural resources for the future.

“So we are extremely proud to be teaming up with Kahramaa to en-sure that solar power is able to reach every single person in Qatar.”

director of EEG told MEP Middle East that solar pan-els can be used for elec-tricity generation (PV) and hot water production

(solar thermal). “However, the main problem in the GCC is that downstream adoption is tightly linked to financial incentives - in the absence of feed-in tariff and in a mostly sub-sidised electricity land-scape, PV is very difficult to be financially viable at present stage.”

He added: «In order to use renewable energy more in general, GCC countries should work towards removing electri-cal subsidies, introduce feed in tariff (or similar schemes) and potential provide long term financ-ing for adopters.»

In Qatar, there are al-ready some projects using solar energy. The Qatar

QSTec’s $1bn polysilicon plant to produce solar technology; adoption linked to incentives

QSTEC will be making solar-grade polysilicon.

National Food Securities Program is looking at using solar to power its desalination plants, the 2022 World Cup will be the first carbon neutral World Cup and will be utilising solar energy for its air conditioned solar stadiums and fan zones.

QSTec›s parent or-ganisation, Qatar Foun-dation, has several proj-ects already underway using solar energy to power some of their development includ-ing the Qatar National Convention Centre, a new student hous-ing complex and the Msheireb Properties development planned for downtown Doha.

QSTEC and Kahramaa sign MoU for solar power project in Qatar

29.4%Year-on-year

increase in first

half gross profit

FAIR SHAREPROFIT AND PAYOUT

SAUDI CABLE COMPANYJuly trading, price versus volume

Saudi Cable Company Interim Financial Results for the period ending 30/06/2012

$5.38 MILLION

Second quarter net profit

10.6%Year-on-year decline

in profit

$16.14 MILLION

First half operatingprofit

QSTec will start by pro-ducing solar grade poly-silicon, which is the main ingredient that goes into making solar cells and modules. It eventually hopes to build solar mod-ules made in Qatar made from its own polysilicon, which it can then export to the rest of the world.

Ronald Diab, managing

However, the main problem in the GCC is that downstream adoption is tightly linked to financial incentives.“ Ronald Diab, managing director of EEG


NEWS UPDATE


Traffic congestion has prompted public transport development. Jeddah’s sewerage infrastructure is undergoing development.

CONTRACT

Saudi Arabia has pre-qualified four consortia, including ones led by Spain’s FS Engineering and Construction and Austria’s Strabag, for the building of a metro system in Riyadh, Reuters reported.

State news agency SPA said the pre-qualified con-sortia were made of 33 companies from 15 countries and included some of the biggest train manufacturers in the world.

One consortium is led by France’s Vinci and includes Germany’s Siemens, the state news agency said.

A second is led by Canadian firm Bombardier and includes Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi, Spain’s Obrascon Huarte, Korea’s GS Engineering and Construction Corp, and Britain’s Serco.

A third consortium is led by Spain’s FS Engineering and Construction. It includes France’s Alstom Transport, Korea’s Samsung C&T Corp. The fourth consortium is led by Austria’s Strabag and includes Italy’s Ansaldo STS, Switzerland’s Stadler Rail, India’s Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Britain’s Hyder Consulting and US firm Worley Parsons.

Saudi Arabia has only limited public transport facili-ties and Riyadh suffers grinding congestion for much of the day and into late evenings.

CONTRACT

Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) has an-nounced the award of four contracts worth a combined $53.5m to national companies for work related to the connection of the Jeddah districts of Rabwah, Al-Nuzha and Al-Faisaliya to the city’s central sewage network.

The work on these last remaining districts will be be-gin after the end of Ramadan, and contractors have al-ready begun the application process to obtain the work permits required to carry out the work from the city’s authorities.

The first phase of the scheme covers 50% of the hous-ing in the Al-Safa district houses, and will soon connect 9,000 houses to Jeddah’s sewerage system.

The second phase of the infrastructure installation work is scheduled to implement 72,000 sewage connec-tions by mid 2013, and a further 30,000 connections by the end of 2015. Once complete, sewage disposal trucks will no longer be needed in the city.

Four pre-qualify for Riyadh Metro project

Jeddah awards final sewer infrastructure contracts

COPPER

STEEL

METALS PRICES

$752031 July

$760430 June

$38531 July

$364.5030 JuneHouses that will be connected to sewer system

9000

GETT

Y IM

AGES

NEWS UPDATE


INVESTMENT

A report by Ventures Middle East has valued new investment in the Middle East’s power and water sector at $32.7 billion, with 97 projects set to begin construction in 2012. Strong demand for electricity and rapidly rising water consumption has spurred investment in the region, with the UAE alone initiating projects valued at $1.5bn this year.

Among the projects underway, or planned to begin this year, are the $740 million Noor 1 solar project in Abu Dhabi, a 100MW PV solar project involving Masdar, Total and Abengoa. The project is part of Abu-Dhabi’s ten year plan to generate 1,500MW of power from renewable energy sources, with the Shams 1 concentrated solar plant already under construction in the Emirate. In Kuwait 19 projects totaling $4.2 billion are underway, including the Al Zour IWPP.

Saudi unsurprisingly tops the individual country spend, led by the $2 billion spend on the Al Qurayyah IPP and the $1.2 billion Shuaiba 2 power plant. The country is planning to spend $8.8 billion in total as it aims to boost power production, as well as improving the efficiency and reliability of the water distribution network.

Morocco’s spending is also highlighted, with $4.4 billion of investment being put into seven projects in 2012. The country is investing in four wind farm projects around the country, whilst a final announcement on tender is still awaited for the massive Quar-zazate solar plant, planned in Olant.

New Middle East projects valued at around $32.7bn

Masdar City named among top infrastructure plansInfrastructure 100 report recognises slew of Middle East projects

AL HASSAN ENGINEERING TO BUILD MUSCAT EMERGENCY WATER RESERVOIRS

Oman’s Public Authority for Electric-ity and Water (PAEW) has contracted Al Hassan Engineering Company to build Phase 1 of an emergency water storage reservoirs project in the Muscat Governorate,according to the Oman Daily Observer. PAEW is set to oversee the development of a number of emergency reservoirs around Mus-cat to automatically deploy resources

in the event of a water shortage or technical failure. The scheme will also maintain water supplies if operations at Ghubrah and Barka desalination plants are interrupted.

Under the deal, Al Hassan will con-struct six emergency water reservoirs at four locations around the capital – Qurum, Ruwi, Al Wadi al Kabir and Wattayah. The largest, at Qurum,

will have two tanks, with a combined capacity of 146,000 m3.

Al Hassan will build reinforced concrete covered reservoirs, as well as taking responsibility for the construc-tion of related infrastructure such as access roads, pump systems and con-nections to the local water network. Total capacity of the reservoirs will be 216,000 m3.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The latest ‘Infrastructure 100’ report by KPMG, released at the World Cities Summit in Singapore, has recognised a number of projects in the Middle East region in crucial infrastructure categories such as water and urban energy. The report aims to showcase one hundred urban-focused infrastructure projects that are demonstrating an innovative approach to meeting the challenges present-ed by growing urban populations.

Among the region’s infrastructure recog-nised is Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, which is praised in the ‘New Cities’ category for its ambition to be powered entirely by renew-ables and its aim to recycle 80% of its water. Qatar’s Energy City, located north of Doha Airport, is also noted for its plan to become a hub for the global hydrocarbon industry.

With water security such a focus for the Middle East, wastewater projects in the re-gion were also a focus for the judges. Bah-rain’s Muharraq Wastewater Plant received attention because of its ‘crucial’ contribution

to managing the Kingdom’s scare water re-serves, as well as the fact that it represents an important Public Private Partnership in spite of a difficult political and economic climate.

Kuwait City’s Umm Al-Hayman Waste-water Project also appears on the list, with the current expansion project at the site taking wastewater treatment capacity from 27,000m3 per day, to about 600,000. The re-port also makes the argument that while new projects are important, many water networks could be improved by working on increasing current network efficiency, with water leak-age ‘an endemic problem for many countries’.

In the ‘Urban Energy Infrastructure’ cat-egory, Saudi Arabia’s Princess Nora Univer-sity’s solar heating system is highlighted. The system is said to be the largest solar hot water system in the world, with energy distributed over 8km2 from a district heating grid supplied by thermal solar collectors. KPMG argues that utilities will need to work with govern-ments to ensure they have the planning capac-ity to enact changes to the power system.

Qatar’s Energy City, located north of Doha Airport, is also noted for its plan to become a regional hub for the global hydrocarbon industry.“

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NEWS UPDATE


HVAC

The Saudi Arabian HVAC sector will grow by 10% annually until 2015, ac-cording to research from the UK-based Building Services Research and Information Association, in a report reloeased by Zawya.

While the Qatari HVAC sector is expected to grow by 6% in the years to 2015, the UAE is not expected to fare as well, with a senior figure in the HVAC sector saying that he expects the Emirates’ market to grow by only 3% annually during the corresponding period.

Andrew DeGuire, vice president of strategy and acquisitions at John-son Controls, was commenting in the report which suggests that an ex-pected recovery in the construction market would yield a similar recov-ery in the HVAC sector.

“We see annual growth in the region’s construction markets of 9% from 2011 to 2015 with Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait growing at 10%-plus annually,” DeGuire said.

“The UAE is forecast to be strong with the commercial construc-tion market going forward with 8% annual growth from 2011 to 2015,” he added.

Overall, the HVAC industry in the GCC has weathered the economic downturn much better than most developed markets around the world and seen average annual growth in expenditures of 12% from 2008 to 2011, according to DeGuire.

“We see this market growing annually by 8% from 2011 to 2015. The UAE has not fared quite as well as the rest of the GCC but has still had solid growth compared to the global HVAC market. We see the UAE HVAC market growing by 3% from 2011 to 2015,” he said.

Report spots growth in Oman and Kuwait

Saudi HVAC sector to grow 10% annually to 2015

ENERGY

Heating, cooling and lighting are the main energy expenditures in buildings today, and a building automation system (BAS), which is powered by batteries, can help reduce and optimise energy expenses, while maintaining a comfortable environment for occupants, ac-cording to a study.

While Frost & Sullivan has found that im-proved energy harvesting technologies boost efficiency in buildings, mass adoption is de-layed as more R&D is needed.

Analysis from Frost & Sullivan’s Advances in Energy Harvesting Technologies for Building Automation research finds that progression in EH technology has enabled BASs to be more independent and flexible to identify and ad-dress energy wastage from buildings.

The energy efficiency of EHs allow WSNs to be placed anywhere in a building, with minimal overhead.

However, more collaboration is needed at the university level. “Reducing the energy con-sumption of EHs has not affected the perfor-mance of the device,” said technical insights analyst, Frost & Sullivan. “Rather, the unique microstructuring design and dense packing has increased the power density several fold. This enables the EH to be physically integrated with different custom designed WSN applications.”HVAC is a rich source of regional revenue.

More R&D to adopt energy harvesting tech

“We are at a new age of technology where engineers and architects can produce whatever they can dream.” AHMAD K. ABDELRAZAQ, exec VP and head of high-rise at Samsung C&T, on the unfurling possibilities in building design and realisation

“BIM adoption in the local market is increasing … Growth in the coming years will be from handheld devices.”

HASSAN MALKI,industry salesdirector, Bentley

“Despite the clear benefits of tighter control of project costs, there is still some resistance to change among construction com-panies.” PAUL MADEIRA, Causeway COO

Research shows energy harvesting tech can cut costs

“The experience gained in devel-oping the Masdar City project will be invaluable for the entire construction supply chain.” ADNAN SHARAFI,Emirates GBC chairman, on the impact of the zero carbon project in Abu Dhabi

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2012 CALENDAR

EVENTS

AWARDS

DECEMBERPublic IifrastructureDate: 3 December 2012Venue: Doha

NOVEMBERSocial InfrastructureDate: 13 November 2012Venue: Riyadh

NOVEMBERBuilding SustainabilityDate: 31 October 2012Venue: Abu Dhabi

OCTOBERLeaders in ConstructionOctober 2012Riyadh

SEPTEMBERLeaders in ConstructionDate: 18 September 2012Venue: Dubai

Construction Week Awards QatarDate: 26 September 2012Place: Doha

Architect Middle East AwardsDate: 14 September 2012Place: Dubai

SEPTEMBER

NOVEMBERConstruction Week KSA AwardsDate: November 2012Place: Riyadh

DECEMBERConstruction Week AwardsDate: December 2012Place: Dubai

MEP Middle East AwardsDate: December 2012Place: Westin, Dubai


NEWS UPDATE


PROJECT: Infinity tower

LOCATION: Dubai Marina

DEVELOPER: Cayan

MEP CONTRACTOR:Drake & Scull

EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE: 31 October 2012

LEVELS: 5 basement floors, 72

residential floors , and 6 floors

at its crown, which includes the

mechanical floor on level 73.

