Temporary power
ACE Power
ACE Power is a provider of temporary power solutions with over 12 years of experience in the power industry in UAE.
It was established in 2002 with some 50 years of combined experience in the diesel generator industry between its founding partners, from their roles across various multinational companies.
ACE’s motto is to generate value for its customers by providing all of the technical capabilities and service support they need to reduce costs and improve their margins, while also looking out for the environment.
A prime example is ACE’s “Power on Demand” initiative where customers benefit from huge saving on fuel consumption by using a diesel generator node size that best fits the customer’s modal load requirement, while catering to peaks in demand with the help of synchronised solutions. The setup incorporates automatic load sharing control and a load-dependent start-stop to optimise both the power generated and the fuel consumed by the diesel generator combination.
The system can reduce total fuel consumption by 30% to 40%.
With ACE’s Power on Demand system, when the power demand on a lone generator reaches 60%-70%, a second generator comes online, and when their total output reaches 60-70%, a third generator comes online.
Boben Mathew, GM at ACE Power, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Aurangabad University as well as a Post Graduate Diploma in International Trade, and has worked with companies like Atlas Copco, Manlift and world’s largest temporary power provider Aggreko in the Middle East and India.
Mathew notes: “Generator sizing is mainly based on our past experience of previous sites where, in many cases, we have come across diesel generators that are running at partial or low loads and sometimes even less than 30% of its rated capacities. This is unsafe for the diesel generators and results in unnecessarily high energy costs and emissions.”
Heavy equipment
Al Maysan Heavy Equipment
Though relatively new to the equipment rental sector in Qatar, Al Maysan Heavy Equipment is nevertheless, making its mark in the country.
As cash flow issues increasingly drive main contractors in Qatar toward equipment rental solutions as a means of maintaining liquidity, Al Maysan, as part of the Jaidah Group, is capitalising on the company’s long-standing relationships with global heavy equipment and commercial vehicles manufacturers including Komatsu, Bobcat, UD Trucks, Sany, Isuzu and Palfinger.
Over the past three months the company has added about 30 pieces of equipment to its fleet and Amr Shehata, operations director, Al Maysan Heavy Equipment notes: “We expect to reach 60 by mid-2017, as we have a three-year plan to grow our fleet to between 200-250 pieces of equipment, with the intention of catering to a wider customer base.”
Eyeing the market, Shehata notes: “We only started the division in February 2016, so most orders are for immediate or short term leasing, but the market looks good right now and we have many orders coming down the line.”
Al Maysan states that project delays are also driving in the growth of the equipment rentals market and that purchase equipment decisions in Qatar have decreased by more than 60%, while rental demand has increased by 70%
Shehata notes: “It became easier and more convenient for contractors to rent their needs from equipment and material handling than to own, within the current market situation.”
And for its part Al Maysan is set up and ready to meet them.
Temporary power
Atlas Copco Rental
As a trusted partner of oil and gas, petrochemical and power sector players within the region, Atlas Copco provides a full range of rental solutions consisting of oil-free compressors, oil-lubricated compressors, air treatment equipment, nitrogen generators, power generators, steam generators, off-shore equipment and accessories.
Atlas Copco Rental (ASR) delivers temporary industrial air and power supply solutions that minimise downtime and maximise production. For short or long-term demands, planned contingencies or unexpected emergencies, its Specialty Rental division is on hand in the Middle East to provide the most cost- and energy-efficient 24/7 solutions.
A key product is its oil-free flow and pressure ranges up to 1,600 CFM at 10 bar with the Atlas Copco PTS 916, and up to 25 bar with the PNS 1250, as well as a complete range of electrical-driven 100% oil-free air compressors.
Through focusing on delivering oil-free, high pressure energy-saving and other compressed air applications, ASR has expanded both its fleet and its workforce — which grew by 30% — over the last five years, Atlas Copco was the first compressor manufacturer to offer Class 0 ISO 8573-1 certified oil-free air that eliminates all risk of contamination by oil.
This industry benchmark is trusted in applications from oil and gas through to food and beverage processing, and is used in the chemical and petrochemical processing, electronics manufacturing and medical sectors.
In 2016, Atlas Copco Rental launched the PTS 800, a portable, diesel-driven 100% oil-free air compressor to complete its range of the oil-free electrical and diesel-driven air compressors at the lower end. A solution for smaller air needs, or where space and lifting capabilities are limited, the PTS 800 delivers a maximum flow of 800 CFM at 10 bar.
