Company Profile

Breakin Record

Transguard Group breaks its Own Records during 2019 with AED 1.6 billion in secured contracts, 1.4 million hours of staff training and multiple new services lines being the biggest achievements of 2019

With AED 1.6 billion in secured contracts, more than 1 million hours in staff training and earning a number of major awards, 2019 was a year of record-breaking expansion and growth against a landscape of challenging economic circumstances for Transguard Group.

“While this was a terrific year for us, I do not believe it was a coincidence that 2019 was also our self-proclaimed year of the customer,” explained Greg Ward, Managing Director. “While customer centricity has always been at the heart of how we operate, this year we took a closer look at what it means to focus on our customers, which was followed by taking solid steps to ensure that every member of the Transguard team, at every level of the business, understood how to think and act along

the lines of customer satisfaction. This has had a ripple effect on not only how we do business, but who we do business with; as our 2019 results show, we’re continuing our upward trajectory.”

Succe e in Security “Our Security division made major in-roads not only with major malls in the UAE, but also with large tourist attractions and with several embassies, including both of the British embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai,” said Tim Mundell, Chief Security Officer.

Transguard’s security team was also out in force at many of the year’s major events, including the recent Race to Dubai and the Emirates Airlines Rugby 7s, among others. Launched a year ago, Transguard’s Executive Protection division tripled its reach in 2019 and added a number of high net worth individuals, A-list Hollywood celebrities and international fashion designers to its roster of clients. “Our K9 division also experienced impressive growth this year due to new contracts with several major international airlines and freight carriers; this division was also showcased during September’s AVSEC exhibition, which brought international attention to our worldclass Explosive Detection Dogs,” Mundell continued.

The completion of Transguard’s state-ofthe-art control room was another highlight for the company’s Security division: The technical build of this command centre involved bring-

ing together the world’s most cutting-edge technology, including secure data centres, security information management, digital information display and physical access control systems; each aspect of this technology offers its own blend of cutting-edge innovation, delivery excellence and product quality.

Facilitie Manage ent Divi ion Set the Standard for Service

Property Management, a new service line from Transguard’s Facilities Management divi

sion, helped to expand the reach of Transguard Group into new areas, while its consumer division, Transguard Living, doubled its size and expanded its service offering into Abu Dhabi. “A year after expanding into the Northern Emirates with an office in Ras Al Khaimah, Transguard Living has deepened its core offerings with a revitalized approach to its Move service and a new team of highly trained technicians,” said Stephen Beesley, Chief Operations Officer. “We were also gratified to see our new division, Property Management, hon

oured with its first award – Property Management Company of the Year – which is quite the accomplishment considering that 2019 was the first year of its operation. We look forward to continuing to grow the market in this division in 2020.”

Manpower Grow fro Strength to Strength

The Hospitality division of Transguard Group experienced global gains at the end of 2019 with the signing of a framework agreement with a major international hotel chain: “Our experienced Hospitality team is already supporting 60 five-star hotels across the UAE, so we consider our presence within an internationally known hotel brand as further recognition of the high standard of our training and excellent performance record,” said Alex MacDonald, Senior Director – Manpower and Mobilisation. “We’ve experienced 50% growth with hotels this year; to put this in perspective, teams are responsible for cleaning 73,000 kitchens and 5 million hotel rooms, which offers a glimpse at the size of our footprint in the UAE.”

Workforce Solutions, the white collar staffing unit of Transguard Group, launched its Executive Search division in the first half of 2019, and counts several globally renowned companies as clients, including a major cosmetics and skin care label.

Transguard also began an innovative part-

nership with one of the UAE’s most prominent airline to provide chauffeur services to its Business Class passengers.

Welfare Initiative Gain Mo entu Transguard’s residential facilities received a number of upgrades over the last 12 months, including the addition of three “T-Mart” convenience stores, with three more in the pipeline for 2020. Unlimited in-room wifi has also been implemented in a number of Transguard’s accommodations, including the newly opened Jebel Ali 7: At seven stories tall, this massive residential building is capable of housing 10,000 residents, making it the largest of its kind in Dubai.

This year also marked the launch of Taste of Home, Transguard’s own catering company, which was developed out of the desire to produce quality food at an affordable price for

site-based employees. Officially opening at the end of December, Taste of Home is capable of producing 100,000 meals per day out of its kitchens in Dubai Investment Park.

Editor’s note: More information about Jebel Ali 7 and Taste of Home will be released in the coming weeks

Finally, with nearly 3,800 recreational activities taking place in Transguard’s accommodations, including the “TG Olympics” and Transguard Carnival (with the most recent of which welcoming a record 5,000 attendees), keeping our site-based employees happy and engaged at work and at home continued to be a driving force for our CSR team. “You will often hear a Transguard employee say, ‘Work hard, play hard,’ because that’s truly our mentality,” said Lena ter Laare, Director – CSR & Marketing. “At every level of the company we encourage our employees to invest just as much in their leisure time as they do in their working hours because we appreciate the value of balance. This helps foster an incredibly positive environment that also encourages team work and creative thinking.”

A Mindful Approach to the Environment Efficiencies in Transguard’s approach to energy and water consumption also led to exceptional savings, with the company recording a 14% reduction in year-on-year utility costs. In addition, the installation of more than 1,200 solar panels are expected to reduce the company’s carbon footprint by nearly 500 metric tons. In May 2018, a paperless initiative began in Transguard’s headquarters, including the elimination of paper invoices to clients. To date, the company has saved 1.5 million sheets of paper; this equates to nearly AED 100,000 in savings in ink and paper.