Switching markets to dodge the recession

Lebanese-born structural engineer Nader R Elhajj was hired by Auckland construction technology company FrameCad to set up a Middle East office.

It was early 2007, the company had already been active in the region for a couple of years and could see the potential for its work around light gauge steel frame construction, so FrameCad chief executive officer Mark Taylor opted to step up the company’s presence with a full-time Middle East base.

Mr Taylor was aware of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE)’s Beachheads programme. FrameCad applied to access the Middle East expertise on offer and Mr Eljajj was tasked with building the relationship with NZTE and the Beachheads advisors in the region.

“It’s been wonderful,” says Mr Elhajj, FrameCad’s United States, Middle East and Africa director.

“The biggest help we got from Beachheads was with putting our foot down in Dubai. They helped us to establish ourselves as a Middle East-based company.”

Specifically, the Beachheads team helped the New Zealanders get their business incorporated in Dubai.

 “We didn’t know how to do it.”

Staff working on the Beachheads programme helped with residents’ visas for FrameCad staff. The visas can be notoriously problematic for foreigners setting up business in the United Arab Emirates, and Mr Elhajj says FrameCad would have struggled without the local knowledge, contacts and guidance the Beachheads programme provided.

Beachheads even helped secure FrameCad’s office lease and negotiated a larger space when it was obvious the company was quickly outgrowing its initial one-person bureau.

“One of the biggest hurdles is the initial set-up in a country.”

As it turned out, FrameCad’s Middle East strategy was a well-timed move as the US housing market headed towards collapse. FrameCad once had 18 plants in the United States but its US operation is operating at significantly reduced capacities.

“The US has been hit very hard by the recession so we are showing no growth now in that region. The move into Dubai couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Were FrameCad not so quickly established in Dubai, Mr Elhajj says, it may not have been positioned to take full advantage of the opportunities in the Middle East while its formerly-thriving US market was falling away.

“It would have taken us a lot, lot longer to set up in Dubai on our own.”
Beyond helping FrameCad establish its base, Mr Elhajj says the high-level networking opportunities offered through the Beachheads programme have also proved invaluable.