Convention's Report

So~Safe Water Technologies
International Convention'2004
Renaissance Dubai Hotel
February 19 - 21, 2004, Dubai - UAE
In the words of Convention Director

For last few years the prominent event in So~Safe has turned out to be its International Convention,which is regularly being convened for providing every opportunity to all So~Safe partners, located worldwide for a great reunion and to take account of the organization. As always the third International Convention was flawlessly organized, this time in the heart of Emirates, Dubai between February 19 - 21, 2004 at Renaissance Dubai Hotel. In all 40 delegates from 25 countries were in attendance of this mega event.

Opening Ceremony

The grand Al-Thuraya ballroom of Renaissance Dubai Hotel, was the venue for the splendid opening ceremony of the 3RD International convention of So~Safe water Technologies. The vivid backdrop designed for this convention depicted the very true colors of a company involved in business of water purification as it offered a very fascinating view to the eyes, in search of excellence. Before the start of opening ceremony various groups were seen engrossed in socializing, some making new friends, while some searching the old pals as the occasion provided every opportunity to the regular visitors for a much appreciated get-together. Some SAFIANS who are the regular delegates at So~Safe conventions were cheered with a loud roar, when they made their first appearance in the hall. Those delegates, who were attending a So~Safe Convention for the first time took a keen interest in the long range of goods displayed within the main auditorium, which included products ranging from regular cartridges to the huge Reverse Osmosis Plants.

The atmosphere turned electrifying when two stunning ladies from So~Safe Katherine and Helena appeared in the hall in a most unique and terrific attire, equally matching the contestants of a Miss World Competition. They went to greet each group of delegates and soon there were long queues, requesting for a photograph to be snapped with them. The stimulating tunes being aired on the audio systems just provided the perfect icing on the cake.

As soon as madam of ceremony Ms. Saima the very talented daughter of Mr. Sultan Mahmood took the floor, the noisy hall went to a sudden silence as she took off very confidently. Managing Director Mr. Sultan escorted the Chief Guest of the evening Mr. Nasim Ghuman, CEO of So~Safe Pakistan to the stage, while the General Manager Mr. Zill-e-Saeed escorted the Convention Director Mr. Salman Siddiqui. Mr. Noman Mahmood, son of Mr. Sultan recited few verses of Holy Quran in a most absorbing manner to officially start the proceedings. Then followed the stream of international delegates, most of them attired in their beautiful and colorful national dresses, who made their way to stage through a 60 feet catwalk. They were greeted on the stage by the aforesaid four gentlemen after being escorted by those two gorgeous ladies. The very last person to make a cat walk was the faculty for the Seminar on Top Performance, Mr. Sunil Kumar, who specially flew in from India to conduct a day long session and was requested to join the head table at the stage. Prior to speeches, the ribbon cutting ceremony was witnessed with Chief Guest Mr. Nasim Ghuman doing the honors. Mr. Sultan then officially declared the convention as open.

Organizing a gigantic event like an international convention has never been a cake walk. It takes to have a man of strong nerves and great talent to spearhead the organizing committee. So~Safe could not find any better a person than Mr. Salman Siddiqui to take the reins, who was bestowed this honor for third consecutive time. He was called upon for his welcome address during which he greeted the international delegates who traveled from different corners of the world to attend this convention. He also apologized for postponing the Warm-up session, which had to be called off due to the insufficient number of delegates as most of them could not made it to the occasion on account of delayed flights and traffic jams. He appraised the house that for the first time a special website has been raised for this convention, where delegates could find a lot of items of their interest.

The dashing and ever smiling Sunil Kumar who surprised the audience with his natural eloquent and flowing style of speaking, congratulated Mr. Sultan for achieving great success in a shorter period of time. He said that when he was invited for this convention as a faculty speaker he had no knowledge about So~Safe but when he visited the website of company he was taken by surprise that as to why a company of such high quality products was not seen in India.

