Trane Man

Nigel Hawley

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MEP Middle East speaks to Nigel Hawley, Trane’s new GM for the Middle East, Africa and India region about the company’s outlook for growth in 2010.

Can you give us a bit of your background?

I joined Trane as finance leader for the Middle East in October 2006. I was promoted to GM of the Middle East, Africa and India region in March 2009. Before this I spent four years in a corporate finance role with American Standard, the Trane parent company, in its European HQ in Brussels. Prior to this I spent 13 years with KPMG, a global professional services firm, in various financial/consulting roles working in the UK and the US,

What does your current role encompass?

I have overall responsibility for Trane’s operations in Middle East, India and Africa. This includes strategy, sales and operational performance and key customer relations. Our growth initiatives are focused on market expansion (Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India) and new product introductions.
With regard to the latter, we are especially excited by our new AquaStream range of air-cooled chillers, which are equipped with high-efficiency scroll compressors.

The key benefits to users are high levels of energy efficiency, low sound levels, easy and quick installation, even greater reliability and durability and enhanced serviceability and safety. We are also focusing on expansion of services (maintenance, repairs, parts, etc.), new offerings from our controls and contracting businesses, while we also aim to attract, develop and retain the best talent in the industry.

What strategy are you adopting?

Despite the current market we stay fixed on a strategy of profitable growth based on aggressive new product introductions, market expansion and, of course, providing even better levels of customer service. Growing our services, controls and contracting business is a key part of this.

Will business stabilise this year?

Yes, in terms of our core business, excluding district cooling and unitary, which are two segments badly affected by the market downturn, especially in Dubai, and I do not expect to see this changing dramatically in 2010.

Are customers struggling in terms of payment at the moment?

We are generally involved at the early stages of projects, so where the credit crisis has affected us most is that projects have been delayed or cancelled. However, it is clear that some customers, especially contractors, are suffering with delayed payments from their customers (developers).

Overall we have not suffered particularly from payment delays, and have no significant exposure.

What are your biggest growth areas at the moment?

Services – maintenance, repairs, parts – and then equipment. With such a vast portfolio, it can be difficult selecting just one or two specific products. However, I would say that we are expecting good growth prospects from our airside range as a result of new product introductions and refinements. In addition, we detect greater emphasis on indoor air quality from owners and developers, which is also driving demand to more sophisticated and efficient selections. We have also expanded our manufacturing footprint, which will give clients the opportunity to source quality Trane products from locations closer to their markets, thus saving on freight costs.

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We have our own offices here in Dubai plus Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon and across India. All other countries are covered by distributors, which are also serviced from an experienced team in Dubai. This year we are expanding in the Gulf, and expect to have our own direct office opened in Qatar in the next few months. Dubai is definitely one of the most depressed markets, along with Kuwait.

How important is the MENA region to Trane globally?

Very important. We are the global leader in direct drive, low-pressure, high-efficiency centrifugal chillers, which is the industry’s preferred choice for large district cooling projects, and therefore the Middle East is a key market for us. Trane has a defined strategy to maximise growth across all emerging markets, and MENA is clearly a key part of this.

Last year’s economic difficulties were compounded further by the refrigerant phase-out?

That is not exactly how I would put it. Trane’s philosophy is to produce and sell the most energy-efficient and environmentally-responsible HVAC systems and solutions possible. Refrigerant change is a constant in our industry. Last year was particularly exciting and challenging as a result of the US decision to stop producing equipment with R22 from 31 December 2009.

This was the catalyst for a massive redesign project that resulted in Trane introducing more new models in 2009 than we had in the previous 20 years. But I want to be clear that this redesign process went much further than simply regulatory compliance. We used this opportunity to further raise the performance of our range in areas where we already lead the field – that is, energy efficiency, reliability, durability and serviceability.

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, and we are happy and determined to remain at the forefront of these developments.