Sincerity In Trade Is Paramount

With more than three decades in the F&B industry, the company is reputed to be one of the leading names engaged in the kitchen, bakery, supermarket and laundry equipment trading business

Paramount is a commercial food service equipment company established in the year 1988. Since its establishment, the brand has gained recognition and repute for its reliable products and impeccable quality of customer care. The credit for the sterling success of the company goes to Shamsudheen KV, Chairman and Managing Director at Paramount. Looking back at the start of his journey, Shamsudheen said: “I came here in 1977. At that time, I was working for an Italian company. After 10 years, I started my own company looking at potential in F&B, retail and hospitality industries.”

Paramount Trading Est., formed in 1988 in a small warehouse, eventually became a household name in the hospitality industry in the UAE, Qatar, Oman and India, and is recognised today as the most dependable food service equipment supplier among supermarket chains, hotels, restaurants, catering (HORECA), bakery and laundry businesses. Paramount is recommended by manufacturers around the globe as the most credible business partner in the industry. His brother, Abdul Shukoor, Operations Director at Paramount Group, became his strongest support by contributing his technical and strategic business expertise for the last 34 years.

Expansion Galore

The company started its own manufacturing unit in a rented space in Sharjah in the year 2000 to produce top-notch stainless steel products. At the same time, they also started importing kitchen equipment from Europe.

“Initially, I was catering to local customers in the UAE only. Then, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi growing into world-class trade hubs with exceptional infrastructural investments, I started noticing the increase in business from other Middle East, African, Central and South East Asian countries. Thus, in 2002, we expanded our operations to Doha,” said Shamsudheen, adding, “Today, Paramount operations in Qatar is our best performing division after the UAE, operating with a decentralised engineering, logistics, manufacturing, warehousing and distribution system.”

Furthermore, as part of expansion plans to meet market demands, Paramount started new sales outlets, service centres, spare part kiosks, etc., in various emirates of the UAE. In 2010, operations at Ruwi in Muscat, Oman, were started and grew to become one of the largest companies to cater to retail and corporate business in every city of the Sultanate of Oman.

Shamsudheen said: “In 2012, I realised the huge growth potential of the Indian market for hospitality equipment industry and I felt that it was the right time to enter this market. It was always my dream to expand my business in my home country, because even now in India, especially South India, this concept is still new, where every village has the potential to grow into a town and every town has the potential to become a city.”

Stating that Paramount has the distinction of being the only company that trades kitchen, bakery, supermarket and laundry equipment under one umbrella, Shamsudheen added: “The year 2012 was a very special year for Paramount and us as we were able to launch our newly constructed 45,000 sq. ft factory, central warehousing and distribution unit with accommodation facility for our employees on our own land in Umm Al Quwain.”

The Winning Formula

Shamsudheen believes that sincerity is the secret of Paramount’s successful journey of 34 years in the industry. “We strive to be very sincere to our customers. That’s why the brand Paramount is very popular even among European manufacturers. We have partnered with more than 150 brands all over the world, especially from Europe, America and Asia-Pacific countries.” The brand has participated in several exhibitions in the Middle East, Africa, India, including Gulfhost, which is one of the largest expos in the region.

In terms of its visibility, the company goes to great lengths. Speaking about this, Shamsudheen said: “We invest in upgrading our infrastructure and resources to reach out to every business sector of any scale, to make sure that we are the first choice of our customers whenever they have a need.”

True To The word

Shamsudheen noted that what has remained consistent from day one is being true to their word. “Our commitment and credibility mean everything to us. If we are true to our word, we can proudly earn respect.” He was realistic in acknowledging that with a workforce of 300, there are bound to be situations where mistakes happen. But he pointed out that the brand always stood by its word and honours its commitments to its clients.

Adding to Shamsudheen, Hisham Shams, Executive Director at Paramount, said: “Business ethics, honesty, and integrity are central to our corporate culture throughout our operations. The conduct of all business relations contributes to the company’s goal of becoming the trendsetter and market leader in the hospitality and related services and to become an ‘all-in-one’ service provider in the trading industry.”

With more than three decades of experience in executing numerous projects in Middle East, African, Central and South East Asian countries, Paramount has developed a name as a transparent, well-governed, resourcefully structured company with a reputation for impeccable integrity and engineering feats. The company’s primary focus is on providing quality products and services supported by a dedicated after-sales service. Paramount’s long-standing presence in the highly challenging and competitive market is by itself a testimony to its enduring success.

Competing Standards

On the topic of what makes Paramount stand out from the rest, Shamsudheen said that the company was more focused on its own performance and did not worry about competition. In fact, he said that the company always promotes excellence. There have been cases of several experienced employees leaving the company and venturing out on their own, to which Shamsudheen said that he is proud of them and that such new startups maintain good and healthy trade relations with Paramount.

Future Goals And Vision

Looking forward to its latest retail outlet in Dubai Yiwu Market, Shamsudheen said that the company plans to expand its retail and wholesale trade into the international market, targeting mostly African, Central and Southeast Asian markets, providing premium brands at competitive prices and logistical benefits to food and beverage industry from world’s most comfortable trade hub — Dubai.

He further elaborated that the future expansion plans include new retail outlets in Saudi Arabia and adding more than 150,000 sq.ft floor space for warehousing and manufacturing to cater to retail and project demands in the Middle East, Africa and India.

“We are more than ever investing in technology to enhance our end-to-end customer journey experience. In the coming months, our teams will be trained to use such upgrades and our customers will find it even easier to connect, discuss and resolve their project and retail requirement,” signed off Shamsudheen.