Laith Haboubi appointed as COO for UAE’s MCT Group
Haboubi joins with a mandate of strategically reviewing and managing the group in the post-pandemic market
Earlier this year, Laith Haboubi was announced as the chief operating officer for the MCT Group, a Dubai-based leading conglomerate operating in the construction and oil and gas industry in the GCC.
Having joined in October 2021, Haboubi has joined the organisation with a mandate of strategically reviewing and managing the group to ensure its products and services are in line with the requirements of the market, while still maintaining the highest applicable international and regional standards.
With more than 32 years of experience in the UAE, working mainly for major multinationals, Haboubi tells Big Project ME that he has joined MCT Group as he believed that the time was right to align himself with the challenge of adapting a reputed local company to the post-pandemic market.
“My career in speciality construction chemicals and building materials has spanned more than 29 years and includes a variety of local, regional, and global roles, including general management, product and market segmentation management, specification, technical support and research and development. These experiences are essential to fully understand and direct all functions in the group in the position of COO,” he says.
“Organisations need to adapt to the post-pandemic market, and importantly for us here in the UAE, the post Expo 2020 construction landscape, as well as the local and global environmental and sustainability initiatives. My role is to ensure that our products and services are aligned to the market, its challenges and requirements.
“This involves a full review of our full portfolio of products as well as manufacturing techniques. New technologies are being introduced that we believe will provide significant advantages in terms of cost and time savings while being specifically formulated for local climatic and application conditions,” Haboubi outlines.
This will be especially important in the coming year as the latter part of 2021 has seen more positivity in the market thanks to the influence of Expo 2020, which has had a positive impact on real estate transaction and project cashflows.
“It remains to be seen as to the profile of projects for 2022, however the MCT Group remains focused on its core activities in the UAE market, specifically in maintenance, upgrades and remediation.”
Haboubi adds that the group will continue to focus on sustainability and efficiency, inline with the UAE’s stated objectives in these spheres. Having been formed more than 42 years ago, the organisation comprises of a number of companies, including subsidiaries like Corrotech Construction Chemicals, CCC Drymix, MCT Building Maintenance and Molecular Construction Technologies.
With two production facilities and four laboratories, he believes that the MCT Group is well positioned to be a highly regarded local manufacturer, operating to the highest international standards, while providing customised value-added solutions, not only to the construction and building industries, but also to the oil and gas, marine, and industrial sectors.
“Our aim is to source as much of our raw materials demand locally. More than 95% of our product range is also produced locally. We work with Industry groups such as the Middle East Dry Mix Association (MEDMA) to lobby for the adoption of relevant standards and testing at accredited laboratories such as DCL,” he says.
“We have products in our range such as the Corrolite® wall panel system that can reduce up to 75% of the weight of partition walls compared to traditional block and plaster while providing outstanding thermal, acoustic and fire insulation. Importantly with a significant reduction in carbon footprint. Other products such as the Corrosol® pre-formed GRP insulation wrapping system has seen a significant increase in demand as it provides essential protection and durability to piping in the oil and gas and industrial sectors,” he concludes.