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Thriving on CHALLENGES
Within a short span of 18 years, Al Jassar Group has established
itself as a fast growing multi divisional firm with strong
presence in trading, manufacturing, real estate, contracting,
health etc. VT Saileswaran, Managing Director, who has been in
the vanguard of this journey, talks about the success, values
and vision of his business. Muhammed Nafie reports
It all started with one man who stepped out of the comfort zone
of a senior management position with a leading Kuwait-based
company to venture into an own enterprise in the Sultanate in
1994. Over the last 18 years, it has grown to a group of
diversified companies establishing itself as a pioneer in
providing multiple services to a wide range of industries in
Oman, as diverse as trading, construction, manufacturing,
infrastructure and telecommunication. In addition, it runs one
of the leading private hospitals in the city and signed JVs with
several international companies to manufacture and supply their
products in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. It
was the vision and strong minded-pursuit of its managing
director VT Saileswaran that enabled Al Jassar Group, which had
a humble beginning as a trading company, to emerge as a multi
divisional firm with 500 plus employees.
Sailsweran started his career in early 80s with Danish giant
Rockwool for which he worked at Copenhagen for two years looking
after its Middle East marketing; he later joined the Kuwaiti
major Al Gahnim Industry where he was the regional manager for
Kimmco Insulation for 15 years. “When I started Al Jassar
Trading it was virtually a one-man company. Later, we grew and
branched out to different areas launching Al Jassar Telecom,
Apollo Medical Centre, Muscat, Habitat International, Habitat
Furnishing, Group VTS SBN, Malaysia, Baek Suk Engineering &
Partners, Dura Line Middle East etc.
A leap forward
Al Jassar Trading, the first venture of the group, has
gained a good reputation since its inception for offering
high-quality and highly reliable engineering, industrial and
construction materials backed up by excellent sales support. It
represents many well-reputed manufactures from across the globe
in construction, water & waste water conveyance, roads etc.
Al Jassar Telecom which was set up in 2008 has partnered with
internationally renowned telecom and IT vendors and was able to
provide the telecommunication solutions with advanced
technologies like GPON-FTTH, Wimax, GIS, integrated security
solutions, intelligence building solutions, LED lighting
solutions, IP telephony solutions, geographical information
system etc. “We are the first Omani company to do FTTH network
projects for Haya Water, Omantel and Nawras. WE have connected
2000 plots as well as 200 houses,” says Saileswaran.
Habitat International provides services in property management,
real estate and housekeeping. It serves commercial buildings,
serviced apartments, residential buildings, guest houses,
shopping malls etc. undertaking administration, management,
maintenance, security operations and space planning.
Al Jassar Group has a well-equipped manufacturing unit and
joinery division to produce a variety of furniture to cater to
the needs in interior designing, furnishing and space planning.
In addition, there are two state-of-the art- furniture showrooms
in Watayah for readymade office furniture from Canadian leader
Global Furniture and for sofas made by renowned German
manufacture Hilker. Saileswaran also informed that he is looking
forward to entering into a JV with Global Furniture to
manufacture some of their products in Sohar for Middle East
market.
Quality health care
Apollo Medical Centre (AMC), Muscat was set up in 2005 in
association with Apollo Hospitals Group, India, Asia’s largest
and most trusted healthcare group, setting new benchmarks in
providing the most advanced and state-of-the-art healthcare
services in the Sultanate. Equipped with modern and
state-of-the-art operation theatres and modern Intensive Care
Unit (ICU), AMC is the only centre in Sultanate offering regular
superspecialty consultation clinics by visiting doctors from
Apollo Hospitals Group –India in Spine, Orthopedics, Arthroscopy
& Knee, Neurosurgery, Liver, Cardiology etc.
“According to me, health care is not a big money making
business,” says Saileshwaran. “It is rather a service for the
nation. We require high-value equipment for everything and
getting doctors is another difficulty as it entails a protracted
recruitment process lasting up to six to eight months.”
AMC renders speedy treatment to all critical illnesses in
cardiology, general medicine, diabteology & endocrinology, ENT,
general surgery, gynecology and obstetrics, orthopedics,
ophthalmology, plastic & cosmetic surgery, dermatology,
dentistry, neurology and neo-natology and paediatrics etc. “We
have achieved another landmark with the launch of telemedicine
facility, the first installation in the Sultanate, whereby
people living in Oman can access the best of healthcare services
from the world-renowned Apollo Hospital’s doctors in India,”
adds Saileswaran.
Way to go
The latest venture of Al Jassar Group is Dura-Line Middle
East (DLME), a JV with Dura-Line India to produce cable ducts
and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes for water,
wastewater, and natural gas pipelines and other industrial
applications, in Sohar. With an installed capacity of 6,000
tonnes a year, the plant combines the technological strength of
Dura-Line and A-D Technologies with the local market service
support of Al Jassar. The company has invested $7.8mn in setting
up the plant. “The entire plant, covering a built-up area of
7,000 m2, was completed within 90 days. The plant and machinery
and the quality systems are exactly identical to the Dura-Line
India facilities,” avers Saileswaran.
Dura-Line Middle East currently has two extrusion machines
capable of producing in the size of 20mm to 250mm and the sizes
beyond 250mm can be easily complemented from the Indian units to
provide the full size range to the end users in the Middle East.
“Our major customers in Oman are organisations that are engaged
in building water, wastewater, natural gas pipelines and
irrigation systems such as Haya Water and Public Authority for
Electricity and Water,” Saileswaran added. On the advantages of
setting up the project in Sohar, Saileswaran said that it was a
strategic location for exporting the products to the Middle East
and North Africa region. “We are aiming at exporting 60 per cent
of the company’s products.”
Baek Suk Engineering & Partners is another contracting arm of
the group in cooperation with the Korea-based principal.
Saileswaran says the company has currently got a subcontract
from Hyundai Rotem which was awarded the contract of Al Khoud
sewage networking project.
Exuding confidence about the upbeat prospects of the company in
the coming years, Saileswaran says, “My future outlook is to do
the best to strengthen the business. Our vision is to be one of
the most successful companies in the region and the mission is
to give quality service to the customers.” He also informs that
Al Jassar Group is seriously considering launching a bigger
multispecialty hospital in association with Apollo India to give
all secondary and tertiary care facilities under one roof. |
