Unexpected events can change drastically corporate strategies.
Interview with Mr. Sami Soughayar, CEO of Matelec
MATELEC GROUP was f o u n ded i n 1974 to p r o d uce di s t r i b u t i o n tran sfo rm er s and si nce then ha s g ro w n i n t o a di v e rsi fi e d and res pected el ectr i ci ty b u s i n e s s pl ay e r wo rki ng acco r di ng to i nter n a t i o n a l stan dards. W i thi n i ts fi r st d eca de o f o p e r a t i o n , the g ro u p wa s abl e to enl ar g e i ts p r o d u c t s o ffe ri n g to swi tch g ear s, pa ckag e su b s t a t i o n s , and co n tr o l and pr o tecti o n sy stems. In p a r a l l e l , Mate l e c expanded i nto eng i neeri n g and co ntr acti ng acti v i ti es wi th the r ea l i z a t i o n o f co mpl e x H V , MV an d LV p r o j ects. Pr ese n t l y , t h e Gro u p ca rri es man ufa ctur i ng a nd co m m e r c i a l faci l i ti e s acro ss the Mi deast, Afr i ca a nd E u r o p e .
What type of adaptive measures the company needed? What lessons have you learned in this period? We applied all safety and regulatory measures required by the competent authorities (ministry of health, ministry of interior, regional governing bodies. Practically we haven`t stopped operating as our products are considered vital for the electricity sector for Lebanon. The crisis triggered a wake-up call that unexpected events can change all our strategies. This reminds us somehow of the black swan theory. We need to be flexible enough to cope as much as possible with changes that might affect the activity of our company.
