Method

Make no mistake: engineering complex projects abroad is a challenge. Cultural differences and the language barrier make our work especially exciting. Yet time and time again, we succeed in bringing projects to results on time and on budget, thanks to the clarity of our approach.

Choose your battles

Clarity of approach means being selective in accepting assignments. We choose purposefully to limit our activities to these four specialist areas:

  • Palm oil production. In a sustainable fashion, with due attention paid to local farmers.
  • Renewable energy. From waste flows to energy flows.
  • Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). We handle certification of CDM candidates, for installations that lessen the burden of global warming.
  • Co-generation. These installations turn wood residues to energy and heat.

Project team
A dedicated handpicked team travels to the location in question, with the goal of monitoring progress on-site. Our in-house assignment office ZEBRA ICE selects the technicians best suited to take on a specific assignment. This assures us of knowing we've got the people with the experience and expertise to do the job.

BOT-principle
Build-Operate-Transfer. The BOT principle, for short. It's the approach we apply to all ZEBRA SPECIAL PRODUCTS projects. We build the engineered system, train a local workforce and then we handover the project. When we've arrived back in the Netherlands, they're free to call us whenever a problem arises. This guidance and aftercare guarantees that projects and systems are still functional for years after handover.

Financing
Green projects are often eligible for subsidies. ZEBRA regularly works together with ministries and funding agencies that stimulate projects in developing countries. We take care to invest in projects ourselves as well, to show our commitment. Once the project has been made reality, we extract our investment and handover the result to a local partner. The return on investment thus flows to a beneficiary in the country of destination, and we at ZEBRA can turn our minds to new initiatives.