Viking Gulf 25 years

SPECIALREPORT

Celebrating25years

GLORIOUSYEARS

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 22, 2012

EDITORIALExecutive EditorPatrickMichaelSupplements EditorSuchitra Steven SamuelReporterFarhanaChowdhury

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SPECIALREPORTAPRIL 22, 2012

C O N T E N T S

25th Anniversary

Growing stronger as the years pass ....................................................................... 4Solutionprovider to the cleaning industry ........................................... 6Gulf Anbar inOman ............................................................................................................................................... 9Amemorable journey ...................................................................................................................................... 10Aportfolio of consistency ........................................................................................................................ 14The future beckons ................................................................................................................................................... 20Hako andViking— a long-term relationshipgoing strong ................................................................................................................................................................................... 20Vectair andViking— a flourishingpartnership ........................... 21Testimonials .................................................................................................................................................................................... 22

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When I established Viking Gulf 25years ago, I was inspired by thelateVicePresident of theUAEandRuler ofDubai, ShaikhRashid binSaeed Al Maktoum’s vision of

makingDubai the commercial hub of theMiddleEast like Hong Kong in the Far East. I am glad Iam still here to see thatDubai has achievedmorethan that vision and am honoured to have beenpart of that process. The business friendly andpositive environment here has aided in the suc-cess andgrowthofVikingGulf andpersonally thejourney has been wonderful and rewarding.I chose thename,VikingGulf, to symbolisemy

link to Denmark from where I came to start mybusiness and imbue itwith bothDanish andArabculture. I was also one of the organisers of the of-ficial delegations from Denmark and a memberof theBoardofDirectors of theOPECandMiddleEastClubwhich is under theFederationof Indus-try in Denmark and played a major role in pro-moting business opportunities in theMiddleEastand vice versa.Now as we complete 25 years of operations as

Viking Gulf, we have strengthened our marketposition and become one of the largest providersof high qualityEuropeanandAmericanbrands ofcleaning equipment, and hygiene products forthe cleaning industry. And for this Iwant to thankour dedicated employees, professional suppliersandof course our customers,whohavepartneredwith us in our successful journey through theyears.The employees of Viking Gulf believe in the

company vision of being a one-stop-solution pro-vider for customers and work towards it respon-sibly. And we do our best to provide avenuesthrough training and interactivemeetings for thedevelopment of our staff, both professionally andpersonally. We are proud and pleased that ouremployees enhance our corporate identitythrough their dedication to theirwork and serviceto our customers.Viking Gulf has experienced steady growth in

the past 25 years and I am happy to continue tolead us into yet another phase of developmentand expansion.While consolidating our positionin the market as a successful local company, wealso want to be a regional market leader in theproducts that we represent. From our offices inKuwait and Oman and a new one soon openingin Qatar we hope to cover the entire Gulf regionin the comingyears.Wewill continue tobea solu-tion provider to our customers, introduce newtechnology and be part of the development ofDubai and the UAE in particular and the Gulf re-gion.

Sincerely,

ImadMahainiChairman, Viking Gulf

GrowingstrongerastheyearspassViking Gulf’s Chairman ImadMahainishares his perspective and hope forthe company’s growth and future

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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

SPECIAL REPORT | APRIL 22, 2012 | 05


“We have be-come Vi-king Gulffrom Vi-king Gulf

Trading,whichwas our earliernameeven thoughwe thoughtof ourselves always as VikingGulf. Moreover, we are nottraders but solution providersto the cleaning industry,” in-forms Henrik Mahaini, ChiefOperations Officer of VikingGulf.The new name is supported

by a new logo of a stylised butsimple V in its signature blueViking colours.“We wanted a logo that

symbolises the Scandinaviansimplicity and ismodern. Thisone, which we chose fromabout 25 designs, has thosequalities. This is also part ofthe rebranding process thatViking has embarked on sincelate 2011,” he explains.Thenew logo is emblazoned

on the Viking Gulf board onthemain office building of thelarge new premises in DubaiInvestment Park. This facilityis about 19,000 square feetconsisting of an office, a largewarehouse andwell-equippedworkshop. From here Vikingmanagement and employeeswork together to be a reliablesolution provider to all theircustomers in the UAE and theregion.

