Altaaqa Global CAT Rental Power, a global provider of temporary power solutions, has recently opened a new branch in Johannesburg that will cater to several countries in Southern Africa, including the Republic of South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Altaaqa Global will bring its expertise, innovative technologies, industry-proven reliability and rapid deployment to the region, which is largely known for its thriving oil and gas, industrial manufacturing, and mineral and coal mining industries.
Peter den Boogert, general manager of Altaaqa Global, said the company would provide Southern Africa with the most advanced power plant packaged systems, remote monitoring, and fuel-efficient gas, diesel or dual-fuel-powered generators. “Altaaqa Global and its sister company in Saudi Arabia have a total combined fleet of 1,400 MW rental power plant generation readily available to serve the Southern African region,” he said.
One of the flagship innovations that Altaaqa Global will offer, he added, was the flexible operational mode that can switch from island to grid mode in just seconds. Furthermore, Altaaqa Global’s energy rental dynamic package allows its power plants to hook directly to the grid without the need for a substation.
The global outlook for the rental power industry has been encouraging, and Steven Meyrick, board representative of Altaaqa Global, sees merit in capitalizing on it through strategic market and geographic expansion. “With this recent feat, we believe that we are on our way to fulfilling, even exceeding, the highly ambitious objectives we set at the launch of our company in 2012,” he said. He added that Altaaqa Global would continue to pursue multi-megawatt independent power projects in various industries, in addition to heavily investing in human resources, process and business optimization, and product expansion.
In line with its avowed corporate social responsibility programs that aim to alleviate the social needs of its immediate environs, Altaaqa Global will also continue to provide job opportunities, extend immediate assistance for school children, and conduct educational campaigns on energy conservation and environmental stewardship in Southern Africa.
“One of the pillars of our sustainable business model is employing and training local professionals in areas where we operate, and we are excited to extend that commitment to Southern Africa,” Meyrick said.
Majid Zahid, strategic accounts director of Altaaqa Global, agreed that the company is excited about the expansion.
“Southern Africa has a promising economic outlook within the energy, engineering, production, oil and gas, and mining sectors, and we are delighted to open our new office in Africa to provide our wide range of highly innovative interim power plants,” he said. “We are determined to serve various industries, such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, mining, electric power utilities, industrial manufacturing and maritime.”
Altaaqa Global has been aggressively making inroads into the African market with the opening of branch offices in several key locations in the continent.
“We have also recently opened an office in East Africa, and have appointed a highly competent management team to oversee our African operations,” said den Boogert.
Hendrick Mtemeri, a power distribution veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the power utility industry, has been appointed as the regional director for the entire Sub-Saharan region, and Paul Heyns, a power equipment engineering expert based in Pretoria, and Oduor Omolo, power generation professional based in Nairobi, have been appointed as sales managers for Southern Africa and East Africa, respectively.
“Under their leadership, we will reinforce our presence in Africa and ensure that we stay close with our customers,” said den Boogert.
About Altaaqa Global
Altaaqa Global, a subsidiary of Zahid Group, has been selected by Caterpillar Inc. to deliver multi-megawatt turnkey temporary power solutions worldwide. The company owns, mobilizes, installs, and operates efficient temporary independent power plants at customer sites, focusing on the emerging markets of Sub-Sahara Africa, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Latin America, South East Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. For more information, visit www.altaaqaglobal.com.
