Following incredible success in the last few years including several notable contract wins, Transguard Group is poised for continued success. Greg Ward, Managing Director, Transguard Group, gives an insight into the company's plans for the year ahead.
With revenue of more than AED 2.3 billion and a profit of over AED 163 million, 2017/18 certainly ended on a high note for Transguard Group. In fact, the company secured major contract wins across all business functions. Across integrated facility services alone, Transguard Group has won more than 50 notable contracts in 17/18, this included key FM contract wins with clients such as Musanada, Emirates Flight Training Academy, Commercial Bank International, Omniyat; soft services at JAZFA, and lastly, the appointment by Aldar for all soft services in Abu Dhabi’s largest mall, YAS Mall.
Talking to ‘FM today’ about the growth of the company Greg Ward, Managing Director, Transguard Group, says, “We have a fantastic team at Transguard who ensure the company’s continued success and as our company grows so does our reach and our related support services. This combination allows us to provide our clients with a high-quality service at a very competitive price point.”
Year-end Figures
Transguard’s Integrated Facility Services business unit continued its strong performance in 2017/2018 reporting revenue growth of 30% and headcount growth of 24%, the highest revenue and headcount growth across the Group. “A host of new mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contracts across new and existing clients, as part of the IFS Projects division and several high profile retained contracts contributed to its overall success,” adds Ward. In terms of Security, Transguard’s operation continues to be the country’s largest, witnessing growth in personnel of 12%, from 6,891 to 7,781 in 2017/18. “Overall Transguard has witnessed another solid all-round performance thanks to the hard work and dedication of the 64,774 members of staff,” says Ward.
Centre of Excellence
Transguard opened the AED 3.8 million 38,000 square feet, Centre of Excellence, located at Dubai Investment Park (DIP), and is tasked with training over 75,000 Transguard staff by 2020. The new facility will host training courses for up to 450 staff every day, with the centre expected to run a near-24/7 operation during peak business periods, to meet intense industry demand. “Training and development at Transguard are more than just a vital management tool, it provides the foundation through which we create a motivated and passionate workforce who are inspired to continuously improve, grow their careers and in turn, provide the best possible service to our customers,” explains Ward.
The purpose-built centre is expected to train around 25,000 technicians every year. There will be 39 trainers, team leaders, teachers, facilitators and special-ists based at the centre. Over 170 courses will be undertaken. Cleaning courses are accredited by BICS, while also meeting Transguard Group’s internal standards. Courses in specialist cleaning, K9 handling and Lean 6 Sigma and English language courses will also be delivered at the centre.
Located in DIP and in close proximity to the Expo 2020 site, the two-story centre comprises offices and classrooms on the first floor. On the ground floor several dedicated mockup rooms, including a purpose-built apartment, office, clinic and even a fully furnished hotel room complete with a variety of materials and finishes requiring different maintenance solutions and methods. The centre also features a K9 unit with kennels for 16 dogs to support Transguard’s specialist dog handling and detection training.
Vision for Expo 2020
With the Expo 2020 just around the corner, Transguard has ensured that they have a mobilized workforce in a prime position to support the event. “We plan to continuously train our staff in order to provide excellence at every step of the customer journey. We also aim to support them by incorporating new innovations and technology in our services,” adds Ward.
Adding value to the Middle East
Transguard’s vision is to be the leader in the UAE FM market in terms of size and capability. Size relates to the strength of the workforce. “When we combine all Facilities Management personnel, including Security, our FM workforce including cleaners, technicians and security guards is 15,000 strong. Not only does this make us by far the largest FM company in the region, it gives us a distinct advantage over our competition, allowing us to mobilize contracts in a very short space of time, without the immediate need to recruit externally,” says Ward. In terms of capability, Ward says that they measure this by the number of FM services they self-deliver. “Unlike the majority of the UAE FM market, Transguard self-delivers most of its services, including Maintenance, Projects, Cleaning, Specialist Cleaning, Landscaping, Pest Control, Courier & Mail Services and many more…both to the residential and commercial market,” he adds. Operational Excellence is a major focus for Transguard in 2018/2019 and they will be working closely with the Centre of Excellence and their Transformation Team to ensure they are the market leader when it comes to quality of services. “Our KPI performance across all contracts was excellent last year, however this year we want to be even better,” expresses Ward.
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