Mr. Chalak has with him over Thirteen years of Commercial Development and Strategy Implementation experience covering Public Health, Transport and Logistics, Waste Management, Retail and IT Solutions across the Middle East, GCC, Europe and Africa, during which he has held a broad range of leadership positions across the Middle East.
Raj:- What is Boecker? Tell us more about your company and its presence in ME region?
Abdul:- Boecker® is the Middle East’s largest Public Health company. It provides a holistic range of products and services in Pest Management, Food Safety, Biosecurity and Occupational Health and Safety across Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait.
Raj:- What is the main role, Boecker plays in Public Health and Safety?
Abdul:- Since its inception in 1994, Boecker® followed the highest international standards across its pest management and Biosecurity services and products, as well as its Food Safety and Health and Safety consultancy and trainings.
Boecker® Integrated Pest Management™ services are all assured by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) – UK – to be compliant with the highest international standards and all third-party audits; as well as using safe products and proper mode of application for guaranteed results.
Boecker® Food Safety services cover both consultancy and trainings within the Royal Society for Public Health - RSPH registered centers. The food safety consultancy services look into the delicate aspects of building safe food systems like the HACCP, ISO22000, BRC… as well as Boecker® signature Q-Platinum Award™ certification that has been tailored to meet the needs of small to medium food establishments, a certification assured by the CIEH - UK.
The Biosecurity services ensure a germ protected environment thanks to the Infection Control Plan™ service and a full range of EPA registered disinfectants. In addition, the Safe ChildCare™ certification programme, endorsed by the CIEH – UK, aims to guarantee a healthy, safe and protected environment for the well-being and better development of children in child care centers. The certification includes regular audits, staff trainings, awareness sessions and customized infection control plan.
Raj :- What are the offerings in the Hospitality industry?
Abdul:- In UAE, we are managing more than 35 five-star hotels. We provide them with our premium pest management services, along with our food safety and bio-security services (professional disinfecting), typically on demand. We are always trying to introduce innovative solutions to satisfy our customers. In addition to our portfolio of electric fly killers and bird control solutions. This technology is harmless to birds and extremely cost-effective compared to existing solutions and won’t impact the aesthetics of hotels.
Raj:- Who are Boecker’s clientele, are you already working with the Hospitality industry in this region?
Abdul:- Boecker® partners with notable names and well-known hotel chains in the region such as Crowne Plaza, Millennium, Four Points Sheraton, Rotana hotels, Radisson, St Regis, W Hotel and Westin Hotel among many others.
Hotels place very high standards for guest experience as they’ve understood that reputation is key to securing loyal customers. One of the major concerns in the hospitality industry is keeping their premises pests free as there is a multitude of factors such as guests, employees and goods coming in and out of the hotel round the clock, that contribute to pests’ infestation. Proactive pest management in the hospitality industry is crucial to prevent infestation in hotels and provide a clean, safe and hygienic environment for their customers.
Raj:- What are the offerings in the F&B industry?
Abdul:- Boecker® has been serving the F&B industry for over two decades, bringing expertise in Integrated Pest Management, Food Safety and biosecurity.
The company provides Integrated Pest Management™ services that are all assured by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) – UK. Boecker® provides as well food safety trainings and consultancy services that build and implement safe food management systems like HACCP and ISO 22000.
Furthermore, Boecker® has developed a professional disinfecting services to ensure a germ protected environment thanks to the Infection Control Plan™ (ICPTM) service which is the most important part of our Biosecurity line of business.
Raj :- Who are Boecker’s clientele in F&B industry in this region?
Abdul:- Customers expect and demand a safe environment when it comes to F&B sector. Boecker® makes sure that they are maintaining what is necessary in regard to hygiene and Safety. Our public health solutions provide a clean, safe and hygienic environment.
Boecker® has been working closely with well-known brands of restaurant chains all over GCC and the Middle East such as Burger king, McDonalds, Paul among many others.
Raj:- What are the future plan for Boecker in the region?
Abdul:- Boecker® continues to expand its operations all over the UAE. We opened new branches in Ajman and Fujairah besides our existing branches. Furthermore, we aim to provide diversified products and services to our F&B and hospitality clients. With this in mind, we are introducing more added value services such as Mystery Shopper and Occupational Health and Safety Certification programme (OHS LiteTM). We are boosting as well our disinfection solutions for central kitchens, F&B outlets, restaurants and hotels common areas.
Raj:- Tell us something about the certifications and trainings at Boecker.
Abdul:- In addition to us being a service provider, we provide a wide range of consultancy and training services. We are proud to say that Boecker® has developed its own certification programmes. The first niche we have identified is for small and medium sized food establishments. We have developed our certification and re-certification programme titled QPATM– Q- Platinum Award. We act as the consultant and the certifying body through a series of audits, trainings, and close follow up with the management. It is carried out to make sure that in these small and medium sized food establishments, standards are held high and the reputations are conserved for our clients. This is something that can serve well for hotels that have more than one food establishment operating under their umbrella, especially if it has a lot of tenants that are operating on a lease basis and are not being managed by them directly. Over and above, we are introducing our new certification named OHS LiteTM, which is a lighter version of health and safety certifications that was tailor made to service the F&B industry.