Putting safety first

Fire extinguishers and extendible hoses are only a very small part of the fire-fighter’s arsenal. Charles Camilleri, Alberta’s general manager talks to Blanche Gatt about building a business, and a culture, around safety precautions

Attitudes in Malta towards the perils of fire are alarmingly blasé. Few homes, or even offices, are armed with fire-fighting equipment, and even fewer people are trained to be capable of coping with a blaze should one break out in their vicinity.
Which is why the efforts of a company like Alberta can have a much wider significance than business
usually implies. As awareness grows of the dangers of fires in a tinder-box country like Malta, and more individuals are trained to fight fires effectively, a more concerned and informed attitude towards fire-safety may finally work its way into our culture.
Alberta was founded by George Barbaro Sant, from a small, inconspicuous beginning in a small garage in the back streets of Birkirkara. George Barbaro Sant had just returned from abroad, and not content with being a small cog in the engine of a large factory, he set up Alberta Trading Company as his part-time business venture.
At the time he was fully occupied, so the onus of running the business fell mostly on his wife Mary. This was way back in 1982. The myriad restrictions then in place on importation of goods from overseas did not deter the Barbaro Sants. Their product range was diverse.
They imported stationery, music cassettes, torches, toys and a host of other items. Their eclectic range also included small, disposable fire extinguishers. Little did they realise at the time that this relatively insignificant item would play such an important role in the future of their budding company.
The business chugged along, supplying shops and selling directly from its small shop in Birkirkara. The turning point came in 1986, when an English friend of George’s offered him a container load of fire extinguishers. This meant that Alberta Trading, as the company was then called, would not only have to sell the extinguishers but also service them after they were sold. This was the point of no return. The business had to grow enough to be able to support the technician that had to be employed to service the extinguishers. And grow it certainly did. Today, Alberta employs 40 full-time employees and employs a further 40 subcontractors at any given time.
“Yes, we certainly have come a long way,” Charles Camilleri, the company’s general manager told me when we met at his office early this week.
While George Barbaro Sant is still the company’s managing director and driving force, the day to day running is Charles’ domain.
An engineer by profession, Charles joined the company when it started taking off and has been a major contributor to its success. “In 1986 George had taken the decision to cut down the product range and specialise in fire fighting equipment and intruder alarms.
“Today we can proudly say that we are market leaders in the field, representing some of the finest suppliers of specialised equipment. The product range has grown with the innovations afforded by technology and now also includes sophisticated access control systems.”
The company really took off around 10 years ago when there was a general increase in awareness of the importance of having proper fire detection equipment and fire fighting equipment installed in public places.
“Alberta played a major role in increasing this awareness. Our sales team played an educational role in this matter. While Maltese people have always been security conscious, at the time, only a few hotels had state of the art fire detection systems. Nowadays they are fairly widespread in offices and even homes,” Charles explained.
“Just think about it, a few years ago not even the Public Library had a proper fire detection and fighting system.”
The Public Libraries offered Charles and his team the greatest challenge of their career so far. The project, financed by the Fourth Italian Protocol, is his pride and joy.
“The building contains books and documents dating back hundreds of years housed in the centre of Valletta. The challenge was not only to provide the necessary infrastructure but also to blend in the equipment with the ambience of the building. We broke up the building into small sections (compartmentalisation) so that in the event of a fire this would not be able to spread.
“Each fire door, some 15 feet high, had to be made to measure. Every pipe and wire installed had to be planned to cause as little visual impact as possible. It was an arduous task that took nearly two years to complete, but I can safely say that it is by far the job that gave me most satisfaction in my professional career.”
A major step in its drive to offer its clients a complete package has been the setting up of the fire school. “The demise of the old fire school meant that there was nowhere one could go to get proper fire fighting training locally. Here I am not talking about the use of a fire extinguisher to control a small domestic fire, but about the management of a large industrial fire.”
Alberta approached the local authorities to acquire the premises on the old school and entered into partnership with RISC of Holland, one of the leading companies in the world in fire fighting training. The school is growing steadily with the aim of becoming a regional training centre.
“We are looking at neighbouring oil producing countries to train oilfield personnel. We have invested heavily in equipment and the prospects are bright. We have started courses for local companies and we are pleased to note that Maltese companies are willing to invest in training their staff in these vital skills. Overseas, our marketing efforts have started to bear fruit and we are in the process of organising courses for overseas clients.”
Training is not the only area in which Alberta is looking to grow overseas. The company is now also involved in projects in North Africa, mainly Tunisia and Libya.
“We have just won the contract for a substantial project in Libya. This involves installing state of the art fire detection and automatic fire fighting devices in a computer tape storage facility. This is a very competitive market, where the competition comes from all over the world. But with our experienced workforce and the backing of our overseas principals we are successful in this type of bid.”
“Quality is of paramount importance in our trade. First of all we are involved in the business of saving people’s lives, so compromises are out of the question. And even when our systems are installed to protect equipment, these are usually hi-tech expensive installations where reliability of performance is of vital importance.
“Our major client list is diverse but have one common trait. They all operate in vital functions and cannot afford a major disaster. Our equipment is installed in banks, government computer centres, hotels and industrial plants. We have to offer the best equipment and the best after sales service. Otherwise we will not survive.”
Charles is particularly proud of his company’s relationship with the two major banks. Both have inv-ested heavily in fire and safety equipment and have set very high standards.
“But we had no problem meeting their requirements. For example HSBC impose standards set by their head office. We had to train staff in some of their specialist procedures and now we like to think of them as another satisfied customer.”
Preparations are also being made for the company’s contribution to the Cottonera project, which is just about to take off. Alberta is one of the partners in the Cottonera Waterfront Consortium, responsible for the development of the marina, the building of apartments, shops and the health centre.
“It is an exciting project. After all the talking, at last we are getting some work done. The first tenders have been awarded and work will start in a matter of days. The scale of the project alone makes it a
challenge. Add to this its unique location and historical value, we certainly have an exiting few years ahead of us,” concluded Charles.