| Toufic Abiad could write a textbook about taking a small business to Dubai.
His company, SDI Canada, designs, constructs and install suites for diagnostic imaging equipment such as MRIs, CT scanners, X-ray machines and PET scanners.
A few years ago, equipment manufacturers such as Philips, General Electric and Siemens mentioned installations in Dubai. Concerned whether a small, niche company could get noticed, Abiad attended the 2004 Arab Health trade show there. “We met people and companies from all over the world - from Eastern Europe to Asia to China and Africa. We were blown away.”
Moreover, the response was encouraging. “The reception we got as Canadians was nothing short of phenomenal,” he says. “They were interested in our grey matter, not our manpower.”
Abiad admits the ramp-up was long, demanding in terms of travel - and costly. “The Dubai business drained us of 65% of our capital up to the mid-point of 2006. The learning curve was huge.”
Originally, Abiad hired a local general manager, but the growth potential became apparent when he learned GE was serving 88 countries - “half the planet” - from Dubai.
In June 2007, SDI opened a Dubai office serving 10 countries and accounting for 40% of revenues. Abiad projects that business will grow five-fold over three years, serving all the Middle East and Africa for 80% of revenues.
“Whatever we invest in healthcare over here, they invest multiple times over there,” he says. “They have a lot of ground to make up.” |
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