THINKING

Over the course of nearly four decades in the business, Hani El Tannir, has helped enhanced multidisciplined operations from the ground up, as well as developed expansion and cost-optimisation initiatives for several companies in the Middle East. Today, Tannir serves as the chief executive officer of Al Masaood Group Industrial and draws on his manufacturing, logistics, diversification, and business development experience to address the challenges facing businesses inside the equipment and commercial vechiles sectors, and the market they serve. In a wideranging interview, he talks to T&FME about the challenges and the changes we face.

Mr El Tannir, we appreciate your time. Please give our readers an overview of your career background and your role at Al Masaood Group My experience mostly lies in manufacturing, logistics, diversification, and business development. Today, as the CEO of Al Masaood Group Industrial, which is a part of Al Masaood Group, I took the lead of six different units – including Power Division, Commercial Vehicles and Equipment Division (CV&E), Projects and Engineering Services Division (PESD), Al Masaood Bergum LLC, Al Masaood Tyres, Batteries & Accessories Division (TBA), and ARB Emirates, and work closely with their Leadership to drive our Strategies and assist in their operational needs. All these industrial entities have integrated sustainability as a top priority into their business strategies to help accelerate the UAE Sustainability Targets and the UAE Net Zero 2050 strategic initiative. We are delivering innovative sustainable products and services across industries, with a focus on the oil and gas, power, utilities, trucks and equipment, Tyres and Batteries, and modular systems sectors, as well as Retail of Off-Roading accessories. And we have just launched our 7th business unit, Equipment Rentals.

After all these decades, what still excites you most about your role and the company?

I feel part of a family and my philosophy resonates with the Al Masaood Group’s objective of autonomy in the workplace and sustainable growth, thus everything I do excites me as I can connect with it. At the Group Industrial, we are on a constant quest to innovate and deliver quality solutions

As CEO of Al Masaood Group Industrial, Hani El Tannir brings years of logistics and business expertise to oversee the many divisions of the firm and major brands such as Renault Trucks and UD Trucks.

to our customers to further cement our positions in various sectors. Working with the Divisional Leaderships, I lead key business development initiatives and create new revenue streams. My main focus is to continue to diversify and foster sustainable development initiatives and ensure continuous innovation in our business strategies and offerings.

Mr El Tannir, the Al Masaood Industrial Division reaches across such a broad range of sectors, you must gain a unique perspective on the market. What is this bird’s eye view telling you about what we all

THE QUEST TO INNOVATE may expect in the year ahead?

Al Masaood Group Industrial has positioned itself in a variety of economic sectors in the UAE throughout the years. By maintaining the momentum, we will strengthen our relationships with stakeholders while directing our product offerings towards sustainability and renewable energy sources and ensuring that what we offer is always relevant to our markets. Additionally, we will remain engaged in local public-private partnerships to develop fresh and promising economic opportunities. We believe that diversification is a strategic move that will support our expansion and growth. Therefore, we are actively seeking diversification into the manufacturing sector to develop products and services that are specifically designed to address the needs of each of our customers. This also entails expansion of our service activities and constantly seeking to improve.

Last year saw a move by your Power Division, which also celebrated its 50th anniversary, to bring innovation into the regional market with SHAMS+. What are your ambitions for this initiative?

As a pioneer in the energy sector, Al Masaood Power Division has taken the lead in offering sustainable technologies and innovations that will contribute to lowering carbon emissions and accelerate the goals of the UAE Net Zero 2050 strategic initiative. One such innovation is SHAMS+, the first UAE-built ultra-fast and intelligent charging solution for marine hybrid and electric vehicles. This solution is unique since it forgoes a traditional electrical supply in favor of solar energy. Therefore, it is an ideal solution for marine docks, deserts, agricultural fields, and interstate highways.

Hani El Tannir says that Al Masaood Group Industrial is on a constant quest to deliver innovation ot the market and will continue to diverify its strategy and approach.

