Issue No: 05
Message from Group Managing Director
Let me begin with warm wishes for a wonderful, prosperous and peaceful 1996 to all at AL ANSARI. How fast time flies is very difficult to realize! We have completed the first quarter of 1996 and it seems only recently that the year 1995 has got over.
1995 has been really a busy and hectic year for the entire group. It was something unique in the sense that we were celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the parent company. It was indeed gratifying and inspiring to receive praises and appreciations from our well wishers and supporters for two decades of excellent services in different fields.
We consider ourselves lucky enough to have our celebration coinciding with the Silver jubilee celebration of the Sultanate of Oman. On behalf of all of us, I pray to Almighty Allah to grant Long life to the philanthropic leader H.M. SULTAN QABOOS BIN SAID and his people. May He grant strength to H.M. to carry on his benevolent rule with wise and able leadership.
I am happy to note that another issue of our magazine is planned and distributed during April 1996. I sincerely hope it turns out to be better than all the previous ones so far and contains active participation from a wider spectrum of our family members.
One of our family members – Media Computer Suppliers, is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of its establishment during the year 1996. On behalf of all of us we wish the team good luck during the year and all their future endeavors.
I am glad that this year also we have maintained our tradition of celebrating this ton, the Al Ansari Day on 18th and 19th April and have also completed the Annual Sports Tournament. What we have seemed to miss out is the Blood Donation Drive. I hope we will take this up in the near future. My sincere appeal to all of you to support this noble act wholeheartedly.
The 1995 journey of the AL ANSARI family has been with a few ups and downs at times but on the whole we all have sailed through it comfortably. The Al Ansari group has registered growth in terms of manpower as well as volume of business in various fields.
I have no hesitation in commending the Tole played by each and every member of our family to reach our present position with glory, satisfaction and comfort.
This proves to me that I am heading the family of dedicated hardworking and sincere members. I am proud of each and everyone of you. Good luck!!
May God bless us all.
Kiran Asher,
1996.
Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Media Computer Suppliers
at the opening of the new Media Computer Supplies showroom at Shatti Al Qurum
at the Stars & Stripes Festival at the American Week in Al-Araimi Complex.
TRADING DIVISION HIGHLIGHTS AS OF APRIL 1996
The year saw all-time high popularity for our Kohler & Selles Sanitary Ware and Marrazzi Tiles. The showroom in Wadi Kabir was refurbished to display in a beautiful ambiance the wide spectrum of products available for these ranges, The showroom is now established as one of the best for Sanitary Ware and Ceramic.
• The ever increasing number of customers realize that there is no better one – stop shop for all their for Bathrooms and Kitchens. Many prestigious oman projects were finalized and executed among them being H.E Sheikh Mustahail Villa & Al Falaj Annex.
• We added 2 new very exciting specialized product lines which promise good potential for growth in the future.
Rother Boiler Company U.K:
Which manufactures Calorifiers / Heat Exchangers. The product has applications for hospitals, hotels, schools, colleges, industrial premises & food factories. A very relevant element to Oman project’s present planned growth. The Nizwa Hospital was the first project of what we believe are many more to come.
London Fan Co, U.K :
Fans for heating ventilation Air Conditioning Industry & Fire fighting Applications. In the short period since we took up this agency, we have already obtained P.D.O. approval for this range and it is moving well. Congratulations Sajeevan for some pioneering work! We also did extremely well with the Wade U.K. range of plumbing fittings and drains.
• One of our major growth areas has been Pumps & Engines. Established agencies of KSB- AJAX, INTERDAB, VOGEL and LOMBARDINI flourished and we successfully executed many projects including Zakher Shopping Mall, Al Sallan Food Factory Sohar, Anab Marina Sidab, Al Falaj & Muscat Intercon Hotels. Presently under execution are Oman Copper Industry, Nizwa Hospital and some projects for the Ministry of Defence Oman.
• The already extensive pump range was enhanced with Pressure vessels from VAREM, Italy, LOVEJOY couplings, and a complete range of valves from SOCLA, France. Notable breakthrough was achieved when we obtained approval from Ministry Of Defence oman for DAB pumps.
• We have many annual rate contracts for oilfield supplies, safety equipment and hardware items to PDO. This year we were able to secure the contract for tarpaulins and various specialized lifting gear and also expanded our business to Port Services, Shell marketing and Oman Refinery.
• The Foodstuff section saw great progress. We have our moved office to new premises in Ghala with a very large warehouse which also has an extensive cold room. The foodstuff team worked very hard which resulted in considerable increase in sales in our major agencies of DUCROS spices, lentils and dry fruits, FRAGATA Spanish olives and oil and VICCO turmeric toothpaste. We are happy DUCROS recognises us as one of their best distributors in the Gulf.
Al Ansari Sport Tournaments ’96
JAMES / SALEM VS LAL MOHD / KANNAN
IQBAL / PEERA VS WAJID / FIROZ
ADITYA VS ASANALI
WAJID / KARSAN VS GILBERT / SATHYAN
Message From Our Team
What is Creative Thinking?
Advertising legend Carl Ally was once asked what he thought made a creative person tick. Ally responded, “The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things: ancient history, nineteenth century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, flower arranging and hog futures.
Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later or six years down the road, but he has faith that it will happen” We must all wholeheartedly agree.
Knowledge is the stuff from which new ideas are made. Nonetheless, knowledge alone won’t make a person creative. I think that we’ve all known people who knew lots of facts and nothing creative happened. Their knowledge just sat in their crania because they did not think about what they knew in any new ways. The real key to being creative lies in what you do with your knowledge. Creative thinking requires an attitude that allows you to search for ideas and manipulate your knowledge and experience.
In 1792 the musicians of Franz Joseph Haydn’s orchestra got mad because the duke promised them a vacation but continually postponed it. They asked Haydn to talk to the Duke about getting some time off. Haydn thought for a bit, decided to let music do the talking and then wrote the “Farewell Symphony”.
The performance began with a full orchestra, but as the piece went on, it was scored to need fewer and fewer instruments. As each musician finished his part, he blew out a candle and left the stage. They did this, one by one, until the stage was empty. The Duke got the message and gave them a vacation. Then there’s Pablo Picasso. One day he went outside his house and found an old bicycle. He looked at it for a little bit and took off the seat and the handlebars. Then he welded them together to create the head of a bull.
Each of these examples illustrate the creative mind’s power to transform one thing into another. By changing perspective and playing with our knowledge, we can make the ordinary extraordinary and the unusual commonplace. As Nobel prize winning physician Albert Szent.
Gyorgyl put it when he said:
“Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.”