17 February 2004
JEDDAH — Hosted by the Bushnak group of companies, a Czech engineering consortium is visiting the main trade centers of Jeddah this month to make contact with Saudi businessmen. The consortium, headed by Skodaexport, combines skills and experience in all aspects of the field of industrial engineering and specializes in designing and building turnkey operations.
Although focusing on the power generation aspect of their portfolio, their presentation in Jeddah to an invited audience of businessmen, the group introduced the wider range of capabilities.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Adel Bushnak, chairman of the Bushnak Group, highlighted the opportunity presented by the delegation for businessmen to make contact with European companies who, as well as having the experience in heavy engineering and power projects, have wide experience with the developing world in supplying “from-the-ground-up” turnkey projects from design to working facility.
The Czech Republic, as part of the Austro Hungarian empire, developed a powerful engineering and manufacturing base. The culture of invention and industrial production was sustained throughout the socialist area and emerged sound after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Rene Ponik, deputy commercial director of Skodaexport said that the company was established on July 1, 1966 as a state-owned foreign trade company. Within the framework of the then existing state foreign trade monopoly, Skodaexport was formed to be the exclusive exporter/importer of plant equipment, machines and systems for power engineering, metallurgy, and heavy mechanical engineering sectors including the export and import of electric locomotives, trolley buses and tobacco machines.
Following the liberalization of the economy and lifting of the state foreign trade monopoly in 1989 the position of Skodaexport has changed substantially. Skodaexport became a private joint stock company with equity capital of CZK126 million among its shareholders on major Czech and Slovak manufacturing and trading corporations, project design companies and banks.
Since its establishment, Skodaexport has achieved the delivery and installation of a number of complete capital production plants many of which have played a major role in the industrialization, electrification and overall economic development of many countries.
Partners in the consortium each contribute their own unique skill set. Martin Hasal, vice president of sales and marketing for ZPA Industry Inc., reviewed the company’s area of expertise. ZPA specializes in providing advanced electrical, field instrumentation and control systems. ZPA has developed lean and sophisticated control systems for bulk handling of liquids and solid and has supplied turnkey projects in many countries, including Germany, Mexico and China.
Thomas Hauba, managing director of H and D Design, a company that is a spinoff from Skoda Praha who built over 90 power stations around the globe, said that his company’s particular expertise was basic and detail design, feasibility studies and technical analysis and calculations.
The consortium came together with a view to integrating their skills into a tradable “one stop shop,” able to deliver a wide variety of civil and commercial engineering projects to the government and private sector from a single entity. All the companies involved have developed
a productive working relationship, having cooperated closely on major projects worldwide.
JEDDAH — Hosted by the Bushnak group of companies, a Czech engineering consortium is visiting the main trade centers of Jeddah this month to make contact with Saudi businessmen. The consortium, headed by Skodaexport, combines skills and experience in all aspects of the field of industrial engineering and specializes in designing and building turnkey operations.
Although focusing on the power generation aspect of their portfolio, their presentation in Jeddah to an invited audience of businessmen, the group introduced the wider range of capabilities.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Adel Bushnak, chairman of the Bushnak Group, highlighted the opportunity presented by the delegation for businessmen to make contact with European companies who, as well as having the experience in heavy engineering and power projects, have wide experience with the developing world in supplying “from-the-ground-up” turnkey projects from design to working facility.
The Czech Republic, as part of the Austro Hungarian empire, developed a powerful engineering and manufacturing base. The culture of invention and industrial production was sustained throughout the socialist area and emerged sound after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Rene Ponik, deputy commercial director of Skodaexport said that the company was established on July 1, 1966 as a state-owned foreign trade company. Within the framework of the then existing state foreign trade monopoly, Skodaexport was formed to be the exclusive exporter/importer of plant equipment, machines and systems for power engineering, metallurgy, and heavy mechanical engineering sectors including the export and import of electric locomotives, trolley buses and tobacco machines.
Following the liberalization of the economy and lifting of the state foreign trade monopoly in 1989 the position of Skodaexport has changed substantially. Skodaexport became a private joint stock company with equity capital of CZK126 million among its shareholders on major Czech and Slovak manufacturing and trading corporations, project design companies and banks.
Since its establishment, Skodaexport has achieved the delivery and installation of a number of complete capital production plants many of which have played a major role in the industrialization, electrification and overall economic development of many countries.
Partners in the consortium each contribute their own unique skill set. Martin Hasal, vice president of sales and marketing for ZPA Industry Inc., reviewed the company’s area of expertise. ZPA specializes in providing advanced electrical, field instrumentation and control systems. ZPA has developed lean and sophisticated control systems for bulk handling of liquids and solid and has supplied turnkey projects in many countries, including Germany, Mexico and China.
Thomas Hauba, managing director of H and D Design, a company that is a spinoff from Skoda Praha who built over 90 power stations around the globe, said that his company’s particular expertise was basic and detail design, feasibility studies and technical analysis and calculations.
The consortium came together with a view to integrating their skills into a tradable “one stop shop,” able to deliver a wide variety of civil and commercial engineering projects to the government and private sector from a single entity. All the companies involved have developed
a productive working relationship, having cooperated closely on major projects worldwide.
Roger Harrison
© Arab News 2004
