Bed maker not resting on his world records

The Life: It holds Guinness World Records for making the world's largest mattress and bed. But Intercoil International's aims for its business are just as bold.

DUBAI , UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Ð Mar 12 : Hassan Al Hazeem , Managing Director of Intercoil International at the factory warehouse in Al Quoz in Dubai. ( Pawan Singh / The National ) For Business. Story by Gillian
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The company is in Guinness World Records for making the world's largest mattress and bed. But Intercoil International's plans to expand are just as bold. Hassan Al Hazeem, the chief executive of the company, which was named fourth on a list of Dubai's top 100 small and medium-sized businesses last month, speaks about the reasons for setting records and the business of making mattresses.

You hold three Guinness world records. What for?

The first record was in 2000; we built the largest mattress in the world. It was 10 metres by 8 metres. Second was in 2007; we built the largest bed set, which is the base and the mattress, and it was 12 metres by 14 metres. And the third record was in 2010 - the largest human mattress dominos, [where] people were holding a mattress behind their back and falling on each other like a domino effect.

Why did you participate in setting these records?

[The dominos one] was a fun thing. The previous two were to highlight bed manufacturing in the UAE, especially having a 12 metres by 14 metres bed, which weighed more than 2.5 tonnes. At the time, the number of staff in the company was around 200-plus, and all of us sat on it. So it was actually tested. It wasn't just for looks.

How long did it take you to make the big mattresses?

In both cases, around a month.

You changed your business plan in 2005 to open more distribution centres and retail units across the region, which helped you continue to post profits throughout the recession. What now?

It is our vision to be the market leader not only in the GCC but the Mena [Middle East and North Africa] region.

What about Europe?

In Europe, our first participation in an event was in October 2011. It was a buyer-supply conference that happens every year. The reason I participated was to learn more about the European market and see what our potential was in it. In Europe, things are very slow right now, but the buyers I met were happy to see that a Dubai-based company was trying to supply to Europe and there weren't any obstacles [I saw] to prevent us from supplying to Europe.

Presumably there are different safety standards for mattresses across the regions. Are you confident you could meet them all?

Overall, in terms of [fire safety] standards, Mena is very similar. When you go to Europe and the US, it's a bit different. The construction of the mattress and materials you use determines whether it complies with the fire retardancy regulations in Europe or the US. We studied that matter and we are sure and confident we can meet the … regulations in Europe and the US. But in my opinion, for us to grow globally or internationally, we first have to have a strong presence in our region.

* Gillian Duncan

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