Celebrate St. Valentine’s Day

L-R: Dave Amos, Shane Kelly, Colm Coyle, Killian Coleman, Isidro Tabacug

Kentz in Qatar is defying the economic downturn and is having to expand the size of the office due to an increasing workload. This growth has been supported by the advent of the new Global Business Units and Qatar is one of the engineering centres of excellence.

With many pre-qualifications and proposals for our worldwide offices such as Australia, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia being executed out of the Doha office, the proposals and engineering departments are increasing their numbers of staff.

The changes were completed towards the end of February and on completion there was an additional 30 desks to allow for the new staff.

Killian Coleman, Project Engineer, took on the role of Superintendent of the restructure and, together with Martin Walsh, Country Manager, ensured a very smooth and undisruptive office expansion.

Thanks to both of them and everyone else involved in making the Qatar office bigger and better!

Kentz staff were out in full force to support their fellow Irishman Damien McGrane at the Qatar Masters which was held at the Doha Golf Club from 22nd–24th January. Clients and staff enjoyed a very exciting tournament and followed McGrane closely. At the end of round three he had a score of -8, which was nothing to be sniffed at as it meant he was sitting at about 15th on the leader board.
		L-R: Bob Greaney, Alan McFadden, Noel Kelly, Damien McGrane and Chris O’Connor

Kentz would like to congratulate Damien on a job very well done and we look forward to seeing him at the Qatar Masters again next year.

The third and final workshop for the Executive Diploma in Leadership Management (EDipLM) Group 4 was held in Bahrain from 18th-21st February 2009. This workshop concentrated on

The learning process used overall was one of “action learning”. This allowed participants to discuss their own experiences as well as the content delivered. Discussion was facilitated within the group learning process because the attendees, coming from different functional responsibilities and locations, have very different viewpoints and experiences which needed to be discused.

		Donal O’Neill, Group Talent Manager, delivered a section on the Kentz training initiatives that are underway. He also covered possible development paths which the attendees could follow over the next few years as they progress their careers in Kentz.
		L-R: Dino Maltezakis, Dominic Botha, Darren Ivers and Joe Golden

Saudi Arabian Kentz entered a new era earlier this month with the unveiling of its office in Al- Khobar. Hugh O’Donnell, Chief Executive Officer, attended the opening ceremony along with Seamus Malynn, Engineering Centre of Excellence Manager for Saudi Arabia, and a number of local employees.

It took 25 years to get the Company so well established in such a harsh market and it’s a great credit to all involved down through the years. Going forward with the right mix of youth and experience the Kentz team aims to keep going from strength to strength.

		Kentz Engineering International Ltd (KEIL) Saudi Arabia has been in partnership with the Gulf Consult (GC) for the past 12 years. Both companies have developed a very strong working relationship and have earned a very good reputation in Saudi Arabia among the petrochemical and oil & gas companies. They have, for the past seven years, provided engineering services to the Royal Commission of Jubail for the development of the infrastructure and services for the Jubail II Industrial City. Jubail Industrial City when finished will be the largest industrial city in the world.
Hugh and Seamus opening the office
In his opening remarks Seamus stressed the importance of working with a spirit of co-operation and open communication and this is reflected in the great optimism for the future that is evident throughout the new office. He thanked Mr. Ali Al-Harbi from GC for his co-operation and goodwill over the past 12 years.

The building, the construction of which was orchestrated by Seamus Malynn and Denis Prior, Middle East Regional Procurement Manager, presently houses approximately 170 engineering staff. It is fitted out with state-of-the-art computer systems and servers. It is designed to meet the needs of clients and to support Kentz’s Global Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) Business Unit. An underground car park also forms part of the structure. The office was designed to accommodate 250 staff in total and has a separate office for client staff.

Congratulations to all those involved in this project!