Paul Brickman, Aggreko’s Country Manager Russia, Talks with ROGTEC Magazine

ROGTEC: Hi Paul, please introduce yourself to our Readers.

Paul: I’ve been working as Aggreko’s Country Manager for Russia since late 2007 when we decided that we would incorporate a legal entity here in Russia. My role involves providing support to our Russian team in terms of equipment movement, finance reporting and ensuring that all the procedures required by a major FTSE listed company are in place.

ROGTEC: How long have you been doing business in the region?

Paul: We have worked with companies based in Russia as a provider of temporary power since 2004; although this was on a foreign project basis, with our client’s responsible for import and operation. In August 2008 we established OOO Aggreko Eurasia to serve the Russian market as a local company, with equipment and people all based in Russia.

ROGTEC: Do you have a specific target markets in the region?

Paul: Our principle market is the Russian Federation, with the CIS countries handled by our Middle East and Caspian teams. Our work in Russia is split between the key oil & gas markets, major manufacturing and construction support projects. Typically our customer’s demand is multi-megawatt and high voltage, but we do have some smaller clients, as our product range goes down all the way to 125kVA generators. The offshore market is starting to gain real momentum in Russia and we have seen a number of new offshore enquiries in the last six months. Our experience in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico over the last 30 years has built our reputation with major oil companies and specialist contractors alike as a professional offshore operator. This gives Aggreko a leading position with the international contractors, once again being used by the major Russian Oil & Gas companies looking to work offshore.

ROGTEC: What are your key products for the region and their benefits?

Paul: Our 20ft ISO containerized generators which range from 500-1500kVA are our key product in the RF. Aggreko operates more of this asset type than anyone else and our experience in packaging and sound attenuation is unparalleled. They are easy to move because of their compact design and easy to commission because of our control and synchronization package, standard to every machine. The quality and availability of these units is greater than anything else available today in the Russian market. Aggreko has the ability to mobilize and commission 2-200MW of temporary power anywhere in the world by virtue of our global fleet size; this gives us a tremendous competitive advantage and ability to serve our customers quickly and on a large scale.

ROGTEC: What potential is there for your products in the market?

Paul: The potential exists in a variety of areas, from industrial and commercial developments, which are struggling for grid connections, to remote oil & gas installations, through to traditional construction projects. In addition to these applications there is always the potential for disaster support should major a power sources become inoperable.

ROGTEC: How do you compare and compete with existing Russian Technology?

Paul: It’s all about size and standardization really. Our fleet is so much bigger than anything else available in country, so we can respond to medium and large enquiries quickly and with the comfort of knowing that we can deliver the equipment to customer at short notice and commission with ease. Our competitors are at the mercy of the manufacturer’s delivery schedules, price and specification changes; this makes judging their capital expenditure difficult and commissioning large projects at short notice technically complex or impossible. With our own manufacturing division and the world’s largest fleet of standard generators, it’s not something that’s a problem to us.

ROGTEC: How do you see the market developing over the next 5 years in your industry sector?

Paul: We believe that the use of gas generators for large power demands will increase, not surprising given Russia’s abundance of gas. Also the Russian network of power generation, transmission and distribution will become increasing frail, should investment in ageing plants continue to fall short of required targets.

ROGTEC: Do you have any new products being launched?

Paul: We will formally launch our temperature control business in the future. This allows Aggreko to create winter conditions in summer especially within industrial process environments. In peak summer months the problems caused by high ambient temperatures usually result in reduced production levels and spoilt product. Our flexible rental packages alleviate such problems, without the need for capital expenditure on assets that are only used for 2-3 months per year.

ROGTEC: Do you have any recent regional success stories?

Paul: Our business has helped various Russian companies over the last year, from 12MW at major glass manufacturer Pilkington to oil giant Lukoil testing power systems on a major offshore facility. We have provided temporary cooling to major German chocolate confectioner and temporary power at UEFA Cup games in St Petersburg. Our generators are in use in Siberia proving power for drilling and production in the oil sector. The use of temporary generators is endless….