For over 100 years since its inception, Eaton has made safety its corporate centrepiece and ethos. This is borne out by its continuing commitment to the region providing critical power management solutions and services in support of some of the high-profile utilities projects across the Middle East.
For Eaton, safety is all encompassing and at the core of everything it does—safety of supply, safety of data, safety of assets and safety of people.
Eaton, the leading Ohio, USA-headquartered power Management Company, prides in its energy-efficient solutions that help customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more reliably, safely and sustainably. Its products are available in over 175 countries across the globe.
LogisticsGulf.com conducted an exclusive interview with Ashraf Yehia, Managing Director, Eaton Middle East, on the sidelines of the recently concluded three-day Intersec 2020, the leading trade fair for Security, Safety & Fire Protection held in Dubai, during which he provided us insights into the business and the company’s business philosophy.
LogisticsGulf.com (LG): What are Eaton’s standout attributes / USPs and what sets you apart from your peers?
Ashraf Yehia (AY): Safety is a way of life and determines all of our professional activities at Eaton.
One of our most recent new products is the CGLine+, a user-friendly monitoring system for emergency lighting, which aims to eradicate the cost and time pressures associated with manual maintenance checks in commercial buildings.
The new system is fully compliant with EN 62034 standards, which aims to eradicate the cost and time pressure associated with manual maintenance checks in commercial buildings.
The CGLine+ controller offers next generation monitoring, with the ability to monitor up to 800 luminaires per controller. Internet connectivity allows the interconnection of multiple controllers to allow advanced monitoring and automatic testing of up to 25,000 luminaires from a single control point where open system interfacing to building management systems is also supported.
LG: What industrial verticals do Eaton products find application in?
AY: Eaton provides emergency lighting and fire detection systems for buildings, commercial and residential, and we have noticed an increase in the levels of regulation that are being adhered to.
The regulation set by the Civil Defence offer a much higher standard of regulation. All those involved in the construction process are placing greater importance of meeting and exceeding the standards that are set.
The performance of our life safety business is consistent, and we spend a lot of time with our customers helping them to understand the way to make a building safe from a number of different perspectives. Eaton regularly holds training sessions for consultants and end-users to expand their knowledge of the industry and also Eaton solutions.
All our solutions are designed with safety at the core. This is not limited to our life safety division products. There is much greater emphasis being placed on how power solutions can keep buildings safe and mitigate risks cause by power fault or failure.
LG: What products and services has Eaton launched at Intersec 2020?
AY: On stand, Eaton demonstrated a range of fire systems, as well as emergency lighting displays, fire pump controllers and notification speakers. Our resident experts were on hand to discuss specific applicants and bespoke solutions that are regularly designed for customers across the Middle East.
We showcased our new innovative ‘Adaptive Evacuation’ technology which provides commercial buildings with the potential to redirect building occupants to safety by adjusting the directions displayed according to the threat – such as a red cross to indicate that a particular exit route has been blocked.
It is an ideal product for events such as collapsed buildings, floods and general security threats. Our adaptive signage also consists of the high-fidelity voice evacuation which signals people to safety.
Eaton products are innovative solutions for every industry- from local grocery shop to institutional buildings across the region. We have a great reputation for producing next-generation products globally and providing iconic projects with our state-of-the-art products.
LG: Overall, how would you describe your participation at Intersec 2020?
AY: The exhibition gives us an opportunity to leverage the market, meet new customers while maintaining and building on our existing relationships. It is one of the leading fire safety exhibitions in the region with institutions from across the world participating and an ideal opportunity to showcase your solutions. It is a perfect fit for Eaton to be amongst these organisations.
LG: How significant is the Middle East for Eaton and how did you fare in 2019?
AY: The Middle East market is very important for Eaton as we have a wide footprint and portfolio throughout the region. We will continue to maintain a consistent presence where we have great visibility and strength to pursue key projects across the Middle East.
2019 was a successful year for us as we consolidated our position as one of the market-leaders in the life safety industry and we aim to maintain and exceed what we achieved last year.
LG: What’s your outlook for 2020? What potential do you foresee going forward?
AY: Eaton will continue to develop, evolve and push through our products throughout the region. Our strategy in 2020 will be to have a clear focus on the areas of business where we have clear market differentiation.
2020 is also an exciting year for the Middle East with great projects and events taking place throughout the region. Expo 2020 will once again put the UAE on the global map; the Vision 2030 is accelerating projects in Saudi Arabia and the ambitions the government is showing bodes well for the coming year.
LG: What are your expansion plans for the region?
AY: Eaton has a reference list of over 1000 projects across the region, from tall commercial & residential buildings, stadiums and the local grocery shop. Our latest solutions can be seen across iconic projects such as the newly developed Bahrain International Airport which features a range of our CEAG solutions across the new passenger terminal building in Manama. The company’s forerunner Concordia Elektrizitäts-Aktiengesellschaft (CEAG) produced lamps for use in mines susceptible to firedamp that fulfilled the highest requirements posed on a safe source of light.
We have also provided our CEAG range for the largest mall in Oman, owned by the Al Futtaim group and our range of fire safety and emergency lighting systems have been installed at the new Riyadh Metro in Saudi Arabia.
Winning these prestigious projects shows the trust in our solutions and how the team is navigating through tight specifications which are required by our customers to implement and be recognized across these iconic projects that adorn the region.
LG: So you envisage any production facilities in the future in the region?
AY: Eaton currently has two production facilities in the Middle East; Dubai and Dammam.
The Dubai facility caters for the low-voltage products and solutions while the Dammam factory produces B-line products. Both of these facilities give us the ability to serve strategic locations across the Middle East and various industries; commercial, residential and Oil & Gas. We will continue to maintain and consolidate our product portfolio with these two facilities.
LG: What is the vision for Eaton for the short and long-term futures?
AY: Eaton serves the Oil & Gas, marine, hydraulics and the general industrial sector, working diligently to provide the latest solutions. We work in a fast-paced market which has seen, and will continue to witness, significant changes and demands.
We must ensure we are working closely with our customers and partners to understand the needs to the market and how Eaton can support the demand for power that these changes bring.
BOX OUT:
Ashraf Yehia is the Managing Director, Eaton Middle East.
Yehia has held this position since February 2019 and is responsible for the company’s operational and commercial business in the Middle East and increasing the organisation’s footprint in the region.
Prior to this, Yehia joined Eaton in 2012 as part of Eaton’s acquisition of Cooper Industries and was part of part of the team that put together a successful transition between the two organisations. Yehia was General Manager–MENAI for Eaton Crouse Hinds and B-Line from 2012-2019.
He was integral in setting up a distribution facility in Dammam, Saudi Arabia to manufacture and produce B-Line products.
In 2019, Ashraf was named one of 50 most influential people in the GCC Utilities industry, by the Utilities Middle East magazine Power List. He was also listed amongst the Top 50 Channel Chiefs in the region by Channel Middle East publication.
Yehia holds an Engineering degree from Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. Yehia is currently based in Dubai.