TOWER’S TWIST: 90degreesInfinity Tower, the eye-catching skyscraper in Dubai Marina which twists 90 degrees, is 90% complete. MEP contractors, Drake and Scull, are currently working on the 73rd floor. Check out next month’s issue for a full site visit.

BIGPICTURE

NEWS UPDATE


DISTRICT COOLING

Over the next 18 years leading up to 2030, the GCC will have to invest approximately $100bn in new cooling capacity and over $120bn in new pow-er capacity if the region maintains its existing pat-tern of cooling technolo-gy, according to a July re-port by Booz & Company.

Air conditioning alone accounts for a stagger-ing 70% of peak electric-ity consumption annually, and growth and develop-ment in the region is ex-pected to nearly triple this demand by 2030.

“District cooling could save these countries which will urbanise further in coming decades from in-vesting considerable sums on new power stations,” said George Sarraf, partner with Booz & Company, which suggests in its report that district cooling could provide 30% of regional re-quirements by 2030.

The greater efficiency of the scaled chiller technol-ogy that can be employed in district cooling typically consumes 40 to 50% less energy for every refrigera-tion ton than conventional in-building technologies.

However, at present there are major barriers in the current implemen-tation of district cooling schemes, and this is in-hibiting the efficiency of the technology, causing

up, that people will start moving in very fast. But when you build a district cooling plant, you some-times get surprises, and the marketing and pro-jected plant are not what was expected,” says Ah-mad Abushama, director at Dalkia Utilities.

The final barrier, and one which only the au-thorities in the region can address, is the higher flat tariffs placed on high en-ergy consumption.

“Master developers and district cooling operators must lobby the govern-ment authorities provid-ing the electrical and wa-ter utilities to negotiate tariff charges,” said Paul Allen, technical director at Red Engineering.

The good news is that these issues are now com-ing to light, and the mar-ket itself remains healthy. “It is reviving and it looks more promising than it has in the last two years. We’re expecting good po-tential to be incepted by the end of 2012 and 2013,” said Abushama.

“There are opportuni-ties, mainly in the King-dom of Saudi Arabia, which is more isolated and less dependent on pri-vate investment. And then there is Qatar, which will have increasing demand leading up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup event,” said Allen.

Problems and promise in the district cooling pipeline, regulation requiredAir conditioning alone accounts for a staggering 70% of peak electricity consumption annually,

and growth and development in the region is expected to nearly triple this demand by 2030

director at EC Harris In-ternational.

Additionally govern-ments in the GCC have not regarded the provi-sion of air-conditioning as a matter of public policy, and this has left the sector unregulated.

“As a result, district cooling has not been used sufficiently where it is ap-propriate, and it has been used where it is inappro-priate. As GCC countries

continue to develop their economies, this misuse of an important technology will prove costly,” said Tarek El Sayed, principal at Booz & Company.

A major challenge as mentioned is to meet the real demand and not to over-size the plant.

“When work starts on the development, they usually have high ambi-tions that we will have the high demand and ramp

unnecessary costs to be incurred and passed onto the end-user and generat-ing misperceptions with regard to its efficacy.

A significant problem is the gradual occupation of developments, which subdues demand and prevents district cooling plants from working at their optimal operational efficiencies, often for many years.

“For a plant to be prop-erly efficient in its gen-eration of chilled water, it needs to be working sen-sibly close to its design loads. A plant, whether small or large, that is op-erating way below half its design loading will be far from economic or effi-cient,” said Mike Cairney,

A plant, whether small or large, that is operating way below half its design loading will be far from economic or efficient. “Mike Cairney, director at EC Harris International

District cooling plants must work at near design load to be properly efficient.

NEWS UPDATE


HVAC

Growth in the HVAC sec-tor in the region is fore-cast to continue to grow by 8% annually through to 2015, as the industry bolsters its business from new projects by reinventing the market and delivering innovative new technologies and integrated systems to ex-isting facilities.

Overall, the HVAC in-dustry in the GCC has weathered the economic downturn much better than most developed markets around the world and experienced an aver-age annual growth in ex-penditures of 12% from 2008 to 2011, according Andrew DeGuire, VP of Strategy & Acquisitions at Johnson Controls.

“We see this market growing annually by 8% from 2011 to 2015. The UAE has not fared quite as well as the rest of the GCC but still had solid growth compared to the global HVAC market. We see the UAE HVAC mar-ket growing by 3% from 2011 to 2015,” said De-Guire, in a report from the business monitor Zawya.

However, the HVAC market in Qatar will experience an annual growth of 6% from 2011 to 2015, and in Saudi Arabia growth will be up at 10%, according to the Building Services Re-search and Information Association, a UK-based testing, instrumentation, research and consultan-cy organisation.

spectively, due to their higher efficiencies, low noise and communica-tions, said George Ber-bari, chief executive of DC Pro Engineering.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s latest report on building technology practice, “VRF systems are likely to be a major segment of the HVACR market in the immediate to mid-term future due to the introduction of digital scroll and inverter tech-nology,” as the industry shifts towards advanced sustainable systems.

The overall outlook for the market is positive, with dynamic develop-ments in technology and methodology reinforcing organic growth, rising parallel to the recovering construction sector. How-ever, if the pace of innova-tion holds and regulation continues to clamp down on energy and water use, it can only mean even big-ger and better things for the HVAC sector.

HVAC in the GCC innovates and escalates

The success of the Park Hyatt project demonstrates the viability of water reuse and recycling models which can and should be replicated to help conserve water and improve efficiencies across the region.“Emmanuel Gayan, CEO at Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies ME

HVAC industry in the GCC weathers economic downturn much better than most developed

markets around the world; experiences average annual growth in expenditures of 12%

enough potable water to fill 62 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

“The success of this project demonstrates the viability of water reuse and recycling models which can and should be replicat-ed to help conserve water and improve efficiencies across the region,” said Emmanuel Gayan, CEO at Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies ME.

As sustainable tech-nologies reach cost parity, such implementations are becoming obviously eco-nomical viable, with the Park Hyatt project mak-ing a return on investment

of less than a year, by not only reducing water con-sumption, but by addition-ally improving the efficien-cy of the cooling system.

The HVAC industry is also seeing innova-tion in fields such as air conditioner equipment, building systems inte-gration and building automation and energy management, including, according to DeGuire, “new compressor devel-opments that drastically improve air conditioner energy efficiency and cooling capability.” Oth-er changes include the integration of HVAC with other utilities, and the adopting of cloud-based computing strategies to offer flexible and acces-sible monitoring and op-erations of buildings.

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems and ECM fan coils are also from 2012 being imple-mented in earnest in villa projects and hotels or high-end projects, re-

Emmanuel Gayan, CEO at Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies ME.

An example of one of the innovative new tech-nologies stimulating the market was recently de-livered to the Park Hyatt Dubai hotel by Veolia Water Solutions & Tech-nologies Middle East in collaboration with Dow Water & Process Solu-tions (DWPS).

Veolia designed and in-stalled a system of mem-brane filters to reprocess much of the 148,300m3 of water used annually by the 225-room hotel for subsequent use in its HVAC towers, sav-ing 154,880m3 since its launch in 2010, or

Detailed understanding of the challenges and specific requirements of the Middle East market has helped to develop products that fulfil the specific requirements of the Middle East. Environmental and service conditions have been taken into consideration to develop two of our most successful products in this market.

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SHARKY HYDRUSUltrasonic compact energy meter Ultrasonic water meter


COMMENT

Earmarked water spend in Qatar

$8.5 BN

he more anyone travels, the more disparity is found in the cost of everyday goods. Gasoline is a great example. Mem-bers of the EU are verging on requiring second mortgages in order to fill up their VW Polos whereas the GCC can still fuel a Gulfstream jet on small change. The same can be said

for the price of water, although this is likely to be a wider spread prob-lem a lot sooner than many people think. According to a 2010 edition of Nature magazine, 80% of the world’s population live in areas with threats to water security, and the cash value to support water infra-structure between 2010 and 2015 is estimated at $800 billion.

While many of you reading this article will not fall into any of these categories, the facts according to water.org are as follows: 884 million lack access to clean water; cumulatively, women spend 200 million hours a day collecting water and, probably most con-cerning, 3.575 million people will die this year due to water related disease, equivalent to the population of Los Angeles.

While the majority of these figures will strictly apply to the third world, let’s not forget that even the UK, a G8 country which is renowned for its precipitation, is currently experiencing a drought. With this in mind, many countries have prioritised water security programs and at the recent 10th Gulf Water Conference, Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) president Essa bin Hilal al-Kuwari called for all GCC states to ex-plore the solutions to providing long-term security solutions with greater diligence.

Qatar has been highly strategic in finding solutions and in the last five years has spent $3bn on upgrading and launching water initiatives. In his speech al-Kuwari said that a further $8.5 billion was already earmarked to spend between 2012 and 2016. One of these initiatives will include the construction of what will become the world’s largest reservoirs holding a capacity of just over ten million cubic metres of water. That’s enough to give Qatar a seven day reserve supply of water for the entire population, as opposed to the three day supply provided by most other GCC countries.

While the independent preparation of nations can be effectively mapped out, there are the socio-political applications to be consid-ered. Following many of the world’s most valuable and sought after commodities such as hydrocarbon fuels, precious stones and met-als, there is inevitably the risk of dispute, conflict and more often than not, war.

With more countries realising the escalating need to provide

greater water security, disputes have already started. In the Euphrates-Tigris basin Turkey, Syria and Iraq have failed to reach agreements on how the water should be allocated, causing greater tension between the nations as Tur-key’s advanced hydro-development threatens to deplete both Syrian and Iraqi reserves.

Aside from the geographical border issues, there are also the smoke and mirrors applied by some countries in order to gain control through less conventional methods. The United States dispatch of combat equipped troops to Uganda to hunt down Joseph Kony only a short period after finding billions of barrels of oil reserves, but decades since the child abducting war lord commenced his operations in the mid-80s, is the most recent example.

So should ‘fresh water rich’ countries such as Brazil, Russia and Canada be concerned and how will they capitalise on their resources in the coming decades? With the global water market currently representing a $700 billion a year in-dustry, it is a sure thing that any country with the means will be paying far greater attention to what could soon be the world’s most valuable resource.

William A Skidmore is the editor of Construction Week Qatar.

Investment in water

884 million lack access to clean water; cumulatively, women spend 200 million hours a day collecting water...“

Will Skidmore asks how long before we see water being mentioned in the same breath as oil, diamonds and gold?

ENGINEERING GENIUSENGINEERING GENIUS

It is, of course, not always about profit, but profit is a key factor for any business.“ AK Saksena

ETA Star Group, the UAE MEP giant, has been making moves in the Qatari market for the last ten years, and is reaping the rewards of its foresight. Cathal McElroy talks to the two men leading ETA Star Group’s Qatar operations, A.K. Saksena and K.S. Shah Ali, to find out how the company manages to shine so bright

16 MEP Middle East | July 2012 www.constructionweekonline.com

TOP25 COMPANIES changing the face of MEP in the region and the people who lead them >> page22

ENGINEERING GENIUS

Moving into Qatar was a

decision that was taken before the

recession.“ KS Shah Ali

People come to Qatar without knowing what Qatar is, how business is done in Qatar, and they start quoting and pricing the projects the way they do in their own countries.“ AK Saksena

SHINING STARS

Qatar’s taken before the

recession.“KS Shah Ali

People come to Qatar without knowing what Qatar is, how business is done in Qatar, and they start quoting and pricing the projects the way they do in their own countries.“AK Saksena

August 2012 | MEP Middle East 17www.constructionweekonline.com

ENGINEERING GENIUS


Even after all these years, ETA Star Group is still in the as-cendant. Established in the UAE as part of the ETA As-con conglomerate in 1973, the company quickly became the Emirates’ MEP contractor of choice, working on most of the country’s major projects

in the last four decades. Having assuredly rid-den the wave of the UAE’s tsunamic develop-ment, the company is now performing similar feats in the swelling Qatari market. With a 2011 turnover of $150m and current execution of projects worth $300m in the gas-rich state, ETA Star is indisputably one of the Qatari mar-ket’s leading lights.

