Geoffroy Marquis, Technical Sales Engineer, Vallourec Middle East, Dubai
I wanted to learn more about the Middle East, which is such an important place for the oil industry. I had already been to the North Sea region, and I wanted to get some experience in a new area with a French industrial group. Since I had only worked for operation and production companies, I wanted to diversify. My VIE experience in Dubai will hit the two-year mark at the end of October 2019. I’ve been working with the PLP/HCP sales team. Here, I’ve found everything I was looking for: technical subjects, trade shows, a new working culture, a very demanding market, and more challenges at every project level.
My role
The sales offices are the intermediary between the customer and the factory. The sales teams’ job is to submit a turnkey project that will both meet customer expectations and be feasible on the manufacturing side. It might seem simple, but it actually requires a lot of rigor, flexibility, communication, transparency, and resilience. My main takeaway from this adventure can be summed up as follows: every problem has a solution. I want to continue in a technical job for a few more years before exploring other avenues. Vallourec offers a wide array of possibilities: sales, R&D, etc. Companies like Vallourec are the reason why I’ve always wanted to work in French industry: they know how to marry tradition and modernity while maintaining a solid foundation of values shared by the whole group. This approach really speaks to me. I feel like I can flourish at Vallourec.