Recently staff from the Kentz offices in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had the pleasure of meeting the President of Ireland, Mrs. Mary McAleese. She was visiting the Kingdom of Bahrain to meet the Bahraini Prime Minister on an economic co-operation trip.

Mrs. McAleese had a number of other obligations on the trip, namely to open the new Irish Medical College and to attend a function hosted by the Bahrain Irish Society. This function was held at the Ritz Hotel, Bahrain. Kentz has been a huge supporter of all Bahrain Irish Society events in the past and now we have our very own representation on the committee in Brian O'Sullivan, Contracts Manager for Sipchem projects.

Kentz employees attended the event with friends and family. The President addressed the Society members, followed by a photograph session afterwards. Mrs. McAleese also met all the Kentz people that turned out and insisted on getting her photo taken with them!

Everyone who attended the event had a very enjoyable day.

L to R: Mark O'Brien, Mechanical Design Engineer; Joe Walsh, Senior Project Procurement Manager; Joe Cassin, Middle East Regional Project Services Manager; Eddie Cremin, Manager of Construction Projects, Saudi Arabia; Brian Kelly, Sipchem Pipelines and Port Facilities Manager; President Mary McAleese; Martin McAleese; Eamonn O'Hanlon, Group Projects Services Officer; Ronan McHugh, Project Manager; Brian O'Sullivan, Contracts Manager, Sipchem Projects and Brendan Lyons, Kentz Non-Executive Director

The golf society set up by Kentz employees in Ireland, Kentz Engineers Golf Society (KEGS), recently held their third golf outing of 2009 in Tramore Golf Club, Co. Waterford.

Kentz recently ran a successful Frontline Leadership Skills (FLS) course in Dubai. The course is part of the overall Supervisory Management Development Programme (SMDP), which is an 18-24-month programme for young graduates and high-potential employees.

Modules are augmented with sessions on the SMDP process, learning infrastructure
and assessment.

The main objectives are to develop an understanding of the relationship between the frontline leader and Kentz stakeholders, develop effective supervisory practices, and be able to identify and overcome barriers to effective communication.

All the participants in this FLS will complete the SMDP by the end of December 2009.

Front row (L-R): Robert Mullen, Eric Sandelands, Darrell Breaux, Maurice Robson. Back row (L-R): Brian Mannion, Kieran Leahy, Tom Byrne, Keith Fortune, Jimmy Galvin

The course is run over three days and covers the following areas in detail: Is leadership different from management? Core leadership skills Leading people Building your team Coaching your people Delegation Decision-making skills Change at work

On 26th June a housekeeping campaign was organised at the Kentz Pearl GTL Camp in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, between 7 am and 9 am. The campaign, which was inaugurated by Rajan Pillai, Administration Manager, was initiated to emphasise the importance of house-keeping at the camp, at the workplace and how it can help avoid accidents.

A large number of occupants volunteered to participate in the housekeeping activities. Kalesh, Camp Boss, and Radhakrishnan, Camp Administration Assistant, distributed cleaning materials to the volunteers. Different groups were formed and each group was assigned different duties around the camp.

Once everyone was finished a draw was held for the participants where 50 lucky people won various prizes. Those that took part in the campaign expressed their enjoyment and have requested that this be made a monthly event. The camp management would like to thank all participants for their enthusiasm in this campaign and for making it a resounding success.

Kentz South Africa recently sponsored an under-9 soccer team that was involved in a Crusaders tournament at the St. Stitians College in Sandton, South Africa.

The tournament, which consisted of 60 under-9 teams, took place on 31st May and was attended by Daniel Brachner, Marketing Assistant, who came to support the team.

The children were supplied with a brand new kit, which included shirts, shorts, boots, shin pads and socks. Kentz also paid their entrance fee and paid for food for the day and transport to and from the tournament.

The children enjoyed the day immensely, particularly as they won a few games! Every child that participated in the tournament received a medal. It was a great success and we wish the team all the best for the future!

Management and staff from the Kentz offices in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain gathered together on Thursday 4th June to mark the retirement of Sam Dickson. Sam held the position of Project Manager on the Sipchem Acetyls Complex 618 Project in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, up until his retirement. The evening was held at the Upstairs Downstairs restaurant in Bahrain.

Bill Hayes, AA/VAM/U2 Electrical and Instrumentation (E&I) Project Manager, made a speech thanking Sam for his hard work throughout his time with Kentz. Bill also presented Sam with a camera as a farewell gift. Sam in turn thanked everyone.