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BUSINESS NEWS SAUDI ARAMCO AND JACOBS CREATE JOINT VENTURE FORSOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT THROUGHOUT SAUDI ARABIA AND ACROSS REGION Saudi Aramco entered into an agreement with Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. to form a Saudi Arabia-based joint venture company to provide professional program and construction management services for social infrastructure projects throughout the Kingdom and across the Middle East and North Africa. Jacobs’ presence in Saudi Arabia spans more than 40 years.
Jacobs Chairman and CEO Steve Demetriou said, “Our joint venture exemplifies the power of bringing together Saudi Aramco and Jacobs as an effective economic catalyst to support the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. The new company combines Jacobs’ industry-leading capabilities and our joint project delivery skills to help transform social infrastructure in this rapidly changing region.” The new company’s services will include a full-spectrum of professional PMCM activities,
with expertise in supporting all phases of the project lifecycle for social infrastructure projects. The company will advance training and help create quality jobs for Saudi nationals through the development of a sustainable and competitive program. Saudi Aramco is a world leader in integrated energy and chemicals, producing approximately one in every eight barrels of the world’s crude oil supply and developing new energy technologies.
CONFERENCE CALL, from page 7
TZL: What is the greatest challenge presented by growth?
to project success and client satisfaction. As such, we con- tinuously recruit top engineering talent from the industry and local universities, especially Cal-Poly Pomona. We en- courage ongoing training and employee development, pro- vide career development options, and instill growing levels of responsibility and accountability for delivering leading edge solutions and quality work products. This long-term commitment to developing excellent engineers and survey- ors has enhanced the company’s depth of talent and low- ered employee retention to levels which are unmatched within the industry. “Owners who have the luxury of time and who care deeply about the business will try to find strategic buyers with similar values, respect the existing employees, and have unique skills/energy to grow the business.” TZL: What is the key benefit that you give to your em- ployees? MJ: We offer an opportunity for challenging work and pro- fessional growth along with a generous compensation pack- age relative to industry standards in Southern California. Employees receive a competitive base salary and managers have an opportunity for quarterly bonuses. We also pro- vides employees with an industry-leading benefit package (e.g., 401(k) with a matching element, health, vacation, sick, etc.) and flexible working schedule. TZL: How do you raise capital? MJ: From company lending partners/banks and/or the owners. TZL: What is your preferred strategy for growth, M&A or organic? MJ: The company has always grown organically. Growth in the past has always been accomplished by: ❚ ❚ Developing and maintaining a solid reputation for providing quality professional services at competitive rates. ❚ ❚ Seeking out new customer and business opportunities us- ing existing personnel. Our latest strategy is development of strategic partnerships to increase exposure to new business opportunities.
MJ: Growing requires the need to continuously hire new engineers and professional staff which can be challenging in a tight labor market. Other challenges for a growing com- pany like us is to consistently maintain quality standards across all work products, meet customer expectations, and ensure solid communications with customer project manag- ers. New organization adjustments are also needed to man- age a growing workforce. It’s important to identify and de- velop future company leaders so that they’re able to gradu- ally assume greater levels of responsibility.
TZL: What is the role of entrepreneurship in your firm?
MJ: In the industry, we’re viewed as an aggressive, profes- sional services company with a culture that champions en- trepreneurial behavior including: ❚ ❚ Continuous process improvement ❚ ❚ Team approach to problem solving ❚ ❚ Progressive delegation of responsibility for individual devel- opment ❚ ❚ Continuous recruitment and retention of key employees ❚ ❚ Strong leadership across all management levels ❚ ❚ Adoption of the latest technologies and tools ❚ ❚ Opportunity to increase the company’s bottom line and be rewarded financially “It’s important to identify and develop future company leaders so that they’re able to gradually assume greater levels of responsibility.” TZL: What’s your prediction for 2017 and the next five years? MJ: We have tremendous growth potential. Revenue is ex- pected to grow by an average of 15 to 20 percent per year between 2017 and 2021. We also plan to expand on existing business (e.g., energy and land development) and to pur- sue new markets such as water, transportation, and educa- tion.
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THE ZWEIG LETTER July 10, 2017, ISSUE 1207
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