KSB inks Dh83m deal with General Electric

Dubai: KSB has signed a purchase order deal with General Electric to provide the Abu Dhabi nuclear plant with pumps, Erwin Maier, managing director of KSB, told Gulf News.

"In spite of the financial crisis which hit the world, we have a privilege to balance between engineering and standard business, said Maier.

"We managed to grow in the UAE from a rented warehouse to own our plant in Jafza with growing investments based on diversified economic activities in the country. We have signed a ¤17 million (Dh83.14 million) contract with General Electric to provide pumps for the Abu Dhabi nuclear plant," he said.

Maier pointed out the European market's demand on hydraulic industries is growing at a low rate while the Middle East market, particularly the UAE, "is growing at 8-10 per cent yearly," noting that this had helped KSB to capitalise on the vast opportunities in the Middle East and Africa, particularly the UAE.

Tonjes Cerovsky, KSB's vice-president of regional sales in the Middle East and Africa, said that the company's new regional headquarters in Jafza will help it expand further bringing global expertise to clients in the region.

"Since KSB's products are known worldwide for their high quality which is an asset for the group. We will provide customers with the maintenance at our headquarters in Dubai, and we also have a workshop for assembling pump parts and equipment in our headquarters in Jafza," Cerovsky added.

Jan Stoop, KSB board member, said the company enjoys competitive advantages such as high quality on the whole chain of products, durability and efficiency. "We also focus on the consultancy services and give maintenance and after sales services due care as it encourages customers to deal with us and to buy our products for the services extended to them," Stoop said.

He said KSB's services include tailored concepts, from the planning of a plant to commissioning and maintenance for all areas of application. The services start right from equipment installation, commissioning, maintenance, maintenance inspection management, total pump management, system efficiency service, technical consultancy and retrofit.

Waste water systems

The company also engineers complete water supply, drainage and waste water systems for municipal and industrial clients. He added that KSB has opened factories in China, India and France to produce for local consumption as there is an increasing demand in there.

In reply to a question on picking Dubai for KSB's headquarters, Stoop said: "Dubai has a free zone which allows 100 per cent ownership and this helped us launch our project here. However, Abu Dhabi laws limit ownership of foreign companies to no more than 49 per cent."