Remaining afloat as a family-owned conglomerate in a competitive world is by no means an easy task. A business group needs to carve a niche for itself, and UAE-based Al Naboodah Construction Group (ANCG) has done exactly that.
In an exclusive interview with Aggregates Business International, ANCG managing director Senan Abdullah Mohammed Juma Al Naboodah explains that the strategy and vision adopted by ANCG’s founding fathers, brothers Saeed and Mohammed Al Naboodah, have sustained the business group for over 60 years, seeing it make a major contribution to UAE’s development since independence was secured in 1971.
More recently, Senan and his senior ANCG management team acted swiftly to meet the varied trading challenges arising out of the coronavirus pandemic, while also ensuring that the conglomerate’s ambitious future growth plans remained in place.
With an annual turnover of AED3 billion (US$816.7mn), ANCG has completed works on more than 680 projects to date including some of the country’s most iconic projects.
According to Senan, since its early days, the business group has been committed to quality and excellence and has always placed the safety and welfare of its employees as a high priority. This has led to an outstanding reputation in the industry as a Tier 1 contractor who can deliver projects to a high standard while maintaining international standards of quality and safety.
In addition, ANCG has led the way in specialised fields such as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP), civil engineering, and specialist engineering such as micro-tunnelling, offering services which few other contractors can offer to the same standards.
Furthermore, ANCG has been able to self-supply on ready-mixed concrete and asphalt plant and equipment and MEP services through its various in-house businesses such as Al Naboodah Readymix Concrete (ARCON), National Plant and Trans Gulf, giving it a competitive edge in a crowded market.
“This combination of specialisation, self-reliance and exceptional levels of quality is what has ensured ANCG’s resilience over many cycles of economic highs and lows over the decades,” Senan explains.
Key role in UAE’s development
Senan says that Al Naboodah’s contribution began long before the UAE became an independent nation in 1971, in the early days of Dubai’s oil boom with the establishment of Al Naboodah Contracting in 1969.
Initially focused on residential and commercial buildings, the company later moved on to work on civil engineering projects, and quickly set to work building many of Dubai’s most vital traffic routes and infrastructure. The group then established Trans Gulf Electromechanical to provide the most technologically-advanced MEP solutions to the construction industry.
Later, to meet the demands of its many projects, ANCG decided to self-supply its own ready-mixed concrete and asphalt in order to have better control over quality and supply, and established ARCON.
“ANCG is proud to have contributed to the growth of the UAE by delivering an extensive and varied portfolio of prestigious projects, ranging from world-class golf courses to thousands of kilometres of roads, highways, bridges, tunnels and dams,” he says.
ANCG has also been the industry leader in the UAE’s airport developments, having constructed many of the runways, aprons, concourses and terminal buildings to the highest international civil aviation standards.
Over the years, ANCG has worked on some of the UAE’s most high-profile projects, including Dubai International Airport, Dubai World Central Airport, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Palm Jumeirah, Yas Island, Al Maryah Island, Dubai Water Canal, Dubai Creek Harbour, Expo 2020 and many more.
COVID-19 impact
Senan says the impact of the pandemic has shown that they had very robust systems and IT infrastructure in place. “We managed to cope with a partial transition to remote working very well. However, this has allowed us to identify further areas that can be improved with the goal of reducing paper, increasing digitisation of some of our business processes and generally seeking to increase efficiency on our business management processes.”
Going forward, Senan, who began his career with ANCG in 2005 after gaining a degree in business financial services and banking from Dubai’s Higher College of Technology, says ANCG aims to be far more selective in the projects it submits tenders for, and the list of clients the company wishes to work with: a case of “quality over quantity”.
“We will build on our relationships with our key long-term partners and maintain our focus on delivering projects to a very high quality within the time frame that our contracts stipulate, or as near as possible. As other players come and go from the industry, maintaining this consistency will further strengthen our reputation as a contractor that can be relied upon to get things done right, and done right the first time” he explains.
Spurt in demand
Regarding building materials, Senan, a member of the Tejar Dubai Youth Council, part of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says the current demand will have a period of consolidation going forward but will see an increase soon. This will be driven by the delivery of infrastructure projects in the Northern Emirates and committed projects throughout Dubai.
One of ANCG’s key strengths is its in-house capability to self-supply on most of its construction projects in the UAE as ARCON has two permanent production facilities in Dubai supplying international-standard asphalt and concrete of the highest quality to its projects.
