Vision 2030 is pulling the manufacturing assembly into the kingdom. It provides AYTB many opportunities. As manufacturing moves inside the kingdom, it helps the firm partner, expand its services, and also possibly export to other GCC countries

Al-Yusr Industrial Contracting Company (AYTB), a leading provider of a diversified range of specialist engineering, contracting and logistical support services to the oil, gas and industrial sectors of Saudi Arabia, sees huge growth opportunities in the kingdom.

"We are already in Yanbu and in Rabigh as well, thereby flagging our presence in the Western Region. If the opportunity arises we are looking at setting up a facility at Ras El Khair, where we have received an offer for land from the Royal commission," says Kevin John Hudson, AYTB CEO.

Although the GCC provides a lot of opportunities, AYTB prefers to make use of the prospects in Saudi Arabia and expand in-kingdom rather than move out.

Jubail-headquartered AYTB has been an integral part of the industrial landscape of Saudi Arabia for more than 35 years.

"We see that Saudi Arabia still provides opportunities for the skills and services we at AYTB can deliver. We see expansion inside the kingdom. There is the Vision 2030 shaping the Saudi economy; add to it the immense reserves Saudi Arabia possesses, we see a lot of opportunities in the kingdom," Hudson says in an interview with OGN.

AYTB has formed a company called Masdar, which is a joint venture between AYTB and Dar al Riyadh. The company aims at providing resource personnel at all levels -- from domestic to skilled and technical people.

"We will offer services across the kingdom from 26 locations. AYTB will provide housing and catering to the joint venture, which will expand the footprint of the company outside Jubail and across the kingdom," he says.

About Saudi Vision 2030, he says: "If we have to talk about the generation move, in the past, the approach was that you produce outside the kingdom and we will help you sell and market the product. Vision 2030 is pulling the manufacturing assembly into the kingdom. It provides us many opportunities. As manufacturing moves inside the kingdom, it helps us partner, expand our services, and also possibly export to other GCC countries."

AYTB will contribute towards the success of the Vision by providing skilled labour. It is a big effort to bring skilled people and investors to the kingdom, he says.

AYTB has a collaboration with a company called Manoir Industries, which provides tubes for ethylene cracker furnaces and reformers. It is highly specialised chemistry, which only three to four companies in the world are capable of doing, he says.

Hudson says the tie-up with Manoir Industries brings the assembly of inside the kingdom rather than outside it, which in turn translates to jobs for the people.

AYTB also provides services to the majority of the Sabic facilities in Jubail and Yanbu. "We currently employ over 2,300 personnel alone in our Operation & Maintenance division. I think we are established significantly in Jubail, Yanbu and Rabigh," he says.

On the impact of falling oil prices on the company, he says since AYTB is in the ‘operation and maintenance’ business its contracts range from 3 to 10 years and into which there is adequate protection against inflation. Effectively that has helped the company during the fall. The prices were agreed before the dip in oil price. "(In our contracts) we don’t go for spot pricing. Therefore, we have to average the price out over 10 years," explains Hudson.

But for AYTB’s construction and fabrication division, there is no doubt the prices are tight and competition is getting tough, he says.

"We also see people in the construction industry coming into the operation and maintenance business. And obviously if your supply is greater than demand, prices will tighten," he says.

Most of company’s own clients recognise that their business with AYTB is a "value for money proposition" as opposed to how much one pays. However, competition always makes the prices tight. The company’s construction and fabrication division have had a busy year in 2016 and hopes to be busy through 2017.

"During the crisis we have done lot of things internally. We did not sit back and say ‘Ah well the world is hard. Margins are going to drop’. We actually set up process procedures to keep our costs low to keep ourselves competitive in the market," says Hudson.

Internally, the company also introduced a strategic management system in 2016. "It’s about an involvement, it’s about communication, it’s about setting clear strategies and it’s about having clear resource initiatives," he says.

As Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. "So if you want to do things differently you have to make the difference. So you have to sit and understand clearly what you want.

The next objective is to identify where you want to be. Then, have clear, defined parameters to measure attainment of that goal. If you have clearly written, charted initiatives and full resources, you will get there with hard work," Hudson adds.