Shade art

zoom

Coming at the end of the build process, shading is vulnerable to budget cuts, but contractors should think twice before chopping it from requirements, advises Terry Clark, operations manager at Shade Art.

Established in the region for the past four years, Shade Art LLC is one of a number of companies specialised in the provision of shading. While the UAE still doesn't have enough shade, there is now more investment in the category, specifically in education, Terry Clark, operations manager, at Shade Art, tells Commercial Outdoor Design.

What is Shade Art's background in the region?

Shade Art is a design build manufacturer specialized in projects of tensile fabric structures.  We operate throughout the GCC from our office in Dubai. We offer a range of shade structures from the smallest pool cover to the largest architectural feature.

Most of our business is commercial (95%) versus residential. Our clients include Dubai Municipality, the Dubai Ministry of Public Works and Housing, and the Director of Public Works and Housing in Sharjah.

How does your business operate?

There are three lines of business for us: end users are probably 10% of our business; contractors are probably 80%; and then there is the consultant that contacts us directly, which is maybe 10%. In terms of stock, we have a factory located in Sharjah with facility for design, manufacturing and installation of tensile membrane structures.

From which sector do you have the biggest demand?

Our most consistent clients are the education authorities. They generally have an annual budget for shading. Recent legislation also means that education must have shading and without shading for children, no licence [for the school] is issued.

Architectural features are also quite a good business for us. There has been a big expansion in this area and from the enquiries we are seeing now we expect this to be a growth area for us.

How has your business been impacted by the economic downturn? Has there been a drop in the number of enquiries?

We haven't seen it yet. Our business has been reasonably consistent both on the order take and on the enquiry front.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM