A night to remember for fmME 2011 award winners

This year's fmME Awards winners. Photo: ITP

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Over 300 people gathered at the Palm Jumeirah’s newest venue, Zabeel Saray, to take part in one of the biggest events of the industry calendar – the fmME awards 2011.

The fourth annual event, held on Wednesday June 1, recognised those companies who had achieved above and beyond what was expected in the area of facilities management.

Conversations on the night highlighted the improvements in public understanding of the facilities management concept across the Middle East.

The first award of the night went to Khidmah for Education and Development of the Year. The award was collected by Adel Kamali, senior manager Support Services, who said: “It’s really great. Thank God after all our hard work in the last two years, training locals in the industry, with a particular focus on facilities management. In the last year, our employee number has risen to 120 people. I am truly pleased to collect the award on behalf of the company.”

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FEATURED COMMENT Congratulations to all winners and I am happy to say that I am part of winning team (with Thiess Services Middle East)   2 Comments Read more comments »

Grako won Cleaning Company of the Year and the award was collected by Alain S. El-Tawil, head of sales and marketing, who said, "It feels great to win this award. Yesterday I went to the top of the Burj Khalifa, and the feeling is very similar. The FM Awards are very important. They are the main awards that recognise the people in our industry and their achievements."

For the fourth year in a row, Mace Macro picked up the award for FM Consultancy of the year. Bill Heath, managing director, said, “winning this award is exceptional. We wanted to win again and demonstrate that we can still add value.”

Landscaping company of the year was awarded to Proscape. Ram Kumar, general manager, collected the award saying, “I feel excellent. This is the first time we are getting this kind of award and it's very important for us to get recognition in the industry. We have been getting awards from the municipality before but this is the first time it's by the industry, and the hard work that we put across has been recognised. On behalf of my company, I would like to thank fmME - you guys are doing a great job.”

MAF Dalkia won the award for MEP Company of the Year. Alexandre Mussallam, CEO, who collected the award said, “We are honoured. It is a merit for the team that worked so hard. Their loyalty, commitment and efforts,” he said.
“Winning the award for MEP is a sign that we are on the right track. We are improving the capability and abilities of the team. It is recognition of their training and coaching. It’s very important that we are a service provider but we want to be the best in technology services as well.”

The judges selected Bee’ah as the winner for the Sanitation and Waste Management Company of the Year award and made particular mention to the transformation of the landfill in Al Saj’ah to a safe disposal site. “I’m very proud to pick up this award on behalf of the company, said Khaled Al Huraimel, CEO of Bee’ah. The company was only established in 2007 and is now a fully integrated waste management company. We’ve got a vision to become a leader in this area within the Middle East. This award is the first step to supporting that vision and motivates us to work even harder.”

The award that attracted the highest number of entries on the night was that for Sustainability Initiative of the Year. TECOM investments won in this category, with Jamal Al Sharif, managing director, collecting the award. He said, "TECOM is one of the largest developers in Dubai, as part of Dubai Holding, and we look at giving back to the environment . It is great to be awarded and we hope it will encourage others to follow the same approach. It is one of our national duties to create a more sustainable environment for future generations .We are following the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum by making Dubai a greener place."

A new category was introduced on the night called the Editor’s Choice: FM project of the year which will be included in all fmME awards going forward. UGL Services won the award for its work on the Aspire Zone Project. Stuart Carmichael, executive general manager for the Middle East, who collected the award said, “This was completely unexpected. We are absolutely delighted. It’s a terrific achievement being the first recipient of this newly introduced award. It’s a reflection not only on us but our clients Aspire Logistics. It is a reward for us and them.

World Security was awarded Security Company of the Year. Mahmood Mohd. Amin, CEO for Group Security and WS said, “It's a great pleasure to get the award because this is what we have shown; that our companies have a proper plan of how to be a specific and professional security company provider. We even won an award last month and it's a great pleasure to be the best company in our field in the Middle East.”

Green FM Company of the Year went to Thiess Services Middle East. Richard Naylor, general manager FM, said, “It's an honour to receive this award and we are delighted to be recognised for our hard work in implementing our environmental policy. We will be introducing further initiative this year. Sustainability is becoming more and more important - it is certainly something that customers are asking for."

For the second year running, Drydocks World Dubai won the award for Health and Safety Initiative of the Year award. Phil Baron, HSE Manager, who collected the award said: “It feels like déjà vu. I collected this award last year and I’m so excited to be picking it up this year too. We’ve set the standards and invested heavily in our systems which are now well rehearsed. It’s great to be recognised again for our hard work.”

First time entrants, Emrill picked up the award for Innovative Use in IT for their provision of “cutting edge, bespoke information systems,” said our judges. Saeed Ahmed, pre contract and commercial director, has been with the company for five weeks. He said, “It is fantastic for us to win this award. It is the first time we have ever been involved in the awards and we are delighted to be rewarded for our efforts. It is a recognition not only of our team at Emrill but the 4,000 people we employ, who work hard every day.
“The online customer portal we recently launched will revolutionise the way we service our customers and corporate clients. We are going to see this so much more in the future and we like to think Emrill is leading the way.”

One of the most talked about awards of the night was Young FM of the Year. It was won by Brookfield Multiplex’s Sandra Yeung. She said, “I'm quite surprised but very happy. It's a difficult competition. I definitely feel very special being the only female winner tonight. It's a great achievement”

Another major award followed; that of FM of the Year. Six were shortlisted in this category with Imdaad’s Said el Haousali coming out on top. He said, "I am very happy to win this award. It demonstrates the solid teamwork in our company and the guidance from our CEO. Our clients have also contributed - without them we wouldn't have achieved this."

Overall FM Company of the Year was the award that concluded the event. This award was won by EMCOR, with Tariq Chauhan, group managing director, picking it up on behalf of the company. He said “It is a great achievement being recognised in this way. In winning this award we have a greater responsibility now, more than ever, to make sure we promise to deliver the services we offer. The aim is to come back next year and be even better than what we are now.”

The winners, 2011 fmME Awards

Education and development initiative of the year
Khidmah

Cleaning company of the year
Grako

GCC FM consultancy of the year
Maco Macro International

Landscaping company of the year
Proscape

MEP Company of the year
MAK Dalkia

GCC sanitation and waste management contractor of the year

Bee’ah

Editor's Choice Award: project of the year

UGL Services

Security Company of the Year
World Security

H&S initiative of the year
Drydocks

Innovative use of it
Emril

ME FM of the year
Said El Haouasli, Imdaad

FM company of the year
Emcor

Sustainability initiative
TECOM Investments

Young FM of the year
Sandra Yeung, Brookfield Multiplex

Editor's Choice Award: project of the year
UGL Services