Highlight
Engr. Nabil Emil Daoud, General Manager, GWT, looks at the company’s many milestones in healthcare and medical innovation
Different elements come together to make a vision come true. It was the intention to serve the community and deliver modern medical equipment and consumables that led to the establishment of Gulf & World Traders (GWT).
Engr. Nabil Emil Daoud, General Manager of GWT has been with the organisation for close to 18 years now. “The company was established even before the law of registration was in place,” he said. “It is therefore even older than the 50 year milestone that it celebrates now. It was established as one company with diversified business. Under the platform of GWT were pharmaceuticals, schools and manufacturers of various things among which medical equipment was the main pillar of the company. In the late 90s the company spun off into separate LLC companies. GWT was dedicated to medical equipment and consumables. Pharmaworld was for the pharmaceuticals, as well as a chain of schools, hospitals and garment manufacturing facilities, but each one is an independent LLC. Since then GWT has taken the flagship in medical equipment and consumables.”
In 2003, GWT was restructured into the present day platform, which is segments. Each division is dedicated to a certain speciality in healthcare — cardiology, dentistry, laboratory, operating room, intensive care, etc. Each division of those is also representing a group of international manufacturers and have their own profit and loss focus per year. “Soon we developed a separate service department, which is now run by more than 55 service engineers,” said Engr. Daoud.
“It is the backbone of the business because everything we sell under GWT is 100 per cent supported by our service engineers. It is through this department that we ensure that all the machinery and equipment is running optimally and in perfect condition. Through generic growth we have added on with us over 45 international partners with operations across the UAE and in Oman too. GWT represents the major names in diagnostic laboratory, Abbott and also one of the biggest manufacturers of surgical equipment, Aesculap, and so on. We cover more than 65 per cent of any medical needs at all levels.”
GWT respects the partnerships it has built over the years. “With balanced awareness of what we have and what we lack we build our partnerships internationally,” Engr. Daoud explained. “To incubate a new product or a company till it is producing takes 15-24 months so we acquire these partnerships with a much focused mindset. It is a collaboration that must be mutually beneficial. For any company coming to UAE they know that this region is always looking for hi-tech advancement and developed infrastructure. They come with their most recent developed product and want to collaborate with a partner that is stable, mature and established financially, well networked and good after sales service and application training. GWT has held its roots in the region since many years and is therefore a beneficial choice to make.”
Technology is always evolving and at GWT the emphasis is on keep up with the advancements. “There is always room to integrate the latest trends and technology into our systems,” said Engr. Daoud. “For example, we are looking to apply block chain into our business. Also we are looking for the recent application of artificial intelligence into our new equipment. We are even investigating the possibilities of using augmented reality into the application of surgery. There are a lot of varieties today worldwide and it is all based on new technologies. We are looking forward to partner with those providers and introduce it to the market because there is a demand for it.”
Speaking on the plans for the future, Engr. Daoud informed, “We have two pivots of growth. First is that we are a 100 per cent national company. The second is the internal growth where we engage more partnerships whether on the level of manufacturers or end users. This gives a good level of trust for our establishment within the market and buyers. Besides, we have a golden chance to expand outside of the UAE.
“We have established in Oman and aim to grow further and beyond. As we take ourselves forward from this 50 years milestone it is important to respect the foundation and the ground on which we have built ourselves. We take pride in this achievement and years of service that we have delivered to the community. Based on our legacy we move forward to the future.”
