Interview of Mr. AK Tyagi, CMD, Nuberg EPC, published by EPC World

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The Big Interview - AK Tyagi, CMD, Nuberg EPC

25 Years of Turning Ideas into Reality

Milestones, whether small or big, is an occasion for celebration and for Nuberg EPC which is celebrating 25 years of successful commissioning of EPC Projects on any ideas because of their global expertise and acumen, it is an inspiration to further expand their excellence.

EPC World, June 2021

Twenty five years of successfully and timely commissioning EPC project world over, Nuberg EPC has come a long way. Started in 1996 by AK Tyagi, today Nuberg EPC is a name to reckon with amongst global EPC players. Right from the inception of Nuberg EPC, AK Tyagi has a penchant for challenges. "Executing the impossible has been in our blood from inception – our tagline Making Ideas Happen is our DNA. Our first major project was an impossible project for a newly formed company. The project involved the relocation of a plant from the UK to Bangladesh - navigating the myriad technological, legal, logistical and resource challenges. Its success led to fifteen Greenfield projects in Bangladesh for us. It also set the ball rolling for the core set of learnings and domain expertise that went on to define Nuberg EPC and our roadmap to success," says AK Tyagi.

With sustained focus and determination, today, Nuberg EPC is the number one player in the EPC industry for Hydrogen Peroxide and Calcium Chloride. They are the number two EPC Company for Caustic Soda / Chlor-Alkali Plants globally. "We are amongst the world's fastest-growing EPC organizations with a specialized team of more than 300 engineers providing global competitiveness," says AK Tyagi. Till now, Nuberg has successfully delivered over 60 turnkey projects across 32+ countries. "Our technology know-how and global experience of operating in more than 30 countries help us deal with laws, statutory requirements, and societal norms across geographical diversities," says AK Tyagi.

Nurturing manpower talents

portance and respect to their employees. "The core engineering talent with the company is our biggest strength. We learnt the importance of engineering talent in our first Bangladesh project and have maintained a laser focus on ensuring a high skillset and capacity. Nuberg EPC thus invests more in engineers than the industry norm that can be noted with the strength of more than 300 engineers with more than 300,000 available person-hours," says AK Tyagi. While the EPC sector is abound with high level of attrition, in Nuberg EPC it is hardly heard of. "There is an acknowledged talent shortage and thus a higher cost outlay in the industry. However, for Nuberg EPC, it is our investment in their wellbeing (economical, mental, safety, empathy, and growth) that has helped us retain and attract the best talent. We have thus been able to expand our leadership and offerings," says AK Tyagi.

From inception to commissioning – Nuberg EPC

True to its tagline "Making Ideas Happen" and the dynamic leadership of AK Tyagi, over the years the company has brought itself to a level where they have developed capabilities to deliver customized projects. "Our company can do EPC around any ideas and products because of our global multi product capabilities and experiences,' says AK Tyagi. He shared a few of its challenging projects, which they commissioned in spite of various adversities. "For instance, you are setting up a particular plant that requires a patented technology (as in how to go from raw materials to the final product) for the execution process of establishing a plant. We could make partnerships with global technology licensors, and our engineering depth and breadth help us deliver the EPC around it and commission the plant in a turnkey manner. For illustration, executing the Sulphur Bentonite project for National Fertilisers in Panipat was unexplored territory to us. Consequently, we did the tie-up with GTC USA for the technology and then leveraged our strengths to deliver the plant to National Fertilisers," says AK Tyagi.

Anil Tyagi is the founder and CMD of Nuberg EPC, global engineering, procurement, construction (EPC), fabrication and project management company, specializing in chemical process plants across sectors. With over three decades of vast experience spanning EPC projects worldwide, Anil is a name to reckon with, in the chemical industry. Anil's pioneering work and engineering prowess has catapulted Nuberg to innovate in-house technology for Chlor- Alkali, Sulfuric Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide Plants. Driving force behind is an aim to develop and offer large scale, excellent industrial solutions at affordable costs.

He has an extensive and diverse expertise in project engineering, project installation and commissioning, process design, trouble-shooting and project management. Anil, a dynamic personality infused with entrepreneurial spirit, has soared to great heights in process solving complex technical engineering problems, design, streamlining and optimization of manufacturing process value chain and process management.

A mechanical engineer by profession, Anil with his farsighted vision and strategic business acumen founded Nuberg in 1996, after 10 years of experience in the private sector. He has contributed the necessary leadership and impetus to the group and with a clearly defined objective of bringing the best in the industry, he has transformed Nuberg into world-class organization operating in more than 32 countries. Backed by strength of 300+ qualified engineers, an 115000 sq m. State-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Gujarat and research facility in Sweden, Nuberg provides EPC serves across Chemicals & Fertilizers, Energy & Infrastructure, Steel and Nuclear & Defense industries.

Leading from the front

AK Tyagi's acumen and foresightedness and his extensive and diverse expertise in project engineering, project installation and commissioning, process design, trouble-shooting and project management has helped him to identify emerging opportunities. "The industry dynamic however is shifting and has created opportunities for many new products that we are confident to deliver.

I wish to discuss one such product (Sulfolane), which we did for a Saudi Arabian client. This product was again a new specialty chemical that was not explored by us previously. The next product is Anisole, and we have seen many such products coming into the market depending on their domestic dynamics. The Middle Eastern nations have realized that they can no longer bank on the oil economy, and they have to develop non-oil industries. There is a huge demand for new products, especially Specialty Chemicals, and also traditional/basic chemical products (Caustic Soda, Calcium Chloride, Sulfuric Acid, Hydrogen Peroxide, etc) that were earlier imported. However, now they desire to build their own capacities," says AK Tyagi.

The company has its own R&D facility in Sweden, EB Nuberg that intends to contribute with innovative technology for specialty chemicals. The company's state-of-art manufacturing facility in India produces Pressure Vessels, Reactors, Heat Exchangers, Columns & Towers, and Tanks. "We own a 115,000 sq m manufacturing plant in Gujarat, which manufactures large industrial equipment and machinery that caters to EPC projects as part of Nuberg EPC. We cater to numerous international as well as large Indian clients such as big PSUs and private companies," says AK Tyagi. In addition to this, the company provides technology & engineering services, EPC & LSTK solutions, heavy fabrication works, technology knowhow, engineering, procurement, construction and project management. Nuberg EPC actively cater to sectors - chemicals and fertilizer; nuclear and defence; energy & infrastructure and steel – right from ideation to final commissioning.

Emerging Opportunities

"We believe that the opportunities in the EPC sector are huge and 2021 looks to be the landmark year for the sector," says AK Tyagi. As the GCC countries are looking to transform their economies from oil dependent industries to non-oil dependent industries. Nuberg EPC is diversifying into various industries including manufacturing of specialty chemicals. "This has resulted in spree of new projects across the entire region," says AK Tyagi.

There is also increased focus on exploring usage of Hydrogen as a clean fuel in existing and new projects, especially as it is also the feedstock for green chemicals. For Nuberg EPC, Hydrogen – Green, Grey and Blue; 2G & 3G Ethanol, Water Electrolysis, Water Soluble Fertilizers and Next Generation Nutrients are in focus currently.

The Big Interview EPC World, June - 2021