A vision of success

It was an African proverb that helped NAZ Industries CEO, Adel Mir, understand both the passion and direction of his new home in Dubai. That same proverb’s message has helped him reach new heights in trailer manufacturing, but it has been the strength of teamwork which has made the ultimate difference.

In his book My Vision: Challenges in the Race for Excellence, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, uses the analogy of the speed both a gazelle and a lion are required to survive – one needs it to stay alive and the other to stay fed.

For Adel Mir, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates 30 years ago, the book and analogy helped him understand the dedication his new country had to its growth and global image. It also planted a seed, helping him forge his own path.

A Ukrainian Citizen with a degree in commerce, Mir arrived in Dubai in search of new opportunities. He moved there at a time of a huge economic growth and development; a surge fostered by the UAE leaders as they looked to modernise the country and put it on the global economic map. Throughout his subsequent career in Dubai, Mir took on leadership roles working with international companies including Shell Exploration and Harsco.

Image: NAZ Industries.

While this was happening, NAZ Industries, formerly known as MAMMUT Industries, was a small facility that had been established in 1996. It was a time when new and used trailers in the UAE were being imported from other countries at high price tags, as there was very little domestic manufacturing.

When Mir joined NAZ in 2021, the company was dealing with aftereffects of the Covid pandemic. It was also working through a name and partnership change, making it 100 per cent UAE owned.

He tells Global Trailer that he had three fundamental goals when he, as Operation GM, and his colleague Hussein Al Sharu as Commercial GM took the leadership of the company and jointly prepared the path for growth. The three fundamental goals in their minds were: boosting sales and business, motivating the team and controlling the cost.

Mir considered himself lucky to have the support and friendship of Al Sharu, working in partnership as Commercial GM.

“Hussein and I were a great match in leadership for NAZ,” Mir said. “Hussein had sales and technical knowledge, while I had costing and financial knowledge. Having both leaders involved in all decision making, was the best model of leadership to build the company’s success and future.”

At the beginning of 2023 Mir was promoted to the position of CEO and Al Sharu to the position of CCO, although Mir adds that the pair still run the business with the same management style and enjoy “running the show together”.

Al Sharu has a master’s degree in economics and joined NAZ in 1999.

“We started jointly looking after all the challenges ahead and within a few months we were able to refine the procedures, motivate the team and make some outstanding results for the company,” said Mir.

Leading by example, the pair are most proud of creating a spirit of teamwork and empowering their employees. Their strategy worked. The company had a growth rate of 80 per cent during the 2021 to 2022 financial years and 100 per cent from 2022 to 2023 and going forward, ‘teamwork’ is still the motto.

Engineering excellence

While Mir and Al Sharu know they have among the best quality products in the Middle East, their beliefs are backed by the fact that their trailers’ resale value within that same market is so high. In fact, NAZ’s Mammut brand trailers has become the number one in the market.

Image: NAZ Industries.

NAZ produces more than 45 different products in categories that include body mounted, semi-trailers, oil & gas equipment and process vessels. Its standard products, which are tippers, flatbeds, low-beds and reefers are produced in batches and sold in UAE and neighbouring countries.

The chassis are built from high quality steel with high grades. The components including axles, hydraulic systems, lighting, brakes, landing legs and rims are mainly imported from Europe, primarily Germany and Italy

Products are currently sold throughout the Middle East as well as a number of African nations including Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan and Senegal. The team is also working on a project that will see it supply special trailers to North America.

NAZ’s growth rate at more than 70 per cent over the last few years has meant planning for expansion.

“We are not behind the market, the market is behind us,” said Mir. “The number of orders we are receiving are much more than our production capacity. We run the business on budget and projection basis, and we look at the figures every month carefully. We have a vision and we are ambitious to exceed our goals.”

The only major challenge the company has experienced post-Covid has been procuring the necessary materials, as well as the logistics challenges caused by the disruption in the supply chain. This has been somewhat of a learning experience, however, with planning becoming a priority, implementing long term procurement of components two years out.

Location, location, location

While certainly a vision, hard work and expertise have been the secret to NAZ’s success, there is no question there was an aligning of the stars. In a country that found itself in dire need of tools to help give it the global presence it required, the transport industry became a shining star and NAZ’s offerings a hot commodity.

Mir has seen the changes firsthand watching Dubai go from what was essentially a small town to a global business hub, followed soon after by nearby Qatar. With that growth also came higher standards which the industry and NAZ had to stay doggedly on top of.

“25 years ago, no country in the region was following road regulations and any tonnage of cargo was allowed to be loaded,” said Mir. “Now they have implemented specific road regulations, requiring truck and trailers manufacturers to use their best in design and engineering in order to reduce the truck and trailers weight.”

That same regional surge in industry and infrastructure growth has also made the UAE an easy place to do business, with Dubai arguably the central economic hub for the Middle East and Africa.

“Safety, high living and business standards, availability of the resources, advanced banking, great logistics and ports facilities and many other benefits make UAE a unique country in the region for establishing business,” he said – adding that he predicts the Kingdom of Saudi Arabi will see similar developments in the near future. “There aren’t many countries within 5000 kilometres of United Arab Emirates that have close to the same facilities and standards for business.”

The fast pace of development in the Middle East and the various regions’ many different stages and requirements means NAZ has had to become extremely customer focused. As Mir explains, the company provides solutions for logistics, construction and other industries and the current market is different from one country to another. For instance, Qatar and the UAE don’t have major construction projects, however, since they have created new cities and developments, they do require waste management equipment. The situation changes again in the countries that are announcing major construction projects.

The employee equation

The biggest challenge Mir had when he began at NAZ was creating a team spirit among its employees and ensuring there was adequate motivation among them. Today his team is the company’s biggest strength and what he is most proud of.

“We’ve created an environment in the company where all employees think about the success of the business,” he said. “From day one we told them that if the company succeeds with its budgets and milestones, then they will ultimately benefit from that.” Open communication with staff is a must, Mir said, insisting on meetings every three months, with employees in both the office and the factory, to discuss their results, challenges and goals as well as adequately rewarding staff with bonuses and incentives.

“If they work hard to make the impossible possible, then they deserve to benefit from that,” he said. “We treat everyone as if they are all part of the same family.”

That family is looking forward to the future which, by all estimates, looks bright. In 2020’s financial year, the company produced and sold 380 units, while in 2023 it saw more than 3000 units produced. The goal now is to increase production to 12,000 units per year.

“If you asked me what the three main elements are to having a successful business I would always say ‘people, people and people’,” said Mir. “If you have good people on your team, it doesn’t matter how difficult business is or what challenges you face. You will succeed.

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