Plafond
In conversation with Dimitri Papakonstantinou, Managing Director, Plafond

Tell us about your company, andthe projects that you have been involved in so far?
Plafond is a fit out, MEP and FM company operating in the UAE and Qatar and is part of the Emirates
Airlines Group of Companies. With a team of over 1500 tradesmen ranging from carpenters and masons to plumbers and electricians as well as 300 staff, we directly deliver many of the trades on a project, which gives us the confidence and assurance of meeting our client’s expectations.
Plafond has a wide range of experience across many sectors of the construction industry. In the hospitality industry, we have carried out the fit out of the Palazzo Versace Dubai (rooms and corridors package), The Pad residential (full fit out). In the entertainment sector, we have complete the fit out of the Bollywood section in Dubai Parks, the F&B outlets at IMG Worlds of Adventure, Megaplex Novo Cinema refurbishment and Reel Cinema Marina Mall refurbishment. We also have extensive experience on the F&B sector from casual to fine dining. We have carried out the fit out works for Tom and Serg, Poco Loco, Bahri Bar, Nezzesaussi, Eat Greek and many others.

Poco Loco

Given your offering, what are some of the trends you see in the market today? Also, what are the challenges you face in the sector?
Green design and construction has been in the forefront for several years now; however, I believe that there is room for improvement and real implementation of these initiatives. To date, on many projects, these initiatives are only used if the cost impact is not significant, and the long terms benefits are often ignored. Furthermore, the use of technology will become more prominent in the way we build. From BIM to 3D printing, I believe we will soon see significant changes in the industry.

Nothing in the construction industry comes easy unfortunately. The main parties, i.e. client, consultant, contractor are often very polarized, which has an adverse effect on the project. There is often mistrust between these three key players, which leads to unnecessary documentation, personnel and time, which offers little value to the end result on the project. It is therefore key for us to have the trust of the client and designer, and demonstrating that we have the success of the project at heart. I believe that this is rewarded with return business, and traditionally, Plafond’s workload is predominantly with repeat clients.

The other obvious challenge, which is currently faced by most in the market, is that of liquidity. This puts the contractors and supply chain under undue pressure unfortunately, as they’re often left to carry the weight of financing the project inadvertently.

Given the crowded nature of the market today, what, according to you, sets Plafond apart from its peers?
I believe the edge that we have over many of our competitors is the fact that we self-deliver the fit out and MEP scope of works. This gives us and our clients the comfort of delivery on time and to the quality that we have built Plafond’s reputation on. This reliability leads on to strong relationships with ur clients and no one in Plafond is unreachable to speak or deal with them. We have a great team of staff and labour who have been with the company for years, and understand the core values that Plafond has.