H. H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum awards certificate for ‘Dubai Quality Appreciation Programme’ to Danube Building Materials

H. H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum awards certificate for ‘Dubai Quality Appreciation Programme’ to Danube Building Materials

Chairman Rizwan Sajan accepts recognition for company’s ‘excellence model’

April 07, 2010

H. H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, handed over a certificate for the ‘Dubai Quality Appreciation Programme’ (DQAP) to Danube Building Materials, the leader in construction, building materials and shop fitting industries, at a ceremony held today (April 07, 2010) at the Grand Hyatt Dubai. Danube Chairman Rizwan Sajan, and Managing Director Anis Sajan received the award in recognition of Danube’s ‘excellence model’, which covers the organisation’s activities as well as its achievements, and is the criteria by which the awardees are judged upon.

Securing the DQAP certification for the first time, Danube credits its excellent leadership, dynamism in strategy, growth in terms of people and partnerships, as well as it expanding resources for bagging the award. Within the last five years, Danube has registered exponential growth in revenues, which has exceeded AED 1 billion in 2009, an investment of AED 100 million in the expansion of the ‘Danube BUILDMART’ concept across the GCC, and the addition of 350 staff during the height of the recession.

Speaking at the sidelines of the awards ceremony, Rizwan Sajan said, “We are very proud to have been given this recognition, which further affirms our commitment towards excellence and to the region. This award is also a remarkable motivation for us to continue our efforts to secure further growth in terms of our manufacturing capabilities and expand our retail presence in the region amidst our plans to launch 10 new ‘BUILDMART’ branches this year.”

An initiative of the Department of Economic Development, the ‘Dubai Quality Award’ aims to provide organisations with a ‘roadmap’ to achieve excellence through the adoption of good practices and soundly-based approaches that are deployed systematically and are continuously measured and reviewed. The methodology and main criteria of the award are encapsulated in a model that provides organisations with a tool to benchmark performance and document existing gaps. Providing a holistic framework for organisational excellence, the award, which is based on the Excellence Model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), represents role model organisations in the sectors they operate in.

“We are committed to upholding the integrity of the ‘Dubai Quality Appreciation’ certification by ensuring that we satisfy all the stringent requirements set for this prestigious honour. We wish to thank the Department of Economic Development for this award, and we are looking forward to undertaking further initiatives to enhance our processes and the value we provide to our customers, which would hopefully merit more recognition in the future,” concluded Anis Sajan.

About Danube Building Materials FZCO
Established in 1993, Danube Building Materials FZCO provides more than 15,000 products in stock and in-house value added services in all of its 14 showrooms across the UAE. The company operates from its head offices – a 285,000 square foot facility in Jafza north and a 365,000 square feet base in Jafza south, which houses its logistics centre, kiln drying facility, factory and warehouses. From a small trading firm, Danube has grown into one of the largest building materials company in the region, with 18 branches worldwide - 13 in the UAE, 2 in Oman, 1 each in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and India, in addition to procurement offices in China and Canada. Danube has a team of 1000 people working from strategic locations in across the Emirates, including Jebel Ali, Deira and Abu Dhabi. The company has been and is currently involved in major projects across the UAE, Oman and Bahrain, including Emirates Hills, the Burj Al Arab, Shangri-La Hotel, Grand Hyatt, Motor City, Burj Dubai, Dubai Airport Terminal 3, Yas Island, Reem Island, Saadiyat Island, and Al Raha Beach Hotel, among others.