In a free-wheeling interview, Colin Fountain, Managing Director at Bauer Kompressoren GCC, talks about the company’s regional growth prospects and how the global manufacturer of high-pressure reciprocating compressors is taking a mature product to the next level of innovation.
Bauer Kompressoren has had a presence in the Middle East for 11 years now, having opened its regional hub in Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai in 2006. The company has long been recognized as the global leader in the manufacture of high-pressure compressors, and it established its Dubai facility to support its existing business and open new frontiers in the region.
Bauer Kompressoren GCC responds to a range of sectors in the region, although it is devoting a special attention to ramping up its offering to industries such oil & gas, petrochemical, energy & water, automotive, and chemical. Notably, the company has a significant market share in the Middle East’s natural gas industry, providing tailored products for compressing natural gas for refueling CNG vehicles and supplying to engine test benches.
Regional Growth Prospects
Despite the recent economic slowdown, Bauer still sees long-term growth opportunities in the Middle East and continues to invest in expanding its presence in the region. The company, for instance is planning to establish an operation in Saudi Arabia, where the company attributes a big part of its regional business. Being in the Middle East, the majority of Bauer Kompressoren GCC’s products are geared towards oil & gas installations or support services to oil & gas facilities. “The oil & gas segment of our business peaked in around 2014, and was in decline in 2015 and 2016. We’ve halted that decline in 2017, and now we are seeing a slow recovery in the oil & gas industry.”
Fountain is optimistic that as the demand for oil grows, its prices will proportionally increase, giving rise to new requirements to drill for new wells. This, in turn, will open new opportunities for business for Bauer. “We are happy to see that the price of oil has stabilized at around US$ 50 a barrel. We wait with anticipation for the next OPEC meeting to see what happens on production levels. We are hoping to see that the existing freeze is maintained, possibly even production or output cuts, which would drive the oil prices to start to grow again.”
Investing in Innovation
Being a mature product, high-pressure reciprocating compressors present limited opportunities for further development. Bauer, however, has made considerable progress in making its products more accessible and user-friendly for the new generation of engineers and operators.
“Most of the innovation in our products come from the area of controls and human interface – how people using the machines can interact with them.” Fountain shares that Bauer has updated the displays in its products to touch-screens, paving the way for an easier and more intuitive operation.
“We are also making our machines Internet-connected. We are trying to develop more products for industrial applications, making them more user-friendly and more connected to the modern technologies so that they can be operated, reviewed and monitored from remote areas.”
“The foundation of our company is breathing air and, as such, it will remain to be a vital part of our business.” Bauer has recently unveiled breathing air products with in-built online air quality monitoring. The new product also features a safety interlock system that switches the machine off in the event that it detects contaminants in the air.
Client Support
A large part of Bauer’s products available in the Middle East are sold through channel partners. As such, the company ensures that its partners receive the same level of training offered to in-house personnel. “We have a certification program for our partners to make sure that they are offering relevant, up-to-date and efficient after-sales services to our clients.”
For industrial products, Bauer deals directly with the end-users. The company’s engineers are available for the installation of the product, and for the set-up and start-up. Bauer also offers annual maintenance contracts to customers for routine maintenance. “Our in-house engineers are always available for any unlikely major breakdowns on the product. We readily provide spare parts and manpower to keep downtime to an absolute minimum.”
Supporting CNG’s Growth as Fuel for Vehicles
Over the last 40 years, Bauer has been a major player in the compressed natural gas industry. Bauer is actively supporting the UAE’s initiative to promote compressed natural gas (CNG) as a viable alternative fuel for vehicles. The company supplied its high-pressure compressors to 34 CNG fueling stations owned by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company across the country.
“The main reasons for using natural gas for vehicles are two-fold,” says Fountain. “The gas is there and readily available, and it is much cleaner than burning carbon or fossilized fuel. The impact on the environment is one aspect and it is also actually cheaper to run vehicles on CNG.”
Fountain believes that in the next 10 years, CNG will compete against electricity in running vehicles. “Some time in the future, 10, 15 or 20 years from now, most of us will be driving electric cars. Until we get to that point, CNG still offers a clean and cost-effective alternative to conventional fuels. So, there is still some scope to increase our CNG business in the region.”
