RAMACHANDRA Karamongikar has been appointed head of ABB’s newly formed electrical systems group within its UK oil, gas and petrochemicals business covering the UK and Caspian regions.

The substantial investments being made in the UK oil and gas arena is driving the need for qualified electrical resources that can safely, competently and efficiently ensure these projects come on stream rapidly.

“This is an ideal opportunity for ABB to cater to this demand in growth by supporting various customers in executing their projects successfully,” says Karamongikar.

“Traditionally customers adopted a piece meal purchase approach. However this huge spurt in growth means that finding good quality resources has become a constraint which is jeopardising the ability of EPCs and customers to deliver quality projects on time. ABB can now act as a single stop shop. With the electrical systems group in place and already well-established ICSS, telecoms and service teams, ABB can now offer complete integrated solutions in power and automation for the oil, gas and petrochemical industry,” he adds.

Karamongikar recently moved to the UK following five-and-a-half years working for ABB in China as a senior sales manager – Large Projects and sales support manager for the Electrification Unit. Karamongikar has around18 years’ experience in the design-bid-build project business, with specific focus on project acquisition and project management within the electrical, instrumentation and automation industries.

His experience across Europe, China and other Asian markets covers oil, gas and petrochemical, mining and material handling, pulp and paper, cement, pelletizing plants and power industries.

ABB aims to service the customer during the complete project life cycle, from conception, Feed, design and engineering, project management, supply and site services.