This success has been, in no small part, to the prudent preparations the company has made in the country over the last decade, which has seen ETA draft in some of its most able opera-tors from India and Dubai – and given it a head-start on most of the competition.

“I have been with ETA for the last twelve years, but I am here in Qatar for the last ten years,” says AK Saksena, director of ETA’s Qatar operations. “I was the first person to start this company [in Qatar]. I was working in India till 2002 and then I came to Qatar – that was to start this company from zero, scratch.”

Saksena was joined by KS Shah Ali, ETA’s additional director of operations in Qatar, in 2005. Shah Ali joined ETA in Dubai in 1985, and feels that both his and Saksena’s experience is the reason why they have been charged with the task of conquering the Qatari MEP market. “We have built ETA with our seniors since the 80s to this time, maybe from a $3 million to a $4 billion company in the last 30 years,” he says. “We know the full story of how to build a com-pany from a very small size, from scratch, to a $3 billion - $4 billion business. Compared to that, at this point in Doha, we may be at 10% of what we achieved in Dubai, but we know the full story of how to build a giant company.”

With Shah Ali’s words, there is an acknowl-edgment of the growth shift that has occurred in the GCC MEP and wider construction market, away from the UAE (especially Dubai) and to the Qatari and Saudi markets. But both are quick to stress that ETA’s presence in Qatar was not a reactive decision to the UAE’s con-struction collapse in 2008, but rather a studied, proactive move in a more prosperous and prom-ising time.

“Qatar was already an important place for ETA [before the economic downturn], so it is not that we started here after that – we were already here in a growing market,” says Saksena. “Moving into Qatar was a decision that was taken before the recession,” adds Shah Ali.

“We wanted to diversify in the GCC region so we came out of the UAE to Qatar and Saudi. It was not a recession-driven decision; it is an expan-sion of the company. Having expertise of build-ing a big MEP business, we came to Doha.”

While this transition into the Qatari market has been fairly painless, the two men at the head of the operation have noticed some interesting differences which have required a considered approach in their management. Saksena high-lights a difference in “how they do business” in the country, while Shah Ali notes some funda-mental structural problems, which he says are

in the process of being addressed. “Every project is a challenge; maybe in terms

of infrastructure, the trade point of view, and supporting industry point of view,” says Shah Ali. ”In Dubai we were having a lot of support with smaller companies to back us and for major projects. In Qatar, it is an evolving nature to the extent that no support companies are evolving. We figure out how we can outsource this work, while we have to battle with the limitations of the country, but the country will be overcoming that once we have the support companies.”

Shah Ali also highlights the improvements


ENGINEERING GENIUS

being made in working conditions in Qatar which, until recently, were behind those of the UAE. “On the safety point of view and the human resource point of view, this is one of the areas in which Qatar is becoming more aware. It wants to give better working conditions for the human resource and the safety environ-ment. This is a must for every company that operates here, and it’s a good thing that this is happening in the country. ETA coordinate very established safety practices and I think we are in a better shape to handle that,” he adds.

ETA’s own workforce in Qatar currently

stands at 450 staff and 3000 onsite workers, most of whom are assigned to ETA jobs on some of Qatar’s largest and most prestigious projects. These include the Downtown Doha Msheireb development; the 54 storey Qatar

Navigation Tower in West Bay; Qatari Diar’s Doha Convention Centre; Phase 1 of the Barwa City residential project; Parts 1 and 2 of the Barwa Commercial Avenue project; and the Alwaab City residential development, to name just a few.

While these projects are worth millions of dollars to the company, Saksena insists that the profit motive is not the only relevant factor when ETA assesses a project’s potential. “It is, of course, not always about profit, but profit is a key factor for any business,” he says. “What we want to go for is a secure project from our point

$137 m2011 turnover

KS Shah Ali, additional director of ETA Qatar

operations, (left) and AK Saksena, director of ETA Qatar operations, (right).

ENGINEERING GENIUS


of view – not only for the client and the financ-ing but, when everything is secure, that attracts us more. Now, there are no high profit margins anymore,” he says with a laugh. “And the more the UAE companies are moving to Qatar, the profits from [projects] here are just vanishing.”

Continuing on this theme of competition, Saksena is at his most open and assured. “Competition is still very fierce,” he says. “People come to Qatar without knowing what Qatar is, how business is done in Qatar, and they start quoting and pricing the projects the way they do in their own countries. Qatar is a slightly different market. [Some companies] take projects after fierce [bidding] competi-tion, and when they finally find they are losing money, they close up shop and go back. It has happened to many companies I’ve seen here.” When asked what makes ETA different from its competitors, Shah Ali adds that it is ETA’s “local knowledge with the backup of knowl-edge of the region over the last 40 years” which gives it the edge.

It is precisely this weapon with which ETA hopes to win some of Qatar’s most significant projects in the coming years. With Qatar’s host-ing of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the country will need to build twelve international-class football stadiums, as well as construct a modern metro system in Doha to transport the travelling masses of fans the tournament will attract. The metro system, in particular, is where ETA can offer a wealth of experience and both Shah Ali and Saksena have no doubt as to the best com-pany for the job.

“We have proven leadership in city Metro projects. We have done the Dubai Metro and Delhi Metro and we are capable of handling those kinds of projects with all these special systems, tunnel ventilations and fire protec-tion systems,” says Shah Ali. “There are some unique features related to the Metro and we have our expertise in that. We repeatedly proved this with the Delhi Metro system which was a very complex project.” Saksena adds, “It is not only with the Delhi Metro system. We have done Chennai and Bangalore and many other places in India. We think ETA is the most qualified company in the whole of the Middle East with the kind of experience we have.”

This confidence in its abilities, combined with the kind of foresight and preparedness which brought the company to Qatar almost ten years ago, means that ETA’s future in the coun-try is looking decidedly bright. Accordingly, the company has plans for a considerable expan-sion of its workforce. While Saksena says that ETA plan to double their manpower in the next two years, Shah Ali explains that this is a long-term move, rather than one with a quick buck in mind.

“The current resource building will not reflect straight away over the coming years. Maybe the turnover will go up by 10 to 15% per year. But what we’re doing, with the doubling up of our resources in the next two years, is to position ourselves for the coming years of 2015, 2016 and 2017. The real climax will come after 2016. The company which strategises itself on that sort of resource base, they are better placed to handle those volumes,” he says.

“When the time comes to pick up bigger

projects, we’ll be prepared to take that," Saksena adds. "When the stadiums and the metro [are put to tender], we should be prepared – and we should be preferred -vendor prepared.”

This adamant desire to get things right make both men formidable figures, person-ally and professionally. But there is also a sense that, although part of a conglomerate with its roots in the UAE and offices in 22 coun-tries, ETA’s Qatar directors are invested in the Qatari project as a whole, rather than just there to cash-in.

“We have the Qatar 2030 Vision in mind. The 2022 World Cup is one target and the 2024 or 2028 Olympics may also become a reality,” Shah Ali says. “But 2030 is the vision for the coun-try to build up and we are all a part of it.” “Yes, we see that vision as our vision,” Saksena adds, nodding approvingly.

Clockwise from top: Doha Msheireb Development; Barwa City Residential project; Doha Convention Centre.

$274 mValue of current projects under

construction


ENGINEERINGGENIUS

MEP Middle East looks at 25 companies pushing the industry's engineering boundaries and the moves they have been making in the last year

With products as well-engineered as a Swiss clock, sanitary technology firm Geberit has been cleaning-up in the GCC for over 25 years. The company, with its base in Rapperswil, Switzerland, offers quality European engineered products which cover both sanitary systems and piping systems.

This past year saw Geberit launch its latest range of pipes in the Middle East, which it hopes will corner the region’s retrofit market. Designed in three layers the pipe system is engineered to ensure minimal noise discharge and increased flow capacity. Developed as a plug-in waste water system, the pipes are

ideal for use in both residential and commercial buildings, according to Stefan Schmied, managing director, Geberit Middle East.

The year also saw Geberit weigh in with an industry report which found that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE all have significant shortfalls of modern pipe materials being used in their drainage and water supply systems. However, Marc Attenhofer, manager of Regional Business Development at Geberit has expressed confidence that the uptake of High Density Polyethylene piping, of which Geberit is a leading designer and manufacturer, will soon take the industry by storm.

GEBERIT This past year

saw Geberit launch its latest range of pipes in the Middle East, which it hopes will corner the region’s retrofit market“


At the moment, we’ve got 24 ongoing projects across three continents.“ Burak Kizilhan, business development manager, AE Arma-Elektropanc

MEP engineering on three different continents for the last 35 years, AE Arma-Elektropanc has 29 ongoing projects in nine different countries, with a total contract value in excess of $500m.

For 2012 it set itself the goal of winning new contracts worth over $270 million, according to Burak Kizilhan, business development manager, speaking with MEP at the beginning of the year.

“There are a lot of projects here, in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries. At the moment, we’ve got 24 ongoing projects across three continents. Of that, we have five ongoing projects in the UAE, so it makes up approximately 20% of our total order book,” he explained.

AE Arma-Elektropanç has completed the tallest building in Europe, Capital City in Moscow. It has also completed numerous prestigious projects in the UAE, such as Shoreline Apartments, Zabeel Saray and Rixos The Palm Dubai.

In March, it sold a majority stake to the Dutch technical services firm, Imtech, as part of a global expansion deal. Listed on the Netherlands stock exchange, Imtech operates in the field of electrical solutions, ICT and mechanical solutions. It employs more than 28,000 employees and has a turnover in excess of $6.7bn.

AE ARMA-ELEKTROPANC

ENGINEERING GENIUS

29The number of onging projects AE Arma-Elektropanc had at the start of the year

Burak Kizilhan, business development manager,

AE Arma-Elektropanc

ENGINEERING GENIUS


There is a much bigger need now, I believe, for niche MEP consultants and specialist MEP contractors, as opposed to those churning out the huge projects.“ Stefano Riccardi, managing director

A South African firm that strives to be synonymous with high-quality MEP projects, CKR Consulting is a highly diversified MEP provider that takes on both the largest of luxury hotels or the smallest of retail retrofits alike.

Its operations commenced in 1983, and it hit the region with an office in Dubai in 2001. Since then CKR has spread across South Africa, Dubai and India, and chasing the World Cup the most recent office arrived in Doha this year.

CKR’s latest move has been into niche data centres, which according to Riccardi was not as much of a dramatic switch as might have been expected thanks to previous work CKR has done on luxury hotels.

“Hotels have ELV services that go into them, and a large part of the time, you end up creating mini-data centres to manage these ELV and IT environments for the hotel. For instance, the likes of the Madinat Jumeirah has got two large server rooms which fall over and have redundancy between one and the other. So you can call it the start of a major data centre,” said Riccardi.

“What you find is that a lot of the data

centres that are out there, they don’t have good efficiencies, or have outdated equipment and very large power consumption,” explained Riccardi, who in turn claims that simply by making the equipment more efficient, the payback for installation is likely to be reduced by four to five years.

Riccardi’s market hunches have fared the

company well and in 2011 CKR’s revenue in the GCC went up by about 13% in 2011 in comparison to the previous year’s figures, particularly in the UAE. Other focus markets include Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain.

“There is a much bigger need now, I believe, for niche MEP consultants and specialist MEP contractors, as opposed to those churning out the huge projects,” said Riccardi, whose other regional strategy is to focus on specialist markets within the industry such as with ELV/IT systems and specialist systems.

However, having seen firsthand the benefits that South Africa gained from its own World Cup, Riccardi sees Qatar as being an even bigger opportunity for his company: “During the build up to the 2010 World Cup, there was exponential growth in South Africa on account of the construction related activity around the tournament.”

CKR has fared well in 2012, with appointments on a premium hotel and residential complex in Doha, a residential complex slated to be the tallest in Colombo, and a boutique hotel in Khor Fakkan. With form like this, CKR is worthy of its top billing.

