Interview: 20 Years in Dubai

?? Happy Birthday! 20 years of WEICON Middle East L.L.C. ??

We have a reason to raise our glasses: our international #branch WEICON Middle East L.L.C. just celebrated its 20th anniversary. What obstacles had to be overcome at the start? How has the branch evolved over the past 20 years? Together with branch manager Thorsten Lutz , we looked back on the development of WEICON in #Dubai.

“Hello Thorsten. It’s great that you took the time for this interview! Please tell us about your career at WEICON.”

“I’ve now been with WEICON for 30 years. For the first ten years, I was a member of the sales force in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Then I moved to Dubai and was involved in building WEICON Middle East from the very beginning.”

“What led to the creation of WEICON’s first international branch?”

“In the late 90s, Ralph frequently attended trade fairs in Dubai and saw how rapidly the city was developing. In 2004, Ralph shared his idea with me of opening a branch in Dubai and offered me the opportunity to take on the responsibility of establishing it. In July 2004, I visited Dubai with Ralph for the first time, and I immediately knew that I would seize this opportunity. It took nine months to set up the company, train my successor in Hamburg and complete all the other preparations. On March 1, 2005, the time had finally come: we were able to start! Once again, Ralph was in Dubai, and we spent the first few weeks setting up the warehouse and office, along with countless other tasks.”

“The branch in Dubai was WEICON’s first international office. Why did you choose the emirate on the Persian Gulf? What makes Dubai such an important location for WEICON?”

“Dubai is #booming. In all the time that I’ve been here, Dubai has really been the talk of the town. Fortunately, we decided to open this branch back in 2005. The UAE is only a six-hour flight from Germany, and the time difference is just two hours in summer and three hours in winter. Basically, our branch is just around the corner.”

“Twenty years is a long time: How has the branch developed over this time?”

“You could say that we’ve grown from a one-man show to a team of 25 people. After three months, we hired our first employee, Faisal, who is still part of my team today. From a turnover of around 120,000 euros across the entire region, we have now grown to nearly 7 million euros. In the beginning, we had eight contacts, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and now we have more than 1,000 paying customers. The branch has definitely developed very well.”

“What have been the highlights for you personally and for the branch during this time? Did you face any challenges?”

“I actually don’t know where to begin and where to end. The first few years were a major change and rather challenging. I moved from a quiet small town in Schleswig-Holstein to a bustling metropolis with more than a million people with a completely different culture, religion and mentality. It took some time before I truly felt at home. And a lot changed for the branch as well. By now, we have our team in place, and everyone has their tasks: that wasn’t the case at the beginning. The weekend used to start on Thursday afternoon, with the working week beginning on Saturday. Whereas the UAE has now adapted to the European weekend, our neighbouring countries still have Fridays off. The first two or three years were a challenge, but also an exciting and thrilling time. It was a big step for me back then, but I don’t regret it for a second!”

“Is there any special story from the last 20 years that you’d like to share?”

“Back then, we used to call the #galvanizing companies every Thursday and ask if they still needed any goods. One time, I had just arrived home in the evening when a customer called and placed a last-minute order for zinc spray for Friday at 7:00 AM. I assured him that he would receive the delivery on time. The next morning, I drove to our warehouse myself, picked up the goods, quickly wrote an invoice and delivered the order to the customer. This service definitely made a big impression and word quickly spread. Our service is one of our key strengths in Dubai, and this also applies to WEICON worldwide.”

“Is there anything you miss about Germany?”

“Every time my family and I are in Germany in the summer, we notice how green it is there. Especially in the summer, Dubai is a challenge with temperatures reaching up to 45°C, so you really look forward to being in Germany then.”

“How will you celebrate the 20th anniversary of the branch?”

“We have a ‘Family Day’ once a year, where we invite our employees along with their families. For the anniversary, this year we’re all staying in a hotel in Hatta, about an hour away in the mountains. In the afternoon, we’ll have #team-building activities, then a big dinner in the evening, and to finish the night, a DJ will play music. I hope that everyone will enjoy it. And of course, we’re excited that Ann-Katrin Weidling , Patrick J. , Sascha Beilmann , Ralph and Susanne will be visiting us.”

“Let’s take a look into the future. What are your #future goals for the branch, and which upcoming milestones are you looking forward to?”

“First and foremost, I hope that we all stay healthy. Personally, I would love to reach 40 years of service at WEICON and 30 years as the manager here at WEICON Middle East. I hope that things stay on a positive path. There are a lot of trouble spots here in the region. So I hope that everything continues to go well for my team, my family and me – as it has so far. That would make me happy.”

“Thank you very much for your time Thorsten!”