5 minutes with: Nitin Kandy

Nitin Kandy

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Who are you and what does your role involve?
I am the business development manager of HTS. My main role is to generate business and look at the areas in which we can excel within our other divisions; FM, homecare, handyman services, renovation and refurbishment.

I’m responsible for all four divisions and managing a team that is involved in developing these divisions.

What’s new for HTS this year?
Owners Associations are falling into place and interims are in the process of getting approved and registered. At HTS, we have a strong advantage when approaching the OA. This is our ability to calculate service charges, which is not done by anybody in this market – we have a tool and the expertise.

The tool has taken eight years to evolve and comes with the expertise of a lot of FMs. We approach the OAM and the IOA – many of whom don’t have the tools to calculate the service charges accurately, this tool allows precise calculation.

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Do you find the industry has changed in the last five years?
HTS is present in Dubai and is looking to expand into Abu Dhabi. The industry has changed drastically. In India, people know about FM. But when I first joined in 2005 and came to Dubai, people saw it as more of a maintenance operation.

When you said FM, people didn’t understand – they would think it was a cleaning company or a maintenance company. Now people are realising the advantages of opting to engage an FM company within the operation.

Where do you see FM in five years time?
I think FM is going to develop and do really well. Construction has come to a saturation point; it’s FM that will really progress now. I’ve already started seeing the changes.

Many construction companies are making the transition into FM which is a huge sign that it will develop. The challenges that exist and may remain are in terms of costing. Many competitors are getting into the market.

Smaller companies with one specialty also call themselves FM companies even though they don’t have an FM license – they have cleaning or security licenses. Though it appears we charge almost twice as much, our costs, as a professional FM company are justified. There are people that bid at half the cost which is a challenge.

Why would you encourage graduates/people to join this industry?
The industry has a lot of day to day challenges, which I love. Though I am the business development manager, I get to visit the site and offer my input when there’s an issue. It’s a great field in which you meet a lot of people. I do believe the FM market will bloom. In the lifecycle cost of a building, 80% is maintenance and 20% is construction – there will be a lot of opportunity going forward for new recruits.