CKR CONSULTING ENGINEERS

From left to right: Mike Berry, director/general manager, CKR Consulting; Anil Menon, director, CKR Consulting; and Jean van Loggerenberg, director, CKR Consulting


ENGINEERING GENIUS

The Dyson Airblade produces an unheated air stream flowing at 400mph (640kmph) to literally scrape water from hands and leaving them dry in just ten seconds.“

It all started with an idea: a vacuum cleaner with no bag. Taking inspiration from watching an industrial cyclone at a timbermill, James Dyson rigged up his vacuum cleaner with a cardboard prototype and gave it a go. While it didn’t quite look the part, it worked better than the old bag ever did. Five years of testing, building, and bankruptcy, not to mention 5,127 prototypes, led to the first bagless vacuum cleaner with no loss of suction.

Since Dyson’s official launch in 1993, the company has grown from being a British vacuum cleaner manufacturer to a global technology company, with a vast array of pioneering products, including the now ubiquitous Dyson Airblade. However, Dyson did not set out to develop a hand dryer. Its engineers were experimenting with air knives for a completely different technology (which remains confidential) but found that high speed air was rather good at drying hands – and so the Airblade was born.

Unlike conventional warm air hand dryers that rely on energy-hungry motors to evaporate water from hands, the Dyson Airblade™ produces an unheated air stream flowing at 400mph (640kmph) to literally scrape water from hands – leaving them dry in just ten seconds. Since launching in 2006, it is the first and only hand dryer to be certified to meet the requirements of the NSF Protocol 335 for a hygienic hand drying system. It is also the only hand dryer that passes washroom air through a HEPA filter to remove over 99.9% of bacteria before it’s blown onto hands. Powered by the Dyson digital motor, the Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer uses up to 80% less energy than traditional warm air hand dryers as also eliminates the paper towels waste.

DYSONJames Dyson, founder and CEO of the Dyson company, gets handy with the Airblade.

ENGINEERING GENIUS


The most effective way for DSI to mitigate its external risk is to diversify through countries and through product offerings.“ Khaldoun Tabari, CEO, DSI

Jim Sebastian, managing directtor oif Ecoval Trading, says the Soahart system is "characterised by a drain-back principle".

ECOVAL TRADING

DRAKE & SCULL

(DISTRIBUTOR OF SOLAHART)

Ecoval deals in heating, chilling and solar energy solutions in the UAE, and since 2002, has managed to establish itself as a supplier of heat pumps and solar water heaters, in particular.

The company now has operations across the GCC and substantial market presence in Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, and has completed projects under its belt in the commercial, residential and public sectors.

Ecoval puts its success down to satisfied clients base as a result of its the competent application of energy saving products, which the company has adapted to the different market and climatic conditions.

New measures underway such as Dubai’s new ‘green’ building regulations, which are expected to mandate that solar water heating systems must also be installed to provide 75% of domestic hot water requirements, could further herald major opportunities for companies like Ecoval Trading.

“We install and commission the systems on a one-stop shop basis from design to installation. We even assist in calculating the total hot water requirements, the number of collectors and what back-up is needed, as consultants are normally so busy,” said Jim Sebastian, managing director.

Evocal’s key distributed product in this

regard is the Solahart technology, which was installed in developments such as the Bonnington Tower, Dubai Maritime City and Dubai’s Holiday Inn Express.

“Solahart technology, which has a presence in 90 countries, is characterised by the drainback principle, whereas most other manufacturers utilise fully-flooded systems,” explains Sebastian.

“What happens normally is that most people place everything on the roof, which means the circulating fluid is always in the loop, the temperature goes too high, and then the pumps and pipes fail. Our system is very simple, as it switches and drains back off before it can overheat.”

I have always held close to my heart the idea that quality is remembered long after price is forgotten, and that happens all the time.“ Jim Sebastian, MD, Ecoval Trading

Khaldoun Tabari has become one of the best known figures in the construction industry, having taken the company he heads from its MEP roots into the power and water, utilities and civil sectors, as well as concluding a string of major acquisitions.

At the end of 2011 he collected a Lifetime Achievement award from Construction Week. Accepting the award, Tabari said: "It was completely unexpected, but also validation of the maxim that hard work pays off at the end of the day."

He said the award affirmed the diversification and acquisition strategy that DSI had embarked upon in order to boost its market share.

Tabari has been at the helm of the successful listing and transformation of Drake & Scull International. Tabari has remained constant in his vision of diversifying DSI in terms of geographical reach and business focus.

So far this year the company has announced a net profit of $11.7m and $212m in revenue for the first quarter of 2012, representing a top line growth of 20% in comparison to the same period last year, plus a series of contract wins, and has put a pre-qualification bid on the table for work on the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi.


ENGINEERING GENIUS

The market is improving. The future looks extremely positive from our point of view.“ M. Vasanth Kumar, CEO, Arabian MEP Contracting

Established in 1997 in Qatar, Arabian MEP Contracting has rapidly expanded, becoming the country’s contractor-of-choice for substation projects. Since their inception, the company has successfully completed and handed over more than 110 substation projects for Kahramaa and Qatar Petroleum. The company can also boast a stellar list of clients in the energy sector such as Siemens, ABB, Areva and L&T.

Today, Arabian MEP Contracting employs a workforce of over 3,500 and has been active in some of Qatar’s most renowned projects of late. The company completed the full MEP works on the arrivals terminal of the Doha International Airport in six months and is in the process of delivering the mechanical portion of the huge Hamad Medical City project in Doha.

The company is currently planning to tackle the upcoming port and railway projects in Qatar as part of an integrated joint venture with one of the industry’s international giants and is in confident mood about the challenges ahead. “The market is improving,” says M. Vasanth Kumar, the company's CEO. “The future looks extremely positive from our point of view because [unlike many other companies], we have got the licences and the resources to mobilize tomorrow.”

ARABIAN MEP CONTRACTING

3,500Number of staff Arabian MEP

Contracting employ

M. Vasanth Kumar, CEO, Arabian MEP Contracting

ENGINEERING GENIUS


David Crowder, Head of MEP at Atkins

ATKINS

As one of the best known names in design and engineering, the impact of Atkins' work in the Middle East cannot be underestimated. Strong regional reach, plus a large and experienced team, has added up to success for the UK-listed company, which posted an $26.4 million annual operating profit for the region at the end of March this year..

Speaking at the time, Richard Barrett, Middle East CEO of Atkins characterised it as a 'very good year', which saw turnover grow and a significant chunk of debt - $12.5 million - recovered.

While the company has enjoyed growth in Saudi Arabia, Qatar is providing the company with significant growth in headcount.

"A year ago we would have had 100 people [in Qatar], we ended the year with over 300 people working there," said Barrett.

One factor that has made this regional growth possible is the company's wealth of expertise and strong team. In the MEP field the team is headed up by David Crowder, who has described the staff in the region "as good as any staff I've ever worked with".

"Many trainees I've worked with in other markets are less attentive and come the end of work they're gone," he said. "Here I always get full attention."

We now operate throughout the six countries forming the GCC and over 50% of our work now is done outside the UAE.“ Richard Barrett, Middle East CEO of Atkins

JOHNSON CONTROLS

Johnson Controls is a globally diversified technology and industrial company that serves customers in more than 150 countries, with over 142,000 employees worldwide.

The company creates products and services that improve energy and operational efficiencies in buildings by providing equipment, controls and services for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, refrigeration and security systems.

Johnson aims to tap into the emerging market in the MENA region and supply construction projects with HVAC systems, fire safety solutions and building management systems (BMS).

More than 70% of the company’s capital expenditures in 2012 will be associated with growth and margin expansion opportunities, with the higher capital expenditures focused on increasing manufacturing capacity for SLI and AGM battery manufacturing capacity and emerging markets.

In January Johnson Controls secured a two-year, $14m total building operations and maintenance contract for City Centre Doha in Qatar to provide operational efficiency services that reduce facility operating costs, ensure a quick return on investment and increase the value of the centre, which has an average of 45,000 daily visitors.

"As part of this total management project, we will be integrating information from different building management and camera systems to effectively communicate together. We see this type of interoperability and open standards as key to the future of building efficiency and management,” said AnilYamaner, LEED AP branchmanager, Johnson Controls Qatar.

As part of the energy performance contract, Johnson Controls has guaranteed an 11% annual reduction in utility costs.

We see interoperability and open standards as key to the future of building efficiency and management.“ Anil Yamaner, Qatar branch manager

$26.4mAtkins' annual operating profit in the

GCC in the last financial year


ENGINEERING GENIUS

Within six minutes the system is ready to 100% after a complete discharge of the hot water.“ Herbert Bremstaller, CEO and founder of Ecotherm

Ecotherm's award-winning solar, hot water and steam systems have proved to be popular in the Gulf – particularly in the hotels and hospitality industry. The Austrian-based company designs its systems as one-offs to tailor to client requirements.

These are sold through offices in Dubai and Kuwait, as well as through a worldwide network that includes company-owned braches in Mexico, Hungary, China and partnership arrangements in a further 20 countries.

The company builds standard storage tanks of between 200-8,000 litres. It also has the capacity to build specialist tanks of up to 30,000 litres.

According to the company, a recent Ecotherm installation in Dubai's Grosvenor Hotel involved a turbulator rod heating system that allowed the hotel to make savings of 87.5% on its heating costs. The system works by installing free-floating stainless steel rods within its tubes, meaning that water forced between the rod and outside of the tubes is heated to the required temperature merely by passing through.

The hotel's management had originally planned a hot water system involving a hot water tank containing 64,000 litres, but Ecotherm's device allowed it to reduce the size of the tank required to just 8,000 litres.

“Within six minutes the system is ready to 100% after a complete discharge of the hot water. Comparable conventional systems would require a multiple of the time. The potential for the space savings is up to 95%,” said Herbert Bremstaller, CEO and founder of Ecotherm. "

ECOTHERM

95%The potential for space savings

Ecotherm's system offers Herbert Bremstaller, CEO and founder of Ecotherm

ENGINEERING GENIUS


Gaetan Pierrefeu, managing director of Aldes Middle East, says that the company is starting to make progress in the Saudi market.

ALDES ME

For a lesson on braving adversity, one would struggle to find a more fitting teacher than Aldes Middle East. A manufacturer of HVAC and fire protection products, the company found itself operating in an industry and market that had been shaken to its core by the global financial crisis.

But Aldes stood firm, then advanced in 2010, pursuing an expansion which saw it build and relocate to a new factory, five times bigger than its original facility.

This fortitude has served it well as it is now enjoying the fruits of a productive last twelve months which has brought double digit growth and a very positive outlook.

“We do see ongoing significant successes in Qatar, as well as a total change of trend in Abu Dhabi,” says Gaetan Pierrefeu, managing director of Aldes Middle East. “Aldes, due to its history, is not well established in Saudi Arabia, but we are on the way to settle there and register significant sales.”

The company’s policy has been to work at all level of sales, from regulatory bodies to consultants and to MEP contractors – an approach which has reaped dividends. “In an ever-changing environment, we have to adapt ourselves and adapt our structures to answer

the market needs,” says Pierrefeu."One of the reasons behind the good results

of 2011 and the good start to 2012 is the dynamism and professionaliosm of our sales forsce," he adds.

In an ever-changing environment, we have to adapt ourselves and adapt our structures to answer the market needs.“ Gaetan Pierrefeu, managing director, Aldes Middle East

8.1% Aldes ME's growth in 2011

compared to 2010

DUCABEarlier this year cable manufacturer Ducab announced record sales of $1.33bn (AED 4.9bn), a 39% increase over the previous year. According to a statement at the time, the company's significant areas of growth included 25% higher sales to the utilities sector and a record 250% increase in sales to the oil, gas and petrochemical sector.

It is an achievement for which the company and its leadership has worked hard since it first started business back in 1979. Current managing director, Andrew Shaw, with the support of chairman, Ahmad Al Shaikh, has spearheaded a new direction for the firm, while focusing on business growth and geographical expansion.

A major milestone in recent times was the inauguration of Ducab-HV, a $136m (AED 500m) high voltage cable plant, and a joint venture between DEWA, ADWEA and Ducab. The company describes Ducab-HV as representing a "huge benefit to the UAE economy as it offers excellent quality alternatives to imports", giving customers the opportunity to source energy infrastructure and cables from a local supplier.

This achievement is consistent with a company that has used its engineering genius to diversify the local economy, manufacture locally, boost national employment - 40% of senior management and 18% of white collar staff positions held by UAE Nationals - and deliver products to local projects.

