Unique Group
Unique Group’s 30-Year Journey in Ocean and Subsea Technology and What Lies Ahead
At Unique Group, a spirit of exploration endures after 30 years, as the company develops technology and engineering solutions to complex ocean and subsea challenges. COO Martin Charles tells Energy Focus that the company is expanding with a new facility in Saudi Arabia, supporting the Kingdom’s energy industry, while growing its vast product and service range around the world including an AI solution.
When COO Martin Charles joined Unique Group 18 months ago, his vision was to build on the stellar reputation of the international subsea technology and engineering business. 18-months into his challenge and he is delighted with progress, amazed at how far the company has come in such a short span of time. Praising the “phenomenal team” for adopting a culture of continuous improvement, Charles is confident that the portfolio on offer will allow Unique Group to embed itself deep within client operations, becoming integral in projects that are so vital.
“We have four core lines of business that have been operating under Unique Group for 30 years, headquartered in the UAE. Those four core lines are Diving and Life Support Products, Survey Equipment, Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs), and Buoyancy and Water Weights®,” he says.
All globally relevant and accessible, and all supported by strong Research and Development teams, the four product lines have been the passion of Chairman Himanshu (Harry) Gandhi since the establishment of the company in 1993. Initially, he saw the potential to build an electronic equipment company catering to the wider subsea industry with a major focus on oil and gas industry and began with three employees.
Today, the company is home to more than 600 experts and is certified by multiple global standards agencies.
Martin Charles, COO
“We have manufacturing sites in Cape Town and Sharjah for the diving business, and our Buoyancy and Water Weights® manufacturing site is in the Isle of Wight, UK. We operate out of four global regions, with 18 operational bases within these regions, and we are growing aggressively,” says Charles.
He highlights Saudi Arabia as a key market. “We are increasing our footprint by two thirds and looking to double the workforce.
“We moved into a new facility in August and that will support all four of our product lines which are growing in this region. From here, we will support the Gulf region in traditional oil and gas as well as the Red Sea area on the environmental projects focus.”
Unique Group acquired the facility in January and has spent time perfecting the space. A brand-new workshop area is complemented by state-of-the-art facilities, and Charles expects further investment as interest across the company’s products and services range booms.
“We will have a number of our USVs and a large survey division there. Buoyancy and Water Weights® is very active in Saudi Arabia, as is the diving division. We have secured a number of contracts recently and, as such, we need to invest in our diving facilities and stock holdings further,” he says, adding that Saudi Arabia and the Middle East are the strongest growth regions for the company right now.
Unique’s founder, Harry Gandhi, has always been keen on the region, seeing the growth potential and establishing the company in Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah, to take advantage of the major opportunities. “The Middle East represented the perfect place to set up an organisation. We started building the business in the Middle East, as we grew over time and became more successful, we started expanding to other global markets implementing the same business model,” he says.
PROVEN EXCELLENCE
Recent case studies prove the value of Unique Group products and services. The company was established to bring about change in the industry through excellence. “I envisioned a company that would stand out for its commitment to excellence, innovative products, and long-term client relationships.” says Gandhi.
In Qatar, during the pandemic, Unique Group was on hand to perform recertification and preventative maintenance operations on lifeboats. Performing in an offshore environment and requiring bespoke engineered solutions to make the recertification possible, Unique Group utilised a range of skills in its portfolio to delight the client, a large petroleum company.
Uni-Pact, one of Unique Group’s leading USVs, is a small and light unmanned solution (length 3 m, beam 1.6 m, draft 0.45 m and weight 412 kg) that is adaptable for various applications. It can be used to support a wide variety of nearshore projects, such as hydrographic surveys, data harvesting, UXO (unexploded ordnance) surveys, coastal and harbour monitoring and mapping, habitat mapping, seabed mapping and classification, data harvesting and survey of freshwater reservoirs where the use of petrol and diesel engines is prohibited.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) partnered with Unique Group to perform a carbon-conscious bathymetric survey at Cape Ferguson in April 2022 for an upcoming jetty extension project. The goal was to acquire bathymetry data for seabed modelling. Unique Group’s Uni-Pact USV was selected as the autonomous survey vessel to meet the client’s requirements.