Atlas Copco’s factory-trained engineers work with its customers to design the most suitable temporary installations, including, if needed, all accessories as part of a turnkey solution. The quality of its service, safety and environmental custodianship is guaranteed by its Triple ISO certification — an industry first.
The business’ global network includes 12 rental depots located throughout the Middle East, working through Atlas Copco service centres or through its authorised distributors. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the rental business in the region is led by regional general manager Eng. Akram Tamari, who together with the management team handles operations across the Middle East and North Africa.
Tamari notes: “At Atlas Copco we are committed to providing its customers and business partners with sustainable productivity. Our Specialty Rental division epitomises this ethos by optimising resources and providing its clients with short- or long-term air and power solutions which are both cost and energy efficient. No matter what the compressed air needs, big or small, Atlas Copco has the solution.”
As a group, Atlas Copco is a world-leading provider of sustainable productivity solutions. It serves customers with compressors, vacuum solutions and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems.
Atlas Copco’s Construction Technique division also provides construction and demolition tools, portable compressors, pumps, generators and lighting towers. This unit offers speciality rental and provides service for sustainable productivity in civil works, oil and gas, energy and drilling through a global network.
Founded in 1873 and based in Stockholm, Atlas Copco employees 45,000 people across 180 countries, and in 2016, the group reported revenues of $11.5bn.
Temporary power
Byrne Equipment Rental
Byrne Equipment Rental has been a driving force in the development of the region’s equipment rental market for many years and has a diverse fleets of plant and equipment.
Founded in the UAE in the early 1990’s in Dubai, Byrne today employs over 800 people with a geographical footprint that extends across 13 operational depots across UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and plans are afoot to grow this to a total of 18 depots in Saudi, Oman and Bahrain in the course of 2017.
Today, Byrne’s business focuses on a rental market serving a wide range of industries, including the construction, oil and gas, manufacturing, facilities management and events sectors.
It has a fleet of over 8,000 items of plant and equipment, including power generators, air compressors, welding equipment, and plant, alongside a vast and varied fleet of modular buildings.
Byrne today represents the preferred solution for many customers in the industries it serves, and sees the provision of quality and service as fundamental growth and development. The firm believes that it is its people and standards of service that set it apart from the competition.
Pat Fallon, the group’s chief operating officer, has been associated with Byrne since its inception. After joining the company in 1994 as business development manager, he went on to become general manager in 1996 and group general manager in 2000 as the company expanded into Qatar and KSA before finally being appointed COO in 2008.
Fallon, notes “Byrne never made any secret of its ambition to be the largest equipment rental and lease organisation in the GCC. Doing this means being ready to offer solutions to any industry with any equipment as and when required.”
Byrne has most recently expanded its fleet with industrial forklifts and AWPs, and a wide range of hoists and mast climbing platforms from Alimak HEK.
Byrne has also driven growth with its blast resistant modular buildings — manufacturing them in-house in the GCC for the first time — for the oil and gas industry, making Byrne a uniquely GCC end-to-end solutions provider.
General equipment
Machinery Rental Alternatives
Machinery Rental Alternatives or Ejar, and formerly Zahid Tractor’s Rental Division, was est-ablished in 2015 to provide customers with short and medium term rental solutions. Its fleet is comprised of an array of products including air compressors, generator sets, trucks, lift trucks, access platforms, piling rigs, cranes and welding machines. Ejar’s stated intention is to offer affordable, turnkey solutions for everyday rental needs.
Zahid Tractor’s Rental Division was originally established in 1982 and pioneered the concept of renting equipment in Saudi Arabia. After years of continued growth and an expanding product line, the decision was made to spin off the rental division as an independent company, Ejar, to focus solely on the thriving rental industry and enhance the customer experience.
Abdullah A. Hanafy, managing director at Ejar, explains: “We started with a handful of employees working out of one branch. Today we have close to 300 employees and several strategically located branches throughout the Kingdom.”
The company shares the commitment as its parent organisation, the Zahid Group, to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. “Through the Zahid Learning Institute, we offer extensive training, including specifically designed Saudisation programmes aimed at unlocking the full potential of the next generation,” says Amr M Khashoggi, Zahid Group vice president for HR and group affairs. “We hire and develop local talent so that they have the necessary skills and experience to become productive members of the workforce.”