$136mThe cost of the cable plant built by a Ducab, DEWA, ADWEA joint venture


ENGINEERING GENIUS

We are looking to play a leading role in reducing carbon footprint within our products and act as a corporate model. “ D.Y. Kim, president of LG Electronics Gulf FZE

LG has come a long way since its establishment in 1996 and, since its incorporation in the Middle East under LG Electronics Gulf FZE, has continued its global expansion through its dedication towards engineering prowess.

With six primary areas of business, LG has been able to capitalise on the Middle East’s potential by supplying a diverse range of products from home entertainment through to HVAC.

This year, LG introduced its latest offering to the HVAC market, the Multi V III, which is capable of reducing energy consumption by 14% compared to rival models. The Multi V III has been awarded an impressive 21.8 point rating by the Institute of Energy and Environmental Research. Furthermore, it is the HVAC industry’s first product to receive the CarbonFree certification from Carbonfound.org.

"At LG we are committed to environmental sustainability. Our “Green 2020” initiative will serve as a foundation to enable LG to reinforce its new business by making greener business sites and expanding greener products.," says D.Y. Kim, president of LG Electronics Gulf FZE. "We are keen to become one of the market leaders through our innovative HVAC solution and energy management that can transform any type, style and size of interior space, residential or industrial. The result: safer and greener solutions for the way we live today and tomorrow. Moreover, we are looking to play a leading role in reducing carbon footprint within our products and act as a corporate model.”

As a key component of the company’s plan to develop evermore energy-efficient products for the Gulf HVAC market, LG plans to invest $500m as it ramps up its workforce and R&D, with a further aim of hitting $10bn in global sales by 2013.

LGD.Y. Kim, president of

LG Electronics Gulf FZE, says that LG is "com-

mitted to environmental sustainability."

ENGINEERING GENIUS


Mohammed Al Rais, senior vice-president and managing director of Hill International, said at the end of 2011 that the company was overseeing $7.7bn worth of work in Saudi Arabia alone.

HILL INTERNATIONAL

It is hard to escape hearing about Hill International, so frequently has the company's name been heard in the same breath as 'contract win', in the first half of 2012.

From North Africa, through Saudi Arabia, to Qatar and beyond, the company is regularly in the headlines for winning new work across the region.

The work won by the project manager is as diverse as the locations in which it is to be completed, ranging from hospitals in Abu Dhabi to towers in Doha and an airport in Jeddah.

When interviewed late last year, senior VP and MD, Mohammed Al Rais, was overseeing $7.7bn worth of work in Saudi Arabia alone. Since then more projects have been awarded, adding to the company's order book and seeing its projects in KSA grow from a couple to a dozen in around two years

Probably the most high-profile of these was the contract award by Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), worth some $3.8m. Hill also won the contract to project manage the $7.2bn expansion programme for the King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah. The company will be providing project oversight, value engineering

and training services during design and construction of the program.

"The expansion of KAIA will be a landmark development for the Jeddah region and for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," said Raouf Ghali, president of Hill's PM group. "We are honored to be part of such an important program.”

When interviewed late last year, Al Rais was overseeing $7.7bn worth or work in Saudi Arabia“

$7.2bnThe value of the project to expand

King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah

30The number of years

of experience SGS has in the MEP industry

SGS

SGS has more than 30 years experience in the MEP industry but, given their current stature in the region, are a surprisingly recent addition to the GCC. The company began operations here in 2005 and has managed to compile an enviable portfolio of projects in that short space of time. These include Dubai International Airport T3 Baggage Handling System, DUCAB CCV Line Plant Installation, Hamriyah Steel Mill in Sharjah, Al Wathba Waste Water Treatment facility and Al Hamah Waste Water Treatment facility in Abu Dhabi.

Centring its operations in Dubai, with offices in Abu Dhabi, Jeddah and Kuwait, the company has gained a reputation for quality work on projects ranging from oil and gas, power and energy, petrochemical, water and waste water, infrastructure and conventional industries process lines.

In the last twelve months the company has further strengthened their industry profile by winning sizeable mechanical and electrical installation contracts on major projects in Abu Dhabi. These include Kharafi National on Saadiyat Island; UTE Abener Teyma Emirates 1 at the Shams 1 facility; and also at the EMDE Industrie – Technik project – all of which mean that SGS is still at the top of its game.

The company began operations here in 2005 and has managed to compile an enviable portfolio of projects in that short space of time“


ENGINEERING GENIUS

Our main focus is to increase our presence in the power and water markets. The innovative feature that we deliver is a variable speed which enables different opening and closing times, plus start and stop capability“ Dr. Matthias Rebhan, managing director, SIPOS Aktorik

Not many companies can boast a 100 year pedigree – let alone a 100 year pedigree in electrical engineering. SIPOS Aktorik also has a track record with reputable German conglomerate Siemens AG. Siemens’ "Electric Actuators" subdivision was outsourced with all its employees, know-how, documentation and production facilities, and since then SIPOS Aktorik has become a leading industry name in its own right.

“Our company started in the GCC some years ago and is very well known in the district cooling area and in some applications in the power market,” says Dr. Matthias Rebhan, Sipos’ managing director. “Our main focus is to increase our presence in the power and water markets. The innovative feature that we deliver is a variable speed which enables different opening and closing times, plus start and stop capability. This is particularly beneficial for district heating and cooling applications,” he adds.

The last year has seen the company make big moves in the Saudi market with installations on a project headed by Saudi Tabreed that incorporates a district cooling system to cool all Saudi Aramco buildings in Dhahran. A centralised plant with cooling capacity of 27,000 tonnes of refrigeration will supply chilled water to the Saudi Aramco buildings.

SIPOS reinfoced its high-profile in Saudi Arabia by Gold sponsoring the third annual District Cooling Summit in Doha, Qatar. This was followed soon after by the company’s launch of the SIPOS 5 HiMod Actuator which offers reliable smart solutions in the event of a power cut, all without the need for a battery.

SIPOS AKTORIK

27,000The number of tonnes of cooling

capacity provided by the Dhahran DC system which used SIPOS' actuators

SIPOS Aktorik headquar-ters in Altdorf, Germany.

ENGINEERING GENIUS


Since BIM is mandated in a lot of projects which were recently awarded in GCC, more general contractors and engineering offices are trying to adopt their workflow to BIM.“ Reza Mashayekhi, technical manager, Tekla

500The number of engineers Hyder plans

to recruit for World Cup projects

HYDER CONSULTING

TEKLA

Hyder Consulting is a company in growth mode, with its long focus on the Middle East paying dividends.

Earlier this year the UK-listed company acquired a majority stake in the industrial buildings division of Saudi Arabia's SAK Consultants. The resulting entity - Hyder ElKhereiji - was officially formed in February of this year, and has got off to a flying start, securing a vital engineering contract with Jeddah Municipality.

In June Hyder announced it was to recruit another 500 engineers, as it gears up for work in the Middle East ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.

Late last year, the company clinched the largest contract award ever to be won in the history of the group, a five-year engineering services framework for the north of Doha. It will be responsible for all the consultancy and engineering services with regard to local roads and drainage projects, under the management and supervision of the PMC.

Regional MD Wael Allan said at the time: “This is a tremendous win, and represents a real step change for Hyder in Qatar and, indeed, the Middle East. It will allow us to scale global design and our transportation business. It also gives an indication of our ambition for the company and Ashghal’s confidence in the Hyder brand, which has contributed to the growth of Qatar over the last five decades."

This is a tremendous win, and represents a real step change for Hyder in Qatar and, indeed, the Middle East.“ Wael Allen, regional MD, Hyder Consulting

Tekla provide Building Information Modeling (BIM) software such as Tekla Structures which provides an accurate, detailed, and data-rich 3D environment that can be shared by different project parties.

By providing a data-rich 3D model which can be shared amongst all the parties involved in a construction project, they can produce higher-quality deliverables faster to their clients.

“Since BIM is mandated in a lot of projects which were recently awarded in GCC, more general contractors and engineering offices are trying to adopt their workflow to BIM,” said Reza Mashayekhi, technical manager.

“Tekla is very active in approaching owners and developers to demonstrate the Benefits of BIM and increase the adoption of the BIM culture in this region.”

Mashayekhi is also hopeful about the future integration of different software and hardware, and Tekla is supporter of openBIM standards and collaboration with other BIM tools and construction hardware. In March Tekla released the free Tekla BIMsight for contractors, MEP detailers and fabricators to perform the often costly functions of combining their models, checking for clashes, and collaborating.

Wael Allan, Hyder Consulting's regional MD, said the Qatar deal gives an indication of Hyder's ambition.


ENGINEERING GENIUS

During the worldwide

recession a lot of manufacturers curbed

their spending, but TROX invested heavily

over this period in research and product

development so that we were best

positioned to service the market as the

industry recovered’ “ Thomas Orr,

managing director, TROX Middle East

Thomas Orr, managing director of TROX Middle East, is a man that enjoys his job. “To work for TROX is a pleasure,” he says. “They are the best at what they do, the worldwide support you get is remarkable and that makes working here very gratifying.” Orr joined the company from a top UAE consulting firm last year and has made an immediate contribution to the company’s long-established international success.

Founded in 1951, TROX has been active in the Middle East since the mid 1970’s. Internationally, the company employ about 3,300 staff and generated sales around the globe of more than $500m in 2011.

The first half of 2012 has brought TROX Middle East unprecedented success, something that Managing Director Thomas Orr, says can be attributed to the innovative new products that the TROX GROUP have launched into the market. “During the worldwide recession a lot of manufacturers curbed their spending, but TROX invested heavily over this period so that we were best positioned to service the market as the industry recovered’ says Orr.

The last year has seen TROX introduce innovative materials and production techniques to create swirl diffusers that have superior aerodynamic properties, as well as being both aesthetically pleasing and more energy efficient. It has also succeeded in realising overhead air diffusion with the airflow characteristics of displacement ventilation, as well as developing various progressive and sustainable air and water system solutions.

TROX Middle East has also redeveloped its technologically advanced showroom which includes a unique airflow studio capable of emulating a real-life environment in which controlled, smoke-tinted air is released into a room through a pre-selected distribution solution. Orr says that this enables TROX to provide a complete package for designers who can actually see their air distribution solution work, and thus design with complete confidence.

TROXThomas Orr, managing

director of TROX Middle East

$500m+Global sales generated

by TROX in 2011

ENGINEERING GENIUS


KEO INTERNATIONAL

From my side, as an MEP engineer, I have got to make sure we minimise the energy and possibly water demand.“ Bill Jolly, head of MEP, KEO International

Bill Jolly, head of MEP for KEO International, sees his job as an "educational process".

VOLTASVoltas has won a series of plaudits for its work in the Gulf in recent years, picking up the award for the best overall GCC project of the year at the 2011 MEP awards for its work on the Etihad Towers project, as well as landing the contractor of the year accolade at the same event for the second year in succession.

The company, which is part of the family-owned TATA Group conglomerate, has more than 50 years of experience in the MEP industry, with around three decades in the UAE alone.

Last month, a report produced by GFK-Nielsen showed that the company gained the market-leading position for supplying air conditioner systems in its home market in India, overtaking rival LG.

In the Gulf, the company has built its reputation through its work on a number of important schemes such as Burj Khalifa, the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, the Formula One race track on Yas Island and the Ferrari World development in Abu Dhabi.

It is also currently on-site at the Sidra Medical Research Centre in Doha. Judges at last year's awards praised the firm's "consistent quality approach" to delivering schemes.

"I think we’re getting used to winning! It’s difficult for us not to win anymore,” said Shaukat Ali Mir, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Voltas, on the night. “It’s a great honour and all the congratulations go to our fabulous team of people, they are unrelenting and dedicated,” he added.

Established in 1964, this Kuwait-headquartered consultancy is one of the largest in the Middle East. With offices from Jordan to Oman, it has carved a niche as a leading design and management service provider in the region, and has more than 2,300 staff spread across five different divisions.

CEO, Donna Sultan, has overseen the firm's stratospheric rise, joining as a director in 1984 when the firm had only 300 employees. While the company is well-known for its innovative approach to projects, Bill Jolly, KEO's head of MEP for the UAE, believes in implementing an integrated design process for architects, structural and MEP engineers, so that they can work collectively towards a common goal.

“From my side, as an MEP engineer, I have got to make sure we minimise the energy and possibly water demand. It is interesting because it is an educational process, and you have to branch out to the architects and make them understand what you are trying to achieve,” says Jolly.

