Interview: DylanGroup Forges Ahead

As the offshore industry moves toward further expansion and building-up of its capacities there is an ever-growing need for resourceful and reliant steel partners in the market who can provide custom-made steel piping products and services.

In order to find out more about the on-going projects and their implementation, we spoke with Barry van Manen, Sales Manager of DylanGroup, international supplier of piping packages with extensive expertise in the offshore and energy markets, during Offshore Energy 2013 exhibition and conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
What is your position in the offshore market?

“We are a supply and trading company, we supply the full package of products to our clients. Our added value is our knowledge in combination with quality and stock level we have in-house, that’s our strongest asset.
We are not only selling stainless steel, carbon steel etc., rather we are always focused on supplying the complete package,” Barry van Manen said.

Do you have clients in the LNG market?

“Yes we do. We have an office in Belgium which is focused on LNG. So, as a group, yes, we are working in the LNG sector as well.”

What is your most important project at the moment?

“We have two important projects right now. One of them is an FPSO for SBM offshore, so we have created a dedicated team “in-house” to work on that particular project. After one year, we have supplied all piping for that vessel, at the performance level of 98% which is rather high and, due to that level; we have booked another project for two vessels which will be built in parallel, also for SBM. And, they received the order from Brazilian Petrobras,” van Manen replied.

When asked about the competitive edge in winning big clients, Barry van Manen explained:

“It is simple. It means doing business based on trust, that’s how we work. What we say is what we do.”

Except products, do you offer consulting services?

“Yes, we are involved in the early stages to bring a project to the best completion, to help our clients win the order”
So we deal with, for example: What delivery time are they looking for? What are the technical issues we might face in the future? etc. In that stage we are already advising them.”

Geographically speaking, what are the new markets to expand on and find new clients?

“I think we need to look at Malaysian and Singapore areas. Hence, the Asian market is interesting to us in combination with Brazilian market, which is still small but right now it’s the fastest growing market.”
Did Offshore Energy 13 meet your expectations?
“Yes it did, for sure. This is a really good event focused on offshore industry. Every booth is interesting for us. Therefore, for me it is one of the best exhibitions that exist. I definitely like it,” van Manen concluded.

As it was the case in the previous year, DylanGroup was Gold Sponsor of Offshore Energy 2013. Having been an exhibitor at Offshore Energy at previous editions, DylanGroup decided last year to attach their name to the event given their strong connection with offshore energy.
The 6th Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference, held in Amsterdam RAI on 15 & 16 October 2013, was attended by 9,123 international visitors, an increase of 20% compared to last year.

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Navingo, October 30, 2013