We are not competing with anybody, but we are the best — Keremu

Engr. Kent Bright Keremu is the Managing Director/CEO of Doxa International Engineering Services Limited. In this exclusive interview with Bisi Adewumi, Barth Ndubuwah and Ijeh Ekpowaji, he bares his mind on a number of issues, ranging from achievements of his company, role of NCDMB in driving local content, insecurity, relationship with IOCs, CSR among others.  It will surely make an interesting read.   Excerpts:

Please can we meet you Sir?

My name is  Kent Bright Keremu, Managing Director/CEO, DOXA International Engineering Services Limited. I hold B.Sc in Mechanical Engineering from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), now Rivers State University(RSU). I am from Delta State, but I have lived all my life in  Port Harcourt, so, I see Rivers State as my home.  I am happily married to Mrs Faith Kent-Keremu and we have  three kids. I love people and I like to give back to the society.

How and when did the journey of Doxa start?

Sometime in 2014/2015, I was in a programme with Pst David Ibiyeomie, the General Overseer of Salvation Ministries and he used the word Doxa, where people were giving glory to God. I don’t think he has used that word again after that day. I know he cannot remember ever using the word. It is not an English word, it is an Hebrew word and when he mentioned the word Doxa, it permeated into my mind and kept on resonating.

I met a friend that has a company and asked him to give me some of his shares in the company. He said no. Then things were not moving on smoothly.

Then, in 2016, things got tougher. The only thing I had was myself and my God. When things look impossible, you must be bold. Then I called a friend and said I wanted to register a company. He said what was the name and I said Doxa. He said that the name might not sail through. I said I didn’t have any other name, after all, the registration then was about N5,000. I told him to just send it and he did. He later called that the name had been accepted. That was how  I registered the company. At that time,it was only myself, my wife and our son.

Doxa did not actually start operations immediately, I was still working with a friend.

But I wanted to do something different, not like every other Nigeria company. I wanted to build a company and a family, where every member of staff would be part of the family. Every staff that works with us, we try to have a relationship.

 In a saturated industry like the Oil and Gas,how did you succeed in getting the IOCs to do business with your company?

We are not just 100% Nigerian company that provides services, we provide  complete package. That is,  equipment, service and  personnel. We have record time to deliver quality services. Sometimes we go to the media to make presentations.

The International Oil Companies (IOCs) are quite familiar with the big players in the industry. But, they also need us the smaller (growing) companies. Though the big companies hold the system already. We have record time service delivery.

The service we offer is not what you go to market and buy, the Pressurised Welding Enclosure (Hot Welding Solutions). For the pressurised welding enclosure, its units are certified annually. Not just the unit, but the personnel that operates it. This unit has censor that has a lifespan of six months, one year.

That unit needs to be recertified, so, it has to be taken to the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for the recertification and costs about 50% of the original cost.

So, we try to do our best to deliver quality on our mandate. It is not easy, but that is what we do.

 Do you think NCDMB has done well in delivering on its mandate?

Well, they have laid the foundation for local content to thrive. So, we can’t write them off. When they came to inspect our facility, they were not very friendly and the report we got was not pleasant. They set up the basic requirements for Nigerian content participation in the Oil and Gas sector.

Apart from that, we have not heard from them. For every business we do, they take 1%, but we have not gotten return for that 1%. The only thing NCDMB has done was to set the standard in the Oil and Gas sector.

 How far has the current security challenges in the country affected your business?

We are trying our best, we don’t do so much, but the little we do, we engage the community to put their eyes on the ground. Most times, the clients provide security when we work for them.

Insecurity is affecting our operations. Some partners want to go into full manufacturing, but they can’t, because once in a while the International Community sounds security alerts and this  directly or indirectly affects operations.

Does the current inflation rate in anyway affect your operations, in terms of patronage?

Yes, inflation affects us. The exchange rate is not steady. Though, it’s not only a Nigerian factor, it’s a global problem. So, it affects us, but we don’t have alternative,we are still in business.

 What do you envisage of DOXA in the next ten years?

We are not in competition with anybody, but Doxa is a name for the next generation.

We have a plan for the next 60 years, even for the host community and staff. What we do, other companies want to emulate.

Doxa is something strong and better. We have the plan of getting international staff to work and live in Nigeria. Already, we have foreign partners. Doxa International Engineering Services Limited is Pressurehub UK’s representative in Africa. We are not just talking about ourselves, but the community hosting our facilities. So, government  has to do something about insecurity.

Where does Nigerian NewsDirect fall in all of these?  NewsDirect is a daily newspaper, circulating virtually in all states of the federation and it is reviewed daily on national stations such as: NTA, AIT, TVC, Channels TV, STV, Faaji FM and so on. We are ready to partner with you.

I don’t actually like too much publicity naturally, just like to be simple and natural without attracting any attention. All the same, now that you are here, we will be inviting you to cover our activities when we have occasions annually.

What stands you out among other indigenous companies amidst stiff competition?

Doxa International Engineering Services Company is one of Nigeria’s biggest pressurised welding enclosure (Hot Welding Solutions). We have the highest number of units in the country, and Africa at large. Like I said, we are not competing with anybody, but we are the best.

We don’t just rent equipment, we give you quality service, while you sleep. In Oil and Gas we say if it is not safe don’t do it. But in Doxa, we say if it not safe, give it to us, we do it for you.

We are currently doing something with SPDC, Chevron, NLNG, among others.