The Periodic Newsletter of the Meinhardt Consulting Engineering Group

Issue 2 - 2008 The Periodic Newsletter of the Meinhardt Consulting Engineering Group This Issue: Building A Success In China A Bright Future for Meinhardt China Hong Kong Science Park - Tai Po, Hong Kong Taikoo Hui, Guangzhou Cultural Plaza - Guangzhou, China Avic Plaza- Shenzhen, China Yau Tong Estate Phase 4 - Yau Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Bruce MatthewManaging Director Laurie Smith arrived in our space as a young highly skilled entrepreneurial spirit. It was that spirit that ensured his success in Hong Kong and the wider Asian market. His attention to detail, management processes and the importance of wider client relationships underpinned his success in growing an office of four people to over 800. He has left his mark on the Hong Kong skyline and I personally wish Laurie an enjoyable retirement and every success in his future endeavours. (L to R) Tamar Development Project, Hong Kong MTRC Yau Tong Station, Hong Kong Hong Kong Land Project, The Landmark Hotel Opposite Page Former Meinhardt China CEO, Laurie Smith HAECO Hanger Maintenance Base, Hong Kong BUILDING A SUCCESS IN CHINA When Laurie Smith joined Meinhardt’s Hong Kong office in 1982, there were just 15 staff in this M&E practice. Meinhardt Hong Kong is now an 850-strong multidisciplinary business, and Laurie has overseen the expansion into five offices in China. Now retiring as CEO of Meinhardt China, he looks back on the company’s huge growth in the Asian market and his own experiences of this region. “Arriving in Hong Kong was a life-changing experience, both personally and professionally, as the pace of life is so much faster than in Australia,” Mr Smith said. “The projects are bigger, decisions made faster, clients are very knowledgeable and the industry professionals are well-respected. “I remember it took almost 18 months to make the transition and feel comfortable with the new and higher level of challenges.” At the time, Meinhardt Hong Kong’s major challenge in growing the business was to gain credibility so it could compete for major projects against large, well-established Hong Kong companies. The company’s response was to manage its business prudently and carefully, and to exert rigorous Insight Magazine Issue 1 - 2008 2 Our way of life is all about the built and natural environment in which we live, and engineers have a huge responsibility in both of these areas. “We overcame this by the quality of our work, persistence and a long term plan. Meinhardt now has a welldeserved reputation as a large international company with one of the strongest management teams in Hong Kong, along with a track record in Asia that is second to none,” Mr Smith said. But there were other major hurdles in subsequent years, including the British-Sino dispute over sovereignty of Hong Kong, the Asian economic crises of the 1980s and 1990s and the chaos caused by SARS in 2003. Meinhardt grew steadily, completing many projects for the Swire Group, (including Cathay Pacific Airways, HAECO and Swire Properties), Hong Kong Land projects in Hong Kong and throughout Asia, MTRC and Airport Authority works, institutional works for the Hong Kong Government and numerous projects for all major property development companies in Hong Kong. Over that time, Mr Smith has witnessed significant changes in the areas of sustainable design, safety, efficiency of construction methods and the impact of computer aided design and drafting. Our way of life is all about the built and natural environment in which we live, and engineers have a huge responsibility in both of these areas. They must move away from technical issues only, and live up to the broader responsibility. This wider vision creates incredible career prospects for clever, hard working and committed people.” What hasn’t changed are the qualities and skills young graduates need to succeed in an engineering career. “Build on your interpersonal, communication, management and business skills as well as your engineering capabilities,” Mr Smith said. “Start early, work hard and never give up!” He attributes some of his own success to the network of “excellent colleagues and clients” he built up (including Pam Chow, his secretary for 26 years) and the guidance and friendship from many outstanding people in Hong Kong. “Asia is the fastest growing and most entrepreneurial part of the world. With our 35 year track record and good management, the success of Meinhardt Asia is assured,” Mr Smith said. While retiring from Meinhardt, he is certainly not retiring from life. A lover of adventure and challenge both personally and in business, he will continue to live a very full life. One goal is to complete the second half of the Round the World Yacht Race, in which he competed in 2002/03. “I only went half way, from Liverpool to Hong Kong via the Panama Canal and a few other places. Now I have the opportunity to do the second half,” he said. financial controls. Insight Magazine Issue 1 - 2008 3 A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR MEINHARDT CHINA W.H. Wong, who takes over from Laurie Smith as CEO for Meinhardt China, has a strong vision for the business. It includes growing the existing offices, establishing new offices in second tier cities and extending current services on the mainland to a full multidisciplinary business. With offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Mr