Zurich-based real estate and facilities management company Avireal AG has, along with its local business partner Khalifa Juma Al Nabooda Group, expanded its operations into the Middle East with the formation of a joint venture by acquiring 49 per cent of Farnek, a leading local facilities management services provider. Farnek Avireal will now be one of only a handful of organisations in the region to offer total facilities management from cleaning to security and technical maintenance to energy management.
Khalifa Juma Al Nabooda, Chairman, Al Nabooda Group, said: “With this new venture, we have formed one of the most comprehensive facilities management companies in the Middle East, with over 1,000 employees. Avireal brings a wealth of experience working with quality IT systems, such as the luggage system at Zurich International Airport. This presents us with an additional skill-set which provides great synergy within our existing business structure and is a perfect fit for Farnek. We have merged two brands, but maintained one core philosophy.”
Under the agreement Avireal will provide the technical expertise required to penetrate technically complex sectors, such as the new Dubai World Central airport at Jebel Ali and the 280 million square metre Dubailand entertainment complex. With Avireal’s 25 years of international experience Farnek Avireal will be positioned as a market leader providing total facilities management services, specialising in the consulting and operating of commercial and complex building infrastructures. Farnek Avireal will also have the expertise to offer a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to the administration and maintenance of buildings and real estate throughout their entire life-cycle.
David Graham, General Manager of Farnek Services LLC: “We now maintain over 500 buildings accommodating in excess of one million square metres. We clean more than 500,000 square metres of commercial and residential space. Our security guards protect over 100 properties in Dubai, keep 100 installations fully operational and we can reduce the energy costs of our customers by up to 20 per cent.”
Avireal Middle East, running in parallel with Farnek, will specialise in providing technical, energy and environmental audits, benchmarking and consulting services. One such feature will be the introduction of an exclusive energy saving module in to the Middle East for all types of air conditioners and refrigeration chillers. With an average pay-back of just two years, the module is cost-effective, protects the environment and prolongs the life of the chiller. Energy savings of between 10 to 25 per cent have been experienced so far during field trials in Dubai.
