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M&R Energy & Industrial poised to take advantage of growing sectors

12th September 2014

By: Tracy Hancock

Creamer Media Contributing Editor

  

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Engineering and construction services company Murray & Roberts (M&R) believes the re-engineering of its Energy & Industrial platform will allow the operating platform to achieve further growth in its specialist engineering, commissioning and asset support capabilities.

Therefore, the platform has been transformed into a “strong, well-resourced, specialist engineering business poised to take advantage of growing sectors”, noted the group in a media statement.

Energy & Industrial aimed to grow in the oil and gas, mining, energy and industrial markets, where, M&R said, it would be able to leverage its current capabilities and evaluate the potential to establish a meaningful presence in the global industrial water market.

Speaking at a media briefing on the Energy & Industrial operating platform last week, M&R executive director Frank Saieva pointed out that, outside South Africa, the M&R brand – “the yellow dot” – was what was known in Africa, noting that “our approach is more and more [geared toward] selling our solutions into the African market”.

He said the name changes of some of the platform companies would allow Energy & Industrial to further leverage expertise and experience across the platform and provide its clients with a single and recognisable brand identity with which to engage.

In line with this, Wade Walker, headed by MD Mile Sofijanic, was renamed M&R Electrical & Control Systems, while Genrec, which mainly operated in South Africa, where it had a strong market brand, and M&R Water were not renamed.

“The Energy & Industrial platform is positioned as an engineering-led contractor,” added Saieva, “and it is important that the businesses accurately present their capabilities to the market.” Various business prospects had been identified in the market for the Energy & Industrial platform companies.

The MD of M&R Power & Energy, formerly M&R Projects, Steve Harrison, said at the briefing that there had to be life for the subsidiary after its work had been concluded at State-owned power utility Eskom’s Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations, in Limpopo and Mpumalanga respectively.

He stated that, having been involved in round three of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), prospects for the subsidiary were still based on the Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) REIPPPP, specifically with regard to concentrated solar power, biomass and cogeneration.

Further, the Coal Baseload Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme – also a DoE initiative – and brownfield repair, operations and maintenance (O&M) oppurtunities were highlighted. “Based on our experience and the skills we have developed on the power programme, and our in-house skills, we are well positioned to do work on baseload [independent power producer projects], specifically on coal,” Harrison commented, adding that gas would follow when the Gas Utilisation Master Plan had been finalised.

In brownfield repair, O&M services, a lot of which is driven by M&R Power & Energy’s joint venture with provider of project delivery and consulting services Worley Parsons – MW Power Services – “we have high expectations and plan to do shutdown work next year with [sugar producer] Illovo Sugar – we are looking to do more shutdown work [for mills]”.

M&R noted that it would like to replicate the work done by Power & Energy outside South Africa in sub-Saharan Africa.

In terms of Petrochemicals & Oil and Gas, Harris stated that, in South Africa, M&R had invested in a facility in Secunda, just outside Charlie 5, and its vendor registration with Sasol was in order, with M&R currently bidding for work with the petrochemicals giant for stay-in-business; engineering, procurement and construction (EPC); and maintenance projects. Further afield, in East Africa, liquefied natural gas developments would be targeted.

Meanwhile, M&R Resources & Industrial, formerly known as Concor Engineering, would continue to chase iron-ore and coal projects in Africa.

“I think you have to have had your head buried under the sand if you aren’t aware of the iron-ore and coal expansion in Africa. Yes, it has slowed down over the last couple of years, but we’ve seen a change in that. A lot of studies have come back on track and countries have sorted out their issues with regard to taxes and local content.”

Other prospects involved early contractor engagement, with a focus on junior mines, full turnkey EPC solutions for Africa and brownfield repair and maintenance.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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