Singu: Collaboration, expertise, and quality secret behind Premier Agencies success

Premier Agencies Managing Director Robert Singu addresses the audience during a distributor conference held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A great leader in a company is a crucial pillar of

success. They provide guidance, motivation, and direction to employees. Through their leadership, the company succeeds in achieving its goals and fostering a work culture built on trust, transparency, and resilience.

A great leader knows how to set goals and rally their team towards the company’s vision. They create a shared direction and inspire employees to pursue that goal.

Additionally, they emphasize clear communication among employees. They understand the importance of listening to employee feedback and sharing crucial information in an understandable way.

Premier Agencies Managing Director Robert Singu (left), in a group photo with some of the company’s employees during the Top 100 Mid-sized company awards diner gala in 2019.

These qualities don’t just happen; they are the result of strong founda­tions laid in the leader’s journey. Pre­mier Agencies Managing Director Robert Singu, is a perfect example of these qualities.

Mr. Singu, who is professionally a mechanical engineer, began his jour­ney immediately after graduating at university, where he was employed in a factory as a project engineer at one of the soap and toothpaste manufactur­ing plants in Dar es Salaam.

He says he worked at the factory for four years before deciding to enter the oil industry when he was hired by one of the major oil firms in the coun­try and successfully worked there for three years before moving to another company where the dream of starting his own company began.

“When I entered the oil industry, I was on the mechanical side, where my main responsibility was installing various machinery and performing maintenance on it. This role led me to meet various machinery manufactur­ers,” says Mr Singu.

He says he was continuing to work while studying a marketing course, which, he explains, had four “P” that translated: product, price, promotion, and place.

“After working in the oil company for several years, I saw an opportunity in the distribution, installation, and maintenance of machinery in the oil and gas industry,” says Mr. Singu.

Premier Agencies Managing Director Robert Singu holding a certificate and award for one of the top 100 mid-sized companies during the Top 100 Mid-sized company awards diner gala in 2018

Following that opportunity, in 2002, he says, he founded Premier Agencies with the aim of addressing the chal­lenges facing the oil sector, especially in the availability of quality machinery, installation, and maintenance servic­es.

He says that oil companies used to import equipment, install, and main­tain it themselves. Later, they decided to outsource these tasks to other com­panies so they could focus on their oil business, and that’s when he saw the opportunity.

“Premier Agencies officially started operation in 2002 with the purpose of providing services in the oil sector by selling and distributing machinery, installing, and providing maintenance services,” says Mr. Singu.

He says that in his marketing course, he specialized in international busi­ness, so he entered into business agreements with some internation­al machinery distributors whom he knew from his previous employment.

He says that due to those agree­ments, Premier Agencies is an author­ized sales agent for various large inter­national companies (based in the USA and Europe) that manufacture various equipment/machinery, such as Dover Fueling Solutions for fuel station pumps, Technip FMC for fuel and gas meters, and GRACO BVBA for lubri­cation equipment.

“Premier Agencies not only sells products, but also provides installa­tion, maintenance, and after-sales ser­vices, making it unique in the market,” says Mr. Singu.

He says their products have consist­ent quality because they are produced by companies whose product stand­ards are the same regardless of where they are sold. Another factor is their expertise in providing services.

“The quality of our products is high because they are approved by all local authorities as well as international organizations since the companies we work with have international status, which is why the company name is Premier Agencies, meaning an agent for ‘Premier’ products,” says Mr. Singu.

He mentions that if you find their products in the USA or the UK, you’ll encounter the same quality because the quality standards of the companies they work with are consistent world­wide.

Regarding his leadership style in the company, Mr. Singu says he is a leader who likes to learn and engage employ­ees in everything.

“I believe more in learning and involvement. In my experience of over 20 years, there are still things I don’t know, so I continue to learn through employees and various stakeholders I work with,” says the Director.

Mr. Singu says that technological advancements and the discovery of gas are causing various changes in the market, so he must learn every day to keep up with these changes.

Developing human resources is one of the crucial aspects of company development, Singu says they have a strategy to develop their employees through the international companies they work with.

“As an authorized agent of these large companies, you get the oppor­tunity for your employees to receive training to build their capacity in recognizing genuine and counterfeit equipment, installation, maintenance, etc. This has made us one of the com­panies that provide unique and more trusted services,” says Mr. Singu.

He says the company has also initi­ated a strategy to visit universities and take on students for practical training, and when there is a need for employ­ees, they use the same trainees.

Regarding strategies, Mr. Singu says they are currently preparing to enter the gas sector to support the gov­ernment’s efforts and national plans for gas utilization, especially during this period when the country has gas resources.

He mentions continuing to improve internal systems, especially digital ones, to ensure they remain excellent, which will facilitate the implementa­tion of various issues. Another strategy is to continue improving service deliv­ery and products for customers.