Fore-Ward Drive

A BMW using Foresight?s Synionic on show at Big 5.
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PMV meets Marwan Ghaith, COO, Foresight Group at Big 5 PMV the engine behind the company’s new product launch.

What should PMV expect before meeting the son of one of the industry’s most influential and charismatic personalities? A co-founder of the mighty Al-Jaber group, his father Youssef Ghaith has helped establish not just one but two success stories in the UAE.

Foresight Group, the company that is now largely run by his two sons, Fadi (CEO) and Marwan (COO) and has gone on to become a major force in Abu Dhabi.

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Very much in the image of its founder it has grown by expanding into a multitude of different activities like machinery supply, trading and rental, vehicle sales, real estate and property development.

“We have several different arms and we own a fleet of 80 machines, including bulldozers, excavators, heavy lift cranes, crawler cranes, all sorts of heavy lift equipment. Which should increase by 20% next year regardless of what happens in the market, as we’re using them; reselling to keep the cash flow strong,” he begins.

“We’re also licensed for machine trading which means we can trade steel structures, automobiles, generators, etc.”

Diverse it may be but, Marwan Ghaith, explains that its reach into many different strands and sectors is actually a logical progression from owning the land, development, the machines that build on it, to the sale of the property once completed.

It’s certainly a broad span, and one that allows the company to exploit many opportunities that are presented to it. As an example, Ghaith explains that Foresight is currently using its own machines to develop a site outside of Abu Dhabi.

“We’ve got a small project in Mussafah, and feel we’re in the ideal location to benefit from the construction in Abu Dhabi,” he comments.

“So we’re building up cooled and non-cooled sheds and offices for companies because there will be a huge influx of people who are running warehousing in the Port of Mina Zayed, in the next two years. Although they’re paid to do it they’ll be re-locating.”

He continues: “We’re using 80,000 sqm of land to be utilised, and we’re building accommodation and offices, making sure there’s power, cooling and waste management all properly installed.

“It was originally going to be three times larger but as we were drawing the original plans, the recession hit, the banks began to clench, and we decided to complete the first phase only. When that’s done, we’ll use the money to fund the next stage and other projects.”