Graham Bassett, Commercial Director at recruitment consultancy Momentum, describes how the London-based firm attended the Intersec Middle East show.
The importance of this prestigious trade show is reflected in its year on year growth (27 per cent over 2006), with some 800 exhibitors attending (of which some 180 were Middle East based companies). There were some 2000 brands being exhibited from 53 countries all of which were supported by an extensive conference. <br><br>Tom Craven, Momentum’s MD said: " Our ongoing success in this exciting, fast moving market is wholly due to the fact that we can deliver what businesses in the region want – namely the best security, risk and HSE personnel to work in the worlds fastest growing region. The scale of economic development, construction and business growth – particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia – is staggering, and presents unique challenges to anyone concerned with risk. Momentum has an ability to tap into the talent market across the world to bring the best people to this exciting business environment. <br><br>We were part of the UKTI and BSIA delegation at Intersec, managed by Peter Nicholls and Chris Pinder, and also proud to be located within the UK security pavilion area of the show. The strength of the British contingent at the exhibition demonstrated the international capability of our security industry. Being present in the region allowed us to meet with many established clients and several prospective clients, on and off the exhibition site. I was honoured to be able to attend the launch of a major new company in Abu Dhabi and network with senior Emirates business people, defence and security chiefs and the international business leaders of the new company. The interest further strengthened my resolve to develop our business in this region and to open an office there in the near future. <br><br>Saturday<br><br>Saturday saw Tom Craven, Graham Bassett and Roxy Ali arrive early morning at Dubai airport and set straight off to the impressive Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre to set the stand up. This afforded us the opportunity to meet our fellow exhibitors. As at all exhibitions like this there was an overall atmosphere of excitement and expectation for the following day’s opening. After setting up we went to the area of new Dubai City where there is extensive building and development going on (The World, The Palm etc), which was a truly an impressive sight, especially at night, where work on the developments is carried out 24/7. Later that evening we met with clients at Madinat Jumeirah a five-star hotel complex (more or less opposite the Burj Al Arab) in the creation of old Arabia, which incorporates some 41 barsand restaurants and 74 boutique shops spread across numerous acres with interconnecting waterways serviced by water taxis.<br><br>Sunday saw the grand opening of the show by Brigadier Rashid Thani Al Matrooshi, Director General Manager of Dubai Civil Defence which got the exhibition off to a good start. We had an extremely productive day and met with many new and existing clients/candidates. Sunday also brought news that a certain George W Bush was to make a brief visit to Dubai next day as part of his Middle East peace tour – unfortunately this had an adverse effect on the show as most major roads were closed and many parts of Dubai became a no-go area with roads closed and so on – a public holiday was declared at the last minute. It was ironic that security measures conspired to threaten our activities at the show! However this was not to deter us and with true British resolve, we decided to set off much earlier next day. Sunday night was the exhibitors’ party, which afforded excellent networking opportunities, this resulted in new business relationships (this was after the very good belly dancer had finished her stage act – she was rated highly by one experienced resident Middle East Expat!) An additional bonus for me was that I met up with someone I had not seen for some 12 years, after introducing him to a major player in Saudi Arabia (who was now a senior director of large Dubai based international security consultancy)<br><br>Monday <br><br>Having had the arrival of George W Bush confirmed late the previous day, we set off early only to be halted half way due to road closures, so abandoning our taxi and ignoring the humidity we set off on foot down the empty four-lane carriageway to the exhibition centre, which loomed some two miles ahead of us in the distance. Good fortune was with us as we made it to the exhibition centre just before the heavens opened! Many exhibitors did not make it to the show that day and there were many unmanned stands, visitors were also pretty thin on the ground. However we used this to our advantage and were able to have conversations we otherwise might not have had, which in turn led to additional meetings and further business opportunities. So what (on the surface) was looking a potentially bleak day turned out to be a very good day for the Momentum trio. Later that evening we hosted Momentum’s first ‘Beer and Banter’ event in Dubai, at the Barasti Bar (Meridien Hotel, on Jumeirah beach), where a good night was had by all. <br><br>Tuesday<br><br>Tuesday was a day of great expectation due to the previous day and we were not disappointed – torrential rain (the worst in 10 years!!) and floods which saw the closure of many roads. However it was a very busy day and it was pretty much non-stop meetings and talking to new and existing clients and candidates. It was by far our most productive and busiest day of the show, which our fellow exhibitors would no doubt agree with. The conference programme was a huge success and aside from the British speakers we had met the previous Sunday night, Tom and Roxy met with both the Chief Executive and President of IOSH (Occupational Safety and Health). This afforded them the opportunity to discuss the increasing importance of IOSH in the region, accreditation and how our clients expectations are met with relevant and suitably skilled HSE candidates.<br><br>Summary<br><br>Intersec was a fantastic show and resounding success for us, so much so we will definitely be returning next year (maybe from our own Dubai based office – watch this space!). Aside from our own success, post exhibition news from the show organisers reported that multi-million Dirham deals had been signed which was underpinned by their buoyancy and launch of Intersec Asia to be held in Bangkok December 1 to 3, 2008. On a closing note we would also like to thank all the people we met who made our trip the success it was – without them it may not have been so productive (or fun).
For photos see www.momentumsecurity.co.uk/pdf/intersec2008.pdf