2,300Number of KEO International staff

spread across five divisions

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ENGINEERING GENIUS


29,000The number of staff Trane employs

worldwide

HOTLINE TRADING LLC

In a climate where staying cool is a must, those in the industry who like to heat things up are often overlooked. Hotline Trading has been at the forefront of such work in the GCC for many years – designing, supplying, installing, testing and commissioning hot water systems which have found their way into some of the region’s most prestigious hotel projects.

The company has a track record of supplying and installing systems to the Intercontinental, Hilton and Kempinski chains (to name just a few) and, this year, added to its impressive portfolio with two further high-end projects. “In the past year we supplied the Park Hyatt Hotel in Saadiyat Island – we supplied the steam boilers and did the complete boiler piping and plant testing piping,” says Manuel Selva Ezhil, managing director. “We also did the project at the Eastern Mangroves where we supplied the boilers and the complete supply of the equipment there.”

Other strings to Hotline’s bow include calorifiers, water tube boilers, Incinerators, furnaces, thermic oil heaters, heat exchangers,

steam generation equipment , hot water generating plants. But Hotline’s MD is certain about what makes his company stand out from the competition.

“We specialise in steam boiler systems and we give our customers the right solution. We provide cost-effective solutions. Most of the companies in the market are in solar heating systems. Steam boilers and hot water boilers are our strength.”

Most of the companies in the market are in solar heating systems. Steam boilers and hot water boilers are our strength.“ Manuel Selva Ezhil, MD, Hotline Trading

TRANE Trane has been operating in the Gulf for more than three decades and has established operations in Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, among other countries.

The company, which is part of Ingersoll Rand, employs more than 29,000 people worldwide and has delivered a number of prestigious schemes in the region. These include the Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Metro system and the Burj Dubai towers in the UAE, the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed International Stadium and Kuwait University in Kuwait, and work at Dolphin Energy’s gas processing plant at Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City.

The company is also seeing developing interest in environmentally responsible products. Nigel Hawley, Trane’s GM for the Middle East, India and Africa, explains: "Even in markets like the Middle East, which are not being driven by legislation, we are seeing increasing interest and demand for newer environmentally-responsible and efficient product ranges.”

Most recently, the firm agreed a new deal with Qatar Electro Mechanical Solutions (QEMS) which will see its products gain wider distribution in the Qatar market and it has launched a rental services business providing temporary air cooling plant in the UAE.

Manuel Selva Ezhil, MD of Hotline Trading, has helped secure the business of major hotel chains.

HASTIE GROUP


When Hastie Group went into adminis-tration in May this year, the blame was placed firmly at the feet of its Middle East operations. But has the regional arm of the group

been made a scapegoat, amid financial irregu-larities in the firm’s home country Australia?

The former CEO of Hastie Group Bill Wild said in December that the plight of the firm was due to a number of bad acquisitions in the Mid-dle East, highlighting the acquisition of Rotary as somewhere the company incurred losses.

‘’They bought companies that were worth nothing; it was a disaster,’’ he told ABC News. ‘’But the companies were not worth two bob. They started hiding losses and burying stuff in the balance sheet.”

However, those working for the Hastie In-ternational firm in the Middle East refuse to carry the blame. “The Middle East was a prof-itable business as Hastie International, the Abu Dhabi region for which I was responsible was operating at good margins, cash collec-tion was a little slow, however, generally the business was good and operated with a small overhead and run on positive cash flow,” says Darren Hunt, former general manager, Abu Dhabi, Hastie International and Rotary Gulf.

“It was also confirmed by Gavin Appleby former Regional CEO that the Qatar busi-nesses (Hastie International & Target Ro-tary) and Hastie Oman – both of which the former Regional CEO Gavin Appleby was re-sponsible for – were all well positioned and making profits that were above market levels in the Middle East.”

Many of Hastie’s problems in the Middle East can be traced back to 2008 when the firm acquired Rotary for $150.5m and 14.7 million Hastie shares. Hastie was accused of overpay-ing for the business, and the company’s shares took a huge hit, almost overnight, following the acquisition.

Rotary International, unlike Hastie Inter-

HASTIE GROUP

Peter Ward reports on how the Hastie Group’s meltdown has rocked the Middle East’s MEP market

HASTIE GROUPInside the collapse of

But the companies were not worth two bob. They started hiding losses and burying stuff in the balance sheet.“ Former CEO of Hastie Group Bill Wild


HASTIE GROUP

A shot taken from the company's 2011 annual report shows the Australian team operating business as usual.

In response to the issues raised in this article, a spokesperson for PPB Advisory, the administrators of Hastie International issued the following response.

PPB Advisory was appointed voluntary administrator to 44 of the Hastie group companies in May, including the Hastie International operations in the Middle East.When PPB Advisory was appointed it was clear that Hastie was already significantly in debt, and had insufficient funds to continue trading in relation to UAE business. It appears that the UAE businesses were receiving substantial financial support from the parent company prior to the administration.

While sums of money were transferred prior to PPB Advisory’s appointment, once receivers [McGrathNicol] were appointed, as is normally the case, all funds were frozen.

In the initial period, PPB Advisory was happy to make available company funds to Hastie International management who required the funds for expenses on the condition it was properly accounted for. We left it up to the general manager to make a judgment as to how the funds would be used, so long as it was properly accounted for.

Our initial primary concern in the region was to resolve the employee issues, and we are now focused on conducting further investigations into the business to determine what assets can be realised. This is proving to be very difficult given the limited funds and lack of information available. The Middle East is not covered by Australian law and PBB’s role is constrained.

We have appointed agents in the region where it has been possible - in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Despite our best efforts we have been unable to secure local representation in the UAE, but continue to liaise directly.

The employee sponsor in the region has confirmed they have responsibility for dealing with local employees, including compensation and their end of service benefits, and are working to transition staff to new employment arrangements.

We sympathise with any former or current employees impacted by the collapse of the Hastie Group, including the Hastie International operations in the Middle East.

THE ADMINISTRATOR’S STATEMENT

national, is not under administration. With a large debt to secure the firm, sources report the challenge to meet the returns were ex-treme and almost the very next year, Rotary was not performing to the levels it stated it was positioned to achieve at the point of purchase.

According to a former Hastie International source, Hastie Executive Management in Aus-tralia continued to let the Middle East Rotary businesses report to Ireland, with no senior team on the ground.

“They were just let loose with no controls in place like the Hastie business had in the Mid-dle East and although the senior team in the Middle East continued to remind the Execu-tive Group in Sydney of its knowledge in the market, they were continually ignored,” says the source, who asked not to be named.

“If you consider that the international and Middle East accounted for only 20% of Hastie Group, it was becoming clear that the business was in trouble in the major 80% of its opera-tions. This was where the real problem lies.”

The problems with Rotary’s Gulf operations only started there, however. Hunt describes the business as being “in very bad shape”.

In 2011, it was apparent to those at the firm that support for the Middle East was diminish-ing and an independent report from Deloittes,

to the board of Hastie Group, recommended a slow exit from the region, in order to protect bonds and meet employee commitments. Lo-cal management sought buyers and new ma-jor partners for the Hastie businesses, as the financial issues Hastie had in Australia were causing bonding issues for Hastie Group Mid-dle East. According to sources in the company, several very positive options were persued and in principle agreements reached, but again the management in Australia did not support the propositions from the Middle East business.

“They simply did not understand business outside of Australia and in particular the Mid-dle East,” explains the former Hastie Interna-tional employee.

Misreporting was also a problem in the firm. Hunt explains how he discovered that Rotary Gulf projects were being misreported.

“Upon initial review of the Arzanah Medical Complex project I raised concerns to the Hast-ie Group Management in August 2011 that the financial reports were incorrect, that the project was in a state of crisis and raised con-cerns if the company could actually complete the project. Following a full financial review I also proposed a write back of almost AED 100M, however those responsible ignored my reports.”

HASTIE GROUP


Regarding the monies you refer to, I do not wish to comment other than to say my conscience and heart are clear and permission in writing followed the verbal instruction to use the funds.“Gary Allen, HSE, HR and admin manager, in an interview with The Weekend Australian

All smiles: annual report shots did not tell the full story.

AED11m – The figure moved from the Hastie International’s Middle East operations to Australia, days before the firm went into administration. US$20m – The value of accounting irregularities found by Hastie International in Australia. AED500,000 – The amount taken by the absconding HR manager Gary Allen as he left Dubai. AED1,500 – The approximate average wage of a Hastie International employee in the Middle East333 – The number of employees on the firm’s approximate average wage, who could have been paid a month’s salary with the money taken by Allen.

KEY FIGURES

“The former Regional CEO Gavin Appleby confirmed that he was aware of these issues and took it upon himself to support Hunt’s case for a full review and bring the issues to the sur-face, even though he had no designation over the Rotary UAE companies, but he too was shut down, hence the misreporting continued.”

Hunt also reports a similar case on the Ro-tary Gulf’s Khalifa Ports project. “I was ad-vised that the project was ahead of programme and making a good profit. Following my initial meeting with the client it became apparent that this was not correct, I undertook a full review of the project, wrote the project back from a profit to a loss of AED19m. I then advised the Hastie Group Management that there were two specific projects which were in a state of crisis and action was required to bring them back on track and to avoid haemorrhaging further cash and to protect the company com-mercially and contractually.”

In November 2011 Hastie’s Middle East op-erations were visited by Bill Wild. It was then that he discovered the misreporting of the Ro-tary Gulf projects and the huge write backs, as well as misreporting on other Rotary Dubai projects including Novotel. An independent auditor was sent to the region to assess the projects and reached the same conclusions that Hunt had earlier.

Further auditing of projects was planned but never happened. “The independent audi-tor was due to return to the UAE in January to review a Dubai project, however he never returned. Bill [Wild] found there were bigger problems in Australia.”

Hastie announced in May 2012, just before it entered into administration that it had sus-pended one employee and was investigating

several others, some of whom were senior managers, after it had found accounting ir-regularities worth $20m.

“These irregularities date from the financial year 2009 and appear to have resulted from the deliberate actions of a current employee (on suspension) and that, potentially, some cur-rent and former senior management may have participated in the irregularities and failed to apply the required standards of financial su-pervision and review,” a Hastie Group state-ment at the time said.

Sources inside the firm confirm that these accounting irregularities had nothing to do with Middle East operations or staff.

Arguments over where the problem really lay remain, but what cannot be disputed is the way the employees of the firm based in the Middle East have been treated, with emergen-cy funds reportedly taken out of the country rather than used to pay or repatriate staff.

“The staff and workers in the Middle East have been treated unfairly and inhumanly by the administrators, the Hastie Senior Execu-tives and Board and the Banking Syndicate,” says Hunt. Hastie’s three senior executives in the Middle East, CEO Rob Kirkham, HSE, HR

Zayed University was a regional project the company was involved with.

and admin manager Gary Allen and finance manager Nathan Davidson all absconded the country prior to the company going into admin-istration, as they were the company’s power of attorneys and had their names on the cheques the company was no longer able to honour. The former Regional CEO Gavin Appleby has been put in a position, through no fault of his

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HASTIE GROUP


AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND MIDDLE EAST

AUSTRALIA

UNITED KINGDOMREPUBLIC

OF IRELAND

NEW ZEALAND OMAN

YEMEN

SAUDI ARABIA

QATAR

UAE

UNITED KINGDOM AND REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

HASTIEMechanical, Electrical & Commercial Plumbing (MEP), Fire & Refrigeration systems and Maintenance Services

78% of FY11 REVENUE

ROTARYMechanical, Electrical & Commercial Plumbing (MEP) systems

13% of FY11 REVENUE

HASTIE & ROTARYMechanical, Electrical & Commercial Plumbing (MEP) systems

9% of FY11 REVENUE

A BREAKDOWN OF THE GROUP'S REVENUE FY 2011: A$1.8bn

own, where he needed to leave the country, as he could get no support from the administra-tors for the 2011 cheques with his signature on while he was employed by Hastie Group.

Again it seems this was a problem that the company was warned about, but did nothing to ratify. HR manager Allen was in Australia prior to the company going into administration and advised senior management, including Bill Wild, on how to best legally exit the region, but he too was ignored.

In an email seen by MEP Middle East, Al-len told a senior member of the Hastie Mid-dle East management team on May 31 after he had absconded that he had highlighted in great detail what would happen if the company didn’t exit the country legally and pay what was owed.

