CAREER LADDER | McLaren
Repeat opportunity
LEFT: The recently completed logistics centre in Dubai achieved LEED gold certification.
Newly appointed international business development director, James McDowell-Foord, and UAE GM Mark Douglas, tell Melanie Mingas about the restructuring of McLaren Construction’s
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ince establishing a regional base in the UAE two years ago McLaren Construction has forged relationships with a number of highly regarded and well connected business partners to execute three projects with unwavering focus on quality to build on an existing – and strong – international reputation. As a business entity, McLaren has been operating in the region for decades, with current UAE general manager Mark Douglas first arriving in Dubai in 1986. The previous strategy saw key staff working remotely and onsite as required, until those key clients began to demand McLaren operates from the region. “We were asked to come here by some of our European clients who wanted us to support them in our business here. Shortly after arriving the financial crisis bit and obviously available work opportunities in the Emirates dropped off dramatically. We took the decision to stay and work for a select clientele and not take the scatter gun approach,” explains Douglas. Continuing to assert that more than 80% of McLaren’s business is from repeat clients, he says that a “dramatic upturn” has been witnessed of late, with four times the volume of work opportunities received Q4 2011 compared to Q4 2010. “We very rarely if ever, look at a project or opportunity in isolation. The hardest thing to do as a contractor is to find a new client, but when you have got a good client it’s quite easy to keep them.”
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“We have to date never finished a project late. In any of the sectors and territories we work in, we are an absolute stickler for finishing on time” LEFT: James McDowell-Foord
“The most encouraging thing is that those work opportunities are quality opportunities. They are projects that are most likely to go ahead,” Douglas adds. It is the responsibility of newly appointed international business development director James McDowell-Foord to establish the partnerships that will bring new projects to the company. With Douglas describing McLaren’s USP as “quality”, McDowell-Foord elaborates to explain: “We have to date never finished a project late. In any of the sectors and territories we work in, we are an absolute stickler for finishing on time.” Drawing on the example of the recently completed CEVA Logistics Centre, for Dubai’s JAFZA South, both recall how the project was not only completed six weeks early, but achieved LEED gold standard, rather than the specified silver.
“My role is to uncover business opportunities that fit our profile in the sectors we want to pursue. It is very important to know where you want to go and what you want to do,” McDowell-Foord explains. “I have been making various business trips to Abu Dhabi and Qatar and the way we see ourselves going forward internationally is through joint venture (JV) partnerships with local contractors, rather than just having local representation. They are on the ground and they have the workforce; we have the tried, trusted and approved system processes,” he adds. For McDowell-Foord, the focus is on relationships. Saying that due diligence is a key focus for all potential clients, there is also a need for the client to be right for the contractor. “We have to be sure they are the right client for us. That means that the project suits our expertise, and the sector and we have to be