The business

Viking imports cleaningequip-ment and hygiene productsfrom Europe and the US andsupplies them across theGCCregion from the headquartersin Dubai and branch offices inAbuDhabi,Kuwait andOman.The company is in the processof setting up an office inQatarto further its reach into the re-

gion.“We cover the whole of the

UAE through the two officeshere and our sales personnelare on the move most of thetime meeting customers andenhancing sales. We have thefull range of VikingGulf prod-ucts available in Oman andKuwait too and we supportthose offices from here alsowhen necessary,” explainsHenrik, who joined Viking in2005 and has been a big influ-ence in thedevelopmentof thecompany since then. Hehelped set up the sales infra-structure in all the countriesViking operates. He was ac-tively involved in setting upthe office in 2007 inMuscat asGulfAnbarTradingand isnowworking to get that office alsorenamed and rebranded toVi-king Gulf as the rest of the of-fices.About 70 people work in Vi-

king Gulf in the whole region.The sales force of about 15people spread over the regionis knowledgeable,well trainedand up-to-date in all the prod-ucts and in constant contactwith thecustomers.Theyworkclosely with customers to un-derstand their needs and theenvironmentwhere the equip-ment will work and suggestthe most suitable solution.They also arrange for demon-strations of equipment or ma-chine on customer site so thatit can be seen in action beforethe customer commits to pro-cure it.Viking is particular about

keeping todeliverydates.“It isvery rare thatweare late inde-livery as we give our custom-ers only realistic delivery timeframes. But in emergency situ-ations we have airlifted equip-ment and given very speedydelivery toour customers.This

Solutionprovider to thecleaning industryWith a revamped identity, Viking Gulfcontinues to charge forward to beone of the best in the hygiene andcleaning industry

Wehave the full range of VikingGulf products available in Oman andKuwait too andwe support thoseoffices fromhere when necessary

HenrikMahaini

HenrikMahaini,Chief Operations Officer of Viking Gulf

PRESENT STORY

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is yet another evidence of ourpartnership with our custom-ers as well as our suppliers,”says Henrik.With the support of their

suppliers for on-time deliver-ies as well as training, Vikinghas beenable to provide excel-lent service back up for all thehygiene and cleaning equip-ment that itmarkets. Service isa number one priority for Vi-king and its high quality prod-ucts come with full servicesupport. Suppliersofmachinestrain the technicians and engi-neers at Viking to repair andmaintain all their equipment.Some suppliers even providecustomer training on site inaddition to training of Vikingpersonnel.The sterling quality of Vi-

king products and service hasresulted happily for Viking inthe continued trust and appre-ciation of its customers, manyof whom have been dealingwith it for over 20 years.“Our customers, especially

those who have 24/7 opera-tions prefer to buy our qualityproducts and be worry-freethan buy cheap products oflesser quality that might havemore frequent breakdowns.They also appreciate the ser-vice we provide. We stand forquality andwe take it very seri-ously,” emphasises Henrik.It was this drive for quality

in all aspects of its operationsthat brought in the revampingand updating of the VikingGulf website two years ago to

reflect the modern outlook ofthe company. Visitors to thewebsite www.vikinggulf.comget all information about Vi-king products and services.ExistingViking customers canexamine the product portfolioand remain updated.While thewebsite has aided

immensely in the sales effortsof the company bringing in asizeable number of enquiries,the up-to-date InformationTechnology (IT) infrastructurethat Viking has set up enablesall branch offices to be linkedto the main server in Dubai.There are systems in place tokeep track of all the machinessold in different locations,when and what maintenancethey need, etc.

InformationTechnology

The Viking headquarters inDubai has set up a very effi-cient IT infrastructure for theuse of personnel here as wellas the satellite offices. “Wespent a significant amount ofmoney to upgrade the systemwith necessary hardware andsoftware. It is robust and scal-able and very secure with fullback up. I think it is a great in-vestment and makes us readyto take on the future with con-fidence,” says Carsten Ma-haini, Chief Executive Officerof Viking Gulf, who has beenthe driving force to propel Vi-king into the modern era withthe appropriate IT solutions.

We spent a significant amount ofmoney to upgrade the systemwith necessaryhardware and software. It is robust andscalable and very secure with full back up. Ithink it is a great investment andmakes usready to take on the future with confidence

CarstenMahaini

CarstenMahaini, Chief Executive Officer of Viking Gulf

PRESENT STORY

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Viking Gulf has been operating market-ing, sales and service branch since April2007 inMuscat, Oman, under the nameof Gulf Anbar Trading. This companymarkets the complete range of Viking’sportfolio of cleaning equipment rangingfrom industrial vacuum cleaners andsingle disc machines from Cleanfix, towalk-behind scrubber-driers, ride-onscrubber driers, and sweepers fromHako, road sweepers from Powerbossand heavy-duty pressure washers fromOertzen. It also supplies the completerange of washroom accessories fromVectair and washroom and kitchen pa-per products fromGeorgia Pacific.Hako and Powerboss machines have

quickly become the most successfulproducts thatGulf Anbarmarkets.Majorcustomers of these products include pal-aces, hotels, malls and hypermarkets,mosques, a cement factory and the newRoyal Opera House. Most of the leadinghotels inOman use thewashroom rangeof products. Cleaning contractors make

