Interview with Manivellan Shanmugam of Camlin Energy
UAE, Dubai: Transformers Magazine presents an interview from Middle East Energy 2022, with Manivellan Shanmugam, Regional Manager in Camlin Energy for Middle East, North Africa and India.
UAE, Dubai: Transformers Magazine presents an interview from Middle East Energy 2022, with Manivellan Shanmugam, Regional Manager in Camlin Energy for Middle East, North Africa and India.
Mr. Shanmugam is responsible for the sales and operations of all products manufactured by Camlin Energy.
Mr Shanmugam, could you tell us about any new recent developments in your company?
We’ve had huge success recently in Middle East, particularly Oman, where our product population has increased. The company has also been doing excellent business with Saudi Arabia, which has been delayed a bit due to the COVID-19 situation but we are expecting a positive outcome for all projects on which we are currently working.
Now that you have mentioned the pandemic, how has it affected your business? How have you managed to adapt to the situation?
It has not been easy, the same as with any other company for that matter. The products manufactured in the UK had to be then shipped to Middle East and there have been difficulties. One of the biggest challenges were doing the insulation and commissioning. Our equipment requires onsite insulation and commissioning, so we have faced difficulties when sending the engineers to the site because of the quarantine. In each and every country they went, they had to be quarantined for fourteen days, then arriving back home they had to undergo the same thing once again. So, in order to overcome this, we have developed a really unique concept called TACT tool. TACT tool is a kind of a small modification within our device which helps to do the commissioning with a certified engineer. This way we do not need an engineer from Camlin to go and do onsite commissioning. Therefore, a partner engineer is certified by Camlin and then he can use this simple hardware tool to complete the commissioning process, with the help of remote support. This was our invention in response to the COVID-19 situation.
Since there have not been any live events for two years, how does it feel to meet people in person again, particularly your clients and partners?
It is really great meeting people face-to-face again, especially clients. Even though a lot of clients have been lately asking for virtual meetings only, this has always been a unique event where we could meet them in person, talk to them, show them the products. The situation is changing slowly but this is a very good start and we are extremely happy about it.
Have you recently faced any issues in the supply chain? If yes, have you found any solution to overcome those issues?
We have faced challenges and have successfully overcome them, especially relating to the supply of materials. As far as the logistics is concerned, we have given our partners the responsibility to handle the logistics. We basically asked our partners to ship the materials on their own, and they arranged a local logistics company to pick up the material. It would be difficult to do it from the UK, of course. For instance, the Emirates were always open and anything arranged from here was much easier than for a person in the UK to arrange any shipment of materials. However, things are getting back to normal and we are now in a much comfortable position.
What do you expect to happen on the market given the current situation?
The market seems really positive, especially in Middle East, with the oil prices going towards $300 a barrel. If it comes true, a lot of projects is going to come up, which can be done by a company like us. We can definitely see a positive development on the market, especially Saudi Arabia, so I hope this will continue and we live to see a bright future in the coming days.
Interview by: Transformers Magazine