Emco, the mechanical and electrical services contractor on the Bahrain World Trade Center (BWTC), is on a roll, having just secured its largest mechanical and electrical (M&E) services order to date for the King Hamad General Hospital as well as a sizeable contract for the Lagoon at Amwaj Islands.

At the BWTC, which is designed to be a highly-intelligent building, Emco is carrying out work in a joint venture with Mercury International and is responsible for a wide range of electro-mechanical services including the supply and installation of high and low-voltage electrical systems, mechanical systems, air-conditioning, Honeywell building management system (BMS) and intelligent lighting.
A recipient of two major international awards, Emco is renowned for its ability to deliver a variety of challenging projects, often of great complexity, on time, within budget and with close attention to quality, in terms of materials, construction and engineering techniques, says Kyriacos Yiacoumi, managing director of the Bahrain-based company.
“We received the New Millennium International Construction Award from the Editorial Office and Trade Leaders Club, in Madrid, Spain, in recognition of our business excellence,” he says. “We also received the World Quality Commitment International Award from Business Initiative Directions (BID) in Paris, France in September last year,” says Yiacoumi. “The international award is made to international companies in recognition of their commitment to leadership, technology and innovation, which makes them models for other companies in their sectors. The event hosted outstanding personalities from the business world and diplomatic corps from 166 countries.”
In addition, the company has also been recognised for maintaining high quality standards, having been accredited to EN ISO9001:2000 by TUV of Germany last September.
Emco has two main business divisions – contracting and trading. The company, which has secured a position as an all-around, A-grade licensed electrical-mechanical contractor, is aiming at the Gulf market with Bahrain being its prime target, in the field of electrical, electronic, refrigeration, air-conditioning, plumbing, drainage and fire-fighting and maintenance works,
It is a solution partner with Honeywell for BMS, low-voltage systems, water and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) controls as well as with Dunham Bush for air-conditioning equipment.
“We are popular for our well-designed and competitively priced products,” says Yiacoumi. “Our company’s interests also extends into the field of contracting, trading and supply of the most comprehensive range of products and quality services in engineering, procurement, erection and commissioning of projects as well as the direct supply of qualified staff and equipment,” he adds.
Apart from the BWTC, the company won a BD17 million ($45 million) M&E services contract in October for the King Hamad General Hospital in joint venture with Nass Electrical, on the heels of a BD3.6 million ($9.54 million) deal in September for the Lagoon. Emco is also involved with the Khalifa bin Salman port and industrial area at Hidd, Meena Seven Towers at Amwaj Islands, Royal University for Women, Sheraton Residence twin towers at Juffair, Toyota Plaza, Tabreed (heat exchangers and district cooling pipe work), a stainless steel cold rolling mill, 66 kV transmission development and civil works for new substations and 24 pumping stations.
The company has also completed several projects which include the Novotel Al Dana Beach Resort, Alba’s coke calcining and jetty facility, Sitra Mall, Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre, the Movenpick hotel and business centre, the open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) project for Phase One and Two of Bahrain Ferro Alloys at Hidd, Bahrain Mall, Lulu Shopping Centre, and a hangar for Sheikh Isa Air Base.
Commenting on some of the problems facing the construction sector, Yiacoumi says the surging costs of materials and labour is having a detrimental effect on the profitability of most contractors. “With the sharp rise in construction costs in the GCC, contractors are losing money because most of the contracts are signed up for on a fixed-price basis,” he says. “The rising cost of labour and raw materials – including metals which in some cases has more than tripled in price – is having a drastic impact on the construction sector. As a result, a lot of contractors are suffering and our advice to them is avoid fixed-price contracts.”
Given the new challenges posed by the market, Emco is now developing new procedures and policies to hold it in good stead for the future. “We are trying to develop better estimating procedures to allow for potential increases in cost of raw materials in order to eliminate the risk of losses,” he says.
Yiacoumi advises developers who wish to safeguard their investments to take a long-term perspective of their developments by considering life cycle costs such as maintenance, management and operational tasks. “Costs don’t end with the completion of construction and this must be taken into account at the planning stage,” he says.