"The company gets substantial business from its overseas operations and it will be easy to pitch for new clients if we have a separate outfit. Besides it will help make our bid financially more competitive," said managing director, Dileep S Shevde.

The move is part of the company's new corporate strategy and restructuring programme which is now being finalised. It plans to create a separate division for pipeline construction which, at a later stage, can be converted into a joint venture, he said.

There are also plans to integrated the equipment, procurement and construction (EPC) activities. In future, the company will also bid for EPC turnkey contracts for the oil and gas sector which will include building storage tanks.

UB Engineering is keen on providing project management expertise.Shevde said it has the expertise to supervise installation of turnkey contracts and is now confident of lending these services to other parties as well. The company has in-house facility for training and testing manpower while providing skilled personnel to monitor the construction work, he added.

The corporate strategy, Shevde said, needed a different focus as the nature of competition in the domestic and oversees market is changing. Also, growth in the power sector, which has been a major contributor to revenue, has been very poor. Over 50 per cent of business in 1996-97 was from the power sector and this was down to 24 per cent for the year ended March 1999.

The company is now going all out to undertake work for fertiliser and petrochemical projects. It also sees good opportunities in oil and gas, steel and cement. "We have booked large orders in cement, desalination and refinery sectors," said Shevde. He expressed satisfaction at the work done Reliance Petroleum's Jamnagar refinery the Dabhol powerproject.

According to Shevde, there is enormous scope for business in overseas markets, particularly Kuwait, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Of the total orders-on-hand of around Rs 185 crore till March this year, Rs 87 crore orders were from operations abroad.

The company was awarded two O&M contracts for power plants from the Abu Dabhi Water & Electricity Authority and Ministry of Water and Electricity, Kuwait through a global competitive bidding.

The Pune-based company has recently bagged a Rs 152.50 crore order from Ansaldo of Italy for balance of plant work at the 420 mw Neyveli Lignite power plant, being developed by the Neyveli Lignite Corporation.