Efficiency in the Middle East

Industrial gas turbines, which use fuel to generate electricity, need yearly maintenance and servicing. UK-based company Turbine Efficiency Ltd was founded to do just that and is now branching out around the world.

Until 2002, Alan Hawkins was a one man band, selling filters and cleaning fluids for industrial turbines. Noting a gap in the market for maintaining and servicing these large machines, he founded Turbine Efficiency Ltd. In addition to supporting the turbines, the company also sells second-hand turbines and parts, and has designed a water injection system to reduce nitrous oxide emissions.

Turbine Efficiency now has workshops where they service the turbines in Lincoln, UK and Buenos Aries, Argentina, and customers around Europe and South America.  It also just signed a contract in Myanmar to replace a gas turbine and control system, and recently agreed to establish a joint venture in Qatar.

“It was a natural progression to look toward the Middle East,” says David Cormack, Technical Director of Turbine Efficiency. “There’s a global catalogue which lists owners of industrial turbines and where they are based. We found that they are predominantly in the Gulf, and particularly in Qatar, where the economy is based on oil and gas. So, we recognised that if we wanted to build up the company we had to move into that region.”

Establishing contacts

Turbine Efficiency already had a relationship with a UK Trade & Investment adviser in the East Midlands and participated in several trade missions to South America and the Far East, where they established contacts in Myanmar and an agreement was signed in June 2008. Around the time that the company was looking to expand, UK Trade & Investment offered to include it on a trade mission to Doha.

Turbine Efficiency was looking for a partner who had a workshop it could use, as it was not interested going through the logistical hassle of opening its own service and maintenance centre. Knowing the importance of being prepared and wanting to make the most of the opportunity, the company used UK Trade & Investment’s Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) to identify potential partners in Qatar before flying out. They also gave their UK Trade & Investment adviser a list of potential customers that they were interested in meeting.

“UK Trade & investment made contact with people in Doha that we wanted to meet, and set up appointments for us,” says Cormack. “Normally we would get on the phone ourselves but this takes time and resources. When UK Trade & Investment offered to do it for us, it really made our lives a lot easier. “

In January, Cormack headed to Doha with the UK Trade & Investment delegation. He inspected several factories and eventually entered into discussions with Gulf Turbo Services with a view to setting up a partnership.

“We looked at many other facilities but this was the best option for us,” says Cormack. “For gas turbine overhauls you need a clean workshop, and GTS’ fit the bill.”
 In May, Cormack visited Qatar again along with the company’s financial director for a follow up meeting with Gulf Turbo Services, and they expect to sign the final joint venture agreement soon. The company has high hopes for its Qatari business and has already had several enquiries from customers.

“Without UK Trade & Investment we would likely not yet have a presence in Qatar,” says Cormack. “We would be looking at the Middle East but would have had to do all the footwork ourselves, which for a company like ours is a huge undertaking.”

Turbine Efficiency hopes to use its base in Qatar to do business throughout the Middle East, and is investigating the possibility of basing permanent staff in the region. It is also looking into branching out to new countries where it does not yet have a presence.

“The OMIS reports are a great help and we recently commissioned reports for Turkey, Italy, Spain and Australia,” says Cormack. “Our customers, many of whom are multi-national companies, have branches around the world, and they expect us to expand our global reach right alongside them.”

The UK and Qatar

The UK is a major trading partner for Qatar, and healthy bilateral relations date back to the 19th century. In 2007, the UK exported to Qatar goods worth £624.1 million, up from £488.8 million in 2006.

Qatar is one of the world’s wealthiest countries, with its economy based on oil and gas. The country is currently undergoing major reform and there are likely to be substantial infrastructure and development projects over the next few years. These will include new oil and gas facilities, ports, an airport, several new roads, hotels, museums and residential compounds. 

For further information about business opportunities in Qatar, please go to www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk

Fast Facts

Company: Turbine Efficiency Ltd.

Country: Qatar

Industry: Oil and Gas

Website: http://www.turbine-efficiency.com