“When asked for my opinion on how best to exit the Middle East I told them we must do it legally and clean up behind us. If Hastie failed to do this then their company officers would end up with criminal records and probable prison time and the sponsor would also be li-able,” the email read.

Hastie Group’s Middle East staff have been left unpaid. Once again, it seems this could have been avoided. The three senior execu-tives named above transferred AED11m from Dubai to Australia days before the adminis-tration was announced. “This [money] would have allowed us to make all of the final settle-ments to staff and workers and to allow us to repatriate them. It was also required to honour post dated cheques in the market,” says Hunt.

On top of this AED500,000 was taken by

Gary Allen for personal emergency funds, which helped him flee the country and avoid being arrested. Allen told The Weekend Aus-tralian: “Regarding the monies you refer to, I do not wish to comment other than to say my conscience and heart are clear and permission in writing followed the verbal instruction to use the funds.”

Administrators PPB Advisory arrived in Dubai on May 28th and told staff in that office that they were ‘stood down’ and that the com-pany had no funds to pay salaries and final set-tlements, the remaining 900 staff and trades-men in the region were not addressed and at the time of publication have not been officially terminated or final settlements paid by the ad-ministrators. According to those at the firm,

PPB have now ceased contact with any man-agement still in the Middle East and are not providing any assistance to employees at all.

A high profile collapse such as this is a huge cause for concern in the Middle East’s MEP market. However, Hastie Group’s fall had little to do with market conditions and everything to do with poor management at the top. The com-pany harboured a culture of misreporting and covering up, and this did not start or end in the Middle East. The death note for the firm was the $20m accounting irregularity, which had nothing to do with this region’s operations.

While issues with Rotary Gulf and other Middle East operations undoubtedly contrib-uted to the company’s downfall, they were by no means the sole reason for it.

But regardless of the cause of the situation, the position the company’s former employees have been left in is unacceptable. Credit must go to the four senior managers who have stayed in the region in order to try and clear up the mess. Darren Hunt, Charles Lever, Neil Hislop, and Trevor Arkle have attempted to deal with the situation in a controlled and legal manner.

With little help from the administrators, the managers have been able to count on support from four main contractors, the company’s sponsor and the authorities including the Police, Ministry of Labour and the Indian Embassy.

MEP firms in the Middle East need to take a long look at what has happened to Hastie and ensure it doesn’t happen to them. Or they may one day find themselves the scapegoat in a tale of terrible management on an interna-tional scale.

The staff and workers in the Middle East have been treated unfairly and inhumanly by the administrators, the Hastie Senior Executives and Board and the Banking Syndicate.“ Darren Hunt, former general manager, Abu Dhabi, Hastie International and Rotary Gulf


How has the use of recycled water in cooling systems improved in the Middle East?

RefreshingRECYCLING

WATER RECYCLE

he Middle East’s heat makes cool-ing a necessity, and the dry cli-mate makes it an expensive one. A scarcity of water and a high demand makes energy efficient

cooling systems a tough task. But over the years the region has come up with answers to these issues, and recycled water tops the list.

When water is scarce in a country, the emphasis is put on securing drinking water, not water for cooling applications, according to Rami Abu Amirah, commercial manager,

Middle East and North Africa at Dow Water and Process Solutions.

“The priority is always to give the water resources to the drinking water; that comes first. This leaves recycled water as the best bet in terms of resources for cooling applica-tions. Due to availability and due to acces-sibility,” he states.

“It’s more feasible than doing desalination for cooling or industrial processing, or even finding underground fresh water resources. It is one of the best choices that we have if not the best for such applications,” he adds.

WATER SAVED Many Middle East companies have taken a similar view, and have made sure that the wa-ter used in their cooling systems is recycled. One such project is Msheireb Downtown Doha. Developed by Msheireb Properties, the development features a site-wide non-potable water system which treats municipal-ity supplied Treated Sewage Effluent (TSE) further so it is able to be used in the district cooling, as well as in irrigation and for flush-ing the toilets. The firm claims that this will save 6.5m litres of potable water every day.

T


WATER RECYCLE

“We conducted thorough research into various alternative solutions in terms of set-ting the highest benchmark for water conser-vation and treatment,” explains Mohammed Al Marri, director-projects, Msheireb Proper-ties. “I am confident that we have in place the best possible solution which will support the project’s sustainability agenda and meet the needs of residents.”

The system will earn the project water ef-ficiency credits under the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environ-mental Design (LEED) Rating System. Under the LEED system achieving higher potable water savings will earn more points.

The companies which are supplying these systems are in a growing market, according to research. A recent white paper from Frost & Sullivan revealed that Middle East com-panies are looking at alternative solutions to tackle the volumes of effluent, sewage and solid waste generated in a more environment friendly manner, and this is providing a great deal of opportunities for the companies pro-viding these solutions.

“Environment technologies markets like Water and Wastewater treatment equipment and Solid Waste Management have tremen-dous growth potential in the Middle East. Underpinning this growth are industrialisa-tion and urbanisation, which indicate greater focus will be on alleviating pollution concerns and environmental degradation,” says Sasid-har Chidanamarri, Industry Manager, Envi-ronment and Building Technologies Practice, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, Frost & Sullivan.

“Opportunities could unfold in markets such as recycling of solid waste and liquid effluent, energy from waste, smart water net-works and energy management. Value recov-ery, zero-water and zero-carbon footprint, and mandatory sustainability reporting by compa-nies define the growth of the markets in the next 10 years,” he adds.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENTThis increased interest in environmentally friendly solutions has come from two major factors, one of which is the improvement of technology. “In the past the technology was

I am confident that we have in place the best possible solution which will support the project’s sustainability agenda and meet the needs of residents.“ Mohammed Al Marri, Director-Projects, Msheireb Properties

We retrofitted this system to help us to meet our environmental sustainability targets. We have eliminated toxic waste, extended the lifecycle of the water and reduced tanker fuel bills.“ Bahaa Abouhatab, Limitless head of projects

not there, people relied more on conventional technology and when you look at the effluent that came from the wastewater treatment plant, its quality was changing based on the times, the season the duration etc,” says Amirah.

“So the conventional method to recycle the water, nowadays with the technology with the innovations of the educated and the membrane filtration technology that we have, it became more easy to develop and design systems that provide the same quality and production, regardless of changes in affluent that comes from the wastewater treatment plant. So the basic challenge was over.”

The second challenge facing the technol-ogy was cultural acceptance. Recycled water is a difficult concept to sell, no matter what it is being used for. But attitudes are changing in this respect as well. There are some reli-

gious objections to the use of recycled water in cases such as drinking or washing water, but cooling is an area which is not greatly af-fected in this respect.

One of the firms working on improving the technology of the waste water treatment systems is Dow Process and Water Solutions. “The advanced integrated membrane tech-nology that we produce at Dow, purifies the water further, to remove organics, suspended solids, viruses and other things through the Dow ultra filtration technology, and then de-salinate and remove the salt using the Dow reverse osmosis membrane. It is integrated into an original conventional plant easily and it will produce a final product which is ready to enter into the cooling system, purified, with low salt and high quality,” says Amirah.

Research and development plays a huge part in this, and companies such as Dow in-vest a lot of money to make sure that the so-lutions the company provides are as cutting edge as possible. “At Dow we are a believer in innovation, this is our bread and butter, this is what we do to keep ourselves in a premium position. In this particular applica-tion, we have resources allocated with a big investment to develop not only products but solutions as well, to improve the quality, to

Downtown Doha is a project currently under development.


WATER RECYCLE

reduce the operational expenses, the energy consumption and increase efficiency,” states Amirah.

“It took us a lot of resources and invest-ment to get to the premium level where we are now, however, we believe there is a lot more that we can do,” he adds.

CONSUMPTION CUTWhile many new cooling systems use recy-cled water in order to save water, others save the water used for cooling in order for it to be recycled. One such use can be found in The Galleries, a Limitless project in Dubai. The firm reported that it saved 11 million litres of water in the first five months of 2012, as part of its new recycling drive at the development.

Water consumption at The Galleries was re-duced by 33% compared to the same period in the year previous, after a system was installed in the chiller which eliminates the need to use chemically treated water.

Previously, the cooling water at the project contained chemicals to prevent corrosion and bacteria, but after the water was changed it could not be recycled or used for irrigation. The water also needed special tankers for safe disposal. Now, the water goes further be-cause it needs changing less often, and can be used to water the grounds. More than three million litres have been recycled for irrigation since its installation.

Bahaa Abouhatab, Limitless head of pro-jects, UAE, says: “We retrofitted this system to help us to meet our environmental sus-tainability targets. We have eliminated toxic waste, extended the lifecycle of the water and reduced tanker fuel bills.”

“We are combining complex engineer-ing systems with simple, day-to-day tactics to boost environmental sustainability at The Galleries. Our tenants share our belief in protecting the environment and reducing our carbon footprint, and it is great to see such an encouraging response to our latest recycling campaign,” he adds.

The increased use of recycled water in cooling systems will have not only a ben-eficial impact on the water usage in coun-tries where water scarcity is an extremely important issue, but will also improve the profits of the developers that install them. Retrofitting of these systems is simple and commonly done, meaning there really is no excuse for developments to continue ignor-ing the benefits.

For those inside the industry, the change in attitude has been clear to see. “The technol-ogy has reached an acceptable level and there has been a shift from conventional to more advanced technology. People have started to believe the urgency to change, and to use more sustainable technology,” concludes Amirah.

THE MIDDLE EAST’S MOST EFFECTIVE WATER SAVING

COOLING SYSTEMS

The Park Hyatt Dubai benefitted from the retrofit of a water recycling system.

PARK HYATT DUBAI – VEOLIA AND DOW WATER AND PROCESS SOLUTIONS

Dow, working with Veolia Water So-lutions installed a system to reuse wastewater for the HVAC applications at the Park Hyatt Dubai back in 2010. To date the water recycling project has saved enough potable water to fill 62 Olympic sized swimming pools.

Membrane technology from Dow is used in the project, with the membranes filtering and processing 148,300m3 of water every year, which is then used to supply the HVAC tow-ers of the hotel.

Wastewater effluent is pre treated using Dow Ultrafiltration membrane technology, and is then further puri-fied using FILMTEC Reverse Os-mosis technology. The result is high quality water which is low in total dis-solved solids. The system improves the efficiency of the HVAC towers operation.

“The success of this project dem-onstrates the viability of water reuse and recycling solutions in a region where water scarcity leads the agen-da,” said Emmanuel Gayan Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Mid-dle-East CEO.

THE GALLERIES – THE DOLPHIN SYSTEMThe Dolphin pulsed water treatment system sends electromagnetic pulses into the cooling plant’s water. The waves from these pulses kill off bac-teria in the water and also prevent corrosion and scaling. This elimi-nates the need for chemicals in the system.

The system, which is produced by US firm Clearwater technologies ena-bles the user to make significant sav-ings on water and chemicals, and also reduces the amount of maintenance which is required.

The Galleries has reduced wa-ter consumption by 33% so far this year as a result of the system being installed.

Environment technologies markets like Water and Wastewater treatment equipment and Solid Waste Management have tremendous growth potential in the Middle East.“ Sasidhar Chidanamarri, Industry Manager, Frost & Sullivan

HVAC


DISTRIBUTION

WATER HEATING

Ecotherm, a turnkey solar, hot water and steam systems provider for hotels, hospi-tals and industry in the Middle East, has installed its patented free floating turbula-tor rod heating system in Dubai’s Grosvenor House Hotel, a statement from the company has revealed.

The Austrian-based company has devel-oped shell and tube bundle heat exchangers made of stainless steel with patented free floating turbulator rods which enabled an 87.5% saving in hot water capacity require-ment in the Dubai hotel.

According to Ecotherm, the system achieves this saving through its free-floating of stainless steel rods in the system’s tubes, such that the water can only flow through be-tween the rod and the outside of the tubes, resulting in water heated to the requisite temperature with only one pass through and within one second.

Commenting on the potential of the sys-tem’s design, Herbert Bremstaller, CEO and founder of Ecotherm, said, “The potential for the space savings is up to 95%. Thus, Eco-therm is the world champion in turnkey hot water systems.”

