UAE-based engineering firm Target Engineering Construction Co is going all out to team up with strategic partners to further its ambitions in the country and beyond.

It acquired an 80 per cent shareholding in Idrotec last April and is currently in the process of incorporating a branch office of this specialist Italian design engineering company in Abu Dhabi, according to director of strategy at Target Engineering Ayman Taji.

Idrotec specialises in marine design engineering. Target Engineering is also actively seeking other strategic partners for specialised mechanical and electrical-related design engineering for the oil and gas sectors. The acquisition drive fits neatly into Target Engineering’s plans to augment its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capability for competing effectively in the region’s energy, marine and other sectors.

The company is also bringing its manufacturing facilities all under one roof at a purpose-built facility in the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi (ICAD-III), which will be operated under the banner of the newly-formed Target Steel Industries. Target Steel is licensed to produce steel structures, marine platforms and rigs, pressure vessels, pipeline systems, heavy-duty pontoons, steel towers and other metal products.

Taji elaborates: “Currently our production/manufacturing facilities are in two workshops in the Mussafah industrial area, one in Ghayathi, and the other at the Sharjah Hamriyah Free Zone. These facilities will be moved to ICAD-III on a 52,000 sq m plot, which is on long-term rental with the ICAD authorities.”

Target Engineering has enjoyed steady growth since its inception in 1975 in parallel with UAE’s industrial and economic development. Over the past three years, its average annual turnover has been Dh1.5 billion ($408.7 million) despite the slack period in the UAE construction market. It could achieve that level thanks to its diversified portfolio of mechanical, oil and gas, electrical and instrumentation, marine and civil engineering projects.

The company has carried out numerous projects, offering one-stop solutions for process piping, fabrication, structural steel and electrical systems installation, instrumentation and controls. It has worked in construction of harbours, jetties, breakwaters and marinas, high-rise buildings, hotels, housing and sports complexes, aluminium smelters, desalination plants, hospitals, substations and dispatch centres in the UAE and Qatar.

Challenging work undertaken
The company has carved a niche for itself in marine construction by undertaking technically challenging projects including work on creating 31 artificial islands in Abu Dhabi, installation of subsea pipelines 2 to 3 km into the sea in Qatar and Dubai and harbour construction in Ruwais, on Das Island and in Abu Dhabi.

“This was possible because we have a large fleet of dredgers, landing craft, crane barges (300 tonnes), accommodation, spud and transportation barges (5,000 tonnes), tug boats and motor boats, giving us a remarkable capability to construct over and under water,” said Taji.

“The fleet capability is equally matched with construction know-how that includes designing of fixtures and modification of marine vessels to enable faster and more efficient project-specific construction.”

The company’s mechanical and electrical divisions have fabrication and calibration facilities in Abu Dhabi.

Today, Target Engineering counts 10,000 personnel on its rolls and has in-house design engineering capability for the civil, mechanical, electrical and marine disciplines.

“Our annual steel structure fabrication capacity is 15,000 tonnes,” he says.

Target Engineering is currently engaged in a number of projects, some of which are Ruwais Refinery, Borouge III utilities, the Shah Gas development and Khalidiya Shining Towers.

“The Target brand has been established through hard work and vision and by resolving technical challenges,” says Taji proudly.