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COMPANY PROFILE
IN PROFILE: EFM WITH 2018 MARKING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF EFM’S DUBAI OPERATION, TPMEA STOPPED BY TO MEET THE HARD-WORKING TEAM MEMBERS WHO ENSURE THE SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY OF EVENTS YEAR-ROUND, AND TO LEARN A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE ‘EFM WAY’. TPMEA’S STEW HUME REPORTS…
Situated in the heart of Media City is EFM Global Logistics’ Middle East HQ. With offices in Europe, USA and Australia, the company has had a base in the region for just over a decade, and the branch of the global freighting company has become the leading logistics specialist in the UAE for large-scale events. Having originally moved to the UAE following an upturn in region’s live events which saw an increase in tours visiting the Middle East, the Dubai office has since diversified its local clientele from the music and theatre fields to include the automotive and sports sectors. EFM has also built up significant expertise in the movement of dangerous goods - from fireworks to military equipment. But as TPMEA soon found out, the said diversification has not been easy… “The service we provide goes so much further than moving goods from point A to B,”
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began Chris Lumb, Vice President of Special Projects for EFM Dubai. “Throughout my 10 years in the region, I have found our most valuable service is more akin to Project Management than simply freighting. This means providing solutions to on-site handling, organising shipping documents and even insurance.” It’s this level of detail which has made EFM a staple of the events industry in the UAE with invaluable knowledge regarding how to navigate the region. “What we have found recently is that clients are keen to include us in the planning stages of their projects,” commented Blake Miller, General Manager at EFM Dubai. “This is something we prefer, as we can advise from the very beginning how to efficiently move equipment and how long it will actually take, factoring in borders and customs. This means we are able to produce the most cost-effective solutions.” It’s a fact both Lumb and Miller agreed was one of the big issues with other freight companies which don’t factor in the various
potential disruptions of what might seem to be a simple move. “We get calls weekly from clients requesting help to get them out of an ongoing situation, where another company has taken gear into an area, such as Saudi Arabia, but can’t get it out,” stated Lumb. “Effectively, these other companies are not offering a true door-to-door service because they are not looking into the project management side of their operations.” Both Lumb and Miller outlined the lengthy learning process which had taken place to get EFM where it is today. According to Miller, it comes down to one thing: experience. He elaborated: “What I’ve noticed during my time in the industry, both at EFM and other companies, is the processes have not changed a great deal, but our knowledge of the system is far more efficient.” Lumb continued: “We’ve studied the nuts and bolts of the system for years and learned from our experiences. Take pyrotechnics: we’ve been moving such goods up and down the