Moroccan Gazafric finds new ways to improve

In 2008, Kosan Crisplant set out to build one of the largest filling plants on earth for Gazafric - and succeeded. Now, almost ten years later, that same filling plant still has not been surpassed, but will, however, have to share the title with a Kuwaiti player. Yet, the Moroccan plant is spectacular in so many other ways and has received several upgrades both in terms of various equipment and ISO certifications since the initial commissioning. With this gigantic project, Kosan Crisplant regained momentum in the Moroccan market by getting involved in the construction and site management of Africa's largest LPG cylinder filling plant.

Back in 2008, Gazafric requested a complete turnkey project to replace the old filling plant in Anza that had become too small to keep up with demand and was situated too close to the nearby city. The new plant was to cover an area of 25 hectares, equivalent to a 500 m long and 500 m wide area, constructed from scratch on a bare field, or rather on bare desert land in Agadir, Morocco. Plenty of space was paramount to avoid having to move again due to security reasons. Numerous meetings were held with the customer and local partners to determine the exact needs, to analyse local conditions in terms of regulations, to build filling norms, and to visit the site. Today, Gazafric fills 25 million cylinders a year amounting to 216,000 tons gas and the quality of the delivered product as well as the employee security of the site have tremendously improved, just as the expanding demand of 6% per year is being met.

Brilliant and simple concept

Gazafric's business model is built on entering contracts with the other gas companies in Morocco that own cylinders and proposing to fill them for them. As all the facilities are made available by Gazafric, he becomes a strategic player in Morocco. This model means that Gazafric does not have to invest in costly cylinders or a distribution network. Filling cylinders is the sole focus of the business, and hence concentrating on investing in efficient equipment, on optimising the cylinder filling business, and having a large storage capacity is the only thing that matters. A simply clever business model. And because of the mere size of the plant, Gazafric has been able to increase its efficiency and competitiveness in the market. This setup allows them to do what they do best, and with the support and expertise of Kosan Crisplant, they are on a course of constant improvement.

The keyword is trust

Over the course of the project, Kosan Crisplant and Gazafric developed a close relationship based on mutual trust. And trust is of vital importance to the final result of a project this size. Of course, the project must contain the best solution at the right price, but when price and practicalities have been settled, it is the personal relationship that ensures a successful completion of a project.

Kosan Crisplant goes all the way to keep customers happy

During the construction, it was therefore natural for Kosan Crisplant to take on the responsibility of site managing in close cooperation with Gazafric's Najem Id Hali, who wanted a big say in managing the project. As a consequence, he opted for a less traditional turnkey solution. However, building the world’s largest LPG filling plant requires experienced knowledge in managing projects of this calibre. Kosan Crisplant therefore offered Gazafric one of the best and most experienced site managers in the industry to help manage this huge, specialised project and he was able to complete the project at the agreed time and with the agreed means.

Staying on top of the game

Gazafric started the construction process in 2008 and entered into production in the autumn 2009. It took less than a year from bare desert land to the production was up and running. Even ten years later, the plant is still filling at full capacity, which is due to the skilled management of the Plant Manager Mr. El Hassane Aabas and expert maintenance of the equipment supervised by the Technical Manager Mr. Mohamed Bouras. In 2017, this pivotal team secured the Gazafric filling plant the following certifications:

ISO 9001: 2008 Quality management system
ISO 14001: 2004 + Cor 1: 2009 Environmental management system
B SOHSAS 18001: 2007 Occupational health and safety management system

These certifications prove to Gazafric's surroundings that they are the leading player in this sector and the certifications are a means to signal professionalism, control and expertise across all operations. They also go to show Gazafric's customers that the delivered product is of premium quality and that the operations adhere to best practises respecting employee safety and cleanliness. As a consequence, being certified is a clear competitive resource in this market.