Wong’s goal is to establish Meinhardt China in second tier cities such as Tianjin, Guangzhou, Chongqing “Meinhardt China has successfully come through Asia’s previous financial and political difficulties, and I have confidence that the company will survive, and survive well.” A major reason for this is the very strong team of directors and senior professionals who have been with the company for many years. They have established a highly effective partnership, and have the “I would like to see Meinhardt build these offices in China as truly local companies of an international group, offering structured training and career development for both local and Meinhardt China CEO, W.H Wong Plaza Indonesia & Grand Hyatt, Indonesia (Below) Opposite Page: Shenzhen Metro Line 4, Phase 2, China Mr Wong, who graduated from Hong Kong University with a B.Sc (Eng) in Electrical Engineering, began his career working with electrical contractors, consulting engineers and then an international multidisciplinary group in Hong Kong. He joined Meinhardt Hong Kong in 1984 as a Director, worked in Sydney in 1987-88, then returned to Hong Kong. Recalling the first project he won at Meinhardt Hong Kong (a small job rewiring a primary school after a fire), Mr Wong said it was significant because the lack of surety around Hong Kong’s future had dampened the economy. “In 1985, soon after this little Commenting on his succession to Laurie Smith, Mr Wong jokes that his former colleague is a “living fossil”. “He still fancies the use of – and expects engineers to use - butter papers to do sketch designs, when engineers nowadays can only use CAD stations. “I’m joking, of course. Laurie is a versatile and competent engineer who is dedicated to perfection in his work. As a colleague, he is a mentor, and I quote another Chinese aphorism: , . , . ‘If one is assisted by masters, he would become a king; if one is assisted by talents of the same peer, he would become a warlord; and if one is assisted by disciplined followers, he would fail.’ The essence of this proverb is the importance of deploying quality people to the success of the organisation. Laurie is particularly gifted in this respect. For years, he has posted talented leaders of various disciplines to the right positions, given them appropriate directions, created an autonomous environment for all individuals, inspired their potential and coordinated them to form an integrated team. “He has mentored very many in Meinhardt China and has extended his contribution to other Asian offices.” Mr Wong believes that engineering education and training are not completed in universities, and that the first five to six years of personal skill development is the key to success in an engineering career. Projects today are bigger and more complex and are completed at a much faster pace. Engineers therefore need to learn a lot, learn it fast, and work and study hard to build a solid foundation of experience. However, they benefit from the formalised training program and experienced engineers at Meinhardt, and IT makes technical information more readily available and more accessible. “Engineers should capitalise on these opportunities and materials, and inspire themselves for further advancement in innovation. Engineers have to be patient, as technical skills and problemsolving experience have to be accumulated. They should stay to complete projects, from inception to final handover, so they have first-hand experience in tackling problems at different stages of a project,” Mr Wong said Under the stewardship of W.H. Wong and the Executive Directors, Meinhardt China’s future looks bright and should maintain its mantle as a leading consultant in Hong Kong and growing business in mainland China. Insight Magazine Issue 1 - 2008 5 I would like to see Meinhardt build these offices in China as truly local companies of an international group, offering structured training and career development for both local and expatriate staff. and Changsha. He also wants the company to become registered for a design licence in China and to expand into new areas such as building science, sustainability and the environment. common goal of achieving engineering excellence. Well organised systems are in place, and Meinhardt China has built up a strong client base. While confident about the company’s future, Mr Wong does not expect his new leadership role to be easy. “There is a Chinese saying: ‘building up a successful business is difficult, but sustaining it is more difficult’. I would add: ‘making it more successful is even more difficult’. “My challenge really is how success, the Hong Kong office was awarded a significant project. The Plaza Indonesia was the biggest commercial development in Jakarta at that time and, in my opinion, this commission set the foundation stone of the subsequent growth of Meinhardt in Hong Kong.” A major project which is currently marking another milestone for him is the Shenzhen Metro Line 4 Phase 2 project, comprising a 5km railway tunnel and two underground stations. This is Meinhardt China’s first railway project in mainland China, and the first joint venture for the company with two mainland design institutes. I can do better, after such a great predecessor. I need to rely on my fellow directors and colleagues to continue to put in their unfailing efforts, along with the support of Meinhardt China’s clients and business associates who have been