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