Christmas message from Petter Aalvik

Omega’s CEO, Petter Aalvik, looks back on the year that was, praises the efforts of our team amid new challenges, and shares his wishes for Christmas and the year ahead.

This Christmas will be different for many of us. 

And 2020 became a very different year than the one we expected. 

Instead of unprecedented growth, it was our ability to handle pandemics, locked-down societies, travel restrictions, oil crises, uncertainty and more, that was tested. I am filled with respect and gratitude for the help and understanding that you have shown your colleagues and clients. The Omega team has passed these tests with remarkable resilience.

Keeping in mind the unexpected changes in markets and societies, our team still counts an impressive 1390 employees. An employee count of 1390 represents a 3% reduction compared to December last year. However, we now see that demand for our services is growing again in many locations. 

The stress that 2020 brought upon us varied from company to company. At some locations Omega had to manage situations where clients shut down their activity completely, while at other locations Omega stretched its capabilities to the limit to meet client demands. 

Why then did Omega do well in 2020, what makes Omega so special? The answer is, our people; our unique group of engaged, generous, humble, and solution-oriented people, who create an atmosphere of openness.

The pandemic will pass. Our clients will start new oil and gas projects, and we will see strong growth in renewables. Governments will stimulate activity by launching government-funded infrastructure and construction projects. We have used the downturn to improve our systems, fund new innovations, launch new products, engage in new ventures, and improve our strategic positioning, so that we are ready for the next upturn. For a company determined to improve project performance, the future is bright.

You have experienced tough days in 2020, but you have also achieved some wonderful things. Let us focus on, and celebrate, the good things that we achieved in 2020! Read the section below to see some of these highlights.

Christmas is a time for caring. This year’s Christmas gift from all of us in Omega goes to the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. Our gift is a donation of NOK 1 million divided over two years, to funding research grants in the field of mental health. We want to contribute to medical advances that can help people that are suffering to return to good health. 

Thank you very much for your great work and contribution in 2020!

I wish you a peaceful and joyous festive season and all the best for the new year!

Petter Aalvik

CEO, Omega

Omega Highlights, 2020

• At the start of December we had 1390 employees in Omega; down 3% in 2020, but on a rising trend.


• Global Pims business revenues grew 28% in 2020, all locations included. The number of active users has grown by nearly 40% since the same time last year. We currently have 60 000 active users and we need more software developers!
  
  
• In Canada, we now have a Pims team of 11, and they have doubled Pims sales over the last 12 months!
  
  
• Our team of eight in Pau, in cooperation with Omega colleagues around the world, successfully completed the global Pims Document Control rollout for our French client, a great position from which we can expand.
  
  
• Our team of 90 in Houston added a new, major Pims client and performed a global rollout with a lot of implementation in 2020. The US Pims business showed 50% growth over the last 12 months. In addition, our Houston team secured a Project Consultants frame agreement with the same client!
  
  
• Consulting managers in Norway, Canada, USA, Australia, and Singapore have become experts regarding the management of an intense stream of changing pandemic instructions and restrictions for consultants on assignment.
  
  
• Consultants on client assignments have demonstrated their abilities to focus on their work amid ever-changing Covid-19 instructions, changes in shifts and offshore schedules, quarantines, and changes in scope and work locations. Through it all, our team has continued to provide great help to our clients.
  
  
• The Norwegian consulting business, which now has 600 consultants on assignment, recently added three major frame agreements to its portfolio and all of them are already giving good activity.


• Pims 365 continues its success onshore in Norway, having won contracts with some of the most significant clients in the Norwegian construction and infrastructure sector. Within oil and gas, Pims has strengthened its already strong position, supporting the industry in project development processes for many new projects that are underway.


• Omega’s IT Consultancy venture has maintained its position with 39 assignments, as well as fueling the Pims business with new software developers.


• The Norwegian Pims business received a NOK 6 million innovation grant from the Norwegian Government based on our development plan for Omega 365. Our ambition is to make Omega 365 a cloud-based platform that encompasses the best of Pims, and allows for the addition of innovative features and the capacity to scale the product globally.
  
  
• The Norwegian Pims business is providing cloud and infrastructure for complete “end to end” deliveries to all clients. Using Omega 365 as a key lever, they have completed most of the work required for ISO 27001 certification and are ready for final certification mid 2021.
  
