Been around the world: Barry Jackson

MC Building Chemicals general manager for the Middle East, Barry Jackson, has visited more than 50 countries and lived in nine of them. Who would have thought that working in the construction chemicals industry would be so glamorous? Here, he shares the benefit of his international experience with Jamie Stewart.

You have been in and out of the Gulf since 1977. What changes have you seen during the time you have spent in this region’s market?

I have seen huge changes in the Gulf market, in terms of more attention to the quality and durability of structures, and huge changes in the construction chemicals industry, in terms of technical development. For example, the new admixtures that have come on-stream to meet the demands of the local market.

What is it about the Gulf’s environment that can shorten the working life-span of a building?
Conditions here are extreme in terms of the climate. The chloride content in the ground and in the air [can cause corrosion] when concrete dries out. Imagine taking a sponge, and putting it in a bucket of salty water. Remove it and squeeze it. The water will eventually drain out, but the salt gets left behind. It becomes moist, and the salt laden air goes into the sponge, so you are gradually building up the level of salts. These salts start the corrosion process.

Is this phenomenon unique to the Gulf region?
No. One of the worst areas in terms of chloride concentration is the Gulf of Mexico. The very high levels of chloride in the sea water evaporate, and makes its way into the ground.

The problem occurs all over the world, but is exacerbated here in the Gulf because you have very high levels of chloride, coupled with high temperatures. As with any chemical reaction, the higher the temperature, the faster the reaction.

When you first entered the region, what was the expected service life of a concrete structure?
The design life was anything between 50 and 100 years. The reality was that stuff being built in the 70s needed repairing within less than 10 years. In the 80s they were demolishing buildings in the UAE that had been built in the 70s.

There were two reasons. One, they were deteriorating very rapidly because of the construction techniques and materials used. Two, land values were increasing and sometimes it was more cost-effective to knock a building down and put another one of higher value up, on the same plot.

How have things improved in terms of durability now?
By design, buildings should last substantially longer than those built in the 70s did. For instance, the concrete within a sewerage treatment plant has a design life of 50 years. The Roads & Transport Authority structures, especially the tunnels, have a design life of 120 years.

Having said that, there are still cases where repairs are being done before hand-over, but these are minor cosmetic repairs, rather than structural repairs. This has largely been brought about by the experience of the past, which always happens – everybody thinks they can do it quickly and cheaply, and then they realise they can’t.

A further contributing factor is the strong specifications of the consultant engineers, clients, and people like the Dubai Municipality, who are probably the leaders in putting together durable concrete specifications.

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How has your business been affected by the slowdown?
The biggest problem has been money collection. That’s the worst thing. In terms of activity – quotes, recommendations, site investigations, surveys, proposals – we are busier than ever. Many people have been trying to finish buildings.

The money collection is an ongoing problem, but it is definitely survivable. Due to our small size, we are not as badly affected as the larger firms. Some of the larger ready-mix concrete firms are having real problems, as are their suppliers, due to strict credit terms. It’s quite a head-ache for those guys.

When will this problematic situation come to an end?
In our case, we’re not dealing with huge quantities. We deal with small scale projects, maybe in the tens of thousands of dirhams. Hopefully the client is aware that our service is so good that they are prepared to pay. In a lot of cases, nobody else can do the job, or they’re not prepared to do it.

What percentage of contractors aren’t happy with your terms?
Only 5% are not prepared to go with our terms. When people contact us it is often because they have tried everything else. If people think they can get the job done for half the amount, we say “go and do it,”. They’ll come back to us having spent a lot of money – but they do come back.

Are developers right to be holding back on projects amid falling costs?
It comes down to the individual developer, the cash situation, how much they are prepared to take a risk, and how much back up they’ve got.

The situation is also very tight for the contractors. They must now work on very small margins. These days, it’s not uncommon to quote on cost-price, and make up on variations of orders. Invariably something will come up. If you are digging up the ground you may hit rock where you thought you had sand. To dig rock, you get a different rate than you do for digging sand. That’s where they will make their money. It happens a lot, especially in Europe.

If use of environmentally friendly materials was required by law across the Gulf, would that be a benefit to your business?
All of our products are solvent free, non-toxic, and do not affect the ground or drinking water. They are quite safe to use, and you have to pay for that at the end of the day. However, very often contractors are not prepared to pay the difference, and consultants do not enforce the specifications strongly enough.

That’s not just a product of trying times, but has always been the case. Many companies are not prepared to pay for environmentally friendly products. Our products fall into that category, yet in many parts of the world, people still insist on using products that are banned elsewhere, for environmental or health reasons. Asbestos, for example is still used here.

How much progress have you seen in the Gulf in terms of health and safety?
Enormous progress. It’s still not perfect here. But the difference now is the same as the difference between boots and flip-flops, or a piece of cloth and a helmet. Go round any site in Dubai and you’ll see 90% of people wearing the correct personal protection equipment. But, if you go to other Emirates, you may find sites that are like Dubai was 30 years ago. I am amazed at the scale of difference.

The biggest problem here is the lack of trained labour. There is not enough emphasis placed on the training of workers. It’s the company’s responsibility to make sure that they are trained to do the job they have to the best of their abilities.

Will we get better trained people now there’s less pressure on staff numbers?
I think that’s the logical way to go. Instead of having ten guys, have two who know what they’re doing, rather than having one that knows what he’s doing and nine helping him. There is no use in saying that labour is cheap because it’s not. These guys have to be brought in, fed, housed, their visas have to be processed, they have to be looked after when they fall sick, and they have to be managed, which is probably the most expensive part.

Barry Jackson cv

Date of Birth: 21st August 1946
Place of Birth: Salisbury, England

Barry Jackson has spent his entire working career in the construction materials sector, initially in technical management roles for major ready mixed concrete, bitumen and quarry product suppliers. In 1977 he went to Bahrain to work as a quality engineer for what was, at the time, the largest pre-cast factory in the Middle East.

In 1979 he joined Fosroc and over the next 13 years worked in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and at Fosroc corporate head quarters in the UK, in a variety of technical and marketing roles.

In 1992 he returned to the UAE as MBT’s Regional Technical Manager. In 1997 he joined Borregaard SEA, based in Singapore, as the business development manager (Concrete Admixtures) for Middle East and Asia Pacific. In 2001 he joined his present employer MC-Bauchemie to promote its specialist products for injection and liquid containment coatings.

Over the years he has accumulated a vast amount of experience with many aspects of construction chemicals, but has focused on concrete injection and repair. Fortunately he likes travelling, as at the last count he has visited more than 50 countries, having lived for extended periods in nine of them.