There are many people in the world, who are known to be intellectuals, and similarly there are many people who are known to have a great vision, but one hardly finds a combination of both these two categories. So~Safe is fortunate to have a Managing Director who is just the ideal combination and leads the organization From So~Safe front. In his speech Mr. Sultan was very clear in his message, which revolved around the word QUALITY. He said that his company never compromises on quality as water filters are a sensitive product, one buys for his family's protection. Mr. Sultan briefed about the new factory being raised at Jebel Ali Free Zone and promised that his company would introduce at least one new product every month.

The chief guest of the ceremony was a person of great caliber who is known for his immense contribution in raising the corporate image of So~Safe Pakistan to a great extent and whose leadership qualities has been acknowledged at international level. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Nasim Ghuman paid rich tributes to Mr. Sultan for playing the role of a model leader, who sets up examples for his followers by doing exemplary things. He referred to some big brand names and anticipated that with the current pace on which company's growth is being monitored he would not be surprised to see So~Safe appearing as a giant of water industry in the coming years.

Ceremony was concluded by the dynamic General Manager and also the Co-Director of Convention Mr. Zill-e-Saeed, who while moving his vote of thanks, thanked everyone present in the hall. He also thanked the hotel management for their great support in making the event successful. High-tea marked the conclusion of the ceremony.

Recreation at Dhow Cruise

Delegates were escorted to the bay area straight from the opening ceremony, from where they embarked on a Dhow Cruise reserved exclusively for their leisure and relaxation. This cruise sailed for about two hours, exhibiting the mesmerizing and highly impressive sky scrappers at Dubai's coastline. After the welcome speech from Marketing Manager Dr. Naveed Piracha, which boasted the spirit of delegates, Mr. Sultan announced the best cultural presentation award which went to the Maltese delegates, Mr. Alfred Bugeja and Mrs. Lina Bugeja for their most charming appearance during the opening ceremony in their beautiful national dresses. The delegates took no time to mix up and an environment of fellowship was witnessed. People across the continents seem to become good friends as if they knew each other for decades. A very sumptuous dinner was served on board during the sailing, which mainly comprised of hot Arabian cuisine and sea-food dishes.

A live wire was then introduced, who instantly became the centre of attraction and enthralled everyone watching her as she really did justice with her articulate belly dancing performance. No one seemed to wink the eyes even for once as she created a magical milieu in no time and also pulled certain delegates to accompany her in expressing their dancing talent. To begin with, she first chose Convention Director Salman Siddiqui, followed by some international delegates who to surprises of many of delegates proved to be quite astounding in their ballet movements. However the best dancer of the evening proved to be the handsome Marketing Executive Mr. Kamal Khan, who equally proved paranormal in his dancing abilities. This entertaining activity brought the day to its conclusion and the delegates retired to their hotel rooms around mid night.

Seminar on Top Performance

The second day commenced with a very high profile training seminar tagged as "TOP PERFORMANCE". This seminar which proved to be highly informative one was conducted by a person of great skill and talent, who flew in especially from India to conduct the same. Mr. Sunil Kumar, JCI Senator, is very highly respected for his inborn coaching skills, was the only faculty for the six hours long seminar, who for not a single moment left the delegates felt anything short of rich substance, his presentations had to offer. In his exclusive style of training Mr. Kumar gave a wonderful presentation on the subject and punctuated his session with team work concept games and workouts. He displayed the factual qualities of a trainer and not a single participant felt short of interest at any point of time during his presentation. Before the conclusion MD Mr. Sultan presented a token of appreciation to Mr. Sunil. The delegates in between his presentation broke for Friday prayers and a fast food lunch at the food court of City Centre.

Excursion at Sand Dunes

After the day long training seminar, delegates were escorted to the deserts of Sand Dunes almost 80 miles from Dubai. It proved to be a new kind of escapade for most of the delegates, where they experienced an altogether different kind of driving on the rutted and uneven surfaces of the desert. They reached their final destination in two phases, initially in coasters to the suburbs of the site and then from there in heavy jeeps in a group of seven. The skilled drivers enjoyed the astonished expressions emerging on the faces of delegates who seemed to be enjoying their great driving skills.

