KH ENGINE FOREWORD BY MARK SENTEN
The coronary pandemic is still holding the world in its grip. Unfortunately, even still in the autumn of 2020, we see the effects of the virus on our business, but at the same time, we must also look further afield with caution. After all, there are plenty of challenges ahead, challenges in which the expertise of KH Engineering is highly desirable.
The effects of corona and oil crises are being felt throughout the industry. Some investments have been cancelled or postponed, and the assignments we can work on are often partial, because the total investment is split up and spread out over a longer period of time. This makes scheduling the work complicated and therefore requires creativity in addition to our usual accuracy. Clients also expect a low price from us, and the pressure to avoid budget overruns during a project is high. So we have to stay sharp in order to maintain our position in the market.
Fortunately, there are also many projects that are progressing well, and on top of that we still have a few things to look forward to: there are currently a lot of quotations from both new and existing clients. The chemical industry and the storage & logistics markets remain our biggest targets.
GREEN RECOVERY
Although the latest forecasts suggest that economic recovery will not take place until the summer of 2021, I believe that we must remain positive. After rain comes sunshine, and the economic recovery will go hand in hand with greater attention to ecology: green recovery, as it is called in the EU Green Deal. Investments in energy efficiency and hydrogen are now even more prominent, and these projects will consume a large part of our capacity in the coming period. In addition, the investments in Antwerp by major groups such as INEOS and Borealis are leading to a whole series of projects, which will also result in work for KH Engineering. This hustle and bustle is particularly noticeable in the storage & logistics market, where our pragmatic and dynamic approach has made us a formidable player. This pragmatism, coupled with our self-confident approach, sets us apart in the market. This is important, because it enables us to serve our clients with tailor-made solutions.
DYNAMIC CALCULATIONS AND 3D SCANNING
A unique competence in which we also distinguish ourselves is the execution of dynamic calculations. After all, the effect of moving fluid masses on static structures is a recurring theme in our engineering work, and we can organise this entirely in-house. The fact that we can offer our own 3D scanning with Smart AIS is also appreciated by customers. In this way, all the work remains in one hand and the customer only has one point of contact.
Finally, a big compliment for our people: the fact that even in this difficult corona period we manage to continue to serve our customers as if nothing was wrong is a tour de force in itself. Office-based, site-based or home-based, it doesn't really matter, because the flexibility in which we continue to deliver our work is remarkable. I would therefore like to thank all our employees for their efforts and wish everyone a healthy end of the year!
Mark Senten
Business unit manager for KH Engineering in Belgium