TARGET Engineering Construction Company, a UAE-based engineering firm, is boosting its capabilities and positioning itself to capture a larger share of the projects being launched in Abu Dhabi as well as elsewhere in the region.

In a bid to augment its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capability and references to compete effectively in the region’s oil and gas and energy sector, the company recently acquired a majority stake in Idrotec, an Italy-based specialised marine design engineering company.

“Target acquired an 80 per cent shareholding in Idrotec in April this year and is currently in the process of incorporating a branch office of this specialist Italian design engineering company in Abu Dhabi,” says Felix D’Souza, manager – corporate governance at Target.

In addition, Target Engineering is actively seeking other strategic partners for specialised mechanical and electrical-related design engineering for the oil and gas sectors.

A 500-tonne knock-out drum ... installed for the green diesel project at Ruwais Refinery.

This apart, the company is bringing its manufacturing facilities all under one roof at a purpose-built facility in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD), which will be operated under the banner of the newly-formed Target Steel Industries. Target Steel Industries is licensed to produce steel structures, marine platforms and rigs, pressure vessels, pipeline systems, heavy-duty pontoons, steel towers and other metal products.

D’Souza elaborates: “Currently our production and manufacturing facilities are in two workshops in the Mussafah industrial area, one in Ghayathi, and one in the Sharjah Hamriya Free Zone. All these works will be moved to ICAD Phase Three on a 52,000 sq m plot, which is on a long-term rental with the ICAD authorities.”

Target Engineering has enjoyed steady growth over the past 36 years since its inception in 1975, in tandem with the developments in the UAE. Over the past three years, its average annual turnover has been Dh1.5 billion ($408.7 million) despite the slack in the UAE construction market, thanks to its diversified portfolio of mechanical, oil and gas, electrical and instrumentation, marine and civil engineering projects.

The company has carried out numerous projects in the region, having offered wide ranging one-stop solutions for process piping, fabrication and installation of structural steel, installation of equipment, high-voltage electrical systems, instrumentation and controls, and construction of harbours, jetties, breakwaters and marinas, high-rise buildings, hotel, housing and sports complexes, aluminium smelters, desalination plants, hospitals, substations and dispatch centres in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The company has built a niche for itself in marine construction by undertaking technically challenging projects including work on creating 31 artificial islands in Abu Dhabi, installation of subsea pipelines two to three km into the sea in Qatar and Dubai, and harbour construction in Ruwais, Das Island and Abu Dhabi.

“This was possible because it has a large fleet of dredgers, landing craft, crane barges (300 tonnes), accommodation, spud and transportation barges (5,000 tonnes), tug boats and motor boats, giving it an remarkable capability to construct over and under water. The fleet capability is equally matched with the construction know-how that includes designing of fixtures and modification of marine vessels to enable faster and more efficient project-specific construction,” D’Souza  says.

Today, Target Engineering counts 10,000 personnel on its roll and has in-house design engineering capability.

Khalidiya Shining Towers ... a $141-million project for Emirates Land Group.

“Apart from long-serving key personnel and local expertise, our core competence is a dynamic executive management that participates not only in policy and strategic decisions, but also is actively involved in operational support and follow-up,” says D’Souza.  “Our first-generation management have shaped the company from a civil construction firm to a single-source EPC oil and gas contractor with stand-alone specialties.”

To carry out civil works efficiently, Target Engineering is equipped with its own construction plant, equipment and machinery, which includes crawler, mobile and tower cranes, heavy-duty earthmoving equipment, piling rigs, scaffolding, generators and compressors – all well-supported by a modern maintenance workshop, which ensures preventative maintenance and availability of plant and equipment and vehicles for its projects.

The mechanical and electrical divisions are supported by fabrication and calibration facilities in Abu Dhabi.

Currently, the company has three workshops which have a capacity of 15,000 tonnes of structural steel and a combined 500,000 inch diameter of piping works. “Our piping fabrication and installation capacity, which is a combined 500,000 inch diameter of welding, is done in workshops (200,000 inches) as well as on sites (300,000 inches),” D’Souza explains.

Operating a strict regime in terms of quality, health, safety and environment management in oil and gas/energy projects, the company is well known for its on-time completion, quality and safety performance and has won several safety awards, the latest being the ‘Best Contractor for Safety’ by Takreer/GS Engineering at the Ruwais works.

Installation of boilers at Gasco’s new NGL4 gas plant in Ruwais.

The company holds certification to the integrated quality management (ISO 9001), occupational health and safety (OHSAS 18001) and environment (ISO 14001) systems, which has served it well with the advent of the Sector Regulatory Authority for enforcing Abu Dhabi’s EHSMS (Environment, Health and Safety Management System) of 2009.

Target Engineering is currently engaged in a number of projects at Ruwais Refinery including the seawater intake for Phase Three works for Takreer worth Dh351 million ($95.6 million), the steel structure, mechanical installations and piping and civil works for Takreer/GS Engineering worth Dh422 million ($114.8 million), as well as electrical works for Borouge III utilities and offsites for Borouge/Hyundai Engineering worth Dh 41 million ($11.16 million).

Other ongoing projects include the Shah Gas development for Abu Dhabi Gas Development Company/Saipem worth Dh206 million ($56.08 million), a seawater cooling system for the Ruwais NGL 4 project for Gasco/Petrofac–GS Engineering joint venture worth Dh475 million ($129.32 million), and the Khalidiya Shining Towers for Emirates Land Group worth Dh521 million ($141 million).

“Target Engineering’s landmark projects executed include the unleaded gasoline and green diesel projects, Ruwais Refinery expansion, the seawater cooling system for NGL4 train, installation of seawater intake pipelines at Ras Abu Fontas, Jebel Dhanna tank farm, Ruwais housing complex, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, the Tilal Liwa project, Baniyas commercial complex, 33-400 kV substations in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, a 400-kV overhead line between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and projects for Emirates Aluminium (Emal), Qatalum and the Abu Dhabi Coast Guard,” says D’Souza.

He continues: “The Target brand has been established through a lot of hard work and vision and by resolving technical challenges. The company has achieved an enviable record for on-time delivery, zero litigation, and quality, health, safety and environment performance and for prioritising customer satisfaction over profitability. Target Engineering has thus laid the foundation for the next level of sustained growth.”