The PME Group of Companies
Allied force
Registered and approved with all major local and government companies in the UAE, the Petro Middle East (PME) group is active primarily in the oil and gas, petrochemical and utilities industries within the UAE and neighbouring Gulf States.
Since its formation in 1995, it has provided clients with state-of-the-art and environmentally safe products and services, through its diverse list of principals. PME represents a selected number of renowned international manufacturers, specialised in providing engineering products and services to the oil and gas, petrochemical and utilities sectors.
Its products and services fall into two categories: engineering services and engineering products. The former includes integrity, projects and contracting services (including after-sales support and industrial chemical cleaning), while the latter covers electrical and power; mechanical flow control and process; instrumentation and control; laboratory and analytical equipment; and material outsourcing.
Managing partner Jamal Zaher introduces PME and its credentials: “After the business started in 1995, there was major restructuring in 1999, which is when I joined as a managing partner. Back then we had just a few employees whereas, now we have 125 staff members and six different companies under the PME umbrella. Turnover has reached 20 million euros and over the last five years we have sustained an annual growth rate of 20 to 30 per cent. We have diversified our income to representation, trading, manufacturing and services, and our objective for the next five years is to continue in this vein.”
Such clear vision has enabled PME to become a leading provider of technological and costeffective turnkey procurement solutions for the UAE and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) energy sectors. Its facilities and capabilities are impressive, as Jamal outlines: “Our core business is oil and gas, petrochemicals and refining. We also look at the utilities sector and in the near future we’ll be focusing more on this segment, as we’ll invest more and more manpower and resources into its development.
“For our near future, we are looking to find an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company, so we can sponsor and support that firm here in the market. Furthermore, in the last couple of years there has been a change in the market culture whereby a lot of Korean EPC contractors have secured jobs, so we’re paying more attention to this shift and already have several Korean companies in our portfolio.”
Last year PME integrated its Mussafah facility – the industrial area in Abu Dhabi – where the organisation owns 3000 square metres of offices and workshops, encompassing its studbolt manufacturing facility and after sales service, chemical cleaning and solar systems companies. PME offers full after-sales support, and through this centre in Mussafah it supports all of its principals’ products.
In addition, PME has a valve automation centre (VAC), where it can fit valves to actuators, whether it’s a new package or an existing manual package that needs to be automated. “Regarding our facilities in Mussafah, we can accommodate more joint ventures if a new partner wishes to establish a prolific local presence,” Jamal comments. “We will continue to invest into the different lines of business that we have created.”
Providing a high quality of after-sales care is a source of pride for PME and Jamal believes the company has numerous other strengths to draw on. “Our after-sales support is a key asset and very few companies of our size possess this capability. We also have a unique set-up with in-house sales, which tend to an order, while our sales engineers market our principals to the ADNOC group of companies and EPCs. This allows us to share market intelligence and project updates with our various partners.”
Continuing, he adds: “Above all, the success of setting up joint ventures (JVs) is our strong suit – we have averaged one a year for four years. New companies we select to be in our portfolio must be complementary and strengthen PME, so that we can supply a full package to clients. We refer to ourselves as a one-stop shop – the client saves resources by not going to several companies.”
The first JV that PME created was five years ago with a 30-year-old South African company called RRC (Rohr Rein Chemie). “We knew that this market needed a company with a local set up, so we started procedures to form a LLC (limited liability company),” Jamal comments. “We have since completed substantial jobs and have an impressive list of international companies that we have worked with, such as Hyundai, Fluor, Bechtel and Shell, Linde and CCC, in addition to the ADNOC group of companies. We provide pre-commissioning chemical cleaning for boilers, furnaces, and so forth. In most cases we use biodegradable chemicals that won’t harm the soil or surrounding areas.”
PME’s second JV was with Tss4U BV (The Solar Solutions For You), a Dutch company that PME started working with five years ago. Early last year, PME realised that a local facility was required, after it was successful in supplying solar installations to the oil and gas industry. Evidence to that is its winning of a multi-million dollar contract to supply 56 industrial solar systems for ADCO at their SAS development project in the UAE through the EPC contractor Petrofac. The organisation’s third JV was with an Italian family business called Pressbolt SRL, which boasts 40 years of experience. “We are the first company in Abu Dhabi to manufacture different types of fasteners for the oil and gas and petrochemcial industries,” Jamal asserts.
PME’s fourth JV is a marketing JV with Petronash FZE in the UAE. Petronash Oil Field Services LLC is the marketing arm of Petronash FZE, an engineering and manufacturing company specialised in well head control panels, chemical injection skids, process equipment and instrument packages.
Last, but certainly not least, is Automation & Control Industrial Systems (ACIS), one of PME’s trading arms, which specialises in flow control and valves. Jamal adds: “We sensed the need in the market for a company with a special focus on flow control to serve this niche expertly.
“We are currently reviewing opportunities, as there are a couple of companies proposing to set up a JV which will end with a limited liability company (LLC). In all of our JVs, we own 51 per cent and our foreign partners own 49 per cent.”
With Abu Dhabi being a well-established and developed market, clients expect manufacturers that supply products and services to their facilities or plants quickly. “They don’t want to wait four days for an expert to mobilise from Europe or the US,” Jamal explains. “In our set-up, service engineers are trained and certified by vendors, and they are a few hours away from the plants. We look after a client’s interest, in order to provide efficient support when needed.
“Rubbing shoulders with our principals and clients is a good way to become successful and avoid being a sleeping partner, as our principals pay for this service, and it’s an excellent marketing tool as we’re going above and beyond. It creates a level of confidence from clients in terms of purchases and local support is vital when buying equipment.”
Another way in which clients can have faith in PME’s offering is in respect to its commitment to protecting the environment. “As important as having state-of-the-art technologies is striving to have products that are eco-friendly,” Jamal confirms. “In the last two years we have invested heavily in renewable resources, as we are the only company in the UAE that is capable of assembling and integrating industrial solar systems for the oil and gas industry, and this has come out of our JV with Tss4U. We have successfully demonstrated this pioneering system for the first time to the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore operations (ADCO) for their NEB project and it passed the FAT with flying colours.”
While PME has achieved so much since the restructuring in 1999, the organisation isn’t resting on its laurels when it comes to maintaining its standards. Summing up the firm’s vision for the future, Jamal concludes: “We would like to see PME grow and be one of the leading oil field, petrochemical and utilities suppliers in the market. We aim to sustain our annual growth rate and look at serious business partners who are willing to provide local manufacturing and services. Our turnover in five years should be in the region of 50 million euros. The issue of after-sales support is something that definitely interests us and we’ll expand it to other products, as needed.”
The PME Group of Companies
Products Engineering products & services