A.Hak Industrial Services South Africa

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If you’re in the offshore industry, you’ve likely heard of Netherlands-based oil and energy multidisciplinary contracting mega company, A.Hak International. The company dates back to 1963 and has been the driving force behind a colossal number of underground infrastructures, civil engineering and electro-technical installations projects.

Within this conglomerate group is A.Hak Industrial Services; a division made up of around 200 personnel operating from 10 bases: from the head office in Holland, on to Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Arab Emirates, North America, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.

IRJ spoke with Mike Hepworth, General Manager of A.Hak Industrial Services in South Africa, about how the industry differs to Europe’s, and how A.Hak Industrial’s work there has adapted. He also told us about the company’s plans for exciting future development in and around the region.

A.Hak Industrial enters South Africa

A.Hak decided to enter South Africa following the Democratic Rule in 1994. “We decided that the time was right to enter the South African market. We were approached by one of the predominant gas companies, Messer Griesheim, a German industrial gas company,” Hepworth tells IRJ.

“They approached us to form a 50/50 joint venture in South Africa, which we did. About eight years later, Messer Griesheim was taken over by Air Liquide (the French industrial gases group). Air Liquide is the biggest industrial gas company in the world. At that time, it was not strategic to Air Liquide’s plans to be a member of what they classed as the service industry.”

A mutual decision to part ways led to A.Hak’s purchase of Air Liquide’s 40 per cent share, thus creating the independent service company we know today, serving the oil and gas and pipeline industries (both onshore and offshore). The company, based in Johannesburg, splits its services into process and pipeline services, under which various pre-commissioning and shutdown services are offered. “We’ve been in existence in South Africa since 1996 (when we started),” Hepworth says. “We’re the only South African company that’s carrying out these kinds of services.”

Small industry, big services

Hepworth points out that in European countries, for example in Italy, Germany and the UK, there are about 20 refineries; in South Africa there are only four traditional refineries, five if you include Sasol.

“We have to make our revenue sales from a small client base—so we have to be innovative in terms of the kind of services that we offer,” he explains. “The number of services that we offer tends to be much wider spread and more holistic, if you like, than our sister companies in Europe.”

Hepworth says that due to the small number of potential clients that the company has, the team tends to be more focused on developing new services within that client base. “If we had the same approach here in South Africa (as our sister companies in Europe) we would have gone out of business a long time ago. What we try to do is to get to know our clients, and get to know what their problems are, then come up with new services to cater to those service requirements,” he says.
The company services are focused on the pre-commissioning and the shutdown services for topsides such as platforms and FPSO’s (Floating Production Storage Offloading). They also offer some down-hole services which are used for oil well stimulation or well completions where nitrogen is pumped down into the well, to essentially complete it.

“We have the equipment specifically designed and manufactured in the UK for what is classed as oilfield operations,” Hepworth says. “We mobilise our equipment and personnel from South Africa to places like Angola to carry out the services that we normally do.”

A.Hak in SA tomorrow

The company’s long-term goal is extension through organic means by increasing its service range, and increasing its range of customers.“When I say ‘new customers’, I’m talking about customers outside South Africa such as in Angola. I’m not sure that there’s a great deal of scope for increasing the number of customers in South Africa because it’s defined by the industry we are working in and that industry isn’t going to expand,” Hepworth explains.

“By definition we can’t expand our customer base because we’re already servicing all existing customers in South Africa, so we have to look at expanding the number of services and the volume of those services.”

The mobilization of equipment and personnel that Hepworth mentions is exemplified by A.Hak’s part in both the Angola Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project. The project is set for commission in 2012 and requires many of the services A.Hak offers (such as pressure testing), and Total’s Girassol FPSO project off the coast of Angola for which the company provided major nitrogen services.

“There’s always the possibility of expanding outside of South Africa,” Hepworth says. “In the long term we would be looking to set up a base in Angola—in either Soyo or Luanda or Cabinda if the right kind of contracts could be secured within the Angola oil and gas industry.”

A.Hak Industrial Services in South Africa offers a unique and fledgling offshore division for South Africa, in addition to its already established onshore services. The company is realistic about, yet committed to, the finite possibilities for expanding its client base in South Africa, and remains open to growth in both the services offered and locations. The company’s unique mix of parent-company worldwide exposure and support, local knowledge and its ability to retain a grassroots, flexible approach to customers has resulted in 14 years of success. A.Hak Industrial Services in South Africa has certainly struck a perfect balance.

www.ahakbeheer.nl