Currently there’s a production capacity of over 400m³ per hour in the business group’s capability and extra resources are available if future demand dictates.
“From plant and equipment to asphalt and concrete, the group eliminates the need to rely on third-party suppliers, thereby providing its clients with a comprehensive offering with total control over quality,” says Senan, who became the conglomerate’s managing director in 2013, a role that includes oversight of all ANCG civils, building, MEP, facilities management, and national plant projects.
At this present time, ANCG has taken the opportunity to look at its efficiencies and better ways to support its construction division throughout this period. This means making sure ARCON has the correct operational capability to support the projects with the emphasis on remaining as agile as possible.
With its wealth of general plant, heavy equipment and transport resources, ANCG can complete any kind of construction project. The conglomerate’s diverse fleet of over 3,000 pieces of heavy equipment is one of the most comprehensive in Dubai, and ranges from pedestrian rollers through to 250-tonne crawler cranes, all of which are serviced and maintained in-house while temporary power supply and cranage complete the picture, he says.
Digital transformation
ARCON currently has the Command Series system set up in the ready-mixed concrete business.
The system comprises the Command Batch system and the Command series overview system to deal with everything from quotation through to invoice. System integration also interfaces with the group Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and mobile equipment GPS software. These systems in place have transformed the ability to produce more efficiently and to also get the correct vital information back through to all stakeholders quickly without the need for repetition and paperwork. Integration has meant that everything has now been streamlined digitally, from mix design through to invoicing.
In addition, in 2018, ARCON achieved a major milestone with the implementation of industry-leading Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) software, becoming the first concrete supplier in the Emirate of Dubai to provide a fully internal EPD facility.
The Gabi Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) software from leading German developer Thinkstep enables ARCON to substantiate end-to-end life cycle programmes for construction materials, thus providing a basis of information for sustainability and environmental impact. The successful implementation of this software earned ANCG the Clean Technology Award at the Gulf Sustainability and CSR Awards in 2019, Senan explains.
Future plans
Discussing ANCG’s future, Senan says in the short- to medium-term the group is realigning its focus towards clients, sectors and projects that play specifically to its trading strengths.
“We have a proven track record in niche and specialised projects such as critical infrastructure and civil engineering projects for key clients in the UAE, and this will remain our focus over the next 12-24 months.”
“We typically operate with a five-year business plan. However, given the events and impacts of the pandemic, we are currently focused on supporting our key government clients for now, and plan to reset our five-year plan from the start of 2022 once the economy is back on track,” he adds.
Advantage ANCG
ANCG is in a unique position in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) construction industry of being self-sufficient, supplying its own asphalt, concrete, plant and machinery. It has worked on many of the UAE’s most iconic projects including the Palm Jumeirah, Business Bay, Yas Island, the Dubai Water Canal Project, Dubai International Airport, Dubai World Central, and the Expo 2020 exhibition site.
The other projects that are ongoing or have been delivered by ANCG include:
- The Oberoi Hotel.
- Al Maktoum Airport – Terminal 3 concourse.
- Mankhool mixed-use development.
- Meraas villa complex.
- Dubai Police forensics building.
- Jumeirah Golf Estates residential development.
- City Centre Mirdif mall expansion.
- Substation works in Dubai and the Northern Emirates (subcontracts to Mitsubishi Electric and Siemens).
- Dubai Creek Harbour Development, Creekside Harbour.
- Chrysler and Honda showrooms and service centres.
- New corporate HQ for flydubai.
- Expo 2020 police, fire & ambulance stations.
Significant civil engineering projects include:
- Midfield Airside Road Tunnel, Abu Dhabi International Airport.
- FIFA football pitch and IAAFA athletics track.
- Construction of Dubai International Airport airfield, with ongoing expansion & upgrading.
- Major projects within the expansion of Dubai International Airport concourse and terminal buildings.
- Expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport infrastructure, including a deep drainage network.
- Construction of Dubai World Central Airport airfield and facilities.
- Promenade runway for Skydive Dubai.
- Improvements to major sections of the UAE’s highways including Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road.
- Golf courses, including Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Al Badia Golf Club, Jumeirah Golf Estates and Emirates Golf Club (Faldo Course).
- Parallel Roads project, Phases 2A-1, 2A-2, 3B and 4.
- Major infrastructure projects across Dubai including Jebel Ali, Satwa and Dubai Creek Harbour.
- Expo 2020 roads & car parks.
