8
PROMETAL AND PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
PROMETAL AND PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
PROMETAL AND PRESENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Written by Catherine Rowell
Produced by Dennis Morales
“My job is to cover operations,
quality and operational
excellence,” comments
Mark Lutton, Chief Operating
Officer of Prometal Group. Through
ASSA ABLOY’s acquisition of
Prometal in 2015, the company
has sought to increase its market
presence within the Middle East
construction industry by becoming
a ‘one stop shop’ in supplying the
total door opening solution.
Undertaking a multitude of projects
from specifications to execution and
installation, the company is working on
projects such as the Workers’ hospital
in Doha and the Doha Metro (currently
at design stage), in addition to the Jewel
of the Creek, a residential development
in Dubai, the company’s prominence
within the region is significant.
Having recently finalised Habtoor
city, one of the biggest construction
developments in Dubai, incorporating
three hotels, an array of shops and
several facilities, the company is
also undertaking one of the most
rewarding projects in Jeddah, the King
Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA).
There is no project too large or
complex for Prometal, which aims to
be considered for an array of projects
going forward. Mark explains: “A lot
more projects are now taking longer
because of the current business
climate. Saudi Arabia has been on
hold all year but we’re starting to see
signs that things are starting to move
again.” Prometal’s acquisition by ASSA
ABLOY has enabled it to offer a one-
supplier strategy for doors, hardware,
and access control, thereby reducing
costs, hassle and complexities for the
industry at a time when companies
need to rein in costs without sacrificing
the quality of their services.
By continually seeking to economise
direct material costs without impacting
Chief Operating Officer Mark Lutton has been leading the company’s operations and driving ASSA ABLOY’s strategy of radically reducing break-even costs
4 m i d d l e e a s t . a s s a a b l o y. c o m 5
to implement further technologies
through the use of automation and
robotics. “Our European sister factories
have been implementing robots for over
five years and we believe robotics is the
way forward, even in the door industry,”
Mark comments. “The labour rate will
eventually rise and robots will become
more effective. We are looking at
investing in robotics in 2017 and 2018.”
Overcoming regulatory challenges Prometal is currently able to produce
45,000 steel doors sets and 30,000
wooden doors sets per annum, and
have recently had their Latched Single
Acting Double Leaf Steel Doorset
certified by Thomas Bell-Wright
the quality of its products, Prometal
aims to ensure cost efficiency through
various processes. Mark explains:
“The cost efficiency comes from
using technologies or manufacturing
processes, such as Lean, Value
Analysis and Value Engineering (VA/
VE) and Automation.” All staff at the
company are trained in using Lean
tools, in addition to the hiring of
Lean managers, ensuring improved
efficiency within the manufacturing
process. We also undertake sufficient
research and development to improve
products through VA/VE, reanalysing
materials and the functionality of
products to reduce costs and increase
quality. By utilising Should Cost, a
professional procurement tool, Mark
explains “it is about going to the
supplier and working out the price the
components should cost based on
the material weight, the material type,
the surface finish and the quantity
that we’re buying”. This method
enables the company to reduce
current labour costs, direct material
costs and improve product quality,
incorporating a zero defects policy.
However, the company is also keen
International Consultants, a strategic
supplier which undertakes vital tests
of the company’s fire doors, for both
British or UL American standards.
In the Middle East we use European
and American regulatory standards
in the construction industry. Mark
explains: “The government and civil
defence have realised with several
high-profile fires in the middle east in
high rise buildings that there needs to
be almost a higher standard. That’s
going to put an emphasis on us to
have tighter controls in terms of having
certification and a verified supply
chain to provide quality products
meeting these new specifications.”
“Everyone will have to be more on
“The cost efficiency comes from using technologies or manufacturing processes, such as Lean, Value Analysis and Value Engineering (VA/VE) and Automation”
– Mark Lutton, Chief
Operating Officer,
Prometal Industries
6 m i d d l e e a s t . a s s a a b l o y. c o m 7
m i d d l e e a s t . a s s a a b l o y. c o m 9
• Intumescent fi re & smoke door seals• Acoustic door sealing & testing facility• Weatherstripping & thresholds• Antimicrobial clean room seals• Fire rated glazing solutions• Fire rated louvers & dampers• Door hardware protection kits (interdens)• Fire rated & acoustic sealants
T +97142674339F +971 4 267 5339M +971 50 255 3265E [email protected] Middle East LLC P.O Box: 231386, Dubai, UAE.
Building integrity, safety and comfort through fi re, smoke, sound and energy solutions
Rise of green buildingAlongside the change in regulations,
the Middle East is increasingly moving
towards sustainable buildings and the
rise of LEED through the prevalence
of Green building regulations.
Prometal is effectively responding
to this change by transforming its
products and services. However,
Mark acknowledges that companies
in the region are a few years behind
Europe with regards implementation
of sustainability initiatives due to the
increased costs this incurs. “We need
more suppliers here to offer LEED
products to get economy of scale
and bring down costs,” he says. More
FSC materials, which Mark explains
is “about how much of the wooden
material comes from a sustainable
forest” will need to be utilised, where
it encompasses up to 100 percent of
the product. With all these changes,
staff will have to undergo vital training
and an update of our current systems.
