Rigged for success

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The acquisition of GMMOS Group by private equity leader Abraaj has placed the company in pole position to capitalise on the oil and gas sector's continued growth.

Combine the booming oil and gas industry with the thriving sea freight business and the end result is a pretty powerful combination. Add to this the growth in the number of ships, particularly tankers carrying such cargo, into the region and you can be highly confident of a recipe for success.

For 25 years, Dubai-based GMMOS (Gulf Marine Maintenance and Offshore Service Company) Group has been offering support services to the oil and gas, shipping and construction industries worldwide, and its rapidly expanding shipbuilding and repair business has been steadily growing alongside.

Although much of the group's work focuses on general engineering and fabrication for the oil and gas industry, two of its companies - Grandweld and GMMOSTECH - are dedicated to ship building, repair and conversion.

The former, Grandweld, focuses more on the building and repair of ships to service the oil industry such as tugboats, crewboats, mooring/utility launches, barges, pleasure vessels and other types of vessels.

It is through Grandweld that the group has a huge presence at the government-owned Al Jadaf Ship Docking Yard in Dubai. "The difference between GMMOSTECH and Grandweld is that we do dock the ships at Al Jadaf," says Neil Corbasson, group vice president for business development at GMMOS Group.

"GMMOSTECH doesn't build tankers, because you need a dry dock to do this. Grandweld is more about boats for the offshore business, and GMMOSTECH is more on the tanker side."

GMMOSTECH is focused on providing repair and maintenance services for tankers, gas carriers and dry cargo ships.

With the region experiencing a major increase in the number of bigger vessels, including several new builds in the pipeline, the company's services are well-placed for significant expansion. "GMMOSTECH is a ship repair business and it basically repairs tankers and large vessels," explains Corbasson.

Since the company was formed in 1988, it has steadily established a strong reputation over the past 20 years for providing the fast turnkey response demanded by the region's ship owners.

At the heart of its success lies the understanding and appreciation of customer requirements for a quick turnaround, year-round availability and reliability in terms of its emergency response capability.

The actual work carried out by GMMOSTECH depends largely on what is required by the client.

"We don't do below-sea work. Everything is above water, such as steel works, engine repairs, engine maintenance, electrical work, and conversions," explains Corbasson. "This work is mostly local, covering the different emirates and takes place at anchorage or ports."

With its modern facilities, he is confident that the company is able to respond well to its customer's considerable demands for ship repairs.

As well as its high attention to cost efficiency, the GMMOS Group overall is keen to emphasise the importance of having the highest industry standards in health and safety.

Just last month, it received the Workplace Safety Award 2007 from Dubai Municipality for its achievements in raising standards in health policy, accident prevention, natural resource preservation, and fire and emergency response.

"Health and safety is very important to GMMOS Group," says Corbasson. "Many of our employees have been with us for at least ten years, and we have some who have been here for over 20 years. Our aim as GMMOS Group is to have a zero tolerance regarding safety risks."

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