up the rest of the client base.“Oman is developing at a steady pace

with several projects in construction orplanning stages such as the expansion ofMuscat International Airport, the newSalalah airport as well as new airportsplanned at Sohar and Duqm. These andmore hotels coming up augur well forcleaning equipment suppliers like us.Our key to development in thismarket isto increase our sales force to penetratethe market,” says Vinod Mathummal,Sales Manager of Gulf Anbar Trading inMuscat.Mathummal has been with the com-

pany for the last five years but wishes hehad worked at Viking Gulf in Dubai dur-ing all his 20 years in the cleaning indus-try. He declares, “I am sure it is not justI but the entire Viking workforce thatfeels fortunate to be employed at VikingGulf. The Mahainis follow a companyphilosophy based on encouragement,positive thinking, transparency, trustand respect for employees and co-work-ers along with good human values. Thismotivates all employees like me to workharder and bring laurels to the organisa-tion. I speak for all my colleagues whenI say that I am delighted and proud tocelebrate the 25th anniversary and thereis no doubt that Viking will definitely beevenmore successful when it celebrates50 years.”

GulfAnbar inOman

The system connects thedifferent departments andkeeps trackofall themachines,their location, service andmaintenance records, and ev-erything that a sales or servicepersonnel of Viking needs toknow. It is extremely userfriendly and rarely breaksdown. If a break down doesoccur at any time, a back upsystem takes over within fiveminutes. Users, therefore, donot experience a noticeabledelay in accessing the infor-mation they need any time.Users also do not experienceany difficulty in getting the in-formation theywantwhereverthey are.Sales personnel in the satel-

lite offices in Oman, Kuwaitand Abu Dhabi can access in-formation and services fromthe company when they logon to the central server inDubai. Everything is centra-lised and they get all the in-formation they need throughone portal. Employees of Vi-king appreciate and value theflexibility, as they can do theirwork fromanywhere. The sys-tem is also capable of copingwith more additions of usersand services.The companywebsite is up-

dated quite regularly andserves as a kind of librarywhichallows theuser todown-load any information he/shewants. It hasmadeVikingGulftransparent to customers andaccessible to themevenduringoff hours and holidays.When-ever there are requests formore information a Vikingpersonnel gets back to the en-quirer as soon as possible,therebymaking thebest use oftechnology to accelerategrowth.“The development of a de-

pendable and strong IT infra-structure is also part of ourgrowth as a company. Thishelps us grow professionallyand be as transparent as pos-sible to our customers whilemaking us stand out from thecompetition. It also allows usto be self-sufficient and readyfor further growth and faceany eventuality that arises,”says Carsten.

PRESE

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ORY

Hako and Powerbossmachines have quicklybecome themostsuccessful products thatGulf Anbar markets

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Latha Krishnan

In 1982 when Imad Ma-haini supplied Etisalat inthe UAE with submarinefibre optic cables that con-nected the offshore is-

lands with the mainland ofthe UAE, he hoped to contin-ue to engage in business inthe country.Viking Gulf Trading was

later born out of that hope.Even now, Imad’s companycontinues to do substantialbusiness in the telecom indus-try in the UAE especially inthe quality control of the net-work nationwide and also en-joys awarmbusiness relation-ship withMobily, a subsidiaryof Etisalat in Saudi Arabia.As one of the organisers of

business delegations fromDenmark to Dubai, to pro-mote business in both coun-tries Imad travelled betweenDenmark and theUAE. It wasin 1987 that his wish of estab-lishing a business in the UAEcame to fruition. He bought

one of the small companiesthat he was dealing with tomarket the Katrin brand ofhigh quality paper productsand set up a new entity calledViking Gulf Trading with thehelp of Ibrahim Zainieh,whom he had met and be-friended in Riyadh, SaudiArabia.Zainieh, whom Imad de-

scribes as another foundingfather of Viking, worked asAdministrationManager thenand continues to be in chargeof Human Resources, Pro-curement and Administra-tion. Back in 1987, Imad andZainieh together rented asmall office in Al Rigga Streetin Dubai for Viking and con-ducted both the telecom andcleaning paper business fromthere.Previously, there had been

very little supply of profes-sional paper products in theUAE but as Viking quicklylearned, there was a great de-mand and Katrin became oneof the leading paper brands inthe country. However, Viking

Amemorable journeyA walk downmemory lane fromViking Gulf’s humble beginnings toits present booming business

