R & M Wholesale Electric is set to revolutionise the distribution and supply of electrical equipment to major oil and gas projects in the region.

R & M Wholesale Electric is a full-fledged joint venture between the UK’s R & M Electrical and Wholesale Electric Supply of the US, combining the geographic strengths and capabilities of two of the world’s best electrical distributors to offer a service and capability that is unique in the Middle East if not the world.
Wholesale Electric Supply, based in Houston, is a $300 million turnover company with significant influence in the Americas and amongst the major oil and gas players that generally follow the US National Electrical Code (NEC) standards; R & M Electrical, being based in Europe, follows the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) standards and is itself a $100 million business based in Southampton, UK.
Each company brings an impressive list of principals and vendors to the party.
For the first time a single company can offer equipment and consumables that will match the requirements of any major oil and gas project in this area, whether it be specified to US standards such as those undertaken by the likes of Bechtel, Fluor Daniel and Foster Wheeler or EU Standards such as are applied by Shell, says R & M Electrical Middle East’s regional director Jim Graham.
But the synergy between the two joint venture partners goes deeper than a match between products and standards: each is a family controlled business, with the commitment to integrity, quality of service technical expertise and continuity that cannot be matched by local agents, he says.
“We aim to bring a new level of customer service to the region based on quality driven expertise to the international firms that are operating here,” Graham says. 
So how will it work? R& M Wholesale Electric will act as a conduit for oil and gas projects negotiated in the partners’ respective head offices thus offering project managers working for international oil and gas majors a local contact that is completely in tune with the major equipment vendors and their own engineering and project directors who may be thousands of miles and several time zones away.
“We will be available – and will work – 24/7 for our clients,” says Graham.
“We will also bring an international level of professionalism that other regional distributors will find hard to match.”
It also means that with the financial wherewithal that the two companies offer, the joint venture can undertake significant projects and give the majors the assurance that they are backed by two of the best in the business.
The bedrock of this service is the quality of product and service: R & M Wholesale Electric offers its customers solutions based on the best quality and value for money rather than the cheapest price.
With 20 years’ experience both in construction and, more specifically, the oil and gas business in the region it disturbs Graham that many projects are delayed due to the lead-time in supply for projects.
“A multi-million dollar project can be delayed by the smallest item that has been overlooked in the purchasing process. We aim to change that,” he says.
So Graham will provide a WE Store at its Dubai facility – offering high quality components off the shelf.
“I like the name – I’m a Scot so WE Store is just a wee store!” he says.
But the facility won’t be “wee” and will eventually carry a considerable inventory of those essential elements that can delay a project – cables and ties, components, switch gear and boxes and the like.
Procurement managers will now be able to access the WE Store via the internet and order these items either through their company’s account or even with a credit card purchase.
Graham also plans to install a workshop in his Dubai facility: R & M in the UK has a dedicated in-house assembly/engineering department that is licensed to drill and populate hazardous area and industrial junction boxes including the assembly of distribution boards and control stations – which he intends to replicate while looking for other opportunities to add value to the services R & M Wholesale Electric will provide.
The joint venture will also introduce  the internet-based construction materials management system (CMMS) concept, pioneered by Wholesale Electric Supply, which provides a complete materials management system and services system designed to reduce the total installed cost of a project by focusing on productivity and the continuous improvement of the process steps associated with the project.
CMMS links engineering, purchasing, construction, accounting, vendors and other critical functions to manage the procurement, warehousing, delivery and reporting of materials for construction projects worldwide.
In fact, the term ‘construction materials management system’ was coined by Wholesale Electric and has become an industry term for material management, Graham says.
CMMS creates a project specific catalogue ensuring that the same material will be used throughout the project and establishing the common link for engineering, procurement, accounting, construction and the CMMS system itself. This avoids designing in long lead-time items and reduces the number of specialty or non-stock items required.
R & M Wholesale Electric recognises that the profi- tability and success of a project hinges on having the right materials available in the correct quantities when they are needed.
Within the partners and, more importantly, on the ground in the Middle East, the joint venture can apply a combination of field construction experience and product knowledge to major oil and gas projects to advise its clients.
CMMS gives project and procurement managers secure accurate and detailed data on take-offs via the Internet.
In particular, careful attention is directed to speciality, non-stock materials, helping the project avoid the liability of too much surplus, while facilitating project reporting and accounting by tracking material.
Thus contractors can schedule material deliveries in work packages when and where they are needed.
Graham intends that CMMS system will be further enhanced by the supply of commodity materials provided by R & M Wholesale Electric from warehouses and storage close to or even on site for major projects.
Thus real-time, any-time access to the project fi e is available via the Internet, making global project management easier and more efficient.
The system identifies and records last minute substitutions or changes immediately and provides computer-generated reports on demand as CMMS’s configurable components allow customers to tailor the system to fit specific project and reporting requirements.
So far R & M Wholesale Electric has already secured new business in Qatar and Oman as well as the UAE and has high hopes of securing new business in Saudi Arabia and the Northern Gulf states.