One of the critical components of the business that dropped out of the planning process was the question: who was going to manufacture the screens? We had a number of options but no clear path. Some of these options included being an agent for an already established overseas company, designing and manufacturing ourselves in the UAE, purchasing from an agent, purchasing directly from China or importing the components directly from a manufacturer.

After many weeks of phone calls, emails and overseas trips we decided to established a partnership with an overseas manufacturer. This company, Meshtec, is based in Thailand and is the largest provider of mesh security screens to Australia. Meshtec are world leaders in the mesh screen technology and fully supported our business plan. I personally visited their factory in Thailand and was impressed with their research, technology and understanding of the international market.

On return to Dubai we were in constant contact with Meshtec to refine our product offering. Our research suggested that sliding screen doors were going to be the most commonly requested screen. Meshtec helped design a custom screen door option that was suitable to the UAE environment, construction methods and architectural appeal. The product design stage would be finalised with a visit to Dubai by a team of Meshtec engineers.

Now all we had to do was get our first clients!