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In recent years it’s become common to hear how MEP contractors are bidding on tenders for multi-billion dollar mega-projects that strive to be the biggest, best and most expensive in the world.
With all the noise that’s generated by the hype around these projects, it could be easy to assume that the industry culture has become fixated with taking on these mega-projects and basking in the glory and prestige that accompanies them.
Of course, this isn’t true, but it’s easy to see why people would think so, given that not a week goes by without rumours emanating about yet another project that will ‘rewrite the record books’.
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So it comes as quite a pleasant surprise when you find a company says that it has taken a deliberate step back from focusing on mega-projects and is more interested in taking the long term view on growth, picking up projects that help establish it in the region, while allowing it to grow at its own pace.
Eamonn Phillips is the man behind this strategy at Mercury Middle East. A veteran of the MEP industry, with more than 30 years of experience gained through stints in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Phillips is the regional general manager of the Bahrain based MEP contractor.
Set up in 2004, Mercury Middle East has established itself as a major player in the regional MEP industry, taking on a number of projects in Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Abu Dhabi. It clients include some of the biggest players in the game, including Qatar Petroleum, The Qatar Foundation, Shell, Total and Barwa.
Its measured approach to the market has led to some impressive financial figures over the last four years, with turnover steadily increasing. In 2008, Mercury registered a turnover of QAR62m ($17.02m), growing to $32.6m in 2009. By 2010, turnover was $56m and in 2011, the company predicts a turnover of $130.2m.
Phillips says that the first half of 2011 saw sales of $42.5m, up from $34.3m last year. He adds that the company predicts a figure of $109.8m from the 12 months to December 2011, with major sales from infrastructure projects in the second half of year.
Projected growth figures are between 20% and 30% in 2012 and beyond, he says.
“We’re certainly not the largest MEP contractor in the Middle East. We’re a company with steady growth, with a defined business plan to grow the company in certain areas,” Phillips says, “We don’t get too excited when we see large mega-projects. We don’t want billions, we want millions.”
“From 2008 to 2011, we’ve had substantial growth within the company. When we arrived initially, we had a market entry position where we had to take some jobs that were a little bit of a risk,” he says. “It wasn’t a growth area for the company; it was simply a progression from getting established in the market to getting known by clients.”
A subsidiary of the Ireland based Mercury Engineering, the Middle Eastern operation has grown from being one of the firm’s smallest subsidiaries to one of the biggest, generating at least 20% to 25% of the group’s total turnover of around $678.1m, Phillips says.
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FEATURED COMMENT
Responsiblity is a major role for MEP contractor specially when they told to public as a speciliaty mep contactor to so