Intergraph expands Thai, SE Asian consultancy
US-based Intergraph is expanding its global professional services consultancy and delivery organisation in Southeast Asia and Thailand.
The company is establishing best practices and processes into a single methodology – Intergraph’s improved Global Professional Services Methodology – which will provide a structured approach for standard reporting and enhanced project execution across multiple countries in the region and around the world.
Franz Kufner, Intergraph Process, Power & Marine’s (PP&M division) senior vice president for Asia-Pacific, described Southeast Asia as a fast-growing, dynamic region whose economy has been boosted by strong demand for energy and resources.
Meanwhile, Thailand is the region’s second-largest economy and Vietnam’s economy has been growing rapidly over the last few years, so it is vital the company supports customers in these markets, he said.
Kufner said the company’s strategy is to launch new technology called Intergraph’s SmartPlant and SmartMarine Enterprise, which offers a powerful portfolio in industry-leading data-management solutions.
The integrated suites of SmartPlant and SmartMarine Enterprise solutions improve engineering efficiency and design productivity by up to 30 per cent, he said, adding that Intergraph solutions are endorsed and used by the world’s industrial leaders.
The business of Intergraph PP&M division in Thailand is handled by Neon Infotech South East Asia, which has provided local expertise and services to support engineering, procurement and construction companies and owner operators executing projects and operating facilities as per the Energy Ministry’s guidelines and concepts for the Thai energy sector.
Harsh V Sethi, chief executive officer of Neon Infotech South East Asia, said that nowadays, engineering software is becoming significantly important in continuous-process industries, due to fact that the engineering design, construction and operating process conditions must comply with global engineering standards as well as health, safety and environmental requirements.
“In line with the Asean Economic Community policy framework that will be effective in the near future, we realise that the development of skills and experts in this field will be highly significant in achieving our long-term economic growth,” said Sethi.
Thailand still needs a greater number of local human resources who have expertise in engineering design software, he said.
Due to this shortage of skilled resources, for most of the projects here, engineering design is still done by overseas companies/contractors, thus resulting in loss of revenue compared with if this work were done locally, he added.
