Many countries have declared that the year-long recession is over. It looks as though it is the same with Egypt judging by the discussion that Clean Middle East had with Khaled El Hawary, managing director of Interclean, a company holding the distributor rights for international brands like Unger, Bently, IPC Gansow, Minuteman, FASA, SICO, Vectair Systems, Numatic International, 3M, etc.
According to him, the economy has picked up in Egypt since three months and the business is better now. He attributes the improvement in the economy to the boost provided by the government to the private sector and the stock market. In any case as a third world nation, Egypt was not as hard hit by the recession as developed nations.This growth in economy has opened new doors for business in the cleaning sector. El Hawary says that not only is the requirement for cleaning equipment increasing in hotels but also in offices and industries. “Development in each sector reflects positively on the cleaning sector. New buildings, factories, hotels, compounds…etc, all need to be cleaned.”
Interclean had participated in the recently organized 29th International Hotel Supplies Exhibition HACE – Hotel Expo (9th to 12th November 2009), in Cairo, where the entire product range was displayed.
Hace always offers the latest designed and newest technology in cleaning, especially in the hotel sector, according to El Hawary.
“Hotels should be one of the cleanest place everywhere. Hospitals are also becoming an important sector and people from the healthcare industry have started attending HACE to see new concepts of cleaning and hygiene.” Though no deal has been struck as yet, El Hawary is satisfied to note that his sales force is in contact with all new projects being developed in Cairo. Interclean has also recently won the contract to supply cleaning equipment to the Cairo Subway.
However, El Hawary is of the opinion that Egypt needs to change its cleaning concepts, i.e. switch from a labour-intensive approach to that of one driven by technology and machines. “Instead of using labour which is cheaper here than most countries, we can use machines that will give us better performance, save time and save manpower as well to use them elsewhere.”
When asked about the future potential of the Egyptian market, he said: “The budget for cleaning is increasing step by step and I think in the next few years Egypt will be a big buyer of cleaning equipment.”
Cairo’s growing hotel profile
HACE 2009 was held at the right time when the outlook for Cairo’s hospitality industry is becoming brighter. Cairo is expected to record an increase in both international and regional tourism in 2010, according to the first Cairo City Profile released by Jones Lang LaSalle.Jones Lang LaSalle is a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate services and investment management. The company predictsthat the number of people visiting the country for business purposes and conferences will increase as the economy expands, which will inject new life into the hospitality industry that has hitherto only depended on leisure visitors.
Other reports indicate that Cairo’s hotel industry is getting a new look. The Rocco Forte Collection will be taking over The Shepheard Hotel while the Ritz-Carlton is rebranding the Nile Hotel. Park Hyatt is renovating a previous Le Meridien hotel.
The Jones Lang LaSalle report also says that Cairo will soon see the arrival of luxury hotels such as St Regis by Starwood slated for 2012 and a MGM Grand scheduled for 2013.
So as the improving economic conditions positively impact the hospitality industry in Egypt, the number of hotels should rise from the 153 hotels which are currently present in Cairo. According to a statement released by the Egyptian Hotel Association, Cairo has 153 hotels comprising 24,000 rooms across all categories.
Since hotels are the most important users of high-end cleaning products, the cleaning industry turns out in high numbers at exhibitions such as HACE.
HACE timed well
It is during the last quarter, that most of the hotels and other related hospitality institutions decide on the products and services that they would require in the following year. According to the organizers, the event was timed well as it was held in November, which proved to be good timing for exhibitors to showcase their inventories.A good number of 600 exhibitors occupied a total area of 25000 square meters in 11 halls at the Cairo International Exhibition Centre. The show was divided in six pavilions which included the cleaning pavilion – for household and institutional cleaning equipment and solutions and another pavilion for catering and laundry equipment.
For the first time in its history, the Cyprus Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism also led a flock of 14 companies for HACE – Hotel Expo 2009; among which were providers of property / facilities management software solutions.
Largely, HACE 2009 saw the participation of local and regional players, which included Egysan, an Egyptian developer, manufacturer and marketer of laundry, floor care, kitchen ware washing and general housekeeping products; was also present at the event. Its floor care products included Glist – a high-speed polyurethane floor polish, Glow – a powdered marble floor polish and Crystalline marble crystallizer. The company also displayed a range of laundry products which included Alkatex (alkaline builder), Uni Wash (four-in-one liquid detergent) and Es Clean (low foam economical detergent). Among the sanitizers that were on display were Airogen – the oxygenated air sanitizer and Sanair – the spray air sanitizer.Medstar, a leading supplier of plastic products focusing on cleaning equipment, showcased its soft and hard broom range which consisted of Romano, Radison, Ringo, Mondial; as well as Contrast, Plomo and Wave brooms. Other products on display were the Hyper and Rotano triangular dusters. In their mops and squeegees category, Channel and Speedo mops were on display.
Noble Wax Factories, a specialist in manufacture of hygiene chemicals, showcased its steward, housekeeping and laundry chemicals for hotels and hospitals.
HACE timed well
It is during the last quarter, that most of the hotels and other related hospitality institutions decide on the products and services that they would require in the following year. According to the organizers, the event was timed well as it was held in November, which proved to be good timing for exhibitors to showcase their inventories.A good number of 600 exhibitors occupied a total area of 25000 square meters in 11 halls at the Cairo International Exhibition Centre. The show was divided in six pavilions which included the cleaning pavilion – for household and institutional cleaning equipment and solutions and another pavilion for catering and laundry equipment.
For the first time in its history, the Cyprus Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism also led a flock of 14 companies for HACE – Hotel Expo 2009; among which were providers of property / facilities management software solutions.
Largely, HACE 2009 saw the participation of local and regional players, which included Egysan, an Egyptian developer, manufacturer and marketer of laundry, floor care, kitchen ware washing and general housekeeping products; was also present at the event. Its floor care products included Glist – a high-speed polyurethane floor polish, Glow – a powdered marble floor polish and Crystalline marble crystallizer. The company also displayed a range of laundry products which included Alkatex (alkaline builder), Uni Wash (four-in-one liquid detergent) and Es Clean (low foam economical detergent). Among the sanitizers that were on display were Airogen – the oxygenated air sanitizer and Sanair – the spray air sanitizer.Medstar, a leading supplier of plastic products focusing on cleaning equipment, showcased its soft and hard broom range which consisted of Romano, Radison, Ringo, Mondial; as well as Contrast, Plomo and Wave brooms. Other products on display were the Hyper and Rotano triangular dusters. In their mops and squeegees category, Channel and Speedo mops were on display.
Noble Wax Factories, a specialist in manufacture of hygiene chemicals, showcased its steward, housekeeping and laundry chemicals for hotels and hospitals.
According to Sharbel Kordahi, Manager Business Professional Unit Karcher Middle East, the company has had a long-lasting relationship of 30 years with El Bassiouni & Company. In fact, El Bassiouni was the first company to import pressure washers into Egypt. It has also recently supplied Karcher’s high pressure cleaners to petrol filling stations and car wash centres in Cairo.
According to Asst managing director Ahmed El Bassiouni, the company has grown over the last 5 years with a lot of new projects and a lot of new products coming in from Karcher. Today, El Bassiouni & Company has managed to open a separate division for Karcher under a sales manager and eight salesmen.
Ahmed El Bassiouni has seen the Egyptian market undergo many changes. Following the introduction of Karcher’s high pressure cleaners into Egypt, a lot of other players have also entered into the market with cheaper products. The same can be said for other cleaning equipment as well, which has therefore created two levels of customers and products, based on product quality and pricing.
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HEALTHCARE
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