The Big 5: ‘Green’ product range a necessity, says Ideal Standard
Developers are becoming increasingly concerned about meeting environmental standards, says plumbing and sanitary ware supplier
Product suppliers in the GCC need to be aware of green building requirements as developers are becoming increasingly concerned about meeting environmental standards, said an Ideal Standard executive.
Antonis Mourikis, sales director at the plumbing and sanitary ware company in the MENA region, said having a green product range was necessary for his firm to thrive in the local market.
“For us as a company, it’s very clear that we have to focus on these products and these kinds of projects because owners’ strategies and project development is focusing on these types of products. We don’t have any other way, the only way is to focus on [green] products,” he told MEConstructionNews.com at The Big 5 exhibition in Dubai.
“For the Middle East, the only country that is very strict with green products is the UAE – that’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The other countries are starting to get strict as well, Saudi Arabia is one example,” Mourikis added.
With Dubai expected to see a surge in hospitality products in the build-up to Expo 2020, Mourikis said Ideal Standard was positioning itself to take advantage of the likely growth in the market.
“We’ve been in Dubai since 2014. Our strategy is to focus on the big projects, especially the luxury hotels, apartments and villas. After the announcement in 2013, about the Expo, it was an obligation for us to be based in Dubai as a company. Until then, we were just exporting all our products from all over Europe.
“Our target now, for the next three or four years, is to focus on big projects. Over the last year, we have supplied a number of big projects, like the Abu Dhabi Trade Centre Phase II – that was a mega project. We’re also supplying part of the Akoya Villas, that’s a very good project for us, it’s one of the most prestigious projects in the region,” he concluded.
