Gulf Construction Online - Fischer Fixing on course to open largest regional office

UAE Focus

Fischer’s new office ... launched in Abu Dhabi.

Fischer Fixing on course to open largest regional office

01 October 2015

With the official launch last month of its new office in Abu Dhabi, Fischer Fixing has reiterated its commitment to strengthen its position and boost revenues in the Middle East market.

The German fixings and installation systems specialist is now on course to set up its largest office and warehouse in the region in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone next year.

Speaking to Gulf Construction at the inauguration of its Abu Dhabi office last month, Jayanta Mukherjee, managing director, Fischer Fixing, said: “The Abu Dhabi office is our third in the UAE and 10th in the Middle East region.

“We decided to establish a presence in the emirate as with its Vision 2030, the whole landscape is changing very rapidly and a lot more construction is expected to happen over the next couple of years. A lot of contractors too were asking us to come to Abu Dhabi.”

Besides the new office in Abu Dhabi, the company has two offices in Dubai, including its regional headquarters in Jebel Ali Free Zone.

Mukherjee and a team of professionals hold credit for having launched Fischer’s regional subsidiary in 2006 in Dubai, which is 100 per cent German-owned.

“Fischer is a well-known brand and is doing very well in the region,” he said. “We have been growing at the rate of 15 to 19 per cent year-on-year during the last five years. This year too has been a very good one so far as we have closed a number of projects. We are fortunate to be in a region that is booming with a lot of exciting projects.”

The company has its finger on the pulse of the construction sector and will be launching a number of products to suit its requirements over the coming months.

“We are getting into firestop products in a big way. In line with government regulations, we have also got into solar energy as that is the future. That apart, from our core products like anchor fasteners we are going to introduce new chemicals into the market. All these products would help the construction sector in a very big way,” he said.

Next year marks the company’s 10th anniversary in the Middle East. “The year will see the opening of our largest office and warehouse in the region in Jebel Ali as the business has grown so much that we need to bring in many more products from our five factories located in five countries worldwide,” commented Mukherjee.

Set to open in the first quarter 2016, the new facility will include 8,000 sq ft of office and 22,600 sq ft of warehouse space.

“We currently have our head office in Jebel Ali, but we need to expand; so we have taken up a massive space and we will move to the new facility next year. We see a lot of demand for our products in view of the Expo 2020 in Dubai, Abu Dhabi’s Vision 2030 and the 2022 Fifa World Cup Qatar. Once we move to our huge warehouse, we will have a larger reach into the market,” he added.

The new facility will also include a training centre like the one it has in Germany. “We have a state-of-the-art training centre in Germany and we want to launch a similar one here,” he said.

“As a German company, we think ahead and plan ahead,” commented Alexander Bassler, regional managing director, Asia/Middle East, who added that his role is to convey to the headquarters what the market needs are here in the Gulf.

“Historically, we have grown in central Europe and the major part of our business is still done in Europe but there is growth outside and this region is very important to us. Our growth strategy, future planning and investments are primarily focusing outside of Europe. We are always looking at new markets and this has been part of the Fischer culture for past 65 years,” he added.

Commenting on Fischer’s product portfolio, Mukherjee said: “The beauty of our product range is we are involved at every stage of construction – from foundation up to the completion stage, including interiors. Whether it is the MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) contractor or façade contractor or a steel company, our products are needed by all to fix the utilities. We have mechanical anchors, nylon anchors, chemicals anchors, and a host of fixing systems. We offer a lot of products to the façade industry, which uses a lot of stone and glass for the exteriors, hence a lot of fixings go into installing them.”

Mukherjee pointed out that all of Fischer’s products are doing well in the region and the company offers professional services to all segments of the market.

Commenting on the company’s projects, he said: “When it comes to interesting projects, if one names the top 10 projects in the UAE or in the GCC region, Fischer has been associated with all.”

Some of its landmark projects in the region include development of Palm Island, Etihad Towers and Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi; Dubai Metro, Monorail, The Atlantis hotel and Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai; the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Haramain High-Speed Railway, King Saud University and Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University in Saudi Arabia; and Wakrah stadium, Qatar Islamic Tower office, Mall of Qatar, Light Rail Transit (LRT), Doha Festival City, Qatar Petroleum District, the Sheraton hotel renovation, Msheireb Downtown Doha Phase Two and Hamad Medical City project in Qatar; and several airports in the region.