May 2010 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Business
region are significantly greater than those in Europe at the
moment. Singapore is currently seeing an unprecedented
level of construction activity. Fortunately, we are well
placed to benefit from this activity and there are a number
of other large projects planned for completion by 2013
/ 2014. We are working very hard to secure follow-on
construction work, following the sizeable petrochemical
investments in Singapore. I am confident that Singapore
will continue to be tremendously interesting and I am
convinced that there will be abundant opportunities for
Hertel’s offering in Singapore.
Coming from Northern Europe and now establishing
your activities in Asia, what have you found the main
challenges in migrating across to Asia are and how are
you dealing with them?
To meet our strategic plan’s milestones, we opted to fasttrack
establishment through the acquisition of Singaporean
operating companies with a proven track record and who
would complement each other as the integrated support
services concept became a reality. Careful selection of
companies able to demonstrate a high level of customer
satisfaction through the consistent application of good
management practices for up to 20 years was fundamental
to the success of this phase of our development.
Could you tell us about some of the companies you have
acquired and what your criteria were for choosing those
companies?
The most important consideration has always been their
relationship with their clients. Stability, consistency and
robustness borne out of mutual respect were looked
for in the relationships. The quality of the management
and supervision were also key, as were their systems and
procedures by which safety and quality could be delivered
with minimal effect on the environment. Recognised
ISO standards were used as the basis of evaluation. We
considered the management’s suitability to grow in line
with our plans and strategies through the implementation
of some far reaching changes which would call for a degree
of flexibility to be applied to established mindsets.
Could you tell us about Hertel’s expansion strategy in the
region?
Our primary objective is to become the market leader in
the provision of integrated support services, predominantly
in the construction and subsequent maintenance of the
regional petrochemical industry. We will offer a portfolio of
services to support our clients based on access scaffolding
and insulation and extended to mechanical installation and
testing of pipework systems, structural steel and associated
process equipment. It is not our intention to be the market
leader in each of these disciplines, but the market leader
in the provision of the combined service package under an
integrated management structure. Each of the acquired
companies will form an integral part of Hertel’s ability to
bring this concept to fruition.
How does Hertel distinguish itself from their competitors?
We define for ourselves a customer value proposition
which is based on a number of components. We are proud
of our world class safety performance. We are also proud
of our undoubted ability to deliver high quality product.
As I have already stated, we are establishing ourselves as
an integrated support service provider to a specialised
high value market. Whereas we are aware that the
integrated services concept has been implemented with
varying degrees of success, we know that it has not been
attempted to the scale and degree to which we have set
our sights. A uniquely important factor we have is that we
are able to transfer technology and resources from other
parts of the world when needed and without delay.
Hertel Singapore is not a European company in Asia,
but an Asian company within a global organisation. In
terms of our regional personnel, we have set a local
content target of 100%. This will be achieved by increasing
the number of Asian staff throughout the organisation,
but particularly amongst them front line managers and
supervision. We will successfully compete locally with
local knowledge and expertise and international support
thorough the Hertel Group capability.
Are there any specific regional and local needs which are
different from your experience in Europe?
Applying an integrated approach to the management of
the ongoing maintenance of petrochemical installations is a
development which is gaining more importance in Asia. We
have got that experience with Plant Operators in Europe
and we can bring that expertise to help our customers
by supporting them with the application of sophisticated
asset integrity management techniques. We see this as the
primary basis upon which we will grow the business during
the coming three years.
We have been awarded the maintenance contract for
the existing Pulau Bukom Shell refinery for a 3 year period
with a further 2 years option. We are a new entrant to
the refinery. We are obligated to introduce a number of
initiatives based on techniques developed in the UK over
a number of years to continuously improve the means
by which the plant is maintained and uptime is safely
maximised.
How important do you see Singapore being in the future?
Will Singapore continue to be your regional headquarters?
Our objective is to become the premier provider
of integrated support services to the Singaporean
petrochemical industrial market. We are confident that
this objective is attainable, amongst others because the
Singaporean government stimulates our enthusiasm to
succeed and has positively assisted us in setting up our
business. There are also many incentives offered by the
EDB for start-up businesses.
Do you have any final messages to the readers of ADB
Magazine?
Without doubt Asia is a major growth area. It is clearly
well placed within the most economically dominant region
in the world. So it is an absolute must for any business
in the energy related sector to be in Asia. Not only is
Singapore is a good place to do business on its own right,
but it is also an excellent hub for expanding in Asia. I
would encourage people with international ambitions for
their businesses to have a good look at Asia and Singapore
in particular.