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INTERVIEW M AY-JUNE 2020
DAHBASHI’S DAY OUT
WHEN REGIONAL PARTS AND SERVICE SPECIALIST DAHBASHI ENGINEERING CONDUCTED AN OPEN DAY AT THEIR DUBAI INDUSTRIAL CITY PREMISES RECENTLY, CMME WAS THERE TO ASK CEO SALEEM AHMED AND DIRECTOR FAHAD DAHBASHI ABOUT THE COMPANY’S SERVICES AND OFFERINGS, AND WHAT SETS IT APART Please describe Dahbashi Engineering as a company, explaining your scope of operations and services offered. We started this company in 1985 with the purpose of providing alternative service options to owners of construction machinery, because at that time it was only the OEMs that were doing the service back-up in the market in this region. A construction boom was underway in the region and even the OEMs were not really prepared to handle the requirements of that boom. So, we found a vacant niche in that market, came in and let the customer have a choice on a more economical basis. And over a period of time we have grown, within the UAE and in the Gulf and expanded into the Indian sub-continent. The other division that we have serves the materials handling sector, where we provide traction batteries to all electrical moving vehicles other than automotive, so the entire spectrum from a cleaning machine to an aircraft pusher. We were the first to design the battery room for Dubai Airports/Dnata when they first came up with the idea of going electric. That was in 1989. And since then, Dnata has stayed with us. The material handling segment has
grown and logistics companies have expanded, and with this our business of designing and insulating of battery room to providing power solutions for electrical equipment. What are your offerings for the construction industry specifically? We cater mainly for Caterpillar, Komatsu, JCB and Volvo equipment. On the engine side our services are geared towards brands such as Cummins and Perkins. While there is a variety of machines available, we tend to stick to working on these brands because we have built up the expertise and technical backup. We want to differentiate ourselves from the market, because the market has hundreds of people doing the same things. What sets us apart is that, unlike most in our segment, we are not traders. We are a solution provider. We do not touch something that we cannot back up. In an industry such as construction machinery, you have changes on a daily basis to technology and to ways of doing things. You need to keep yourself constantly updated on these changes and well versed in what is new. And if you don’t have that information, you cannot provide value to a customer.