‘How we leveraged local content to expand operations, capacity’

Kabelmetal Nigeria Plc has stated that the implementation of the nation’s local content policy has aided the firm’s capacity to undertake projects that would hitherto be done abroad.

The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kretschmer, attributed the giant strides of Kabelmetal to its concerns for Nigerian Content Development which is an impetus to execute any project.

According to Kretschmer, “Kabelmetal Nigeria has continually sought to expand the threshold for local content participation and has prepared a roadmap for local production of FPSO topside cables only awaiting the business opportunity to implement the plan”.He added that the company is “focusing on Research and Development on niche products/segments capable of growing competitive advantage by increasing value proposition to its customers in the Oil and Gas Industry. Currently, Kabelmetal is working on producing cables for integration into Umbilicals, and develop capacity for Solar (Photovoltaic) Cables”.

“In terms of capacities for the future Kretschmer disclosed that Kabelmetal’s effort is “to do a dry run for its plans as the pipeline Oil and Gas projects begin to materialize. We have shared these with relevant bodies like the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Managers of the IOCs, major NOCs, and project owners.

“The facets for each of these plans include technology, standards, materials requisitioning, capacity, documentation, amongst others. It is a complex eco-system that ensures that we get it right the first time”, he added.

Concerning manufacturing of shipboard cables, Kretschmer said Kabelmetal is “the first and only Nigerian company to export cables to South Korea which was used to build six ships for Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG). After the approval for the Type Test certification from Lloyd’s Register and Bureau Veritas, we produced samples that were tested in the best laboratories in Europe and certified as world standard”.He explained that Kabelmetal’s roadmap/plan is to embark on production of cables not in a void but within live projects to actualize them.

He noted that “Kabelmetal works together with Nexans Norway to deepen local content in the area of subsea product(s) and systems. Similar to shipboard cables, we also need live contracts for physical execution in order to justify invest decisions in machinery and equipment. We continually have programmes to train our personnel, both locally and internationally.”

And of course each of our planned local content expansion road maps has in-built knowledge transfer/training components. Most of these trainings are foreign since there is no local capacity for them”.He submitted that the prevalence of fake and substandard products which he described as a huge concern for local manufacturers despite the Standards Organisation of Nigeria’s effort to fight the scourge, Kretschmer is an uphill battle.