The Dietsmann Story so Far

The beginnings
Peter Kütemann founded Dietsmann in the Netherlands in 1977. His enterprise started as a technical assistance company serving the oil and gas companies in the Netherlands that were about to produce their first gas discoveries off the Dutch coast. At that time these companies employed full-time technical personnel for operation and maintenance. Only in exceptional cases was highly specialized work subcontracted.

Oil companies recognize the value of outsourcing
Oil companies gradually realized that outsourcing would enable them to be more flexible and operate more cost effectively. An increasing number of functions, not considered business critical, were outsourced. Peter Kütemann was the first to create an adequate and competent proposition for outsourcing maintenance without losing control of one’s assets.

1980s – rapid international growth
Dietsmann grew rapidly and opened its first international office in Aberdeen early in 1982. Later that year Dietsmann France S.A. was established to focus on the Francophone markets. In 1987 Sudmarine in Marseilles was acquired. This company had a substantial mechanical maintenance business and a well-established French spare parts procurement capability.

In 1989 Dietsmann acquired Setram in the southwest of France, which had strong capabilities in the electrical and instrumentation fields and a well-established contract base with the French oil industry. Their branches in Gabon and Congo further strengthened Dietsmann’s African presence. The mechanical, electrical and instrumentation capabilities in these countries were merged to create the world’s first multidisciplinary maintenance service company in this sector. This new concept proved advantageous in securing Dietsmann’s first integrated operation and maintenance contract, awarded by Elf.

1990s – Integrated O&M concept introduced
Following this success Dietsmann formalized the concept, and the company’s Integrated Operation & Maintenance (IOM) became yet another innovation in maintenance contracting. Its ‘shared objectives’ contracting format allowed Dietsmann’s clients to virtually exit day-to-day maintenance operations while remaining in control of the performance of their assets.

In 1996 Comerint was acquired from Italy’s ENI Group. It had a new but complementary range of products, markets and clients. Comerint, as Snamprogetti’s main operations service company, was firmly established on the Italian industrial scene. With its focus on services to the refining and petrochemical industry and specialized services in the fields of training and technology transfer, technical assistance and operation and management systems, Comerint strengthened the Company with new regional establishments in Nigeria, Libya and Saudi Arabia.

Dietsmann today
Due to its unrelenting focus, over the years Dietsmann has become the largest independent services company specialized in the operations & maintenance of oil & gas, LNG and power utility production plant. The company is set to continue to lead through its unmatched client base and experience in transfer of technology and the optimal employment of local resources, providing both world-class plant Operation & Maintenance while creating solid employee relations and local development as an added benefit.

In June 2012 Dietsmann acquired a 51% stake in REP Engineering, a Russian Global Maintenance Services Company providing repair and maintenance services to power stations. Dietsmann has a large portfolio of oil & gas companies worldwide and also operates and maintains power plants of various types and sizes for international power generating companies, Independent Power Plant (IPP) operators and national and international oil companies. In total, Dietsmann maintains power plants which have a combined installed capacity of over 12 Gigawatts of both gas and steam turbine-driven power units in Europe, Africa and Euro Asia.

Dietsmann now employs more than 5,500 people and has a local presence in more countries in West Africa and North Africa, the Caspian Sea Region and Russia than any of its competitors.

We continue to put our clients and their objectives first. Dietsmann is independent, still owned by its founder, and has no plans to change this. Dietsmann is not affiliated with any manufacturer or construction engineering firm. Unlike some other providers of “independent” maintenance services it does not use these services as an outpost for selling its spare parts or upgrades.

Dietsmann reported healthy results and achieved sales of over €320 million in challenging 2012. Considering the number of bids we are working on and the number of projects coming to market in our target countries in the coming years, the management feels confident that growth will continue into the foreseeable future. New maintenance contracts and projects will add to the cumulative effect of growing revenues from existing long term contracts and constitutes the basis of our confidence in achieving continued growth.