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WWW.NORTHERNSTAR.AB.CA 14 How old is the company and how has it grown since its inception? Vista was founded in June 1985 and grew to about 30 employees in our first 15 years. By 2008, we reached 80 employees and kept growing until we reached approximately 450 employees in the fall of 2013. What attracted the founders to find a niche in engineering and procurement? Vista was founded by Alex Campbell as a boutique engineering firm and has grown with Western Canada’s energy engineering market over the years. We’re proud to be independently owned and operated and believe that Western Canada is a great market for us. Many of our competitors have closed shop or sold to larger international firms who want to establish a presence in our region, but our goal is to be Canadian-owned and Canadian-focused. That’s our niche at the moment, and there aren’t many other independent engineering firms as large as we are. Vista is a very diverse company. Was it always a goal to be as diverse as possible and to have a footprint in so many different facets of the industry? Over the years, we’ve diversified our portfolio with a variety of oil and gas projects. Recently, due to the market demand, we’ve focused on heavy oil, thermal production surface facilities and related work including water and wastewater treatment, produced gas and oil treatment. Obviously, pads, tankage and utilities for thermal facilities are part of the projects we execute and we have experience with gas handling, waste treatment, pumping stations, storage facilities and more. But even within heavy oil, we’ve tried to diversify the types of projects we take on. For example, over the last few years, our business has been split quite evenly between greenfield and brownfield projects. I believe it’s important to diversify. Not only does it insulate us from the risk that comes with a single- minded focus on one aspect of the industry, but it provides a better-rounded perspective on all types of facility engineering. This benefits both our people and our clients. Can you describe some of the services offered by Vista in regards to heavy oil and what engineering capabilities help the customer reach its goal? Well, clients want turn-key solutions but they also want flexibility and the two don’t always go together. We focus on our core business: delivering high quality engineering products at a very reasonable project cost and in a simple, collaborative manner with our clients. While we work on many different types of projects, our delivery is consistent. Our simple, fit-for-purpose engineering solutions help clients achieve low total installed costs and schedule certainty. We supplement our core disciplines strengths – process, mechanical and piping engineering and design – with experience in civil / structural engineering and design, and electrical and automation knowledge. We also provide engineering support products, including procurement, project controls, document control, regulatory and inspection and construction management. And we’re currently evaluating other business models to provide our clients with their final products in a more integrated form. What makes Vista so reliable to the customer? How much work goes into preparing for a certain job that Vista works on? Vista is organized into dedicated client project teams. We start by gaining a clear understanding of the client’s Interview with Bashar Hussien, CEO for Vista Projects HAPPENINGS

Interview with Bashar Hussien, CEO for Vista Projects · Interview with Bashar Hussien, CEO for Vista Projects HAPPENINGS. ENERGY PROCESSING CANADA | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 15 1/4

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Page 1: Interview with Bashar Hussien, CEO for Vista Projects · Interview with Bashar Hussien, CEO for Vista Projects HAPPENINGS. ENERGY PROCESSING CANADA | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 15 1/4

WWW.NORTHERNSTAR.AB.CA14

How old is the company and how has it grown since its inception?

Vista was founded in June 1985 and grew to about 30 employees in our first 15 years. By 2008, we reached 80 employees and kept growing until we reached approximately 450 employees in the fall of 2013.

What attracted the founders to find a niche in engineering and procurement?

Vista was founded by Alex Campbell as a boutique engineering firm and has grown with Western Canada’s energy engineering market over the years. We’re proud to be independently owned and operated and believe that Western Canada is a great market for us. Many of our competitors have closed shop or sold to larger international firms who want to establish a presence in our region, but our goal is to be Canadian-owned and Canadian-focused. That’s our niche at the moment, and there aren’t many other independent engineering firms as large as we are.

Vista is a very diverse company. Was it always a goal to be as diverse as possible and to have a footprint in so many different facets of the industry?

Over the years, we’ve diversified our portfolio with a variety of oil and gas projects. Recently, due to the market demand, we’ve focused on heavy oil, thermal production surface facilities and related work including water and wastewater treatment, produced gas and oil treatment. Obviously, pads, tankage and utilities for thermal facilities are part of the projects we execute and we have experience with gas handling, waste treatment, pumping stations, storage facilities and more. But even within heavy oil, we’ve tried to diversify the types of projects we take on. For example, over the last few years, our business has been split quite evenly between greenfield and brownfield projects.

