What challenges did the Covid-19 pandemic period present for the FM sector, and how did Imdaad overcome these?
The pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for the global FM sector, forcing the industry to operate within the constraints of reduced manpower, supply chain uncertainties, increased operational costs, and additional measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of frontline workers.
Our keen focus on the health, safety, and welfare of our employees was central to our efforts to ensure operational continuity. We took extensive measures to safeguard them by providing the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) and training, as well as safe and secure accommodation facilities. As the Covid-19 vaccine was rolled out, we supported our employees in getting themselves immunised at the earliest opportunity.
We used the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to further diversify our offerings and cement our market leadership. Our subsidiary Nigma, which provides customised solutions for automated products, ventured into portable lifts, and our pest control team forayed into disinfection services to expand our capabilities to meet the demands of the crisis. Our medical waste collection service was crucial in the nation’s fight against the spread of the pandemic. We also launched new services, including grease-trap cleaning and hazardous waste management, further strengthening our integrated FM capabilities.
Our diversified product offering and adaptive business model, together with our highly experienced and agile team, enabled us to mitigate the impact of the virus outbreak and emerge stronger.
Imdaad appears to have emerged from the pandemic stronger than ever, so what do you attribute this success to?
The impressive growth we achieved across our various business divisions despite the pandemic-induced challenges can be attributed to our robust business continuity strategy.
We were able to adapt quickly to the rapidly evolving situation and implement measures to ensure that our critical operations continued uninterrupted. In addition, our keenness to pursue innovation to meet clients’ needs and expectations were manifested in the strong customer loyalty during the pandemic period.
By turning the challenges into opportunities, we were able to set multiple examples for the FM industry in terms of crisis response, business continuity, adaptation, and delivering on commitments. Our comprehensive pandemic response plan not only ensured that we were able to provide our customers with seamless services of the highest standards, but also enabled us to deliver on our existing contracts and commitments and cater to new and emerging needs. We also allowed great flexibility in contractual obligations by helping our clients with delayed payments while continuing to provide them with our services.
Thanks to our proactive and agile approach, as well as the dedication and expertise of our team members, we have been able to consolidate our reputation as an FM leader despite the challenging market conditions, besides winning new contracts and foraying into new sectors and services.
One area in which Imdaad has emerged as the FM provider of choice is the UAE banking sector. What sets your services apart in this industry?
Imdaad’s ability to provide effective, round-the-clock support for the UAE banking sector makes us the partner of choice for the nation’s leading financial institutions. The extensive experience of our teams in handling challenging, large-scale projects, and our ability to offer comprehensive services through our multifaceted capabilities, enable us to maintain diverse facilities for banks, including local branches, corporate offices, warehouses, and data centres.
In addition to our dedicated personnel deployed to our banking clients, we support them with our numerous mobile teams providing comprehensive coverage throughout the UAE. Moreover, our 24-7 emergency response units work around the clock to ensure that our banking clients always receive the highest standards of service. We have also demonstrated exceptional flexibility and effectiveness in liaising with in-house teams as well as the police and other relevant authorities.
Imdaad has also gained a substantial number of seaports and harbours as clients across the country. Can you tell us more about your activities in this area?
Imdaad has remained the preferred service provider for the nation’s major seaports and harbours, providing wide-ranging services including soft and hard FM; specialised maintenance and cleaning; MEP; civil works; and fire safety.
Our services to ports and harbours cover diverse amenities and landmarks, including terminals, harbours, residential and commercial buildings, offices, open yards, container operation areas, and vehicles.
What are Imdaad’s plans for the future as the world continues to emerge from the pandemic period?
As Imdaad continues its remarkable performance this year, we are confident of achieving more growth and new milestones in line with our short- and long-term strategic plans. Expanding our footprint in the UAE and the region and foraying into new sectors and services are among our key priorities.
We aim to strengthen our presence in the UAE, especially in Abu Dhabi, where we opened a new office after securing a few major contracts. In addition, we aim to expand our market presence in the Northern Emirates, as well as across the government, banking, and ports sectors.
We will continue to make long-term investments in training and developing our team, in addition to exploring new ways to integrate our operations with cutting-edge technology, including big data, the internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI), thereby enabling Imdaad as well as the industry to improve overall efficiencies and quality.