My journey with Wasco Energy has been colorful and is one that happened quite by chance. Wasco Energy came about as a 50:50 JV between Wah Seong and Italian-based pipeline coating company called Socotherm, whose stake in the JV was eventually acquired completely by Wah Seong in 2009.
I actually came from Socotherm. Following a 4-year stint as Project Manager for Socotherm S.R.L in Nigeria, I was briefly seconded to Wah Seong’s subsidiary Petro-Pipe Industries (M) Sdn Bhd (PPI) to assist in the setting up of PPI’s coating plant in Kuantan, Malaysia. On arrival, I could already see the immense potential of Malaysia—this was way back in 1990, and it was a time when there was a lot of activity surrounding the gas pipeline network in Malaysia. Even so, the early years were very challenging; a situation that was further compounded by the fact that the biggest pipeline company in the world was already present here and had the means to be aggressive. For us, resources were scarce; we started from scratch, with little human and financial resources. The first three years was extremely tough, but we survived as a company and came out stronger for it. It also helped that the initial support we received from PETRONAS gave us a platform and track record that we could build from.
The past two decades have seen Wasco Energy transform itself from a small-player into an international oil and gas services provider through organic and inorganic means. Today, the coating plant in Kuantan is the largest pipe-coating plant in the world and we are now the world’s second largest pipe-coating company. Although the pipeline coating business was and remains the heart of our business, we have diversified our business to also include engineering and E&P services.
This transformation can be attributed to the cultural diversity the company thrives on—we are, after all, a culmination of East and West. Having come from a small outfit with the need to prove itself has also resulted in Wasco Energy becoming more ambitious. This is also a testament to the management style adopted here, where two fundamental traits have driven the company forward from the very beginning: energy and passion. We would not have weathered the storms that we faced had we not had an energetic and front-foot mindset.
Presented by Azienda & Impresa
(Romano Pisciotti)