I believe it’s important to diversify. Not only does it insulate us from the risk that comes with a single-minded focus on one aspect of the industry, but it provides a better-rounded perspective on all types of facility engineering. This benefits both our people and our clients.

Can you describe some of the services offered by Vista in regards to heavy oil and what engineering capabilities help the customer reach its goal?

Well, clients want turn-key solutions but they also want flexibility and the two don’t always go together. We focus on our core business: delivering high quality engineering products at a very reasonable project cost and in a simple, collaborative manner with our clients. While we work on many different types of projects, our delivery is consistent.

Our simple, fit-for-purpose engineering solutions help clients achieve low total installed costs and schedule certainty. We supplement our core disciplines strengths – process, mechanical and piping engineering and design – with experience in civil / structural engineering and design, and electrical and automation knowledge.

We also provide engineering support products, including procurement, project controls, document control, regulatory and inspection and construction management. And we’re currently evaluating other business models to provide our clients with their final products in a more integrated form.

What makes Vista so reliable to the customer? How much work goes into preparing for a certain job that Vista works on?

Vista is organized into dedicated client project teams. We start by gaining a clear understanding of the client’s

Interview with

Bashar Hussien, CEO for Vista Projects

HAPPENINGS

Page 2: Interview with Bashar Hussien, CEO for Vista Projects · Interview with Bashar Hussien, CEO for Vista Projects HAPPENINGS. ENERGY PROCESSING CANADA | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 15 1/4

ENERGY PROCESSING CANADA | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015 15

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requirements, processes, preferences and culture. Then we select the people with the best expertise in our teams to be assigned to each client based on that understanding. We emphasize both technical excellence and cultural fit when we assign people to client programs.

What are some of the toughest questions that customers have asked that Vista was able to solve?

Given the current market conditions, our clients are understandably cost-focused. We’ve been asked to streamline our designs and to be creative in coming up with ways to reduce the project’s total installed cost. Producers want to spend less on their projects overall and they recognize that the cost-cutting process begins with engineering. A gold-plated design will drive up costs throughout the project lifecycle and into operations so we focus on delivering straightforward and simple engineering solutions from the early stages. And we’ll continue to do this for all of our clients. I believe these are good practices, regardless of the market conditions.

How has 2015 been for Vista and how has the company navigated its way through this low-price oil environment?

Vista looks at the current situation as an opportunity to win more work. Clients are beginning to carefully evaluate the real value they get from their engineering contractors. We’ve proved in the past, and in our current work, that we can add value and help clients weather the low oil price storm. Vista is small enough to be nimble and responsive, yet large enough and with sufficient depth and breadth to handle large programs of work. Our efforts to diversify our project portfolio have also helped us to avoid the worst effects of the market downturn.

What is the company’s mission?

Our mission at Vista is to deliver high quality engineering on every project and to treat people fairly. It’s very simple.

Why is it so important for Vista to work with the community on different programs? Which programs are you most proud of?

Our community initiatives program is built around our people-first approach to business. We work closely with our staff to support the causes that matter most to them and do what we can to help those initiatives. When it comes to giving back to the community, Vista is proud to sponsor the Lil’ Shopper contest and Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta, and 2015 is our fourth year doing that.

We also encourage staff to have fun with charitable initiatives such as the Big Bike Challenge. These programs all reflect our people’s priorities, which are the company’s priorities.

How have you earned your reputation as a trusted leader in thermal energy projects?

Vista was founded on the belief that doing good work

will lead to clients giving more work. It’s a simple formula that’s been the driving force behind our company’s success. It doesn’t matter what the project is or which client it is for, the quality of the work must be impeccable. We truly believe this. We need to deliver 10/10 in everything we do. That’s what our clients deserve. After 30 years of operating this way, Vista has gained the strong reputation that we currently enjoy.

“Our simple, fit-for-purpose

engineering solutions

help clients achieve low

total installed costs and

schedule certainty.”