MTE supplied carpets for all the suites at the Burj Al Arab.
MTE focuses on quality and service
Floor coverings specialist Mehrtash Trading Enterprises (MTE) continues to win several prestigious projects within the UAE.
01 December 2001
Dubai-based Mehrtash Trading Enterprises (MTE), a market leader in providing total floor solutions, says quality and service figure uppermost in the company's corporate policy.
Its focus on quality and service has helped it to win major projects in the UAE including Dubai's Burj Al Arab (all suites and corridors - 65,000 sq m), which is the world's tallest hotel, says managing director Majid Mehrtash.
MTE is now involved in providing the carpeting for the Grand Hyatt hotel, Dubai.
MTE concentrates on the carpet and floor-coverings business, with custom-designed solutions for the contract furnishing sector being its forte.
"MTE can offer a 72-hour turnaround time on designs - no other floor-covering company in the UAE can provide such a fast design service," claims Mehrtash, a US-educated engineer.
Elaborating on this service, he says: "Using our design portfolio which includes some 2,500 samples as a base, clients can select pick and choose a variety of designs and corner pieces to create their own special designs. This design concept is then sent via the Internet to our principals who prepare the blueprint and send a 45 by 45 cm sample to give the client an actual idea of colour and design of the carpet."
The contract furnishing sector accounts for some 75 per cent of MTE's turnover.
"The contract furnishing sector is upbeat with the large number of projects currently under way in the UAE. In addition, with hoteliers generally seeking a new look every five years, the refurbishment market too is very promising," he says.
The company deals with top architects, specifiers, interior designers, contractors and high-value individual clients. Its target clientele is the medium to high-end of the market and includes hotels, hospitals, corporate offices, government offices and residential complexes in the UAE, says Mehrtash.
Besides the Grand Hyatt, MTE is currently involved in providing the entire floor-coverings for the Kalba Hospital in Fujairah and a major parquet flooring contract for the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society.
The company also holds the credit for having provided custom-made carpets for recently completed projects such as the Hilton Dubai Creek, the Holiday Inn Bur Dubai and the 20-storey Millennium Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
"We also provided custom-made carpets for the Al Raha theatre in Abu Dhabi which has one of the largest auditoriums in the UAE with a seating capacity of 2,500," he says.
MTE's list of prestigious installations includes the Dusit Hotel; Hilton Jumeirah; the Marriott Hotel (extension and refurbishment); Al Ghurair Apartments refurbishment; Sands Hotel Abu Dhabi; Metropolitan Palace Hotel; City Centre Residence; Radisson SAS Hotel,Dubai; Sheraton Deira; Metropolitan Hotel; Hyatt Regency Hotel (ballroom/prefunction area); Al Bustan Rotana Hotel (ballroom); Welcare Hospital (Dubai); Al Dhaid Hospital (Sharjah); Thunder Bowl (bowling centre, Dubai); Sharjah Sports Centre for Disabled; Ras Al Khaimah Cement Factory; and Crescent Petroleum Head Office, Sharjah.
"A majority of our customers come back to us with repeat orders, thus appreciating the quality service provided by MTE'' he says.
The company is also a regular supplier to the Al Massa cinemas in the UAE.
MTE has hired professionals at every level of its operation from sales to installation and the entire team of sales executives are trained in-house thoroughly in all aspects of product knowledge and marketing techniques, he says.
As a policy, the top management visits principal's factories and attends prestigious international-level exhibitions in Europe and the US every year for product updates and to keep a close liaison with manufacturers.
He continues: "Our installation team is one of the best in the UAE, with all installers having been trained over a period of many years in each and every product handled by the company."
MTE deals in an extensive range of floor-coverings from premium manufacturers mainly in Europe. As a company policy, Mehrtash says, MTE strives to broadbase its sources with a view to providing customers with a wider choice of quality goods. These principals and their products are:
Commenting on trends in the industry, he says: "Today, the market is geared towards giving clients what they demand and shocking colours are in. A departure from the norm was the recently-completed Hilton Dubai Creek, which with its minimalistic design required carpets which were sedate with varying width of black and greys stripes.
"Another recent development in the industry is web purchasing. However, while people may buy on the Internet they still require local back-up service as these floor-coverings need to be installed as per manufacturer's instructions. This is where we will continue to hold our strengths.
"We are a service-oriented company. We aim to continue to improve our quality and our service in a bid to offer our customers the best product at the right price.
"MTE is committed to providing a quality product, being the first ISO 9002-certified specialist flooring company in the UAE.''
The future remains bright for carpets, Mehrtash says, despite the issues raised regarding the difficulties faced in keeping them hygienic. ''What is required is that clients should be educated on what sort of carpets should be selected for their particular applications,'' says Mehrtash.
"Before selecting a carpet, MTE finds out from the client the sort of environment and the level of traffic that is expected to use the carpeted area. Carpets are available to meet a wide range of applications offering features such as being anti-static, stain-resistant, fire-retardant and water-repellent," he points out.
MTE has a website - www.mteflooring.com - which as just been recognised as the best-designed site in all four categories, content, design, graphics and originality, by the American Eagle ONE Award instituted by WinBec.com Innovative Web Designs of the US.