  
• Omega Technology in Lithuania plays a key role for our Pims business globally, providing Appframe and Pims software development, testing, Cloud services, DC, Cost, and CMS product groups, as well as servicing almost 20 clients globally. Omega Technology’s ability to attract great people, develop employees’ skills sets, and provide leading expertise, fuels the growth of the Pims business at all Omega locations. After growing 44% in 2019, Klaipeda reported 22% growth in 2020, with the team now consisting of 41 employees.
  
  
• With a sharp reduction in oil and gas activity levels in St. John’s in Canada, NSB Omega delivered growth by setting up new ventures and strategic partnersnhips! NSB Omega has now become the NSB Omega Group, with several subsidiaries and a team of 166 employees in the group. Their growth is the result of solid business development and strategy. The team in St. John’s have entered into strategic partnerships with Spirit Staffing and Fast Labor in Calagary, set up NSB Omega Guyana as a joint venture with a local partner, become one of the founding partners of M3 Project Solutions (a high-end project controls venture), and most recently, taken a strategic position in the reestablishment of Seabase (a crewing company with historic roots in St. Johns).
  
  
• After a strong performance in 2019, our Australian business started 2020 by facing extreme bushfires, which brought client activities to a halt, followed by the pandemic lockdown. Regardless, Omega Australia has stood its ground, and the team of 26 (11 staff and 15 project consultants on assignments) expects that business will pick up again in 2021 for both Pims and project personnel.
  
  
• Omega Singapore achieved 37% growth in sales in 2020 and are now a team of 44 employees. Their growth was buoyed by many consultant assignments for the Johan Castberg project, and steady results from the Pims business. The growth came to a sudden stop recently due to changes in government practices related to employment passes, a problem that we are determined to fix.
  
  
• HMSREG is a business that helps project owners meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number eight regarding decent work. The 12 employees behind the venture, in cooperation with the Pims team in Norway, have done a great job, and implemented the software system for 40 clients. HMSREG has ambitious plans for further development, and the HMSREG venture has now been set up as a corporation with Omega and Infobric as strategic owners.
  
  
• Omega Design continued to expand their business and services, growing their team from 11 to 17 specialists in design, web development, mobile app development, copywriting, communications, and film production and editing.
  
  
• Omega Subsea in Norway and the UK has increased sales by almost 40% and achieved their strongest result ever! Following some years of market consolidation, Omega Subsea now stands out as the leading supplier of services for project management and onshore/offshore staffing, especially regarding ROV, inspection, and marine/subsea operations. The Subsea team counts more than 140 during peak season.
  
  
• Omega Areal expanded into Bergen by welcoming Bergen Arkitektkontor (BAKO) onboard; Areal acquired BAKO in August. The BAKO team, made up of eight architects and engineers, experienced a successful entry into Omega from day one. Omega Areal now has 49 architects and engineers and are very close to their target of becoming a team of 50, having been a team of 10 just a few years ago. Omega Areal has secured a leading market position in and around Ølensvåg, Leirvik, and Haugesund, where they have offices in Norway. The Bergen office will now offer new opportunities.


• A central part of our organization is Omega Admin in Ølensvåg. By the end of 2020, Omega Admin supports 27 companies inclusive Omega’s international business, and close to 1400 employees. Omega Admin, with a team of 25, runs accounting and financing, payroll and invoicing, insurance and banking arrangements, financial transactions and a lot more such as Omega properties, offices and related services. Both Clients and the entire Omega team, in Norway and globally, appreciate the high quality and efficiency of the services that Omega Admin provides. 
  


• Our new venture, Omega DK in Copenhagen in Denmark, is pushing ahead and introducing Pims to promising industry sectors such as wind power and pharmaceuticals. The team in Copenhagen has expanded to five employees, with nine employees based elsewhere.
  
  
• At the very end of the year, Omega established a new office in Haugesund, Norway. Just a 45-minute drive from Omega HQ, it is the first time Omega has had an office in the Haugesund region. Approximately 20 Omega employees, primarily from Omega PS and Omega Areal, will work from the Haugesund office initially. It is our hope that this office will bring us even closer to existing and potential clients in this region!