The Proclad Group, a leading global precision engineering, manufacturing and service provider for the oil and gas and petrochemical industries, is to set up a new company to boost research and development.

Past successes from path-breaking technologies introduced by its existing research unit are also encouraging the group to push for further expansion.
Proclad will add the new firm to its portfolio next year, said its CEO Yaseen Jaffer.
“We are going to form a company to host research and development activity, that’s the plan for 2008,” he added.
“We have some major multinational companies who are encouraging us and want to participate,” said the CEO.
The new company will be wholly owned by Proclad and is expected to form around the second quarter of next year.
The group, with major facilities in Abu Dhabi, Singapore and in Scotland, provides CRA cladding, oil tools and other services to the oil and gas industry.
“Our last two project bids were won based on our advanced technology,” said Jaffer. “Customers see the benefit of this technology in the lead time for delivery, cost and quality improvement.”
Proclad currently has three people working full-time in research and development, but engineers from all of its sites contribute to the pool of ideas the company draws on.
Jaffer said Proclad planned to introduce two or three more new techniques to customers at the end of this year.
“We have a dedicated team of engineers who have been in the industry for a very long time, most based in Scotland, where our research and development (R&D) centre is,” added Jaffer.
He said Proclad is always looking for a technology edge. “We have a think-tank process and we take suggestions from our shop floor. You always need to be ahead of your competition and continue to improve your processes. Research and development is a trial process, every year we invest more than our initial budget: We used $1.7 million last year, after budgeting $1 million.”
Proclad Group also has other plans for expansion, which include a new facility in Kuwait next month, Dubai in the first quarter of next year and further plans for North Africa and Saudi Arabia.
It has five major projects ongoing at present, spread through Southeast Asia, the Gulf region and some of the former Soviet republics. It is expecting $200 million turnover this year.
Proclad aims to increase its turnover through a unique technology invention that will see production double this year.
At the group’s global annual sales and strategy meeting held in Dubai for the first time, Jaffer said the group’s in-house research and development wing in Scotland and Singapore had invented new advanced technologies last year that had greatly improved the efficiency and quality of Proclad’s products, benefiting its blue-chip customers and eventually the entire industry in both upstream and downstream sectors.
“These technologies are path-breaking in the oil and gas industry and we expect our turnover to double this year due to highly reduced production time to stay ahead of the expected growth in the regional oil and gas industry.”
Proclad currently provides a full range of technologies, products and services, including manufacturing of weld clad pipe and pipeline components, induction bending of unclad and cladpipe, forged standard and clad fittings and specialist CNC machining services, engineering design, project management and consultancy.
With manufacturing facilities in Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific and supported by a global network of sales offices staffed by experienced managers and engineers, Proclad is, in terms of capacity, the largest pipe cladding company in the world and is expected to retain that position due to increased turnover this year.
The sales and strategy meeting saw 12 of Proclad Group’s senior executives deliberate industry standards, global demand, market reviews, products, agents, projects and territories group sales figures, new deals and factories and the strategy forward for a new market approach in 2007-2008.
“By adopting new advanced technologies Proclad can now focus on new territories like West Africa, Latin America and CIS Countries – areas burgeoning in oil and gas exploration, drilling and production,” said Jaffer.
“The strategy meeting in Dubai – traditionally held at the UK headquarters – is a forerunner to Proclad’s operational headquarters moving to the Middle East due to the increasing role this region plays in global opinion and decision-making.”
“Forty per cent of our revenues come from the Middle East region,” he added.
Proclad’s Dh800 million ($217.8 million) manufacturing complex of excellence under construction at Dubai Techno Park is a reflection of that change within the group.
“The Techno Park complex being developed across one million square feet is expected to be fully complete by 2007 and will house more than 300 employees, including scientists, consultants, engineers and technicians. We will have the capacity to produce over 400 km of pipes with diameters ranging between four and 20 inches,” said Jaffer.
Wholly-owned by the National Industries (NI) Group of Kuwait – which is publicly quoted on the Kuwaiti Stock Exchange – Proclad is backed by a group that has an excellent financial track record, the result of sound business strategy and planning, and a reputation for innovation and excellence.
The NI Group is also the leading industrial group in Kuwait outside the oil sector and the second largest industrial company in the Middle East.
Proclad’s clients comprise a host of blue-chip clients including Adnoc Group, Saudi Aramco, BP, McDermott, Shell, RasGas, Statoil, Technip, FMC, KOP, ABB Vetco Gray and Cooper Cameron. All Proclad manufacturing sites are ISO 9001-2000, ISO 9002, API 5LD, API 6A, API 7, API 16, ASME U, ASME U2 and National Board R stamp accredited and approved and also hold many major customer approvals.