OCHL Sets Up Shop in Singapore

Aberdeen-based Offshore Container Holdings Limited (OCHL) is expanding its operations into Asia with the establishment of a Singapore subsidiary.

OEG Asia Pacific PTE Ltd will supply clients in the offshore oil and gas industry with specialist, pressurised engineering cabins and a range of containers and baskets.

Over £1million has been invested in a new rental fleet build programme for Singapore, with A60 fire rated, DNV 271 Zone rated engineering cabins being available for rent from December, and full operations expected to be in place at the beginning of 2010.

The opening of the Singapore base is the first phase of OCHL's three-year plan to expand its presence in the Asia Pacific region, to eventually cover Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia and China.

OCHL Chief Executive John Heiton said, "By setting up a subsidiary in Singapore, we are creating an international service and support hub for our customers in the Asia Pacific region. The establishment of this base will enable us to provide a rapid response to local customers' needs and support them technically on the ground during their own operations.

"Initially, there will be a small team working at the Singapore office, but we will be looking to expand staff numbers over the following months to meet with the expected increasing level of enquiries and upcoming projects currently being pursued."

OCHL has recruited John Aw -- who has more than ten years' experience in sales and marketing -- as Regional Director to launch and head up the Singapore base.

John joins OCHL from HB Rentals where he spent two years as Regional Sales Manager for the Asia Pacific region, and played an instrumental role in servicing and increasing the company's client base, working with customers based in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei.

John Heiton commented, "This is a great appointment for OCHL and John's experience and connections in the Asia Pacific region will provide a real boost to our international business opportunities. We are confident he will play an influential role in establishing OCHL and its product lines in the Asia Pacific region, where we hope to establish a more prominent presence over the next three years."

John Aw added, "I'm looking forward to working closely with the support of the team in Aberdeen to deliver high quality standard and bespoke solutions to our customers in the Asia Pacific region. The understanding and knowledge of the area I have gained over the years will be a positive influence to drive forward our business and product offering to existing customers. The extensive network of contacts we have will also play a huge part in significantly increasing our company awareness in the APAC region."

The OCHL group was formed in 2008 by private equity groups: Lansdowne Capital and Claver Capital, as a vehicle to develop a leading worldwide rental business, focused on the needs of topside activities in the oil services sector.

OCHL's initial moves included snapping up two specialist offshore container rental and sales companies; Containental Offshore, in Aberdeen, and London-based Offshore Containers Limited for a combined price of approximately £10million.

In June 2009, a further two deals were completed to acquire Vertec Engineering Limited (Vertec) and the hire division of LabTech Systems Limited (LabTech) for a combined price of almost £5.5million. The two firms specialise in the design and build, rental and service of engineering cabins and specialist control rooms for the oil and gas industry.

 


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