In Dubai, Unique Group worked on the deepest dive pool in the world, supplying two 316L stainless steel static wet bells – comprising a pressure vessel, a control panel and supply and monitoring umbilicals – and installing underwater. The company also completed the surface control system, with everything completed to IMCA and ASME standards. The company’s Buoyancy and Water Weights® division recently completed a 1760 MT load test on a derrick crane in the UAE, using 18 Water Weights® and Seaflex WaterLoad bags of capacity 35t, 100t and 110t – the largest water bag available on the market. Another UAE project saw Unique group safely place 1200m HDPE piping on the seabed composed of silt, gravels sand, and sandstones using concrete sinkers. The cost savings and efficiency provided by an integrated approach from the Unique Group buoyancy and Water Weights division and engineering personnel left the client delighted.
“The solutions we can achieve for our clients by delivering synergy and turnkey solutions, looking at cost and environmental impact, are remarkable. We have that global footprint, and we are well-positioned to tap into resources and strong intelligence-base,” says Charles.
“Seeing our products and services make a significant impact in the industry brings immense satisfaction,” adds Harry Gandhi.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Success in supporting these varied industry sectors sees Unique Group rely on a diverse and widespread supply chain which is thoroughly vetted and examined to ensure efficiency as well as environmental impact. The company is ambitious for continuous improvement and has adopted consciousness of environmental impact as a core value.
“We take it seriously,” confirms Charles, referring to the nature of the company’s work and its environmental effect. “Our focus on products and services such as unmanned surface vessels support our aims of delivering environmental enhancements to support turning our industry greener than it has been.”
He says that the supply chain spend is “enormous” and this is part of the driver behind an enhanced quality management system focus. Ultimately, Unique Group must deliver cost effective solutions for projects and clients, and this is not about being low cost – “It’s about quality and timing,” says Charles.
“We are looking at expanding our supply chain and elevating it within the group to drive focus and visibility,” he adds. “We want to improve terms and deliverables to be lean across the business. We have a range of initiatives going on and we are always focused on continuous improvement.”
The enhanced quality management system, which Charles champions as game changing within UG, is encouraging efficiency with every decision. “We are delighted at the uptake and the trend identification and outputs from the system that is supporting driving change,” he says. “It’s all about operational excellence – improving schedules and terms, driving out waste, enhancing quality, and improving solutions and cost for our clients is a significant step change that will deliver real improvements through 2023 and beyond.”
In the Buoyancy and Water Weights® division, supporting green energy is a key focus and innovation is underway to ensure the company is a strong partner to the wind energy industry. By providing floatation devices for power cables and floating wind facilities, Unique Group calls on its core competencies but is adapting for new scenarios. As well as building on the green energy effort, these initiatives also support efficiency and risk reduction strategies.
“We have some solutions that we are really eager to present to the market. It is a genuine attempt to be part of the energy transition through the products and services that we have right now, with a step change.” says Charles.
In just 18 months, the COO has enjoyed a fast pace and an agile environment as well as embracing the clear opportunity for synergy across the group. Through this, clients have been delighted and the company’s reputation – started by Harry Gandhi in 1993 – has been advanced. Earlier this year, the company also announced the appointment of Sahil Gandhi to the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), succeeding Harry Gandhi, who will now assume the position of Chairman of the Group. With Sahil at the helm, Unique Group is poised to achieve even greater success and drive innovation in the subsea technology sector. The future is equally as exciting as the past 30 years.
“We are still looking at organic developments, and we have some great innovations underway right now, but we also have an eye on the M&A marketplace to complement our existing services and platforms,” Martin Charles concludes, adding that Unique Group will always go beyond the conventional to deliver for clients and create a positive impact.