Origin Middle East & Africa
In conversation with Guy Dawson, Managing Director, Origin Middle East & Africa

Can you give us a brief overview about your company?
Origin Middle East & Africa specialises in folding sliding doors, or bi-folding doors, and has a complete range of windows to complement them. Our folding sliding doors create space and transform the living environment, in both homes and restaurants, and are particularly effective when space is at a premium.

What are the latest products that your company is offering?
A big development for us recently is the demand from restaurants and hotels, where our doors create more space for ‘Al fresco’ dining, or opening up the restaurant to attract the passers-by who are looking to dine. We have also launched the Origin Residential Front Door. Manufactured in high-grade aluminium, it’s available in a vast range of striking panels, enabling customers to create a bespoke door to suit their own needs and taste in design, and is maintenance free.

Our biggest single project has been Jumeirah Open Beach, where we have installed more than 70 sets of doors for Meraas and Al Futtaim Carillion. We regularly fit doors and windows at Al Barari, Emirates Hills, The Palm and Arabian Ranches.

What are the latest trends that you have observed in this space?
In Dubai, and the UAE, the demand for doors and windows continues to grow with the economy. There is a continuous villa development programme here that drives demand for the regular, economical aluminium door and window systems. However, alongside this there is an ever-growing desire for more sophisticated systems that offer ‘greener credentials’ in terms of thermal and weather performance, whilst also offering durability and/or more flexibility on opening, closing and space creation. So, the door and window replacement sector is where we have seen a lot of growth. It is quite common for buyers of new villas to replace all doors and windows as soon as they take ownership. The benefits are immediate in terms of cost savings on ACs and the creation of open spaces to the gardens and swimming pool, and to know that the villa is well secured by a robust long lasting system that also looks good.

What kind of growth have you seen in the demand for your products?
Dubai leads the way in the refurbishment market, with Abu Dhabi not far behind. We have had continuous growth since we arrived in 2011, and have extended our showroom last year, with further extensions planned for later this year. We have also seen interest and orders from Kuwait, Saudi, Oman and Jordan, but they are several years behind Dubai and Europe in terms of replacement doors and windows, and especially the more sophisticated systems. (We’ve just opened an agency in Kuwait, by the way.)