AEGIR-Marine Dubai office: a look back at the first year of business

Multidisciplinary team

In growing such a large team within the space of a year, Serge has concentrated on creating a lineup of multifunctional experts. “We have a very strong and multidisciplinary team,” he notes. “For example, they can overhaul propulsion systems from most of the common makers. That is why we are so strong over here; not many companies can do this.”

In the first year of business, most of the clients have come from the offshore oil & gas industry. “Most of the work we do here is a combination of service and spare parts, and has primarily been with propulsion systems: CPPs, azimuth bow thrusters and shaft lines.” That is not to say that Serge does not see potential in stern seal jobs. “It’s just that so many client offices have been closed due to the coronavirus this year,” he explains.

Balancing propulsion with stern seals

With the first year of business successfully done and dusted, what ambitions does AEGIR-Marine have for the future of the Dubai office? “Client satisfaction remains our primary goal. In order serve our clients in the best possible way, we would like to serve our customers locally,” says Serge. “This is why we have just taken on an area sales manager who will slowly take over the coordination of sales from head office.” Increased autonomy will mean that the Dubai office will handle all the day-to-day operations and functionality. Being closer to the client, while still being able to call on the head office in the Netherlands for support and knowledge if required.

Serge also continues to further expand the team of service engineers. The plans don’t stop there, however. “We are looking into opening satellite service hubs in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar – this will make the network denser. And on top of our normal propulsion and stern seal work, we are developing extra disciplines of on-site alignment propulsion shaft lines as well as floating repairs and inspections. We have also just taken on a controls and automation service specialist to help clients more with the ‘electronics’ side of our work.”

Serge looks back on the first year at the Dubai office with pleasure: “It has been very special for me to have been able to grow this business from zero to what it is now – and I am very thankful for the team around me. However, we are still growing and still have so much potential!”