Meinhardt EPCM Sdn. Bhd.

As countries globally face the urgency to revive their economies, the construction industry is facing the challenge to adapt new safety control measures and re-strategise project delivery structures. While traditional delivery models will continue to prevail, the new norms will challenge the expertise of consultants and project management contract (PMC) firms to manoeuvre towards a new paradigm brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malaysia is no different as it faces the tides in manufacturing, infrastructure and built environment projects from companies intending to capitalise on the China+1 approach in their business strategies. As clients look to restart operations and recover the lost time during the lockdown period, they are sourcing for the fastest delivery formulas. New guidance from seasoned professionals are sought to regain the lost-time impact on the business and quicken the speed to market — the duration from a product idea, develop it and have it in consumers’ hands.

EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) and EPCM (Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management) are known delivery approaches in the construction industry. EPC approach is the second largest project delivery segment in Malaysia.

Its changing dynamics and prominence is a result of clients shifting risk to contractors who provide turn-key solutions. Presently, most of the local construction contracts are leaning towards the EPCM delivery for its more balanced and flexible approaches.

The key advantages of EPCM delivery over EPC approach include lower overall costs, sense of ownership, control over the process as well as flexibility in financing. Additionally, with the better ‘speed’, there is lesser probability for unanticipated changes in the scope of supply as well as the auxiliary litigation opportunity as these can be rectified early.

Meinhardt has been servicing the Malaysian market for almost 30 years. The company provides design and project management consultancy in the built environment and infrastructure sector; having been involved in several notable iconic projects in Malaysia. The Meinhardt EPCM brand provides a fully integrated end to end solution along with construction management for their clients.

The foundation of Meinhardt was laid by Dr. Shahzad Nasim, a notable structural engineer by training and an astute businessman based in Singapore. He was assisted by Group CEO of Meinhardt, Mr. Omar Shahzad and Global Head and Director, Mr. Vinesh Natali in strategising the roadmaps through diverse portfolios and setting up operations in Malaysia.

In 2015, Meinhardt Group entered a new strategic project in the oil and gas (O&G) sector in Malaysia. Soon after, Meinhardt EPCM Sdn. Bhd. was established to provide EPCM services to its strategic clients. Beginning its operations in Kuala Lumpur with five (5) staff members, the Company has since grown to over 100 staff over the last five (5) years.

Meinhardt EPCM is also the recipient of several awards for leading-edge Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) contracts and procurement services. It resulted in them being instrumental in bringing international best practices to shape the Malaysian construction market. Most recently, the Company’s procurement services were nominated for a World-class Procurement award in London.

Products and Services

Meinhardt EPCM provides a fully integrated engineering, project and construction management service from inception to final delivery of projects, all under one roof. As a trusted partner with exceptional customer
experiences the Company takes complete ownership and accountability of the challenges to deliver to the client’s fullest expectations. Meinhardt teams are skilled in multi-sector delivery, providing in-depth sector experience and international cross-sectoral expertise and knowledge.

The Company’s formidable consultancy business expands over the O&G downstream sector, mining and metals, advanced manufacturing, specialist high-tech buildings, aviation and smart city master planning, and infrastructure sectors.

Its Centre of Excellence acts as a knowledge centre for the best practice in its business sectors.

Employee-asset and Client-centric

The biggest asset of Meinhardt is its people. They are equipped with training and tools for high quality execution with full empowerment to deliver the best solutions to their clients. Meinhardt regularly reinforce its cultured values, ethics and compliance measures in its employees to own their work with passion. Continuous improvement processes in line with business changes enhances the human resources with required skills. Fair compensation, training and skill development, humanistic approach and flexible work conditions are in calculated to handle risks to deliver projects.

In an intensively competitive and price-sensitive market, Meinhardt has made its strategic move to “Blue Ocean” chartering into new territories of uncontested market space, working hard on value innovation beyond client expectations.

“Our motto of “Speed, Precision and Safety” is the guiding principles in every project. In terms of value innovation, we provide customised solutions for each client with great organisational agility and flexibility. Tracking real-time information on operations and environment, and responding to challenges with multiple, simultaneous alternatives and fast decision making are aligned to our strong ethics and compliance in all the projects.

We use global expertise with local talent. Our testimonials and credentials are built upon our demonstrated capability to deliver complex and challenging projects. We have the technical ability, dedicated human resources and ingenuity to think ahead with possible solutions for anticipated problems. This pro-active approach has given immense confidence and trust in the minds of clients.

In-coming Opportunities

Meinhardt is optimistic that the latest revival and stimulus package provided by the Government of Malaysia will open to new opportunities. New avenues are emerging in the highways sector, smart cities, industrial corridors, Special Economic Zones, pharmaceuticals, information technology hardware industries, as well as possible entry of manufacturing conglomerates into Malaysia from neighbouring countries. With the advancements of the technology enabled support sphere, there are immense opportunities in areas such as planning of projects, real-time tracking of progress and implementation of solutions to anticipated challenges.

As the Company has expanded to a group size of over 300 professionals in 5 locations from Europe to Asia, including Malaysia, they have strategically charted their roadmap through the challenging headwinds. Their Malaysian team will play a pivotal role in their growth plans ahead.

Source: MIDA e-Newsletter December 2020