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FIRST LOOK MIDDLE EAST
FELIX ERDMANN, CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR, NEUMANN&MÜLLER MIDDLE EAST THE HEAD OF N&M MIDDLE EAST DISCUSSES THE COMPANY’S EXTENSIVE WORKS FOR EXPO 2020.
With Expo 2020 just around the corner, it’s safe to say that it’s an incredibly busy time for Neumann&Müller (N&M) Middle East. Entrusted with the design and delivery of 10 pavilion projects, as well as several planned live events on Expo site, the company is growing rapidly to meet the demand. “We are growing our team massively, not only for the Expo 2020 projects but also to grow our presence generally here in the Middle East,” commented N&M Dubai’s Felix Erdmann. “We are currently in the process of doubling our full-time employee numbers over the next two to three months.” Here, the Co-Managing Director tells TPMEA about the challenges involved in doubling the company’s workforce and reveals a few details on the company’s much-anticipated delivery at the Expo 2020 site. What is your role at Expo 2020? We are honoured to have been chosen to design and deliver 10 pavilion projects, as well as several planned live events on Expo site. The site will require a massive, coordinated workforce, so, for this project alone, we will have around 180 people operating the stages in three shifts. How much of a challenge has it been to find the right people to join the team? It’s always a challenge to recruit good people. We don’t want to have low or mid-level people – we’re looking for highly skilled personnel in every position. We are recruiting internationally for the best people in their field. We have a dedicated team who are focused purely on finding the right recruits and then helping them integrate into the company quickly. We will have people from all around the world; there are around 16 nationalities within the team so far, but this will jump significantly over the next month or so. We’ve noticed some top local talent has joined your ranks as well recently… One of our strategies is to have a good mixture of local and international staff. It’s important to have some people who are well connected and comfortable in the region with experience of working here. It’s a good diverse team that we’re putting together.
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