Ibrahim Zainieh

HISTORY

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continued with more paperand other cleaning products.Monitoring the market placeand the speedy progress thecountry was going through,Imad decided to embark on agrowth strategy to make Vi-king a one-stop solution pro-vider. He realised that thecontinuous growth of thebusiness required a completehigh quality product range toprofessionally serve the ex-panding and much demand-ing cleaning industry. So in1992, he began to implementhis strategy with importingand marketing equipmentfrom Hako, a well-known,world-leadingGermanmanu-facturer of high quality clean-ing machines for both indoorand outdoor use.With the coming of Hako

and Viking getting orders forthe machines, more people,like technicians, joined thecompany to provide the aftersales service for theHakoma-chines they sold in the UAE.“Our first major order and

break-through with Hako wasthe sale of four big cleaningmachines to ADNOC (AbuDhabiNationalOil Company)in Ruwais. And we were veryexcited at getting it,” remi-nisces Imad and Zainieh.The increase in employees

and products increased theneed for space too and in 1994Vikingmoved to bigger prem-ises in the Al Qubaisi districtof Dubai where it had a show-room, workshop and ware-house. In 2000,Vikingmovedfrom there to Ras Al Khorwhere a bigger workshopcould also be established tocater to the servicing of allequipment. Imad continuedto search the world marketsfor the best suited productsand equipment and success-fully obtained and includedthem in theViking portfolio atregular intervals.“We took the liberty to

move along with the market.Weconcentratedon the clean-ing industry in the industrialmarket. Our approach to themarket also changed. Fromjust a supplier we went on tobecome a partner and a one-

Bymid-2011, the Viking facility at Ras Al Khor wasproving too cramped to house the various products,employees andworkshop. Aftermuch searching in variousareas of Dubai, Imad and his sons zeroed in on the presentViking Gulf facility in Dubai Investment Park. The companymoved to this premises in January 2012

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stop solution provider for ourcustomers. Many of our long-standing customers becameand still are our partners andso did suppliers. When wechose a product, we study itvery well, then decide to gointo a partnership with themanufacturersfirst, andwhenwe sell that product to ourcustomers, we establish apartnership with them too.Also, we never make emptypromises to our customers,which is another reason thatthey trust us,” explains Imad.By 2002 and 2005 both his

sons,Henrik andCarstenMa-

haini, completed their educa-tion in Denmark and joinedhim in Viking Gulf as ChiefOperations Officer and ChiefExecutive Officer, respective-ly. With their knowledge,youth, enthusiasm and mod-ern thinking both Henrik andCarsten continued the con-stant focus on product portfo-lio, new innovations and tech-nologies and streamlined theoperations and systems tomake Viking Gulf one of theleading suppliers to the pro-fessional cleaning industryconsisting of cleaning con-tractors, governmental bod-

ies, royal palaces, municipali-ties, airports, hospitals, hotels,restaurants and all industrialsectors.Viking set up sales offices in

Oman and Kuwait to servethose markets with its highquality products. Viking hy-giene products and cleaningchemicals became one divi-sion, and cleaning equipmentanother to ease operations.Today, the product portfoliohas come to include a widerange of products in both divi-sions.Along the way Viking re-

ceived many awards fromDubai Municipality, DubaiCivil Aviation, and the Roadand Transport Authority inDubai for its products, reli-able services and on-time de-livery.“We have a very good rela-

tionship with the municipali-ties in Ajman, Abu Dhabi andRas Al Khaimah too. Ourtechnicians have receivedawards from our major cus-tomers for their performance.We are very proud of suchemployees, who have per-formed their duties so wellthat a customer awardsthem,” says Imad.By mid-2011, the Viking fa-

All of usat Viking arevery happy andproud that wehave reached thismilestonewhencompleting 25years and hopethe success ofour company tocontinue for yearsto come

IbrahimZainieh

Whenwechose a product,we study it verywell, then decideto go into apartnership withthemanufacturersfirst, andwhenwesell that productto our customers,we establish apartnership withthem too. Also, wenevermake emptypromises to ourcustomers, which isanother reason thatthey trust us

ImadMahaini

HISTORY

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cility at Ras Al Khorwas prov-ing too cramped to house thevarious products, employeesand workshop. After muchsearching in various areas ofDubai, Imad and his sons ze-roed in on the present VikingGulf facility in Dubai Invest-ment Park. The companymoved to this premises inJanuary 2012.“We have always moved

when we outgrew an officeand we did the same this yeartoo. When we first moved toRas Al Khor it was much larg-

er than what we needed andnow this one is larger than weneed and is equipped to takein our future developmentalso. All of us at Viking arevery happy and proud that wehave reached this milestonewhen completing 25 years andhope the success of our com-pany to continue for years tocome,” says Zainieh.Imad affirms, “Our busi-

ness growth has been steady.Nowwe haveworkshop, storeand offices all under one roofwith a new logo and branding.My sons and I want to con-tinue to grow the company forand with all our employees ina congenial environment. Thethree of us have a combina-tion of qualifications amongstus and decide on the progressof the company together andthat has also been strength tome in the growth of the com-pany.”

