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RELATED ARTICLES: ETA M&E expands into Saudi, Oman | ETA M&E still dominates MEP contracting | Top 20 MEP consultants
The electro-mechanical division of the ETA Ascon Star group was established in 1976 in Deira, with three people. Today it employs 16,000 and has an order book of AED3 billion.
As an indication of the size of the ETA Ascon Star group, it employs 75,000 people, or 1.5% of the UAE’s total population. The ETA M&E division has won the Top Contractor category at the MEP Awards for three years in a row, and has been at the forefront of Dubai’s most iconic projects, from Burj Khalifa to the Dubai Metro.
“When we started [the M&E division], it was in a rented apartment in Nasser Square, Deira. In 1976 the market was very small compared to what it is now. Ground plus seven storeys used to be the biggest project, with three to four being standard. At that stage we also focused exclusively on Bur Dubai and Deira,” says Jegabber. “The biggest breakthrough for us in this period was the Etisalat head office in Deira in 1990. This was a landmark building. Prior to that we had been involved with the Ruler’s Court in Bur Dubai in 1985, and from this point on there was no looking back. All the major projects in Dubai have been in ETA’s portfolio,” says Jegabber.
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Jegabber has been director of the M&E division for two years, having joined ETA in 1990. He reports to senior executive director A.K. Agarwal. Prior to that he worked in Saudi Arabia with the same group from 1985. The division started with three employees; today it has 2,000 permanent staff in Dubai alone, 9 000 in-house workers and about 5 000 external sub-contracting staff.
“We also have quite a considerable number of staff in Abu Dhabi and Doha,” says Jegabber. “In terms of the larger group, the M&E division, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi combined, comprises one third of the total group. It is the biggest division, with the highest turnover.” Jegabber says the secret to the division’s success is that it offers “a single point solution” that combines the traditional MEP scope of works with more specialised services such as tunnel ventilation for the Dubai Metro.
Experience
“We had already gained experience in this regard with our work on the Delhi Metro. Expertise in tunnel ventilation was a prequalification for the Dubai Metro, which contributed to us landing the contract. This is a safety-critical aspect of the project as it should never fail, irrespective of any failure of the main power supply. It has also been designed as a reverse process in that, in the event of any fire, it changes direction and extracts the smoke,” explains Jegabber.
“When it comes to buildings, we do all sorts of specialist building services as well, especially upgrades. Apart from electro-mechanical works, we also carry out BMS, fire alarm and fire fighting and structured cabling to security services. I would say that, other than civils and elevators, which is another one of our divisions, we carry out complete building activities. A building has three major components, namely civil works, elevators and then electro-mechanical, plus all the specialist services,” says Jegabber.
He adds that ETA has been at the forefront of all major trends in the local construction industry, from being “the first contracting company to be awarded ISO here” to embracing the latest green building trends.
“If a new development comes along, ETA likes to get in there first and ensure it has all the necessary equipment and expertise in place so it is in a prime position to land major projects. We stay ahead, and then other people follow.”
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FEATURED COMMENT
What ever mentioned here is exactly what the companies facing now. Even some old suppliers also not ready to give the ma