Hatem Damardash: Unveiling a Smart Expansion Strategy towards Regional Leadership
Engineer Hatem Damardash – Delta Building Systems Commercial Director: We don’t sell bricks… but rather changing the construction culture in Egypt and the region.
At a time when the systems of building require keeping stride with the rapid pace of urban growth and the mounting sustainability prerequisites, Delta Building Systems strolls as one of the Egyptian and regional construction materials players’ market stalwarts.
The company provides complete solutions that create a blend of technology, effectiveness, and conserving the environment.
In an exclusive interview with Engineer Hatem Damardash, Delta’s Commercial Director, he tells us about his long journey from the field to management, covers the details of his intrepid expansion, and shares strategies aimed at boosting exports, product quality, and pro-environment policies.
Hatem Damardash: From fieldwork to management – the choice that changed my path
The Commercial Director of Deltas Building Systems, Hatem Damardash, started his career from scratch. He worked as a site engineer and after some time realized he was at a dead-end in his technical career. This was the turning point when he decided to shift to management.
This career change was well-founded scientifically as he completed an MBA in 2011. Upon earning his degree, he started a new venture in Delta Building Systems’ commercial sales department and gradually rose to his current position as the Commercial Director. At present, Hatem manages sales and market development in foreign markets for Delta Building Systems. He utilizes the integration of technical value with economic feasibility to accomplish sustainable success.
What is your opinion about the journey of Delta Building Systems from the date of inception till date?
Since its inception, Delta Building Systems has changed significantly. The business started as a state-owned factory under the name Sand Bricks Holding and was later completely acquired by the Plena Group, who implemented a large-scale strategy to modernize the factories and infrastructure development in line with the government’s private sector empowerment policy.
From 2016 to 2021, we aimed to double sales and achieve an annual production capacity of 200,000 cubic meters. We worked on smarter and more sustainable products and surpassed this target due to augmentations in production efficiency and process optimization.
The flotation change of the Egyptian pound was an advantage, making our products competitively priced in the market.
At the moment, we have six different ongoing projects in Libya, and we export our products to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Libya. Moreover, we started exports to Italy and Spain, and now we are trying to get the required certifications and acknowledgments from the EU countries to penetrate the European market professionally. Also, we are set to obtain CEMARK certification in the next two months, and that will qualify us to enter the European market.
Maintaining continuous growth despite challenges is relatively unusual in business, especially during a world pandemic. However, the dollar shortage crisis is wreaking havoc as well. We have managed growth during this period. We overcame the import crisis through delta’s expanded export activities, which aided in generating hard currency to bolster support for raw material imports, which adds value to the Egyptian economy.
What distinguishes Delta Building Systems products from others in the market?
Deltas products are recognized for three fundamental values: high quality, innovative solutions, and an exceptional commitment for sustainability. We don’t merely provide bricks or blocks. Instead, we offer complete building systems that are inclusive of thermal and acoustic insulation, earthquake resistance, and speed of installation. Building products offered by other companies cannot compete with Deltas in terms of weight, ease of installation, and friendliness towards nature.
Apart from aiding in energy conservation, the reduction of long-term costs makes Delta’s products economically beneficial.
Raw materials have an efficiency rate of 500% yield, as every cubic meter produces up to five cubic meters of finished products.
What are your thoughts on the needs of the Egyptian market from the view of a commercial director?
The market in Egypt is changing drastically. An exclusive technology from a decade ago is no longer considered advanced. The region’s biggest opportunity in Egyptian is the construction industry. The volume of construction in the country is an astounding 12 million cubic meters of walls or buildings annually, making this economy thrive.
Fuel prices and building techniques that enhance construction efficiency force most of the market to design better ways of doing business. At Delta Building Systems we are very keen on blending service with propulsion of a new movement in the industry as not just builders but culture changers.
It’s evident that efficiency in older building systems need to be updated. Experts examine consumer needs and almost all users have a long-term energy-efficient, life cycle cost-effective, low-maintenance, environmentally friendly building.
We offer solutions that generate specially engineered systems meeting those exposed challenges.
Also, we emphasize all forms of education at the undergraduate level and above, as well as inform developers, consultants, architects, contractors, and even university students and construction workers about the product. Maintaining technical parameters and preserving the specifications and properties of the product during operation requires active management tools at every operational phase, which we also help to provide.
What is your approach to safeguarding the highest quality benchmarks in your products?
At Delta Building Systems, every product goes through proprietary workflows, which include rigorous delineated quality checkpoints throughout the processes of design, assembly, and construction, ensuring that the product is irrevocably aligned with the set expectations. Consequently, quality starts way before the production line.
