An interview with Hassan Faisal Sinno- Administrator of Romanel

In this interview, Hassan Faisal Sinno - Chairman of Romanel Group - speaks of the importance of participating in the Damascus Woodshow, of the changes and development in this sector and of the impact of the economic crisis. His answers to our interview provide an insight into the world of the building and furniture industry.

Q: Hassan Sinno, your company has joined the Wood and Wood Machinery Show that will start tomorrow in Damascus. Tell us a little bit what your group expects from the fair and how you have prepared your participation. A: First of all, please allow me to thank the organizers who have been working hard and in a very professional manner to make this event happen. I believe it is extremely important for our region as a whole to be able to bring, in such a central city as Damascus, wood and machinery producers from across continents.

In terms of our group's participation in the fair, it is our first, and despite the little time available for us to prepare for it, we have invested time and resources to make this event an opportunity to allow all of our partners, from the technical to the sales side, as well as our agents and upper management to mingle with our clients, from across the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region. We have also invited our bankers and suppliers to come and witness what we believe will be a very successful show.

Q: What would you say differentiates your company from others in the region?

A: Romanel is to our knowledge the largest Arab-owned and run sawmilling group, focused primarily on the Arab-speaking markets for the past 20 years. This is combined with the fact that Romanel is part of a completely vertically integrated company in the wood business, possibly the only one, with presence from the forest till the end customer. This wholesale and retail presence, which is in its third generation, has allowed us to be able to be a reliable and consistent partner for all our clients, with utmost importance given to our client’s benefit, unlike other suppliers, who have come and gone strictly following their own interest.

Q: To what extent has the wood industry been affected by the economic crisis? How did Romanel deal with it?

A: The wood industry performance is directly correlated to the world economic situation: if companies and households have less available financial resources to put into real estate, new construction will slow down, pushing prices down and translating into lower raw material prices. The autumn 2008 crisis resulted in a sudden drop in price of about 15 to 20%. In a raw material industry, where profits are in the low single digits, you can understand how dramatic the effect was on our industry. Many sawmills, small and large, traders and contractors went bankrupt in 2008 and 2009. However in any crisis, there are opportunities to be grabbed. With less production capacity due to the closure of sawmills, demand a supply were more balanced, and the economic growth of the Arab countries allowed for a steady recovery of what was previously lost. Our group was able to go through this difficult period thanks to its traditional clients, who allowed us to maintain a steady level of production, keeping our costs down, while they were benefiting from continuing to offer the best value for money wood in the market.

Q: Finally, what does the future hold for your company? And more broadly for the wood industry?

A: While building techniques and product technological advances have changed our industry over the years, the use of wood has only been increasing, in line with its growth across the world, and even more so as environmental awareness is growing. Our region lags tremendously versus North America, Europe and even the Far East in terms of usage of wood per inhabitant. We need to work on marketing the benefits of using wood, learning from those who have done it elsewhere, as wood is the safest, most economical and environmentally friendly building material of all! In the near future, our company will be involved in a marketing effort that it has initiated but found quite a few willing hands to help.