FLIR recently celebrated the grand opening of FLIR Systems Middle East (FSME), a newly combined service and support center based in Dubai that is located next to Al Maktoum International Airport, the new 33,000+ square foot facility will house state-of-the-art service and repair capabilities.
The building features two service labs designed to meet the unique needs of the company’s Industrial and Defense Technologies businesses and products. It will be the new home to FLIR employees working in the United Arab Emirates – a group comprising skilled technicians, engineers, marketing and business development staff, and more.
“During my recent travels to the UAE, I visited our facilities and met with teams in Dubai and Abu Dhabi,” says FLIR President and CEO Jim Cannon. “I was impressed by their collaboration, as well as their technology innovation and deep focus on the customer experience. With this large new space, FLIR now presents a single face to our industrial and defense customers in an important part of the world where business is growing.”
FLIR has maintained a service and sales capability in the UAE for more than 13 years. After Cannon’s visit, the company decided to create additional workspace to sustain growth and better support customers in the region.
“The new facility moves us closer to customers, trims repair turnaround time, and allows us to maximize efficiency,” says Mike Bowling, Regional Director for Global Customer Support and Facilities Manager of FLIR Systems Middle East. “We employed lean management practices, value stream mapping, and kaizen events to determine how best to optimize the building’s design and service center layouts to support current and future operations.”
The FSME Sensor Lab will service a wide range of FLIR thermal and visual imaging sensors for the defense market, such as the Star SAFIRE 380-HDc. Utilizing the latest in advanced test and alignment equipment, company technicians can perform product warranties, repairs and calibrations. Other capabilities include optical alignments and laser testing – all with shortened turnaround times. Lab techs also can service unmanned systems like the FLIR SkyRanger R70 UAS and Black Hornet nano-drone. FSME’s other dedicated lab will provide industrial users with similar services – product warranty, calibration and repair – and similar benefits. FLIR professional security and instruments products range from thermal and visible cameras, radars, and optical gas imaging sensors to video management software and smart video analytics. Markets include oil and gas, universities, and civil defense research and development.
Each service center has access to its own secure warehouse storage area. In addition, the facility’s top floor houses a nearly 1,200 sq. ft. (110 sq. meter) training room that can accommodate up to 50 guests and be used for interactive training and demonstrations.
“We can facilitate repairs on many of our Industrial and Defense Technologies products by conducting on-site evaluations and diagnostics, and we can use the training room to educate customer support staff.” Bowling explains. “When needed, we also can collect and ship products to other FLIR service centers around the world, including in Sweden, the U.K., and the U.S.
“This new facility is scalable, expandable, and will support our needs for the next decade,” Bowling adds. “It’s a tremendous asset that reaffirms our commitment to delivering superior service to customers across the Middle East.”
