MATELEC GROUP - The International Resource Journal

MATELEC GROUPwww.matelecgroup.com

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SEPTEMBER 2011 The International Resource Journal5Lebanese electrical manufacturer Matelec is enjoying a sustained period ofgrowth, bringing to market a range of innovative and cost-effective electricalsolutions. IRJ speaks to Matelec Group chief executive officer Sami Soughayarto find out how the group is capitalising on high global demands for energy.

6 COMPANY FOCUS MatelecWith a new plant set to open 40 kilometres northof Lebanese capital Beirut and a growing presencein countries across the Mediterranean, electricalengineering and contracting company MatelecGroup is experience a phase of unremitting growth.Founded in 1974 to produce distribution transformers,the Lebanese manufacturer has sincegrown into a diversified electricity business player.Matelec was founded just one year beforethe onset of the Lebanon Civil War and wasforced to compete with the difficulties and tragiccircumstances of conflict.“We have been faced with many difficultiesworking within an unstable political situation, butthis has given us strength to overcome all difficulties,”says Sami Soughayar, chief executiveofficer of Matelec Group.”“This is why Matelec alwaysfulfils its commitments, even ifdifficulties arise.”Soughayar says the company strives to beboth innovative and committed to quality, nomatter what problems must be overcome.Today the group offers products ranging from

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8 COMPANY FOCUS Matelecswitchgears to package substations and protectionsystems to a broad selection of transformersfor HV, MV and LV projects.“We can propose solutions and we can delivereverything from small single items to turnkeysubstations and power plants,” notes Soughayar.Partnerships and premisesConsisting of 30,000 square metres of workshops,Matelec’s factory in Lebanon is one ofthe biggest manufacturing facilities in the MiddleEast. Every year the site produces 18,000 distributiontransformers, 100 power transformers, 1,000packaged substations and 60 mobile substations.“When we began operations back in 1977the company consisted of 25 people. Today wehave 650 staff working at our Lebanese factory,and globally we employ close to 2,000 employees,”says Soughayar. “At our Lebanese facilitythere are 95 engineers with the majority of ourother staff working as technicians.”The company has taken advantage of Lebanon’shigh levels of education by employing engineersand technicians who have graduated fromits schools and colleges. This has played a vitalrole in ensuring the quality and cost of Matelec’sdesign work and technical abilities.“We are keeping good engineers within Lebanon,but from time to time we are also able tosend them to projects abroad and this is one ofthe factors that is making us competitive in othercountries,” adds Soughayar.One partnership Matelec is duly proud of isits relationship with majority shareholder DoumetElectrical Holdings. Soughayar says that the twocompanies work well together because of theways in which they complementary each other.“As separate companies we have become

SEPTEMBER 2011 The International Resource Journal9more integrated because of the complementarynature of our activities,” he explains.“Doumet has a cables factory and suppliesoverhead lines, and often the client will needtransformers.”Despite its close relationship with Doumet,Matelec also maintains its independence and astrong brand identity that dates back to its tentativeyears in the early 1970s.The Saudi Arabia marketSoughayar estimates that Matelec delivers betweenan average of 3,000 and 4,000 transformersto Saudi Arabia every year and as a result ofthis success is building a facility in the Kingdom.“We have established a factory in Riyadhwhich will start its operations at the end ofthis year or the beginning of next year,” saysSoughayar.“We hope that this factory will be our centrein the region and will provide us with a platformto enter other Gulf markets such as Dubai, AbuDhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.”Matelec entered the Saudi Arabian marketmore than 12 years ago in partnership with AbdulGhani Oyoun Al-Soud who has worked in thecountry’s electricity sector since 1968.“Through our partner we were introduced toSaudi Electricity Company (SEC) with whom westarted a relationship that remains strong today,”explains Soughayar.“We have learned a lot from SEC, which isone of the biggest utility companies in the world.“The very harsh environmental conditionsin Saudi Arabia have also given us a chance toimprove the quality of products, because whenyou design equipment that can work in the desertenvironment of Saudi Arabia then you haveequipment that will work anywhere.”

12 COMPANY FOCUS MatelecAlong with these markets served in Africa andthe Gulf region, Matelec is working on projectsin countries across the Mediterranean, thereforeplaying a leading role as the industry evolves.In regards to its R&D activities, the companyis working with French utilities giant EDF, designingnew materials that will heavily reduce energylosses from its products.“We believe that a new type oftransformer will be industriallyavailable within two years and itwill be a product you will see allover the world,” says Soughayar.“We are still in the R&D phase, but what wedo know is that this transformer will be cost effectivewhen compared to traditional models.”Committed to society and the naturalenvironmentSoughayar insists that as Matelec traversed therecession it has also been able to provide itsworkforce with the same care and attention as itwould in a booming economy.“We didn’t notice the recession, because wework in so many markets,” he recalls.“If the European market drops off for us wenotice that in Africa it will grow, so we are oftencompensated by having such an expansive presence.”The company has managed to maintain arelatively high rate of staff retention and looksout for its staff by offering a helping hand whereverpossible.“We provide help with scholarships for thechildren of our staff, full social security coverageincluding medical coverage and we have

14 COMPANY FOCUS Mateleceven helped young couples to get onto thehousing ladder,” Soughayar notes.The company operates ahead of the industrymajority in the Middle East, and may be observedas leading the environmentally-mindedcharge for the regional market.“We are very ‘green’,” highlights Soughayar.“We have put a lot of effort into preservingnature through emissions control, all of ourwaste is treated responsibly and in our facilitieswe are using heat recovery to reduce powerconsumption.”Matelec recycles all of the water used at itsfacilities, has been awarded the internationalenvironmental management accreditationISO14000, and has embarked on a series ofhumanitarian programmes in some of the Africamarkets in which it is present.“When you start thinking ‘green’you shouldn’t think that it will havea negative effect on costs, becauseat the end of the day it will reducecosts,” explains Soughayar.

AS SEEN IN THE SEPTEMBER 2011 ISSUEOF THE INTERNATIONAL RESOURCE JOURNAL