After sometime they arrived at a spot which hoisted a historic back drop of Arabian culture and where a model Arabian village was set up depicting the rich traditions of the locals. In a gloomy, open to sky atmosphere, where huge carpets served as the seating furniture, the delegates formed a big circle to take their seats. Delegates found their attractions in different stalls set up for their entertainment, which included sheesha smoking, posing in Arabic costumes, soft drinks and tea, campfire, camel rides, etc. After the typical Arabic cuisine dinner was served the delegates danced on the local tunes for sometime and a dancing competition took place amongst them. The sensation ended up late in the night and delegates came back around eleven in the night.

Seminar on Water Filtration

Third and final day took off with a most informative training seminar on the water filtration products of So~Safe. The seminar was conducted by Managing Director Sultan Mahmood, who apprised the house about different techniques and procedures, exercised in the world to fight the threat of water contamination, especially in the underdeveloped countries. He pointed out that water contamination is the main cause of high mortality rate in children of these countries and that almost 60% diseases found in adults are also instigated due to drinking of polluted water.

Mr. Sultan mentioned that resources of drinkable water are quickly retreating due to the momentous growth in populace and scarcity of rainfall. He then described the function of So~Safe in fighting this great risk exposed to mankind. Mr. Sultan gave a methodical revelation of a number of So~Safe products, brought up by a colossal manufacturing set up in Sharjah. The delegates took a keen interest in these products and put up lots of questions, especially about the Reverse Osmosis units, which were very skillfully replied by Mr. Sultan.

General Assembly

In adherence to complete parliamentary procedures the supreme General Assembly was called to order by the chairman Mr. Sultan Mahmood, who after taking the roll call announced the establishment of quorum which is mandatory for declaring any gathering as official. The business of organization was debated and discussed at length with an open forum for voicing any business related to the organization. Few interesting policies were discussed and approved by the general assembly for the growth of organization. "Improve quality of life with So~Safe" was adopted as official slogan of the organization. A target of 80% increase in previous year's sales was given to the delegates, which was approved by the assembly. Condolence was offered for two deceased SAFIANS who lost their lives in a road accident in Karachi, Pakistan in last December. Some realistic targets were also set up for the ensuing term and once again a decision was taken to host next convention in Dubai. Two presentations were also made each one by Mr. Zafar Kazmi and Mr. Kiyani on Watergenius and Direct Marketing, respectively.

The session concluded on a gift exchange ceremony, whereby delegates exchanged gifts amongst themselves and a scene of great association and mingling was witnessed. The delegates who were requested to bring gifts for fellow delegates even brought some for their hosts and both MD and convention director benefited from their generosity along with some members of organizing committee. Soon after the assembly session delegates were escorted to KFC and Pizza Hut for lunch.

Seminar on Relationship Marketing

The post lunch session unfolded the classical presentation skills of a gentleman who was not new to most of the delegates as Mr. Mahmood Nanji did conduct a training seminar on Effective Marketing in the last convention. Mr. Nanji is serving the coveted office of Director Sales and Marketing of Tapal Tea (Pakistan's largest tea manufactures group) and is considered as an authority on the subject of brand management. He is known to communicate big philosophies in a softer manner to the participants. During his presentation he displayed his panache for conducting training session in a befitting manner and educated the delegates, the crux of relationship marketing by telling to focus on hi-margin customers and increasing profits. Lots of gimmicks were shared and the session proved to be a great source of information for the delegates as they acquired some new stuff on the subject, which is rarely presented in such conventions. In the end Mr. Sultan presented a token of remembrance to Mr. Nanji.

