Amidst a busy morning and a busier afternoon, Abdul Rahim Al Qassim, Director, General Cargo, DP World, spoke to the Dulsco team about business and the role of Dulsco in DP World’s operation.
DP World enjoys a unique position in the industry. It plays a dual role as a sole manager of both port operations and stevedoring. “This responsibility comes with a price - we work round the clock throughout the year and stop the operations only for three hours for first and second Eid”, says Al Qassim.
The stevedoring work in Dubai dates back to early 1970s with Port Rashid being operational then. Although the port was owned by the government, the manpower was managed by private companies and the model was a successful one. Eventually Jebel Ali port came into existence and has grown over the years at a commendable rate. DP World, the sole Manager of this port takes pride in their achievements: “we have seen such growth in our operations, it has tripled in just one year. A year and a half back, the port used to handle 350,000-400,000 tons per month and for the last two months we have been averaging 1.2 million tons per month”, mentions the Director of General Cargo, Al Qassim. Although Al Qassim is pleased with this growth he has nevertheless targeted a level of 2 million tons per month.
The hard work of the 1300 strong team of DP World and manpower outsourced from Dulsco have contributed in making the Jebel Ali port the number one in the Gulf region and 4th largest in the world. Al Qassim says, “Dulsco and DP World are partners and we have seen that Dulsco is always there to assist us. This is one agency I can depend upon especially while we've been experiencing such tremendous growth. We have evolved together with the business. We are now trying to complement their team by including them in our safety programs which is a critical factor for safe working at the port”. Al Qassim also has been overwhelmed by the fact that Dulsco is also getting equipment such as forklifts for them, which he mentions as an important step in this association.
The combination of the clear vision of its leader Al Qassim, combined with support from the manpower outsourcing partner have been two important factors in the growing prominence of DP World’s operation in the port. To make the port more efficient and attractive to vessel operators, DP World plans to put a system in place that will minimize the time vessels spend in port which will be an attractive proposition for vessel operators by reducing their running costs. Furthermore, DP World is re-organizing warehouse management so that it doesn’t become a bottleneck for the business. The thinking behind this plan is explained by Al Qassim: “in this business, the sky is the limit. If the cycle of ship to yard to ship or customer happens smoothly then we can handle unlimited business”. However, all this becomes possible, with reliable partners to work with. That is precisely the reason to entrust Dulsco with more services in the near future.