Friday 25 / April / 2025
Muscat: Al Khalij Heavy Equipment & Engineering LLC, a subsidiary of Galfar Engineering, is in expansion mode this year as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) looks to revamp company strategy during tough times.
CEO Rajkumar Iqbal Ahmed has already begun expansion with a venture into marine services and says this is an opportunity to expand and not sit back to weather the storm, a strategy that has reaped fruits for him until now. New verticals started this year are expected to increase company’s revenue by up to 30 per cent.
"The marine venture is where we believe there is a huge scope. We have received a number of contracts this year as we expand into maintenance and repair of marine infrastructure and ships. We are also addressing issues of lack of technical expertise in Oman in this sector with training nationals," he said.
“This is the time to expand and we have begun. Our company operated in two verticals before I came and now we have four verticals. It’s just the start, I am here to expand business and show my peers that it’s time to look at opportunities available rather than complain about the slow macroeconomic situation that is out of everyone’s power to control,” he added, following Al Khalij being awarded the ISO 9001: 2015 certification.
The ISO Certification serves as Al Khalij’s overall strategy to ensure that its services comply with globally accepted standards and protocols. We adopt a philosophy of continual improvement in all aspects of our business. Being ISO-certified means our customers can have confidence that Al Khalij is committed to quality and excellent service, Ahmed said.
Founded in 1990, Al Khalij specialises in providing rig move and support functions, cranage and heavy lift transportation and logistics services, marine engineering, generator rentals, PDO certifications and RPD installation and fabrication services. The company has one of the largest transportation fleets and cranes, ranging from 25 tonne to 130 tonne capacities and with its skilled team of lifting specialists it can provide adequate support for all types of project cargo movements and rig support services. Power generators start from the 3.5 kVA (1000 volts amps) to 3,000 kVA range. Al Khalij has been carrying out operations for their premium clients, such as PDO, OXY, BP, Halliburton, Schlumberger, DHL, etc.
Ahmed further stated, “We are in the process of setting up our business operations in Sohar, Duqm, and Salalah and in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) soon, where a lot of services are required, considering the expansion happening there and we have found the opportunity to grow.”
He added that he wants to share his plans with others so that the Omani economy can benefit as a whole.
“A tough economic situation calls for leaders to take up challenges and move forward instead of sitting back and waiting for good times,” Ahmed added.
“We need to start looking at changing the mindset. Look at opportunities, which we would never have if times did not go bad. The government is pushing to diversify and so must companies and individuals. It is time to change things now. I like to take challenges. I have been in different places doing different things. The only thing I did that was common is taking up challenges and everywhere the companies have grown due to these initiatives.”
