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Partner of Choice

Eugene Mayne, Founder and Group CEO, Tristar, discusses in detail why the ICV program could be a game changer in the UAE for the private sector. Edited excerpts:

Give us an overview of your business.

Tristar was established in the UAE in 1998 with the aim of providing third party logistics service for the domestic and international oil companies with a focus on driving a safety culture in road transport. At that time, there was a need for professional and safe transporters to support the petroleum industry. The transport industry was very fragmented — the drivers used to work long hours without proper rest and faced a lot of other issues. It was very challenging to find professional transporters. So, Tristar focused on building a business that incorporated best road safety practices and principles of business and we were well received by the oil companies.

Over the years, we have expanded into the warehousing, ship-owning, turnkey fuel supply operations and fuel storage sectors, too, and spread wings to 21 countries across the world. We have a successful business model and the same core customers over the last 20 years, who continue to be our loyal partners. Tristar essentially continues to be a partner of choice.

How relevant is the ICV program for an established player like you?

I think it’s very relevant for us. Even though today we operate in 21 countries, we are a UAE born-and-bred company and for us supporting the local economy and being able to add value is quite important, whether it’s in terms of recruitment, investment, projecting what we do here to our partners in other countries. All these aspects are important to us. Besides, we also do a lot of community development work. We supported the Rashid Center for People of Determination and provided corporate funding for the Al Jalila Foundation in its medical research efforts, including on Covid-19. We also promote road safety with the RTA and Dubai Chamber. If you see, the standards of road safety here in the UAE have come a long way since the seventies and eighties. And we’re very glad to note that we are proud to have played a very instrumental part in this.

We have also added to the economy by investing in real estate. I think we have made more than a $100 million investment in the UAE, in terms of building some real estate assets, corporate offices, staging yards for our trucks at Jebel Ali. We also have three facilities for fuel storage and warehousing. The ICV program has been a contributor but even before it was launched we were doing these things. It was always important for us to be the pillar of society, keep growing our presence here and be a responsible business. A good business is more about setting high standards than just making money, and ICV will help a lot of companies achieve higher standards of work.

On the ICV front, how did you localise critical parts of the supply chain?

Localising the supply chain is an important part of the process since we are a logistics player. So, procuring fuel from the local national oil companies is a typical example of not going to bring it from outside. In the case of all our spare parts and other components, we encourage and develop local suppliers. In fact, every year we host an annual conference for our supply chain partners where they come and we share things also like why it’s important for them to also maintain certain standards to deal with a company like Tristar. We are again rolling this culture further down with the ICV. So, the chain is being built, and this is how we add value.

In terms of localisation of talent, we face some challenges because our industry is largely driven by the expatriate population. The drivers, for example, are all from the sub-continent. We do not get any heavy-duty drivers locally and we are dependent on the expatriate drivers.

How do you think the ICV program is going to benefit the economy?

I think it’s a great initiative because it drives down the message that what can be done locally should be done locally. The economy has matured to a large extent. You don’t need to go outside of the UAE for anything.

It is important to build a symbiotic relation where small and larger companies help each other while having certain standards of operations. As the ICV program gathers momentum, we are seeing private sector companies starting to create this awareness and will nudge companies in a direction that drives excellence. After the companies have ICV Certification, we will then have minimum criteria for them in terms of having a minimum score.

Why do you think a small company should aspire for ICV certification?

As the ICV becomes a norm for industry and the private sector, then it’s a question of survival. If somebody wants to survive in business, they will have to embrace it. Like in any other part of the world, you have to embrace and engage with the local communities and try to involve them in part of your business, and also give them an opportunity for diversification within their business and offer growth.

Anything else you would like to add?

The private sector has a very important role to play in building the economies of any country. We need to ask what we can do better? How can we contribute? How can we engage?

Private sector is a very powerful resource for any country. Making money is good, but being a responsible business is also equally important, especially today. This seems like so many challenges such as climate change, poverty, inequality, issues of tax evasion, etc. As responsible businesses everybody needs to play a part. Initiatives like the ICV are very good benchmarks of measurements for companies to do a self-assessment and see how they can improve. This way, automatically the businesses go up, the standards rise and the profile of your business goes up.

If today you have a high ICV score, one doesn’t need to look further. They know you are a successful and trustworthy business. So, that itself gives you the financial ratings and an acknowledgement of good business. This overall benefits the private sector.