Rajiv Kumar - Fleet Manager Topaz Marine MENA

How long have you been with Topaz?

I have been with Topaz close to three years now.

How would you describe the working culture of Topaz?

Topaz is a rapidly growing group and I have seen tremendous expansion in my company during my tenure. A lot of emphasis has been given on training of the staff and in ensuring that safety is accorded top priority. There is total commitment in this regard from the top management.

How would you describe your experience working at Topaz?

The growth process has brought about a lot of challenges and exciting growth opportunities for everyone. The hard work put in by employees is appreciated; the company encourages new ideas to be put forward for system improvement. Our committed workshop team has reduced the operation costs by doing the jobs in-house and ensuring quick turnaround of vessels that are often in very difficult conditions. All this leads to successful operations and finally an improvement in the company’s bottom line.

What is the best memory of your time with Topaz?

This was during the docking of one of our vessels. The ship’s CPP propeller had a major problem and after a lot of work on the unit, the dry-dock repair team and the OEM service engineer decided that the unit was beyond repair and had to be replaced. However, our team worked on the unit after everyone had left for the day and to everybody’s surprise we managed to solve the problem late that night. This saved the company a lot of money as the lead time for the parts were more than two months and the ship would have been out of service for that time. More than that, it proved that teamwork and commitment to the job always leads to success- and on that day all of us could proudly say that we had done what even the makers’ service engineer could not do.

Joseph Palladan - Senior Project Manager Fabrication & Construction, Topaz Engineering

How long have you been with Topaz?

I joined Topaz in 1998 as a Project Engineer.

How would you describe the working culture of Topaz?

I moved to Topaz when it was relatively new, but saw its growth potential, which I believed, would eventually help my career advancements and in achieving my goals. Though it took a couple of years, my patience and hard work, coupled with support and encouragement from my superiors slowly proved me right.

Topaz kept me growing as the company grew. As part of its growth the company always had increased targets and related new challenges. As a project manager I had great opportunities to face some of those challenges. It increases confidence levels and brings self satisfaction when the challenges are successfully overcome. This is one of the main reasons for me still being with this organisation.

How would you describe your experience working at Topaz?

My association with Topaz has been greatly satisfying and I believe that continuing with this company will help me in achieving greater success.

What is the best memory of your time with Topaz?

All of my project completions are good memories because they’re milestones for the company and myself as well. Among all, I would say the completion and load out of the first offshore jacket made by Topaz (1st May 2007) was a very proud moment for me.