Trane has entered into a new distribution agreement with Qatar Electro Mechanical Solutions (QEMS) that will significantly expand and strengthen the distribution capacity of Trane in Doha, according to a statement re-leased by the company. Under the agreement, QEMS will distribute and service Trane residential and light commercial systems in the Qatar market through a dedicated team of experienced sales and services engineers.“Both Trane and QEMS are customer-driven companies and are focused

on delivering quality products and services,” said Imad Kaba, sales direc-tor for Trane in the Middle East and Africa.“This partnership will enable us to provide the highest level of service to

customers in the market,” he added.

Trane reach distribution agreement with QEMS

Dubai hotel uses Ecotherm kit to heat waterAustria-based company has developed heat exchanger

Grosvenor House Hotel in Dubai.

Imad Kaba of Trane Middle East and Africa.

Plans for the heating system in the Gros-venor House Hotel originally proposed a hot water system with 64,000 litres for Tower One but, according to Ecotherm, their sys-tem was able to reduce the requirements of the system to only 8,000 litres.

“Within six minutes the system is ready to 100% after a complete discharge of the hot water. Comparable conventional systems would require a multiple of the time,” said Bremstaller.

Ecotherm says that their system can heat

water up to 60 degrees in just one second, which allows only a minimum volume to be stored for peak hot water demand and saves valuable space in boiler rooms.

The company also maintains that the system is energy saving and hygienic as it provides water on demand rather than in reserve; it is sustainable through its use of high-quality stainless steel rods; and it is low maintenance due to the oscillating motion of the turbulators as the water passes through the tubes which is said to minimise fouling.

See your optimal Air Distribution solution come to life in our ow demonstration studio.

TROX Middle EastAl Quoz, Dubai, UAETel.: +971 4 341 7448

[email protected]

RZ_Advertisement_flow_A4_AE.indd 1 12.07.12 09:40

PRODUCTS


WANT TO FEATURE YOUR PRODUCT HERE? Email: [email protected]

BUYER’S GUIDE

New products come on to the market at a great rate. While many shout

about their innovation or competitive pricing, it can be difficult to spot the true merit of a product without the right information. MEP offers a few top tips that are always worth keeping in mind when purchase orders are on the way.

TOP TIPS

1. FOCUSKnow what you are looking for and exactly what you

need it to do

2. RESEARCH Get suppliers to provide

detailed product information based on your

specific requirements

3. PRICE VERSUS...Is price the most important

factor?

4. ...QUALITYOr will quality matter more

in the long run?

5. IS IT NEEDED?Is the product something the project really needs?

Could it be done without or bought at a later stage?

6. SUSTAINABILITYDoes this product need to

be ‘green’?

7. STANDARDSDoes the product need to conform to any specific

standards?

8. SHIPPING Will the product make it to site on time, or is there an

order backlog?

9. LIABILITYHow long will your

company be liable for the product’s performance?

10. SORTEDWill this purchasing

decision sort the job or will it come back to haunt you?

Product focusMEP Middle East reviews the latest gadgets, essential kit and serious product innovations making an impact in the GCC construction market. Let us know if there is something you would like to see on these pages.

VRFI-EPR FIRE DAMPERSAldes has developed a new fire, smoke and heat damper: VRFI-EPR. This product is the first of its kind and has been designed to suit the new European requirements for nuclear power plants. According to Aldes, the VRFI-EPR has passed 4 major performance tests. It offers two hours fire resistance under 1500Pa, the damper will stay open in case of earthquake. It has been tested for manoeuvrability (ageing resistance): these tests guarantee the possibility to control the damper without stopping the ventilation system and without any damage to the damper itself.

TEKLA BIMSIGHT NOTE Tekla BIMsight Note, available in the Apple App Store, allows users to contribute to Tekla Open BIM workflow via an iOS mobile device. With this new application, anyone can use an iPhone or iPad to receive and reply to notes created in Tekla BIMsight. Tekla BIMsight Note is a free, purpose-built tool for instant communication on-site and on-the-move. The application connects notes to the full Tekla BIMsight project. A remark that would previously have stayed in a text message or had been forgotten after a phone conversation is now attached to the project. The Tekla BIMsight Note tool leaves a traceable mark to the BIM workflow so information is not missed. Tekla BIMsight maintains the communication trail.

NOVEC 1230Chemetron engineered systems with Novec 1230 fluid work hand-in-hand with state-of-the-art controls and detection components to detect and extinguish fires long before substantial fire damage can occur. Provided by Concorde Corodex UAE, Chemetron systems safeguard lives, assets, and reputations. Our ability to engineer solutions that meet challenging business and industry applications is evident in the variety of market sectors that we serve worldwide. Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid is an environmentally acceptable, people compatible, clean agent for vital facilities with a wide range of hazards. Novec 1230 Fluid suppresses the fire by removing the heat energy and interrupting the combustion process. With extinguishment capabilities of 10 seconds or less, Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid has the capability to extinguish fires fast and effectively – before any damage is done to your valued assets.

FOAMGLAS® InsulationChilled water insulation systems

FOAMGLAS® meets all challenges for insulating chilled water installations.Waterproof FOAMGLAS® is water-proof because it consists of pure glass. Advantage: It does not absorb any moisture and does not swell.

Vapor-tight FOAMGLAS® is vapour-tight because it consists of hermetically sealed glass cells. Advantage: Moisture cannot soak through and already contains the vapour barrier. Constant thermal insulation value over decades. Prevents the penetration of radon.

Incombustible FOAMGLAS® cannot burn because it consists of pure glass.

equipment and buildings.

www.foamglas.com

Pittsburgh Corning Europe

Sheikh Zayed Road / Media City

DubaiUnited Arab Emirates

PRODUCTS


BIM DemystifiedBy Steve Race

BIM Demystified is a short, practical introduction to

Building Information Modelling (BIM). Addressing BIM from the point of

view of mainstream practice as opposed

to a cutting-edge technological

perspective, it offers an easy-going yet

thorough explanation of the subject.

DOLPHIN SEALANT BY AL MUQARRAM INDUSTRY American Dolphin GP Silicone Sealant is an acetoxy based sealant system capable of polymerizing at room temperature. The sealant possesses superior long term weathering UV and ozone resistance properties.

It is easily applied from caulking cartridges, pails or drums with automated pumping equipments attached to dispensing lines and collapsible tubes. It offers potential savings in installation and maintenance labour expenditure. American Dolphin GP Silicone Sealant adheres to most metal painted surfaces, glass, ceramic, enamel, PVC and other plastics.

The sealant is ideally suited for overhead or sidewall joint application since it does not flow. It can be used in glazing applications, weather sealing of sheet cladding and curtain walling, general sealing and assembling, sealing AC systems, draught-proofing and more.

TROX TECHNIK - AIR / WATER COOLING SYSYTEMS - CHILLED BEAMS TROX have once again identified this need and have adapted their product portfolio to suit. In addition to the highly successful passive, active and multi service chilled beam range, they also offer a beam specifically adapted to suit more adverse climates. The TROX high induction exposed active chilled beam allows for a lower primary air requirement with increased induction for maximised cooling performance and optimum comfort levels.This product provides an aesthetic solution, marked energy savings, increased comfort conditions, greatly reduced operating cost.

TAKE A LOOK

BIM in Small-Scale Sustainable

DesignBy Francois Levy

This work is the leading guide

to architectural design within a

building information modeling (BIM)

workflow, giving the practitioner a clear procedure when

designing climate-load dominated

buildings. The book incorporates new

information related to BIM, integrated

practice, and sustainable design, as well information on how designers

can incorporate the latest technological

tools.

PANASONIC TROPICAL AIR CONDITIONERThese new air conditioners run on minimal power with precise temperature control. By reducing wasteful cooling operation, Inverter Series can achieve up to 30% less energy usage compared to the non-inverter units. In addition to energy savings, the Intelligent Inverter Technology also delivers constant comfort with wide power output range and quick cooling during the start up period.

Inverter control in the desert climate is now possible thanks to unique, innovative technologies. The result is a new dimension in air conditioning that lets users enjoys more powerful cooling than ever, a stable room temperature, and outstanding energy saving performance.

Cooling is possible even when the outside temperature is 55ºC since the new models feature a highly durable compressor and fan motor to maintain room comfort even under the hottest conditions.

AEROFOAM - SUMMARY A newcomer to the scene, launched in early 2011, AEROFOAM NBR (elastomeric insulation) and AEROFOAM XLPE (cross linked polyethylene insulation) have since proven to be a complete solutions package to customers in the HVAC field. The products are available in a wide choice of tubes or sheets and self-adhesive, continuous-length and pre cut versions as well. The range includes tubes of various levels of thickness and diameter, with different foil covers for the sheets.

AEROFOAM has a high resistance to diffusion of water vapours and low thermal conductivity. The resistance to diffusion is built up continuously-cell by cell –throughout the entire material thickness.

All AERFOAM products have been tested and cleared according to BS and ASTM standards, as per industry requirements.

35,0000000+++CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS

2,5000+ EXHIBITORS FROM 80 COUNTRIES

130+++++FREESEMINARS

THE LAST WORD


What stage would you say BIM is at in terms of regional market development?BIM is relatively new to the re-gion but it is also quickly gain-ing momentum. We have been working throughout the region to educate the industry on the ben-efits of the tools, technology and processes that we have been us-ing in the region for over 5 years. There has been a lot of interest in how we can help the clients de-liver their projects and products with greater efficiency by saving time, money and resources. As the market continues to learn and appreciate the benefits that the technology can bring we will be there with the local experience to help them with their challenges. We implement, train and use iCap as a standard tool for all projects we do across the GCC, MENA and around the world.

Is your software experiencing a rise in the rate of its adoption in the GCC?The adoption of iCap as a soft-ware and iTech as a software-

based management consultant is matching if not exceeding the rate of adoption of BIM in the region. This is due to the ben-efits the software brings to the tradition RFI-coordination track-ing and documentation process. The functionality, interface and usability of the software make it very easy for most people to adopt into the standard operating procedures.

How are you ensuring that your software remains at the fore-front of developments?We are continuing to develop the product and its functional-ity based on internal use, cli-ent feedback and industry de-mands. For example, we have made custom versions of the basic product to suit specific project needs, and we develop new tools for each fresh situa-tion we encounter. Because the software stores the information on a database it can easily be placed in the cloud for review by any team member around the world at any time.

What does iTech’s software do, in a nutshell, and who are its target users?iCap is a custom tool that is in-stalled into your BIM software that can be used in a project to clearly identify, document, store and report design, coordina-tion and constructability issues, while virtually constructing the building. Its functions can assist any user of BIM, CAD or digi-tal documentation tools, and we have used it to help architects, engineers, contractors, project managers, and owners.

What are the capabilities of a collaboration and tracking software like iCap?iCap has a secure database that stores each individual RFI, or capture into a secure SQL data-base by a unique ID. The entry and iCap contain a screen shot of the areas in question, which can be 2D CAD drawings, 3D BIM images, reports, or anything else that helps to clearly communicate the problem. This entry can then be viewed by the project team at any time through the iCap Browser. The browser can filter the results viewable by different project parties based on a vari-ety of customizable parameters set by the user. For example, if I am the PM on a large construc-tion project, I can view the total number of RFIs logged to-date, the number closed, the number pending and sort them by disci-pline. Through the life project the software tracks all changes and communications of each RFI for future reference and use in draw-ing updates, claims, variations or design changes.

Charles Blaschke, MEP BIM manager at iTech

As the market continues to learn and appreciate the benefits that the technology can bring we will be there with the local experience to help them with their challenges.“

For example, if I am the PM on a large construction project, I can view the total number of RFIs logged to-date, the number closed, the number pending and sort them by discipline.

COLLABORATION

Charles Blaschke, MEP BIM manager at iTech, explains iCap, an example of collaboration tool covering design and construction RFI storage, tracking and reporting, and examines BIM’s direction in market

tools

and reliability and suits all building drainage applications: Whether in residential or industrial construction, for high-rise buildings, for laboratories, conventionally installed, prefabricated or embedded in concrete, you make

Geberit HDPE drainage system

A neat solution.

ALEMCO is the specialist Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing division of Al Jaber L.E.G.T. Engineering & Contracting (ALEC) LLC. It provides the skill, expertise, experience

and resources that are essential to meet the demands of today’s fast track projects.

ALEMCO has provided fully engineered electromechanical and building service solutions for many construction projects. Its track record includes some of the Middle

East’s most prestigious developments, from hotels, resort spas and retail, to cinema, leisure and exhibition spaces.

If you would like more information about ALEMCO or to make an enquiry please visit www.alemco.ae or call +971 (0)4 429 0599

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