Good Level of Understanding

Daniel Valot is the Chairman and CEO of Tehnip, the largest European engineering and construction company with 10,000 people and $3 billion of revenues per year.
In his first IPF appearance, Valot addressed the forum, met a lot of people, signed a contract and gave a few interviews. Here is one of them:

Describing a Client: We are very active in the Middle East, being involved in the designing and building of petrochemical and refining facilities. NPC is our client, and like most clients it is tough, demanding and challenging. That shows it is a well-run company. It is always tough for a contractor to have a well-managed company as a client, but we prefer this kind of client because they are more professional.

Professionals in Iran: I address the forum on four major topics: The Technip group, its experience in Iran, petrochemical industry outlook and a glimpse at the future.
As a world-class contractor with a leading presence in Iran, Technip is among the top five players operating internationally. Speaking of Iran, Technip has over 30 projects including 15 EPC contracts. In its latest project, the company operates within a consortium with Nargan in Bandar Assaluyeh.

Year of Dialogue: I got the feeling that there is now a good level of understanding between European countries and Iran, and we have closer and closer links. During the visit of President Khatami to Paris everybody was impressed by the culture and high level of competence demonstrated by Iran.

A Fruitful Forum: I am very impressed with the gathering of high-ranking people coming from all over the world and the high level of discussions and presentations made at the forum. I think it is a very important event not only for Iran but also for the petrochemical industry at large.
IPF 2001 was especially fruitful for us since we signed a contract during the forum. So I am looking forward to IPF 2002 to have even more contracts signed during the forum.

Main Issues: Today, a contractor active in the petrochemical industry is facing a number of issues. The petrochemical industry is highly cyclical. It requires permanent adaptation from contractors. It is a global industry where owners compete for market share. As a result, they increasingly require from contractors to minimize the costs and reduce the time to market.
Excellence in services, Complying to high standards in safety, quality and environmental matters are other qualifications needed to be met by contractors to remain competitive.