Mostafa Agib El Nahta is operations and technical manager at Gulf Craft. He has been with the company for 16 years. Before he moved to the UAE he worked in Egypt, where he is from, and in Singapore. He has a master's degree in engineering science and mechanical power.
4.30/5am
I get up and have Nescafé and some biscuits, and send the kids to school.
6.50/7am
I arrive at the boatyard at Umm Al Quwain. I live in Ajman so I drive over. In the office the first thing I do is check emails. I then do a quick round of the factory. First I visit the marina and inspect the five to 10 boats that are typically in the water. Then I check the boats in production on the shop floor to see what progress has been made overnight - the people on nightshift work until 10pm. We have about 1,100 people working here. It's very multicultural: the majority are Indians, but there are also Filipinos, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Syrians and Egyptians. When I joined the company we were just producing small boats and we were in a small facility in Ajman. In 1998, we moved to bigger projects above 100 feet. After that we set up the new facility in UAQ, starting in 2000 and moving in 2003. I set up this place so I know each and every stone. I feel this is my baby.
9.30am
All the production supervisors have a daily meeting to discuss production and quality issues - material shortages, ordering. Roughly we have about 25 people in that meeting.
10.30am
I go to the office and check the design progress because I also cover the engineering department. I start working on the new projects to design the scantling and do the calculations for boat stability and weight distribution.
12.30/1pm
The workers and the crew have their own mess. They are provided with food from the canteen. The managers bring their own food or sometimes order in fast food. And sometimes we get a treat from the chairman and he takes us out for lunch. In the afternoon I start responding to my emails, the after-sales issues. Since I joined I guess I have overseen the production of more than 1,000 boats.
3pm
I oversee the engineering department and the interior design. We check the status of each project. At one time we run about 15 projects.
4pm
I do a second round of the factory and the marina.
5pm
Back to the office to wrap up. This is my meeting with myself to review the whole day and check the status of all outstanding work.
6.30/7pm
I leave the factory. I reach home by 7.30 to 8pm and spend one hour with the kids helping them study. If we have time we go out for dinner. By 10pm I should be in bed. I am very proud of the fact that the company grew with me and I grew with the company.