Not only are there a limited number of
LEED materials suppliers, the company
initially struggled to find suppliers who
were prepared to undertake recycling
services. However, Mark confirms:
their toes in terms of having the correct
certification and traceability that the
door has been manufactured to the
correct standards and specification.”
To this end, the company is currently
working with Thomas Bell-Wright to
construct a labelling system which
Mark says will link back to an online
website so anyone can scan the QR
code on the door and immediately see
what rating it is, who manufactured
it and that it’s been approved.
The company currently utilises expert
suppliers such as glass manufacturing
company Saint-Gobain, in addition
to Kilargo seals which provides vision
panel beading and fire seals. On top
of providing fire doors, Prometal have
also the ability to offer a master key
system for businesses who wish to
obtain high levels of security. Mark
explains: “Master key systems allow
convenient access to authorised
personnel while providing high levels
of security against those without
access rights. With both mechanical
and electromechanical solutions
ASSA ABLOY are able to ‘tailor make’
some of the largest, most flexible
master key systems in the world.”
Annual Revenue for Prometal Metal Industries Factory
MN USD30
communicate with the labourers,
who speak Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu,
Bangladeshi and Nepali. We use a lot
of photographs with as little words as
possible and everything is displayed
around the walls of the offices and
factories.” With external staff, a
number of technologies are used,
such as video calls and WhatsApp to
provide information to remote staff.
“It’s about adapting or taking on
board the new technologies that are
available today”, comments Mark,
“teaching people to be proactive, and
for managers to take responsibility and
ownership of information and share it.”
With such diversity and
communication techniques, ASSA
ABLOY is eager to deliver a safe
working environment, maintaining
high global standards which many
employees might not have previously
experienced. Through rigorous policies
and increased communication, the
company has decreased its injury
rate from 20 to 4 in 10 months, below
the ASSA ABLOY group average. An
impressive feat which Mark is proud to
acknowledge. “My policy is to be open
and empower people with information,”
“In the last quarter we have managed
to recycle cardboard and plastic.
We’re also looking to remove organic
solvents from our products, so we’ve
made the decision to move to water
based paints.” Mark is also currently
collaborating with Emathal about how
they can utilise water-based paints
within the region on wooden doors.
However, he acknowledges: “It’s going
to take us working with Emathal and the
Dubai municipality in order to change
the behaviour of the construction
industry. It’s only legislation that’s really
going to drive it because price is still the
key player.” Nonetheless, the company
has become increasingly proactive,
offering customers a LEED alternative
up front, whilst also recording
sustainability efforts through quarterly
reports, covering various aspects,
from energy and water consumption,
to paper and plastic recycled.
Ensuring successful communicationASSA ABLOY’s acquisition of Prometal
has bought many advantages,
alongside a number of challenges.
Mark reflects that the company is
multicultural, where many different
languages are spoken within the
factory areas alone, so translation is a
large factor to consider. However, the
company has overcome this through
the use of visual communication
boards. Mark explains: “We have
visual communication boards to
“If I look at the vision for the factory, it’s about improving efficiency to lower cost, maintaining our continuous improvement journey and speeding up automation by adding robotics”– Mark Lutton, Chief
Operating Officer,
Prometal Industries
m i d d l e e a s t . a s s a a b l o y. c o m 1 11 0
he says, supplying appropriate training
and guidance. An employee survey
over the last year has highlighted that
more than 88 percent of employees
stated they were proud to be part of
ASSA ABLOY. “That was very positive,
and that was within nine months of
the acquisition that they felt part of the
bigger company,” comments Mark.
Despite internal changes and
external challenges, the company has
seen an improvement in construction
in the region due to the World Cup
and various infrastructure projects
in the region, which has enabled
Prometal to implement distributor
networks and enable future growth.
However, Mark is cautious at this
rapid growth, of which he explained:
“I think the market really needs to
learn how to expand at a slower rate.
I don’t think we are going to get back
to 100 dollars a barrel very soon, so
the industry needs to learn how to
improve cashflow in order to utilise its
money better at a lower price of oil.”
Nonetheless, Prometal has a strategy
to increase its sales, and is always
looking for new companies to acquire
in the region and worldwide, including
opportunities in Iran. With regards to
the long-term vision, Mark reflects: “If
I look at the vision for the factory, it’s
about improving efficiency to lower
costs, maintaining our continuous
improvement journey and speeding
up automation by adding robotics.”
1 2 m i d d l e e a s t . a s s a a b l o y. c o m 1 3
ASSA ABLOY Security Solutions Middle East
Jebel Ali Industrial Area 1, Street 11B, P.O. Box: 37765, Dubai. UAE
T: +971 4 880 4888 / F: +971 4 880 4884