SHAMS+ provides the fastest solarpowered charging speed starting at 25 minutes through a broad network of charging stations that can accommodate all the battery charging needs of the automotive and maritime industries. Furthermore, the innovative mobile and internet-based ventures would hasten the global maritime and transportation sectors’ decarbonization, making them a unique technique that balances voltage fluctuation for stable charging. The solution also includes software to gather, examine, and interpret consumption data. To operate more efficiently and save money, EV drivers would be able to remotely monitor charging sessions and obtain accurate energy-usage data. It also operates cordlessly for greater flexibility and easier installation in various urban and rural sites, including agricultural areas, as well as at marine ports and hubs, providing customers with the highest level of convenience and efficiency.

As a Group, you put a lot of emphasis onto sustainable diversity, how does that shape your decision making when it comes to finding new brands or initiatives to partner or be involved with?

As a diversified Group, we at Al Masaood Group Industrial believe that diversification is a strategic mindset that safeguards the Group against challenges while also growing revenue and profits. We are continually seeking sustainable and innovative solutions across a wide array of industries as well as bolstering our relationships with stakeholders to better society and the environment. This we are doing in a combination of internal developments as well as partnerships with global leaders. Earlier in 2022, we also collaborated with Sunstream International to introduce the next-generation plugand-play solar system, the “Oryxbox”. This solution can be beneficial for activities in the oil and gas, mining, construction of roads, and agricultural sectors.

Many of our readers are business leaders themselves in the fields of mobility, transportation, logistics and the automotive sector, what advice can you give them in terms of ensuring their business are ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead?

I would hope that what we are doing to diversify and develop within a Sustainable framework underlines our strategy.

How much work does Al Masaood

Unveiled put into its customer services operation? How do you see this side of the business evolving?

It is not enough to sell a product or a service. The Group’s values have always been about ensuring that the client is happy with the ‘solution’ that we are providing, and thus we have always invested in after-sales Service and Parts; this is through world class facilities, a trained technical staff, and the emphasis that it is ‘solutions’ we are selling, not just a product. Additionally, we carry out a lot of training to the technical teams of our clients. This is the Group’s value that has stood us in good stead, and I hope that we continue to honour this tradition.

The UAE continues to develop rapidly, how do you continue to keep pace? Are there any national or major initiatives that excite you?

The rapid growth and development in the industrial sector of the UAE stipulates the provision of the tech-driven products and services to help us better serve the customers. We have worked and continue to work with global businesses to bring fresh solutions to the UAE in order to achieve this goal. With this, we are ensuring that diverse local industries have access to the recent technologies. We year, have become a part of the Ta’ziz project, which was started by ADNOC and ADQ, and aims to support and enable the expansion of the Ruwais Industrial Complex and Abu Dhabi’s chemical, manufacturing, and industrial sectors. As one of the first Emiratiowned private enterprises to be a part of this project, we are focusing on the potential of light industrial services for the services and healthcare sectors – including maintenance support, industrial processes, and facilities management solutions. We have further expanded into the manufacturing sector to cater the needs of each of our customers. This is in line with the UAE’s industrialisation policy and the “Make it in the Emirates” campaign.

The Power Division team was in Egypt ahead of the COP27 meeting at the end of 2022 – is this a sign that you are looking to extend your reach across the region?

At Al Masaood Group, diversification of product and service lines will open the doors towards regional expansion too. Our participation in events such as the Environment & Development Forum (EDF) 2022 in Egypt reflects our efforts to promote sustainability and achieving net-zero emissions not only in the UAE, but also across the region. During the event, we showcased our innovative sustainable solution, SHAMS+, which marks a new chapter in our sustainability journey in the UAE and beyond. The solution will drive EV adoption in the Gulf region’s industrial, construction, and marine sectors, in addition to assisting in the decarbonization of the transportation sector. And apart from our Power Division, other Divisions are also evaluating or have started regional expansion too.

What else should we be looking out for from Al Masaood in the months and years ahead?

We have aligned our major strategies with the “UAE Industry 4.0” initiative, which intends to advance the UAE’s industrial base into a sector that is competitive, efficient, and sustainable on the world stage. To support the country’s net-zero ambitions, we are embedding sustainability into all our value offerings and reducing carbon emissions. We will continue to seek investments in paramount industries, as we have always done, in line with the vision set out by our wise leadership. Meanwhile, to better address the needs of the economy and the nation, our operations and business model have evolved with time. We will seek to continue to be adaptable, innovative, and agile in the years to come.