Headquartered in Jeddah, the Zahid Group is led by a family whose commercial roots date back over a century.
Powered access
Manlift
Manlift Group is a Dubai-headquartered organisation specialised in the rental and sale of aerial work platforms. Established in 2006 Manlift has steadily grown into a market leader operating from five depots across the Middle East and Asia, and representing major manufacturers from the US and Europe including JLG, Genie and Teupen.
Deploying fleet of more than 2,200 certified aerial work platforms ranging from self-propelled boom lifts with working heights up to 58m and battery and bi-energy powered access platforms, to spiders and low level access platforms, the reach of Manlift product offerings captures business in the construction, facilities management, logistics, oil and gas, public transport and events sectors.
The company has certified training centres in the UAE, Qatar and India, accredited by IPAF, and has recently invested in its first bilingual instructor (English and Hindi) in Qatar.
Manlift has also improved its internal processes with the implementation of a new ERP and CRM system, and has relaunched its website as of April 2017 with an improved user interface to further its vision of delivering a superior customer experience.
Manlift has also introduced a ‘Manlift Way’ lean management programme based on Kaizen principles that will be rolled out in across all of its country level operations by the end of 2017.
David King, managing director for Middle East & Asia, notes: “As part of this Manlift Way, we constantly monitor and improve key performance indicators across in order to continuously improve the quality of service we deliver to the customer.”
Manlift is also leading the implementation of GPS-based track and trace systems in the region, in conjunction with RFID systems, to prevent unauthorised access to its rental machines.
The business also recently imported six of the world’s largest access platforms: 58m-high JLG 1850SJP telescopic boom lifts, to support work on projects including the Midfield Terminal Building at Abu Dhabi Airport.
Manlift has also done custom work converting diesel booms into electric booms and developed a battery change system to increase electric lift uptime.
In Qatar, where Manlift has been present since 2009, it has more than 400 machines, and has plans to grow the fleet ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Tower cranes
NFT Specialized in Tower Cranes
NFT has been in business for the past 35 years and today has 1,000 employees worldwide, operating in 32 countries, from every nation in the GCC through to the United Kingdom, Lebanon, India, Iraq, Jordan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Australia and Canada.
To this day, NFT continues to participate in many of the region’s most prestigious projects and at present, the support of construction in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia still constitutes the bulk of NFT’s operations.
NFT is led by Nabil Al Zahlawi, the company’s founder, CEO and managing partner, who across his career has faced off three worldwide economic recessions, all the while growing the business and gaining market share with a view to worldwide expansion. He has previously expressed: “We go wherever demand goes; a crane moves without a passport.”
This year, a significant development for NFT has been the acquisition of a 300,000m2 yard in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi.
Over the course of a year, NFT has shipped all of its products to the new yard, which is now 80% allocated to NFT’s stock.
NFT’s entire inventory has now been codified by a reference software to immediately locate any inventory across the space.
NFT’s database, which can also be referenced by customers, holds 1,101 Potain tower cranes.
The business has separately established a workshop at the yard for reconditioning cranes, with an assembly line of step by step processes, from testing and electrical work through to welding up and painting.
NFT has also established an office in Kuwait, having increased its market share in tower cranes the country from 1% in 2014 to around 30-45% in 2016. NFT Kuwait has more than 40 tower cranes erected today and aims to double this by mid-2017.
Powered access
Rapid Access
Established in 1996 as part of the UK-headquartered Lavendon Group, Rapid Access operates businesses in the UK, Germany, Belgium, France and Middle East, and a fleet of more than 21,000 units.
Having grown in the region over the last 20 years from a single depot in the UAE to over nine depots across the GCC with more than 350 employees, Rapid is today also one of the leading providers of powered access solutions in the Middle East.
The company owns the largest fleet of aerial work platforms with over 4,000 machines and adds more each year to support the growing demands of safe work at height in the region. Alongside the rental and sales of aerial work platforms, it is one of the few suppliers to provide internationally developed training courses from safety bodies including IPAF, PASMA and Highfield. In 2016, Rapid contributed to the issuance of 60% of all IPAF operator licenses in the region.
The current head of the regional operation is Paul Rankin, now managing director since March 2014. Prior to his appointment, Rankin spent 10 years working with Johnson Controls where he served as regional executive director and was responsible for the UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait markets.
