In late 2016, Robit took a step to expand its foothold in the Middle East by establishing a sales company (Robit Plc – BFC) in Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. The new sales company is led by Export Manager Juhani Sivenius.

What are the starting points for the operations in the Middle East?

Considering the size of the market, Robit’s sales in the area have been modest to date. The journey is only just beginning. We are currently focussing on presence to enhance visibility, and on availability, which is indispensable for growth. So we have a lot of footwork to do. We have achieved a few successes, which creates a good foundation for the future.

Tell us more about the successes!

Stevin Rock, the area’s largest quarry located in Ras Al-Khaimah, is my customer. Robit has a two-year agreement for the supply of wear parts for their entire DTH line. Drilling in Tel Aviv’s metro tunnel project in Israel will start during the summer using our forepoling tubes. The Turkish market is already looking good, thanks to my colleague.

What is Dubai like as a business environment?

The culture is quite colourful because of the wide variety of nationalities. Taking care of administrative matters can be a little slow and bureaucratic, but you get to used to it. My goal is to turn the operations in the area around as soon as possible by acquiring end customers and expanding the distributor network.

Picture: Cliff McGowan (DTARobit) giving instructions to Bharadwaj Ventaraman (Delta Corp Global, right).

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