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Airolink: Defeating time and tide to build a successful construction business

AIROLINK, led by Chairman and CEO Dr.Anil Pillai, is committed to accountability and transparency for success

With postgraduate roots in Ireland, Dr. Anil Pillai set forth to explore the surrounding market and found his true calling in the business world. A man with market patience, his foray into contracting started with a restaurant. "In 2000, I didn't have any connection to construction.
In fact, I started my own hospitality business as an initial construction package. I had designed and constructed it with locally available resources and a couple of subcontractors. This made me realise that hospitality business was not my forte and Construction is my true passion. Soon, I discovered that there was a huge demand for construction business," he said.
At the end of that year, Dr. Pillai undertook small government-initiated projects. Upon noticing a market boom in Ireland in 2003, he ensured his availability at the right place at the right time.
With few projects under his belt, he acquired skilled workers from neighbouring countries around Ireland and established the brand, AIROLINK, which smoothly progressed with several projects between 2003 and 2005.
However, with the oncoming recession that hit Ireland in 2006-2007 at the time, Dr. Pillai looked at other avenues to venture into. In the year 2008, he identified UAE as a potential base.
"In Ireland, I was the only Asian in the construction sector, and from there I learned lessons on how to manage people and their work culture. One of the things that attracted me to the UAE was its multicultural atmosphere," he said.
Having just experienced one financial crash, Dr. Pillai was in no mood to take on unnecessary risks. Despite hearing all the talk swirling around about the projects planned at the height of the boom, he remained steadfast in his decision to come to the UAE only if he had a job in hand.
With his company registered with NATO as a military contractor, he decided to tie up with a local company and won a global bid for a job at NATO Airbase in Dubai, allowing him to make the shift.
"Despite the recession here where most contractors faced problems, we had the opportunity to finance and manage costs in order to start projects. We did this quite silently," he said.
With a cautious approach in place, Pillai didn't have to wait long for his hunch to pay off. By the time 2009 rolled in, AIROLINK was already working on the first of several projects on the NATO base.
Having established itself as a military contractor, AIROLINK was able to expand operations to Abu Dhabi, working for American Armed forces.
"We were doing Main Contracting projects inside the base, when we received an inquiry from Abu Dhabi Municipality - there was a big tunnel being constructed in the capital and they were seeking technically sound contractors for huge diaphragm walls.
"We were doing taxi bases at that time - heavy concrete works - and we were good at it. So, we enquired with the main contractor and they gave us a project as a specialist contractor. That's how we came out from the base and into local projects.
"There was a huge number of projects that people were talking about, both residential and commercial. We did our research and found that there was a huge demand for educational institutions at that time," he said.
Soon, the contractor became known as the go-to firm for the construction of educational facilities in Abu Dhabi, with several projects under their belt and currently underway. AIROLINK's first school project was a design and build project that allowed it to showcase itself at the ministry level, Pillai believes.
"The project came from the Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) to set up Bright Riders School, which was challenging as we had to complete it in four months' time. We gave them an exact construction plan and schedule, guided the client throughout the process and completed the project with utmost precision and planning," he said.
After successful completion of the school and being in the good list of ADEK, more education-centric projects soon rolled in and we got six more schools in Abu Dhabi, all finished on time. Today it has more than 30,000 students studying in its facilities. Eventually the company turned its focus on Dubai.
"We saw a boom in Dubai, with the announcement of Expo 2020, and welcomed our first project in Dubai worth around Dh600 million," he said.
AIROLINK currently focuses on a variety of sectors, including hospitality. Pillai shared that the company is involved in five-star hotel projects, shopping centres and residential projects.
"Regarding my company's core areas, we focus in construction, design and build turn key projects as main contractors. As for my personal expertise, I come from a finance background and am purely into costing. I focus on gathering technical minds and experienced people from high-end renowned contracting companies under one roof for various projects."
According to Dr. Pillai, competent teams are critical to achieve organisational goals. Therefore, he plays an active role in the hiring of senior leadership.
Today, his handpicked team comprises a talented and qualified workforce that consistently exceeds client expectations to deliver superior service. He said that the company has currently engaged over 6,000 employees and is targeting to expand this to 10,000 in the near future.
"AIROLINK has a current portfolio of projects worth 5.2 billion and has a capability of 12 billion more by the end of this year. We have created a sound technical and financial setup and we will not have any additional costs for that.
"We are open to industry collaborations and joint ventures while going ahead with large-size projects. We have a healthy balance sheet and relations with financial institutions."
AIROLINK is currently in a transformation stage of embracing world class and innovative technological opportunities, which it sees as a path to a more productive and socially responsible future.
This includes adopting advanced building technology, using modularised and prefabricated components, semi-automated equipment, use of sustainable products with optimum life-cycle value, industry collaborations, etc.
Even though the plan is to expand the project order book and grow organically, Dr. Pillai asserted that AIROLINK will continue to operate as a true EPC contractor, with no plans to diversify its offerings yet. Dr. Pillai says: "I believe that the principles of the great visionary leaders of the UAE and the philosophy that they bring in the governance of this land remains the core of the UAE and its policies today.
"Inspired by this and to honour the Year of Tolerance, we pledge to outsource our divisions to seasoned experts in the market, as an effort towards creating more job opportunities, thereby contribute to striking a balance in the construction industry's system and economy as a whole, of which we are all a part of."
When asked what inspires him to keep going through thick and thin, he added: "The story of UAE's journey itself is inspiring; the way it overcame the financial crisis was enough to boost my morale and serves as one of my biggest inspirations."
AIROLINK prospered during these years, growing into a reputable business. In the end, Dr. Pillai was in the right place at the right time, after all.
Awards and accolades
Presented the GOLD CARD- long term residency visa, by the Director General of DNRD, Dubai.
AWARDED THE ACHIEVEMENTS AWARD" AT THE ACHIEVEMENTS FORUM 2019, BEING HELD IN MILAN.
WINNER OF "CEO TODAY- MIDDLE EAST AWARDS 2019" by CEO TODAY MAGAZINE.
AWARDED "BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR" BY THE BIG PROJECT ME 2018
INSPIRING ICON OF THE YEAR 2017, PRESENTED BY THE HON'BLE INDIAN UNION MINISTER OF STATE, SRI. ALPHONSE KANNANTHANAM, JANUARY 13, 2018.
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2015 FROM DUBAI, UAE
BESTOWED WITH ASIAN BUSINESS MAN OF THE YEAR 2015 from BUSINESS FORUM LONDON IN BRITISH PARLIAMENT. THIS AWARD WAS PRESENTED BY STEPHEN TIMMS, MEMBER OF BRITISH PARLIAMENT IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS EXCELLENCY MAYOR BORIS JOHNSON.
AIROLINK has a current portfolio of projects worth 5.2 billion and has a capability of 12 billion more by the end of this year.
 - farhana@khaleejtimes.com