Closing Ceremony and Awards Banquet

Once again a fabulous closing ceremony of So~Safe's International Convention was witnessed in the majestic Al-Thuraya ballroom of Renaissance Dubai Hotel. This time compeering was handled by two individuals who happened to be the offspring of Mr. Sultan Mahmood. Both Mr. Usman Mahmood and Miss Saima Sultan proved magnificent in delivering the goods. First person to be escorted to the stage on a catwalk was the chief guest, Mr. Najeeb Abbasi, the Commercial Counselor of Pakistan Consulate Dubai, followed by Managing Director Sultan Mahmood and finally Convention Director Salman Siddiqui joined the two on stage. The three dignitaries then welcomed the international delegates who were escorted on the catwalk, one after another. They were warmly received and were presented mementoes and certificates.

A team of committed individuals worked day and night to ensure three full days of color, training and personal achievement for most of delegates and a smooth sailing but if one is asked to give the honors to a single individual then it cannot be any other person than the convention director Salman Siddiqui. He stood out in terms of quality presentation and a flawless event management of great magnitude that this convention demanded. A gold medalist from United Nations, Mr. Siddiqui in his speech summarized three day activities along with the feedback of delegates which was very heartening for him as an event director. He also highlighted some unique achievements which included a daily chronicle, covering the entire day's happenings, launch of an exclusive convention website, full day training seminar and an impressive convention manual. Mr. Siddiqui went on to thank each and every member of organizing committee for playing their role much above the expectations and very specially thanked the hotel management for their professionalism and support.

If Mr. Salman has to be credited with the success of this convention then he must have his inspirations from someone to do this job. That person is none other but the one who is at the helm of affairs in So~Safe and is known for his leadership qualities, always found stressing for the highest standards of quality. Mr. Sultan Mahmood in his speech thanked the international delegates for their vigorous participation throughout the convention. He went on to elaborate the remarkable growth of organization during last two years and complimented his team for adapting to the latest trends in quick time. He also pointed out the importance of So~Safe vis-à-vis the geographical locations as it stands to be the only manufacturing unit in a huge region and also emphasized for maintaining excellence in accordance to standards of working environment in UAE. For the enormous success of convention, Mr. Sultan paid rich tributes to Mr. Salman and Dr. Naveed besides the entire team, who made the event a big success.

Chief guest Mr. Najeeb Abbasi, the Commercial Counselor of Pakistan Consulate Dubai, commands respect of highest order from all quarters and is known for his revolutionary changes on the commercial arena. During his keynote address he showed delight on the performance of So~Safe as an environmental friendly organization and said that he was glad to see the manner in which the whole convention was conducted. Mr. Abbasi also lauded the international delegates for undertaking travels of thousands of miles for a great cause.

Soon after the speeches Mr. Siddiqui compeered the award program and some awards were dished out in various categories, which comprised of Partners in Progress, Prominent Purchasers, three Star awards one from each training seminar, best cultural dress award and finally most outstanding nine SAFIANS awards. Those who bagged the star awards were Mr. Mathew Inyama (Nigeria) from Top Performance by Mr. Sunil Kumar, Mr. Badar Al-Saeed (Qatar) from Product Orientation by Mr. Sultan Mahmood and Mrs. Raja Khrishi (Jordan) from Relationship Marketing by Mr. Mahmood Nanji. The best cultural dress award was given to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Bugeja from So~Safe Malta. The nine outstanding SAFIANS were adjudged as Dr. Naveed Piracha, Mr. Anwar-ul-Haq, Mr. Zafar Kazmi, Mr. Zulfiqar Ahmed, Mr. Faiz Fareed, Mr. Nadeem Khan, Mr. Shahzad Bhatti, Mr. Baber Jameel and Mr. Taj M. Shah. A presentation was also made to the chief guest Mr. Najeeb Abbasi from the Managing Director Sultan Mahmood, who later announced the closure of this convention till February'2005.

It need tough pillars to lay a strong roof and if the convention Director needed to bank on any one individual to get his work load shared, it was none other but the ever smiling and dashing marketing manger, who was also the Co-Director of this convention. While concluding the ceremony, Dr. Naveed Piracha thanked all the participants, international delegates, hotel management and all others who supported the cause. He specifically thanked the convention organizing committee members who proved to be the real heroes at the end of the day. A sumptuous dinner was served at the conclusion of his vote of thanks.