Story on Abbas

Discipline and Dreams Go Together

The first reminder sets off to Abbas ‘Visit Site 1’ as I am left hanging on a call while he drives to work early morning. Unable to catch him for an interview I finally manage to catch hold of him at the office as he gets himself ready for his next site visit. With a sparkle in his eyes and warmth in his tone, he starts the interview straight narrating the rollercoaster experiences of his life.

No one defines discipline and confidence better than Engineer Yawar Abbas Bangash, the Construction Manager at a Leading Group Company whom we regularly partner for furniture installation and fit-out jobs for a range of projects in the UAE. In this piece, Abbas poignantly recalls moments of his early years and accords his strong roots in sculpting his success today.

Roots

Born in a middle-class Pakistani family in Khurram, a Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), he grew up along with his 3 brothers and 2 sisters on the mountainous range alongside the Pak- Afghan border. The name Kurram comes from the river Kuramá which flows through the mountains like a snake. He recalls how close to nature life was in the scenic mountainous range covering the valley in the northwestern part of Pakistan.

His father ran a general trading shop and struggled to make ends meet, but he ensured his children got the best possible education. Abbas completed his primary, and secondary school in Pakistan all the way to earning a civil engineering degree from Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences (BUITEMS).

Though nature surrounded life, life on the border was not easy. The frequent tension and commotion forced shut down of shops, thus affecting business. This meant a bunch of difficulties during the growing up years in life.

Career Pathway

After gaining a years’ experience in Local Pakistan Builders, he decided to explore opportunities in the UAE with a visit visa. Initially finding a job was tough and he faced despair and dejection. But giving up wasn’t in his veins and he gave a second visit a try. This time, lucky stars by his side, he managed to fetch a job as Structural Engineer at Hawraa Engineering Consultants, Dubai.

Over the years, another good opportunity came at Al Khayyat Investments where he joined as the Construction and Fit-out Manager. This company offered him a platform to transform his career to the next level with prestigious projects in UAE. One is the Solar Innovation Centre at Al Qudra and Royal Atlantis in Palm Jumeirah among the list.

With gratitude in his voice, he asserts “It was my Jordanian boss who played a mentor’s role in guiding and shaping my career. When I joined my boss trained me from small projects of villas to the mega-scale Royal Atlantis resort. Even though I committed mistakes initially, he gave me backing and motivation and supported me through the way.”

From his work experience, Abbas ascertains that “Sitting in AC cabins doesn’t give you the experience you need. It’s only working ‘under the sun and in rain’ on the field that truly gives you ground root experience.”

While tirelessly working for a stint of 3+ years, it always flashed his mind that he needed to also set up his own venture. And with passing years he made his dream come true side by side, setting up two companies from scratch. One is Noor Al Fajar, a rental car company and the other is Cozy Concepts, an interior fit-out company. In his workplace, he is in the process of completing the final stage of his projects and preparing the handover of accounts to focus full-time on his businesses. He will forever cherish the warm memories of his boss who played a lead role in giving his career a lift.

His association with E-Movers

Looking out for a company that could do the furniture installation job perfectly to 100 percent, Abbas came across an advertisement of E-Movers on print and radio. He decided to research, check their track record, and study the portfolio of projects they have executed in the past.