Global strength, regional service: The benefits of one-stop shopping

By structuring itself as a single-point-of-contact business, AMECO provides contractors and construction company owners the benefits of one-stop shopping. The global company supplies everything needed to complete a project, from screwdrivers to heavy construction equipment, as MENA discovers in this interview with Vinnie Lo Cicero, Regional Sales Director for AMECO’s Africa/Middle East Region.

A combination of strategic initiatives in recent years has placed AMECO at the top of its market. What is the distinctive nature of your business that drives your success?

Mr. Lo Cicero: No one else out there does what we do for the same breadth of clients, especially on a global basis. The range of services we offer and the creativity we provide in commercial and contract options differentiate us and make us very unique.

Tell us about the company.

Since its beginning in 1947, AMECO has evolved into a full-service, global supplier of construction equipment, tools, supplies, and consumables. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Fluor Corporation, one of the largest engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance companies in the world. Fluor has had a Middle East presence for more than 63 years. AMECO manages a rental fleet valued at more than US$600 million with a worldwide inventory of 25,000 pieces of equipment and vehicles. We are an international leader in safety, having just achieved 30.5 million consecutive safe work hours without a lost-time accident.

In recent years, you have organized the company into different business lines.

Yes, our two primary businesses are Fleet Services and Construction Site Services. Fleet Services include fleet management and maintenance, full service leasing, and mining services. Our Construction Site Services business supplies a total package of equipment, tools, supplies, and consumables for capital construction projects. Our business lines have been adapted to serve multiple industry sectors, including energy and chemicals, power, mining, manufacturing, infrastructure, construction, and government.

What specific services do you offer in Fleet Services?

Never before has it been so critical for companies to examine how they are managing their assets to minimize risk and enhance financial performance. Poorly managed assets can cost millions of dollars over the long-term. Our fleet programs are uniquely designed to improve return on assets, lower operating costs, and optimize equipment. Plus, our programs allow clients to redirect their resources to core businesses by transferring the operational risks to AMECO equipment specialists. Our services include fleet assessment, management, maintenance, operator training and certification, equipment standardizing and rightsizing, 24/7 emergency response, inspections, and disposal.

The construction industry in the Middle East is experiencing unprecedented growth with nearly US$2 trillion worth of projects being currently implemented across the region. How can you serve this market?

AMECO has executed capital construction projects since we started in 1947. Our project experience includes remote locations, harsh climates, disaster relief areas, and war zones. We supply everything it takes to build a project, from sandpaper to 200-ton cranes, tool trailers, maintenance shops, and warehouses. Our Construction Site Services program meets every construction need - from the earliest planning stages of a project, through mobilization, execution, and closeout. Best of all, we provide a single point of contact for all equipment, vehicles, tools, maintenance, and supplies. Our approach is to provide total project support, and we can do it anywhere in the world.

Tools are a critical component on capital construction projects. Please can you describe your program?

Many contractors are frustrated at their inability to effectively manage and control tools and supplies in a simple, predicable way. They often experience tool loss, theft, and abuse. Craft productivity falls, schedules are not met, and total installation costs skyrocket out of control. AMECO has developed a unique program called the Contract Tool Account (CTA) to address these challenges. The CTA is an AMECO-managed program that enables the client to effectively satisfy tool requirements without the burden of management, ownership, or procurement. Since the CTA rate is tied to the number of craft hours worked, the cost of tools increases and decreases with the mobilization and demobilization of the workforce. The program ensures that the client has the required quantities of professional-grade tools on hand, day in and day out. The program is enhanced by advanced software technologies that enable us to manage and control tool distribution and inventories.

What are the key components in your approach to managing capital construction projects?

AMECO is very experienced in leveraging the best people, the best processes, and the best technologies to successfully execute complex capital projects. Our regional organizational alignment, our technical expertise, and our ability to rapidly mobilize resources to remote locations are unparalleled in the industry. We maintain a suite of business processes and systems that ensure effective management and accountability. We have an amazing ability to quickly assemble highly qualified teams of asset management professionals with extensive experience in construction requirements and processes.

Based on AMECO's extensive experience in the industry, what is your long-term assessment of the equipment rental business in the Middle East?

The equipment rental business in the United States is a mature market with dedicated one-stop suppliers. They have had challenges recently with the economic downturn, but the 2010 market trend toward moderate growth and stability in rentals is indisputable. The Middle East is a different story. The rental market here is only partially mature, primarily because the region lacks dedicated one-stop shops that can provide a wide range of comprehensive services at reasonable cost. The tremendous growth in Middle East construction will require a one-stop approach to ensure speed in project delivery, aggressive schedule completion, and cost control. A company like AMECO is uniquely structured to meet these market challenges and capitalize on market opportunities through our proven one-stop shop approach and our ability to form regional partnerships that can deliver market sustainability.