Our first majororder and break-throughwith Hakowas the sale of fourbig cleaningmachinesto ADNOC (AbuDhabi National OilCompany) in Ruwais.Andwewere veryexcited at getting it

ImadandZainieh

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LathaKrishnan

The product portfolioof Viking Gulf is di-vided into the twomaindivisions of hy-giene products and

cleaning equipment.VikingHygiene consists of a

range of air care, paper prod-ucts, soaps and sanitisers, femcare, baby care and insecttraps, as well as a range ofcleaning and hygiene chemi-cals for housekeeping, janito-rial, kitchen hygiene and in-dustrial uses.The Cleaning Equipment

division includes a wide rangeof equipment including indus-trial vacuum cleaners and sin-gle disc machines, walk-be-hind scrubber-driers, ride-onscrubber driers, sweepers,runway sweepers, road sweep-ers and high-pressure wash-ers.

Viking Hygiene

Air fresheners, chemical dos-ing units for the water closet,toilet seat sanitisers, handsanitisers, tissue paper dis-pensers with high quality pa-per of global brands like Ka-trin, Lotus andGeorgia PacificfromViking are all gracing theenvirons of various people-traffic intensive places likebanks, malls, airports, etc. Vi-king started marketing of fembins for ladies when it provid-ed them inMirdif City Centretwoyears ago.Trainedwomenstaff members change all thebins as per schedule.“When our clients want to

treat their customers well andkeep their premises hygienic,they use our quality productsand services. We are only toohappy to provide both and ourexcellent service definitelymakes us stand out from thecompetition. We provide cus-

Aportfolioof consistencyViking Gulf markets trustworthy and reliable brands of cleaning products andequipment as well as top-notch services that exceed clients’ expectations

When our clients want totreat their customers well andkeep their premises hygienic,they use our quality productsand services

PRODUCT PROFILE

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tomerswith consumables suchas paper and chemicals forcare and sanitisation, whichwe replenish regularly follow-ing their service contract withus,” informs Vibhro Prakash,sales manager of Viking Gulfin the UAE.

Cleaning and hygienechemicals

Viking offers a range of about40 different high qualitychemicals for kitchen, indus-try, general cleaning, housekeeping, laundry, floor-care,washroomhygiene,etc. IshtiaqMalik, sales manager of thehospitality division, is incharge of themarketing of thedifferent types of these chemi-cals, which are mainly used inrestaurants and hotels aroundthe UAE.“Baskin Robbins uses our

Evans Vanodine sanitisers,


floor-care chemicals, disinfec-tants, general cleaning chemi-cals including antibacterialhand soaps in 136 of their out-lets. Several hotels in the coun-try have also bought all orsome of these fromus. Privatecatering companies in AbuDhabi are also our clients fordifferent chemicals,” informsMalik.The leading chemicals

brand that Viking markets isEvansVanodine (EV) from theUK, which has beenmanufac-turing cleaning and hygienechemicals since 1917. The EVlaboratory was the first gov-ernment-accreditedlaboratoryfor testing disinfectants in theUK. The company maintainsthe high standard of qualityand Viking has been very suc-cessful distributing EV here intheUAE. All EV chemicals arehigh in quality and biodegrad-able causingDubaiMunicipal-ity to certify their usage in dif-ferent venues in the city.Customers buying the

chemicals for use in theirpremises are assured of regu-lar supplyasper their contractsand get dosing systems anddispensers wherever neces-sary, Viking service techni-cians also ensure that the dis-pensers work efficiently andthat the concentrated chemi-cals are mixed with water inthe right proportion to providethe ideal cleaning andhygienesolution for the intended pur-pose.

Cleaning equipment

The main brands of cleaningequipment that Viking mar-kets includeHako, Powerbossof the Hako group, Cleanfix,TYMCO and Oertzen. Hakoand Powerboss range of large

cleaning machines take careof most indoor and outdoorcleaning. TYMCO productscomplement the Hako range,as they are larger machineslike road sweepers that canclean roads, runways androads within gated communi-ties and popular with munici-palities. Oertzen high-pres-sure pumps enable intensivecleaning of large vehicles andother washable surfaces.Customers using Hako ma-

chines for cleaning are satis-fied with their performanceThe company

maintains thehigh standardof quality andViking has beenvery successfuldistributing EvansVanodine here inthe UAE. All EVchemicals arehigh in quality andbiodegradablecausing DubaiMunicipality tocertify their usagein different venuesin the city