offering opportunities for years to Meinhardt China to deliver quality services.” expatriate staff, and assisting them to be professionally recognised internationally,” Mr Wong said. Although acknowledging that the global financial crisis will have an adverse effect on the engineering industry in China, he believes that good companies will always have a major share of available business. “There will be a great reduction in the number of small scale and ‘quick return’ projects, but infrastructure and major commercial projects are likely to proceed as they are longterm investments and should not be much affected. Glenn Morris, Group Director / Managing Director –Australia I had the good fortune of working for Meinhardt China from 1993 – 1999. I consider Laurie as one of the three business mentors who have influenced my career – a role he doesn’t realise he was playing! Laurie and the executive team have been instrumental in building a highly successful Meinhardt operation in China. Insight Magazine Issue 1 - 2008 4 TAIKOO HUI GUANGzHOU CULTURAL PLAzA GUANGzHOU, CHINA Client: Swire Properties Ltd Architect: Arquitectonica (ARQ) Estimated Completion: 2010 Taikoo Hui is one of the most prestigious commercial, office, hotel developments in Tianha of Guangzhou China. The project consists of a 45-storey office in tower 1, a 30-storey office in tower 2, a 28-storey hotel, a 3-level podium and 4-level basement will include 5-storey retail mall and 2 level of underground carpark and a cultural centre. Mechanical, electrical and other services will be provided by Meinhardt HONG KONG SCIENCE PARK TAI PO, HONG KONG Architect: Leigh & Orange Ltd. Estimated Completion: 2008 Client: HK Science and Technology Parks Co. The Hong Kong Science Park Phase 2 is a unique and pioneering project in Hong Kong, being that its aim is to create a platform for innovation, research & development (R&D) activities for high-tech and high-value industries. Such as electronics, precision engineering, IT / telecommunication and biotechnology. The Hong Kong Science Park Phase 2 consists 10, 7-storey buildings including energy towers, R&D offices, laboratory buildings & structural creative oval shape auditorium of modern facades 2nd order non-linear analysed tensile fabric steel structure of amphitheatre, services tunnel, link bridges, swimming pool and music water feature. Meinhardt provided civil, structural, geotechnical, building services and façade design services. This innovative and sustainable structural building earns the Joint Structural Division Special Awards 2008 (Hong Kong Projects). This world class standard research centre contains numerous energy efficient & sophisticated building services facilities and earns its merit in Quality Building Award, 2008 for two categories, namely Sustainability and Non-residential in recognition its high standard of quality. Meinhardt is providing building services, structural, geotechnical engineering and façade and building maintenance unit (Gondola) consultancy design for this project. The development composes 49-storey 245m high office building and 47-storey 170m high service apartment building, which sit on top of 6-levels of retail podium and 4-levels of basement carpark with underground connection to MTR station. The total GFA of the development is around 240,000m². Client: Hutchison Whampoa Limited Architect: Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP Estimated Completion: 2010 AvIC PLAzA SHENzHEN, CHINA Insight Magazine Issue 1 - 2008 6 Insight Magazine Issue 1 - 2008 7 China Hong Kong 4th Floor Wah Ming Centre 421 Queen’s Road West, Hong Kong Telephone (852) 2858 0738 Facsimile (852) 2559 1613 Islamabad 64B Main Margalla Road Sector F7/2 Islamabad Islamabad Telephone (92-51) 2650366 Facsimile (92-51) 2650366 Lahore 17/C-111 Gulberg 111 Lahore Telephone (92-42) 5717508 Shanghai 405 Universal Centre, 175 Xiang Yang Road South Shanghai 200031 China Telephone (8621) 5465 6118 Facsimile (8621) 5465 6128 India A-8, Sector-16, Noida - 201 301 Uttar Pradesh, India Telephone (91-120) 251 6165 Facsimile (91-120) 251 5745 Shenzhen Room 304 Block B, Union Square 5022 Binhe Rd 518033 Shenzhen, China Telephone: (86755) 8297 8489 Facsimile: (86755) 8297 8456 United Kingdom New Penderel House 283 - 288 High Holborn, London WC1V 7HP, United Kingdom Telephone: (44-20) 7831 7969 Facsimile (44-20) 7404 7872 Beijing Room 506 Blue Castle International Centre, Tower 1 3 West Dawang Road, Chaoyang, Beijing 100022 China Telephone (8610) 8599 7976 Facsimile (8610) 8599 7186 United Arab Emirates Dubai Gold & Diamond Park, Sheikh Zayed Road Building 4, Unit 130 P.O. Box 38349 Dubai UAE Telephone (971) 4341 6686 Facsimile (971) 4341 6687 Macau 4V Torre 3, EDF Hung On 1321 Avenida da Amizade Macau Telephone (853) 2872 5811 Facsimile (853) 2827 6247 YAU TONG ESTATE PHASE 4 YAU TONG, KOwLOON, HONG KONG Client: Hong Kong Housing Authority. Architect: Hong Kong Housing Authority Estimated Completion: 2011 This is Hong Kong Housing Authority’s Yau Tong Estate Phase 4, a regional type shopping centre of 8-storey, 45,000 m2 GFA. It consists of mainly multi-storey shopping center as well as public transport interchange, one-storey carpark and a separate community hall. Meinhardt is providing engineering design services of multiple disciplines: structural and geotechnical, building services and building façade design. 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