Every factory is equipped with a dedicated team of quality engineers, who supervise each production batch through continuous monitoring throughout the whole process, and documenting the date of each unit’s assembly to guarantee that any arising concern is possible to be traced. In case the client contacts us with an issue, our reaction time, which guarantees the issue will be processed, is 72 hours, then we check the starting point, and move through to closing, and every necessary decision in between.
We ensure strong and durable final products by using high quality cements such as 52.5 R instead of the locally used 42.5 R. To operate optimally and efficiently, we also utilize cutting edge equipment and technologies.
Are there plans to extend further into the region outside of Egypt?
In our business model, we outline that expansion is not a choice, but a promise regarding the delivery of services offered.
We have begun experimental exports to Italy and Spain and have a strong presence in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Italy. We are working to get the European market CEMARK certification in two months and professionally enter the European market.
We are expanding production capacity with a new factory that will be the most technologically advanced in the world. This factory will not only meet the requirements of the local market, but also auxiliary areas and international demand. The strategic position of the factory close to ports will increase the efficiency of exports and strengthening presence in global markets.
What are the key projects or partnerships you have recently been involved in?
We are dedicated to exploring new possibilities to serve Egypt, and strengthen our position in the expanding Middle East and North Africa markets which presents a growing interest in sustainable building solutions. We take pride in the strong market reputation of our products, which has earned us certifications from leading companies and institutions. Today, Delta Building Systems’ products are used in approximately 99% of renovation and restoration projects.
Also, we take part in a variety of the most essential national and developmental projects.
We trust that each of my accomplishments was included. Of course, I didn’t mention the New Administrative Capital Towers, the New Alamein City, the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, or even the Bashair El-Kheir Project, the Fustat City Project, or even the 57357 Hospital. We continue to be proud in our partnerships with other companies such as Lake View, Orascom, Mountain View, and even Al-Aroba Real Estate Development that are among the best in the real estate sector in Egypt.
Among the goals we set for ourselves on a regional and international level is to reinforce further our export markets in promising regions that include Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, as well as Southern Europe. CAD Drawings is placed among the most notable players of construction and building industry and these projects plus constructive partnerships prove the reliability of our products.
Along with these justify actions, CAD Drawings can ensure the projects that they are taking part in guarantee a maneuverable building solution that is environmentally sustainable.
To stay ahead of the construction industry trend, Delta Building Systems focuses on energy efficient projects that also guarantee environmental sustainability.
I’m not aware if it is accurate to say that we were preaching sustainability. Our products speak for themselves when put under any scrutinous conditions as each reduces energy consumption and uses green materials. These raw materials are sourced locally and their production processes have a minimum impact on the environment.
We also reclaim water and waste, and are currently in the process of developing climate-specific smart building systems. At the moment, we are working towards earning the ‘Environmental Product Declaration’ (EPD) certification.
You head the company’s commercial activities… how do you organize your marketing strategy?
Our marketing strategy is centered on infusing success into culture and not simply selling a product. For us, success is a long-term presence rather than a spur-of-the-moment achievement, which builds trust among our consumers. From there, we identify the target customers and competitors, and ensure we have a distinct and clear presence within the market. After carving a niche, we strive to gain precise market understanding and strategize communication through channels that resonate with the customers.
With regards to pricing, we determine it based on quality. In order to provide real value without compromising the final product, it must correlate to current market offers and consumer demands. Alongside set promotion level advertisements, we hold workshops, participate in targeted exhibitions, and nurture strategic professional relationships with engineers and consultants.
Our aim is to participate in the planning and decision-making processes, not merely in planning implementation and becoming a solutions provider.
What main problems do building systems industry is facing nowadays? How do you deal with them?
The primary problem facing the building systems industry is the increase in costs for raw materials, fuel, and even food. This requires all companies operating in this environment to keep competitive price levels alongside product quality, which is one of the most important in sales and marketing. To address this, we conduct frequent and systematic assessments of the market and are able to change quite rapidly with its economy.
In the case of liquidity and payment systems, we were able to lighten this burden by changing the methods of supply and distribution. The other problem of lack of components, which are dollar-cited, was best solved through increasing exports, which increased our foreign currency resources and thus more stability to operations.
What is your message to the existing and potential clients?
We appreciate you and are grateful for the honor to join with you in developing sustainable urban communities. In Delta Building Systems, we do not merely sell a product, we assure our clients of service surpassing their expectations and commitment.
We are ready to assist you in developing your projects with maximum efficiency, smart strategies, and eco-friendliness.