PRODUCT PROFILE

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and cost effectiveness due tolow maintenance cost. DubaiInternational Airport Termi-nal 3 has 29 Hako scrubber/driers cleaning the terminal.Viking has trained and certi-fied the operators of the ma-chines ensuring that they areused properly and efficiently.“The complete range of Hakocleaning machines is user-friendly as well as environ-ment friendly as the water isusedeconomically. If anythingdoes go wrong, the displaypanel on themachine tells theoperator where the problemlies allowinghim to inform theservice engineer about it andget it repaired quickly,” in-forms Prakash.Viking targets industrial

sectors like ready-mix con-crete manufacturing compa-nies and government depart-ments that use heavymachinery and vehicles toprovideOertzenhigh-pressurepumps to clean such vehicles.The Road and Transport Au-thority inDubai (RTA) is ama-jor and valuable client of Vi-king as they use theseOertzenpumps to wash their fleet of

The completerange of Hakocleaningmachinesis user-friendly aswell as environmentfriendly as thewateris used economically.If anything does gowrong, the displaypanel on themachinetells the operatorwhere the problemlies allowing him toinform the serviceengineer about it andget it repaired quickly

VibhroPrakash

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buses. Prakash elucidates fur-ther, “The Oertzen machinesaredesigned in suchaway thatthe chemicals do not have ac-cess to the pump and last lon-ger. They are of high qualityand canwork without a break,and the crankshaft pump al-lows for continuous use as op-posed to the usual axel pistonpumps.”For cleaning locations rang-

ing from largepublic areas likemalls and hotels to smallerbuildings, Viking provides awide range of janitorial trol-leys and microfibre cleaningequipment ideally suited toclean a variety of surfaces.The VDM MX series is Vi-

king’s best-selling cleaningtrolley. It is a closed trolleyand keeps garbage and otherunwanted items away fromthe eye of the public. It is idealfor shopping malls, hotel lob-bies, and other such vast ar-eas, as its large castor wheelsmake it easy to manoeuvreand turn. It can also conve-niently hold all items neededfor cleaning floors, glass, etc.The Ideabase series of trolleysare a good economical alter-native for a long lasting trol-ley. Its modular structureserves as a strong and solidbase and it can be modular-ised to fit all applications.Complementing the range

of cleaning trolleys, there isalso awide variety of janitorialequipment ranging frommopsand buckets to squeegees andmicrofibre products.TYMCObrandofAmerican

regenerative air sweepers forroads came to the UAE when

Vikingbrought it here a coupleof years ago to complementtheir Hako range of cleaningmachines. They come in vari-ous sizes with the largest be-ing of around five cubic me-tres and the regenerative airsystem technology that TYM-

PRODUCT PRFILE

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COapplies is such that there isno dust in the ambiencewhenit is in operation. Viking hassupplied these road sweepersto Ajman Municipality andRas Al Khaimah.Whatever equipmentViking

sells, the company trains theoperators to use the equip-ment properly. “In one casewe trained 500 people in oneorganisation to use our equip-ment. All the guys operatingthe cleaning machines havelaminated certificates as evi-dence of their passing thetraining.We alsomonitor andupdate the training to ensurethat the person is operatingthe machine in the correctmanner. We contact our cus-tomers to keep track of ourmachines and the training ofoperators. We train all usersincluding janitorswho use ourproducts for cleaning,” in-forms Prakash.

WorkshopEduardo Fabro, the workshop in-charge at Viking Gulf, joined the company in 1996 whenthe workshop was set up to service andmaintain Hako cleaning machines. Trained inGermany to maintain Hako machines, Oertzen pumps and TYMCO in Texas, US, Fabroin turn trains new workers and updates the training of older workers as new technologiesof the machines are introduced. He demonstrates the different technical details, disman-tling and repairing procedures for the machines.

Many machines are serviced at their sites and only in the event of major work themachines are brought to the workshop. Viking technicians carry out maintenanceprocedures for all machines as per the schedule in the service contract.

The present workshop is the biggest yet for Viking Gulf. There is enough space andmodern equipment to aid workshop personnel to conduct their repairs and maintenanceof machines efficiently. “We have all the safety gadgets in place when we work and westrictly follow all safety procedures during our work,” informs Fabro.

There are about eight staffmembers for the workshop including him and a servicecoordinator to attend calls. Fabro says, “I have been working for a long time here and Iam happy with my work and how I am treated in Viking. There have been instances whenmy andmy teammembers’ work has been recognised by customers and commended forexcellence. We are a good team of workers and look forward to better success for thecompany and increase in our work along with improvements in the workshop facilities.”


