Exhibition World Issue 3 — 2019 | Page 52

Corporate profile Raising the game in the Gulf This issue of EW comes with a special Middle Eastern flavour, so we decided to meet up with Jean-Charles Durand, CEO of Dubai-based Electra, an event and exhibition contractor, offering fully integrated solutions in the Middle East Your company recently celebrated a silver anniversary. Where did it all start? Electra was founded in Dubai by Nino Mastrorilli, an Italian electrical engineer. The business originally focused on electrical contracting, but it soon moved into exhibition stand contracting. I was working at one of the major event players in France and was responsible for international development. In 1997, I was sent to Dubai for two years and immediately fell in love with the country and saw its potential. I briefly relocated to France and when I returned to Dubai in 2002 Nino approached me with an offer to sell me the business. I saw it as a tremendous opportunity. What was the exhibition industry landscape like when you first set up in the region? When we first started it was a market of small players. The existing stand builders were basically carpentry workshops making lots of shell scheme stands of low quality. Dubai World Trade Centre had already been established, but only had four halls instead of the 16 exhibition spaces they have today. Today of course, all the major international players have local affiliates and there are quite a few solid home-grown players. What were your first key challenges in finding your feet in the regional market? My timing could have been better. I arrived in the middle of the second Gulf War. Companies were just not investing in the region because of the risk. I was on the verge of a significant 52 Issue 3 2019 Right: Space Design by Ammar Basheir UNESCO 42nd World Heritage Committee at the Kingdom of Bahrain. Contact: [email protected] Below: Jean-Charles Durand, CEO of Dubai-based Electra, an event and exhibition contractor financial loss, when by luck I got the opportunity to build the VIP village for the first Bahrain Grand Prix. We were able to earn around 30% of our annual turnover in one event. We have not looked back. As soon as the war ended, we were able to quickly set up collaborations with a host of notable international players from my previous life. The other big challenge we faced was finding reliable suppliers locally. This is when I decided to build a factory to control quality. Our in-house production facilities total 25,000sqm all equipped with state-of-the-art machinery. The venue builds in the Middle East in recent years have been a phenomenon to behold. The market has grown massively over the last 25 years, even exceeding my expectations. We’ve been able to develop our business, having started with just 14 employees. Electra now has 430, including event and project managers, detailers, carpenters, upholsters, electricians, and so on... We’ve invested in training our employees, which is something that gives me much satisfaction. Web: electrasolutions.com Where does the competition come from? There is constant pressure to expand creatively and to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness. Our main competition comes from the local branches of the major international groups as well as home grown players. Some competitors have diversified their activities by moving into design and creation. We decided to provide comprehensive exhibition and event solutions designed to guarantee clients a hassle-free fulfilment of their design vision and full support through all the stages of a project. Our services include tent and furniture rentals, exhibition scenography, semi-permanent museum exhibitions, contracting and project management, and even bespoke décor and set up. What are your main labour challenges? We have more than 20 nationalities working at Electra and we have been successful in building a cohesive team, and a sense of family. Health and Safety specifically is a w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk