Been around the world: Barry Jackson

Barry Jackson has spent his entire working career in the construction materials sector.

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.

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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.