The futurebeckonsViking Gulf incorporates the latesttechnology to ensure cleanliness

Latha Krishnan

Viking Gulf is work-ing to grow furthervertically with newproducts and addi-tions to its portfolio

to underline its one-stop-shopconcept to customers andhorizontally to expand intomore geographic areas in theregion.“We are trying to cover the

whole spectrum of cleaningequipment and hygiene sec-tors and are now expandinginto the waste managementsector with waste bins, gar-bage trucks and refuse vehi-cles already in our portfolio.The immediate future will seeuspushing forward thepromo-tion of these products as wellas the most recent cleaningequipment to join our range,TYMCO from the US,” in-formsHenrikMahaini, COO.

The over two-decadelong relationship be-tween German man-ufacturer Hako andViking Gulf began in

1992 when Imad Mahaini,Chairman of Viking Gulf, for-mally tookup the sales ofHakocleaning machines in the UAEand the Gulf region.The business developed step

by step and today, the Hakoproduct range that Viking sup-plies here extends from smallwalk-behind sweepers, scrub-bers, vacuums and floor ma-chines to large street sweepingmachines. Two years ago, Vi-king also started successfullymarketing another brand fromtheHakoGroup, theUSmanu-factured Powerboss range ofcleaning machines in the Gulfregion.“Our relationship with Vi-

king has been close and veryprofessional since the begin-ning. We always treated eachother with mutual respect andneverwavered from theoverallobjective of growing togetherthe cleaningequipmentmarket

in the UAE. Even though therehas been a generation changein Viking with Henrik andCarsten joining the companyand a management change inHako, the same professionalrelationship is going on strongand Hako is indeed verypleased with the relationshipand the achieved growth andresults in the UAE market,”says Preben Laustsen of Hakoin Germany.Congratulating Viking Gulf

for completing 25 years in thebusiness, Laustsen says, “Wehave talked and walked mostof the past 25 years together.Hako is as proud today as wewere hopeful all those yearsago when our relationshipstarted. A silver jubilee is a sig-nificantmilestone by anymea-sure.Whilst this silver jubilee isa time to look back and thankevery person who has partici-pated, it’s also a celebrativemilestone in the journey of ourjoint vision.We look forward tocontinuing our strong partner-ship with Viking going for-ward.”

HakoandViking—a long-termrelationshipgoingstrongThe two organisations share deep bonds that started over 20 years ago andto this day, successfully maintain close professional ties with each other

A silver jubileeis a significantmilestone by anymeasure. Whilstthis silver jubilee isa time to look backand thank everypersonwho hasparticipated, it’salso a celebrativemilestone in thejourney of ourjoint vision. Welook forward tocontinuing ourstrong partnershipwith Viking goingforward

PrebenLaustsen

PARTNERSHIPS

20 |


TYMCO machines use thelatest technology of regenera-tive air to clean. This is bymany considered to be the fu-ture in the cleaning industryand Viking places itself at theforefront of road cleaningtechnology with such a prod-uct. With minimum mainte-nance needed and large ca-pacities, Viking expects greatsuccess with this product.With products from Hako,

TYMCO andmanymore, the

broad future strategy for Vi-king is to penetrate the mar-kets of all the GCC coun-tries.“We have a lot of interest-

ing things in the product pipe-line as well as plans to addpeople and services.Wewantto continue the organicgrowth by always keeping toour vision and beliefs. Whilewe cherish our achievementstill now we want to continueto develop our business by

serving our customers in thebest possible way,” affirmsCarstenMahaini, CEO.Imad Mahaini, Chairman

adds, “Our dedicated em-ployees have a big hand in oursuccess till now. We want tocontinue giving them thefamily atmosphere and thefreedom towork to the best oftheir potential. Even recentlywe witnessed their commit-ment to work when theyworked all days of the week

during the transition periodfrom Ras Al Khor to the newDubai Investment Park office.We are fortunate to have suchsincere employees and wethink they enjoy being at Vi-king too, as not a single onehas left the company eventhough we have moved far-ther away from their resi-dences. We want to assurethem that we will continue towork for their and our suc-cess.”

Vectair Systems is aUKprivately owned,awa r d -w i n n i n gmanufacturer of“Away from Home”

commercial washroom hy-giene products. Established in1988, Vectair Systems distrib-utes toover95 countriesworld-wide from its European head-quarters inBasingstoke,UK. In2007, the company openedVectair Systems Inc.withhead-quarters in Memphis, US toservice the North Americanmarket.Vectair offers a world class

range of co-ordinated hygieneequipment and consumables,

including automatic air fresh-eners, automatic toilet and uri-nal cleaning systems, air puri-fyingmachines, handwashingsystems, sanitising dispensers,femininehygieneproducts andbaby changing stations.In 2007, continuing with its

focus and drive on exportingits products, Vectair enteredthe Arabian Gulf and the UAEregion. Soon after that, thecompany entered into a distri-bution partnershipwithVikingGulf.“As family-owned business-

es both companies share simi-lar ethics and working practic-es. And from the beginning,

our relationship has flourishedand consistently grown attain-ing a market leading status inthe supply, installation andservice of a comprehensiverange of commercial wash-room products. The combina-tion of Vectair’s continued in-vestment in the design andmanufacture of innovativewashroom solutions coupledwith Viking Gulf ’s knowledge,experience and unsurpassedservice in the region has cre-ated a winning combination,”declares Joe Ovenden, salesdirector of Vectair.“2012 will see a number of

new innovative product intro-ductions from Vectair and ourpartnership with Viking Gulfwill go from strength tostrength in these excitingtimes. Vectair is absolutely de-lighted with the relationshipwithVikingGulf and congratu-late them on 25 years of greatachievement and look forwardto working closely with themto ensure continued successlong into the future,”Ovendenadds.

Vectair andViking—aflourishingpartnershipVectair Systems has been assisting Viking Gulf in distribution not longafter entering the UAEmarket in 2007

Vectair isabsolutely delightedwith the relationshipwith Viking Gulfand congratulatethemon 25 years ofgreat achievementand look forwardto working closelywith them to ensurecontinued successlong into the future

JoeOvenden

Vectair offers a world class rangeof co-ordinated hygiene equipment andconsumables, including automatic airfresheners, automatic toilet and urinal cleaningsystems, air purifyingmachines, handwashingsystems, sanitising dispensers, feminine hygieneproducts and baby changing stations.

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Clientsexpress satisfactionas theyrecall past andpresentexperienceswithVikingGulf

I have been dealingwith Viking Gulf for thepast seven years. Theyhave a good range ofquality cleaning productsandwe use almost allof them.We use Hakocleaningmachines, VDMjanitorial trolleys, Oertzenpressure washers, andwashroomproducts.They have been providingus excellent after salesservice which has been amajor factor in using theirservices repeatedly.Congratulations to

Viking Gulf on their 25thanniversary! I wish themmanymore years ofsuccess.”

— Jiji FrancisHead of Cleaning Services

Duserve Facility Management

I have knownVikingGulf formore than 16 years andhaveused their products and services in the companies Iworked forduring that time.Here atDubai InternationalAirport,weusecleaning equipment,machinery andwashroom/hygieneproducts ofvarious international brands thatVikingprovides. These range fromwindowcleaningbuckets to scrubber dryers and road sweepingmachinery towashroomsupplies and related services.I am in charge of facility soft services atDubai International

Airport,whichhas been recognised as one of the premierinternational hubs, and it is of utmost importance thatweoperatewith a business partnerwho canprovidehighquality products andservices consistently and efficiently. VikingGulf is just such apartnerto us. In addition, the companyhas also been continuouslyenhancing its product lines.Congratulations toVikingGulf on their 25th anniversary!We look

forward to further strengthenour business partnership in the comingyears.”

—Dorothee SteinHead Facility Care, Engineering Servcies -

Facility Management, Dubai Airports

I havehadawarmpersonal relationshipwithVikingGulf formorethan adecade and continue toworkwith them fromAlFajer SMS since thebeginning of its establishment in 2006. Being in the contract cleaningbusiness, it is vital that our suppliers are reliable, understand anduphold ourphilosophyof providing the best services on time, every timeandefficientfollowup.Viking is one of ourmajor suppliers of cleaningmachinery andequipment and related services. Products ofHako andPowerboss fromViking are very good indeed and they aremade evenbetterwith the after-sales service thatVikingprovides us.While congratulating themon their 25th anniversary, I urgeViking to use

thismilestone theyhave reached to review themarket conditions, improvetheir services anddevelop their business further in the ever changing anddemanding cleaning industry here.”

—Ravi KumaarBusiness Development Manager,

Al Fajer Security and Maintenance Services

TESTIMONIALS

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GLORIOUSYEARS

Viking GulfP.O. Box 4234670654 ShwaikhKuwait

Tel: +965 24844389 /24848121Fax: +965 24810197Email: [email protected]

Viking GulfP.O. Box 12939DubaiUnited Arab Emirates

Tel: +971 4 2685000Fax: +971 4 2685900Email: [email protected]

Viking GulfP.O. Box 42786Abu DhabiUnited Arab Emirates


Gulf Anbar TradingWadi Al Kabir RoundaboutP.O. Box 530Postal Code: 114Muscat, Sultanate of Oman


www.vikinggulf.com

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Viking Gulf 25 years

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