Under Rankin’s leadership, Rapid has seen tremendous growth in KSA and UAE. It is currently set to increase its fleet size in Qatar in response to the growing demand associated with the Doha Metro and various World Cup 2022 related projects. In years to come, Rankin also expects to see the AWP industry develop considerably in other parts of Middle East and Africa.
Supporting the region’s developing health and safety culture, Rapid Access is one of the companies at the cutting edge of industry best practice, and is continuously delivering new products and services.
Rapid Access is the only supplier of the Lavendon Group’s BlueSky safety solutions for work at height. Thanks to the recent mandate from Saudi Aramco for the use secondary guarding in all its projects in KSA, there has been a massive spike in demand for SkySiren and SkySentry.
The company is now trialling its latest product, SkySiren PCS, on several sites in the UAE and is set to launch it later in 2017.
Temporary power
Rental Solutions & Services (RSS)
Rental Solutions & Services (RSS) is a temporary power and cooling rental solutions provider in the Middle East. Founded in Dubai in 2007, it has a decade of experience working in a range of industries requiring temporary power and cooling in the GCC and beyond.
The Dubai-based company has offices across the GCC, including in Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, from which it provides engineered solutions to sectors such as construction, shipping, manufacturing, oil and gas, and most recently, events.
Providing temporary power solutions for single-site projects and entire cities alike, the company’s complete package of temporary power, refrigeration, temperature control and district cooling solutions make RSS a one-stop-shop for its customers.
The 150-strong RSS team is led by managing director Stewart Murray, who brings with him more than 25 years’ international executive management experience in industries including utilities, health and safety, and financial and private equity.
As RSS enters its second decade, Murray is committed to driving company growth in new and existing sectors, and particularly through its temporary power division. Over the past six months, he has led the restructuring of the company to help RSS achieve this goal, with a new management team in place set to build upon the company’s reputation for superior customer care and increase its market reach.
This year, RSS has invested heavily in a new fleet of generators to enable the team to serve more clients in more sectors, and the Middle East’s events industry is a key target area. With temporary power and cooling solutions that can be installed for as little as 24 hours, RSS is positioned to provide essential support to a wide range of events.
The RSS fleet is of rental specification, with acoustically sound-proofed canopies and containerised generators. It includes generators with a capacity of 30kVA to 1,250kVA and double-bunded fuel tanks — with 1,000 gallon to 5,000 gallon capacities, transformers, load banks and HV/LV switchgear.
The equipment is among the best in the market, with RSS committed to international standards of quality, health, safety and education. The company also offers customised HVAC maintenance programmes and rapid response to emergency breakdowns, with round-the-clock customer service and technicians on the ground to support clients when they need it most.
The customer lies at the heart of the RSS, which drives its success from the inside out with a people-powered philosophy.
Commenting on its outlook for 2017, Murray says: “At RSS, we have a dynamic new management team that is committed to adding value to the business, its customers and its employees. For us, the philosophy behind this growth is simple: ‘Employ great people to deliver great service’.
“Together, we have a shared goal to deliver the highest quality solutions and services in the marketplace. Our technicians take pride in their work and are the best in the business, able to advise customers on the bespoke solutions for their needs.
“From these strong foundations, we are now excited to enter our next phase of growth, with ambitious yet achievable plans to increase our market share and drive returns for our shareholders. We have laid the groundwork for this expansion, with a multi-million-dollar investment in our new fleet, and the recruitment of new operations and sales managers with a wealth of experience in the industry and the region. With this in place, we are looking forward to supporting new and existing clients to achieve their business goals in the year ahead.”
Powered access
United Gulf
United Gulf Equipment Rentals is a Sharjah-based business formed 16 years ago. Over the years, the company has formed several strategic alliances with a range of OEMs and equipment vendors and is today a dealer for the Haulotte Group, Combilift, CO.ME.T, Luxtower and Palazzani.
Together, these partnerships have played a major role in transforming United Gulf into a trusted regional brand.
Ever since its inception in 2001, United Gulf has been driven to excel and exceed its own customers’ expectations, according to the team, which has a mantra: “Deliver Excellence; Share Success” that invokes its mission to surpass itself through sheer determination and commitment to excellence.
They say: “Our customers rely on our expertise in renting safe and efficient equipment in optimum running condition. This, in turn, enables our customers to focus on their own core competency: a win-win proposition powered by our routine service and 24×7 preventive maintenance.”
United Gulf Group has a geographically diverse customer base, spread across the MENA region with a strong presence in UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
