‘Willingness to work with clients to create innovative services and new bases to meet their needs is what our business is built on,’ says Daniel Nordberg, General Manager, Gulf Agency Company (Oman) LLC. Excerpts of an interview with him:
GAC is achieving milestones of 60 years of global operations and 45 years of excellence in Oman in 2016. What has been the driving force behind the consistent success of GAC over the decades?
Our customers. They are at the heart of everything we do, and we aim to fully understand their needs. That’s why we have always striven to deliver excellent service, both here in Oman and around the world, and will continue to do so in the future.
That philosophy can be traced back to the beginnings of the GAC story 60 years ago when Swedish entrepreneur Bengt Lindwall set-up a ship agency operation in Kuwait. Since then, we have grown into the global provider of integrated shipping, logistics and marine services and solutions that we are today, but our commitment to our customers remains the same.
Today, the GAC Group has over 9,000 professionals working around the clock, speaking more than 100 languages, at more than 350 offices in 40 countries, where we deliver on our promise to our customers.
Locally, GAC Oman takes a long-term approach to business, and continues to invest and expand to meet our customers’ requirements. That willingness to work with clients to create innovative services and new bases to meet their needs is what our business is built on.
That’s what makes GAC what it is today – local in action, global in attitude.
Tell us about the strengths and achievements of GAC Oman in three key areas of its services – Shipping, Logistics and Marine Services.
As a service provider, our key strength is our people. We pride our self on the professionalism of our team and their willingness to go the extra mile for our customers – something particularly valuable in oil and gas operations.
GAC Oman is the country’s only fully integrated and independent logistics and shipping services supplier provider. Our services include air and ocean freight, bunker fuel supplies, clearance and forwarding, international moving, land transportation, offshore support, project logistics, protection & indemnity representation, ship agency, ship spares logistics, ship supply service, warehousing & distribution and a range of supporting services, which may be tailored to meet the specific needs of each customer.
What makes you distinctive from the competition when it comes to serving the oil and gas companies in Oman?
Our values as a company set us apart from the competition. We value long term relationships, seeking the benefits of sustained commitment and service over a matter of years rather than seeking a fast profit in the short term.
Another thing that sets us apart is what we call the ‘GAC Spirit’, a guiding principle, which defines our business ethos of dedication, loyalty, quality and respect. This is supported by the uncompromising GAC Code of Ethics as well as Quality, HSSE and Ethics policies applied to everything we do. Finally, specifically for our oil & gas customers, we have a dedicated team of specialists working to ensure our customers in the sector get the best
GAC service.
The oil and gas field developments and operations are getting more complex and challenging in Oman, for example, tight gas fields development by BP in Khazzan or deployment of EOR techniques by PDO in many of its aging fields or the expansion of new age downstream facilities. The partial opening of port of Duqm and closure of port Sultan Qaboos have also created new opportunities and challenges for the sector. How has GAC responded to this changing market environment to meet the expectations of its oil and gas related customers?
GAC Oman already has offices in all the country’s ports and we work closely with existing and potential customers. Their needs are what guide us on further growth and expansion. Over the years, we have worked with most oil & gas companies in Oman. One of the key projects we are currently involved in is an offshore drilling activity off Duqm where we are handling the shipping and logistics.
Some of the things that makes us especially suited to serving the diverse needs of the oil & gas sector include:
