HUDA Lighting has utilised its extensive expertise in the lighting sector to supply the requirements of the Fujairah City Centre while satisfying the technical criteria of the consultants and keeping in mind the aesthetic aspects of this project. The challenge was in procuring the lighting systems in time to meet the deadline set for this fast-track project.

The lighting specialist was subcontracted by Trans Gulf Electro Mechanical, the mechanical electrical and plumbing (MEP) contractor, to supply the complete lighting requirements for the project, including internal, external, façade and landscape lighting.

Commenting on the challenges faced in executing the project, managing director Khaled B Alami says: “Our team had to work against all odds on this project. Submittals that would normally take two weeks were prepared over a weekend and we had to deal with very strict requirements from the consultants and designers, having to satisfy their technical and design requirements while remaining within the budget of the project.

“Then came the challenge of the very tight delivery schedule, where we had to put pressure on all the manufacturers we sourced material from to meet the extremely short delivery schedule we had in order to meet the mall’s opening date.”

Huda Lighting was awarded the supply contract last August, and the approvals process took about three months to complete, according to Alami. To tackle the challenge, the company started ordering each item as soon as it met approval and arranged to deliver it immediately. Deliveries started in December and finished last month, he adds.

“Being involved in a Majid Al Futtaim project is something we take pride in. It was also our first time working with the MEP contractor Trans Gulf and has been a great experience,” Alami comments.

In addition to the Fujairah City Centre, Huda Lighting is currently associated with a number of prominent projects including the Al Bustan residential project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the contractor SSCL (Saudi Specialist Construction Limited), and the Jebel Omar Development in Makkah, also in Saudi Arabia, with Nesma and Partners.

The company has previously completed a large number of projects including the striking Aldar headquarters building and the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi (directly nominated by Aldar), the Four Seasons Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, and the 51 East department store in Doha, Qatar.

It has been involved in several hotel projects in the region including the East Mangrove Angsana Hotel & Resort, Emirates Palace Hotel, Liwa Suites and the Rosewood Hotel, all in Abu Dhabi, UAE; Palazzo Versace Hotel, Radisson Blu Business Bay, The Monarch Dubai, Intercontinental Hotel and Crowne Plaza Hotel at Dubai Festival City, all in Dubai, UAE; Intercontinental Hotel and The W Hotel in Doha, Qatar; and the Ritaj Hotel, Fairmont Hotel and Raffles Hotel in Makkah, Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, all in Saudi Arabia.

“The UAE is still our main market and a very dynamic one. In our opinion, anyone working in a professional manner should be able to achieve a good turnover (in the country),” he says.

Last year was a good one for Huda Lighting, during which it expanded into the Saudi market. “We expect this initiative to reflect on both our turnover and profits this year and we hope to double our turnover compared to figures for 2011,” he adds.

This year, the company is focusing mainly on making further inroads into the Saudi market and strengthening its position in all the markets it is currently operating in, thus increasing its market share.

Established in 2000 in Beirut, Huda Lighting has positioned itself as a leading player in the project lighting business, supplying to developments in the Middle East and beyond. Through its branches in seven Middle Eastern cities – Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Amman, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Beirut – the company is able to supply the complete lighting requirements of projects of any type and size.

“This is achieved by a team of highly qualified lighting specialists who are able to come up with creative lighting concepts, propose suitable products needed to implement them, supply in time, and offer the after-sales service needed at later stages, to make sure the client is satisfied,” he says.

The company currently employs over 80 people. Huda Lighting keeps abreast with the latest trends in the lighting industry by maintaining a strong relationship with many of the world’s top lighting manufacturers. “This also ensures accessibility to a diverse range of products, so that no matter what the requirements of a project are, suitable products are selected and supplied,” Alami points out.

Huda Lighting is also active in the retail lighting sector, and currently has two retail lighting showrooms in Dubai and Jeddah.

In addition to lighting, Huda Lighting has also ventured into other related products and systems, such as lighting control, home automation systems and wiring devices, being the exclusive distributor for the Italian company Bticino in the UAE, which offers top-of-the-line wiring devices.