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Gallagher shows its face

By Matt Philp

Show your face, and keep showing it. That’s the simple lesson behind Gallagher Security’s recent success in winning the security contract for Phnom Penh International Airport in Cambodia.

The Hamilton-based exporter of integrated security solutions was awarded the job after two years of wooing the airport company, including four visits to Cambodia by Business Development Manager Ian Meadows.

Gallagher's security fencing

“With any of these markets you have to have that long term, personal focus,” says Meadows. “One visit to drop off a few brochures won’t get you the project.”

It’s an approach that has paid dividends for Gallagher in a diverse range of markets and industries, from the Middle East to South Texas, airports to university campuses. The Phnom Penh project due to be completed next month is a relatively small addition to that portfolio, involving supplying systems for just 35 doors. But while “it’s not Heathrow”, as Meadows says, the hope is that it will provide a calling card when pitching for other airport work in Cambodia and beyond.

For so many years a no-go zone, Cambodia is experiencing close to 20 percent annual growth in tourism. That’s why Phnom Penh’s “antiquated” security system needed upgrading, and it seems likely that Siem Riep airport, near the visitor magnet of Angkor Wat, will also require attention at some stage. With its product already in one port, Gallagher should be able to argue that it is best placed to deliver a truly integrated, networked solution.

Not far away, India beckons as a major opportunity, with several “second tier” cities looking to improve their airport facilities, and airport security, during the next few years. “And China is our biggest focus for work in a raft of industries. We recently expanded our business team in Hong Kong, including a senior executive to manage that market for us.”

You can understand why India and China would be highlighted on the big world map at Gallagher HQ. But how did the job in Cambodia come up?
Meadows says it’s a textbook case of Gallagher’s use of channel partners to identify potential deals and open doors. In this case, it was a Thai partner who has been promoting Gallagher’s perimeter and access control systems in that part of the world for 15 years who sniffed out the opportunity at Phnom Penh, after installing a CCTV system there.

“They’re very motivated and that’s one of the key things we look for in a channel partner: a company that wants to grow business and to make Gallagher a core part of their operation.”