A person’s home is their castle and Eliel Abela of Elektro Services
has made this his life’s mission.
In this interview with Design & Build, Mr Abela talks not only of the company’s
raison d’être, but also of how past achievements influence future decisions.
Based in Gzira’s famed Rue D’Argens, Elektro Services Ltd seek to make homes and properties a safe and secure place in all matters related to safety and security. This includes a vast array of electrical equipment and installations to professional fire complacency and safety according to the required building standards and regulations.
In a society where the home is increasingly a refuge from stress and intrusion, Elektro Services provide the latest technology in terms of security systems to protect the home with a vast range of peripherals to suit any situation.
Elektro Services provide such systems which can be both hard wired or wireless. Thanks to innovative technology, wireless security systems can be installed in existing houses and new builds with no cables to run or hide.
Experience matters
Eliel Abela has over ten years of direct experience in this sector. “We offer a vast array of security products such as Intruder alarms, CCTV systems, Access control systems, Intercoms and Hall Porters, Fire Alarm Systems, Fire Fighting Systems, Electrical Installations, and Data Networking.
“Our main aim for this section is to provide protection and security with first-class after-sales service – and most importantly – total peace of mind,” said Mr Abela. Having started his life off as an employee in other companies, Mr Abela said that he used to be dissatisfied with certain practices, particularly in after sales service, to which he took exception and over which he had no control. A self-confessed perfectionist, Mr Abela is adamant that while in his company imperfections have not been eradicated, they are indeed kept to an absolute and extraordinary minimum.
“Eliel Abela runs a tight ship with a drive and dedication that is palpable. And one of his bêtes noires is the installation of security systems as an afterthought”
With an eye to constant improvement, particularly with regards to installations, Mr Abela had thus decided to strike out on his own. “I had transformed my mother’s house into a store,” he said, smiling ruefully, “then I decided that it was time to open up a proper office and showroom.”
Good is not good enough
Eliel Abela runs a tight ship with a drive and dedication that is palpable. And one of his bêtes noires is the installation of security systems as an afterthought. “Well, it is what the vast majority of people do, in reality: first get a house then one fine morning think of the security issues such as installing a CCTV,” smiled Mr Abela. He, however finds that work carried out in other installations is often below (his) par. “I would not accept many of the installations I often see in homes. One example: the jungle of wires during installation,” observed Mr Abela. He said that his aim has always been to ensure that every installation is, in his words, “200% good”. This has often meant that the installation had to make do for shortcomings which could have been overcome at development phase but for which at that time, security would not have been a priority. “it is then up to us to not make a mess, to provide the client with as clean and tangle-free solution as is humanly possible,” said Mr Abela. Describing one of the most common yet unacceptable settings, he said that a CCTV set up “under normal standards” on the front of a domestic habitation often means having wires in the sitting room, something which he considers to be appalling.
“We always try to find a way around, even with houses of character. We install cables in between building stones on a façade which is finished on point, snaking the conduits to ensure that they remain hidden from sight,” said Mr Abela. “We frequently take on whole projects. Recently we took on a gymnasium: it had been operational in one site and moved to bigger premises.
“We ended up taking on the whole project including all ELV systems, electricals, and plumbing”
We started by being called in for the installation of ELVs (extra low voltage devices) including CCTVs, fire alarms and data points. Then the client asked if we could also do the electrical installations. We ended up taking on the whole project including all ELV systems, electricals, and plumbing,” he continued to proudly explain.
High standards
Experience matters and Mr Abela’s experience is indisputable. ELVs include fire alarms, intruder alarms, CCTV and Hall Porters. And such systems, while being staples, are rather rudimentary when compared to the elite fare which Elektro Services offer. “We install fire fighting systems which are used in medium and high rises, and are required by law,” said Mr Abela. He refers to firefighting system installations as his particular favourites and explained that a dry hydrant is a more elaborate version of the red cylinder we are used to seeing in public places.
Elektro Services unite such a system on each floor so that in case of fire, the fire fighters can have easy access to fire safety systems. All this comes also through top grade specs including heavy gauge galvanised metal, and the utilisation of such elements perforce induces complexity which are best handled by the “connoisseurs of the industry”.
“do you need the camera to show a visual of a room or do you need it to show a deep, long corridor? These questions simply must be asked and addressed”
“If you try using normal paint on galvanized metal, you will end up with the paint peeling off in a matter of days”, he explained as a case in point. “According to health and safety specs, pipes are to be finished off in red. We get a special kind of paint with a specific RAL colour. You cannot just walk in to any ironmongery store and get this. This is seriously high spec,” said Mr Abela
earnestly quoting his lodestone: the British Standard. His eyes light up visibly when talking about the installation of such systems. “Yes, I do enjoy these particular installations because they add significant complexity to a well-executed installation. They provide Elektro Services in general, and the client alike, with a high level of satisfaction on various levels,” smiled Mr Abela.
Market-leading products
Mr Abela said that in all products, Elektro Services processes its own importation, relying on its stone-set contacts abroad. “With regards to CCTV we get the most successful brand used worldwide: Dahua”, observed Mr Abela.
He said that Dahua has developed so much over time that it would be illogical to choose otherwise. “It also depends on what you want and where the system is going to be used: do you need the camera to show a visual of a room or do you need it to show a deep, long corridor?
These questions simply must be asked and addressed when choosing the right CCTV camera and CCTV system,” said Mr Abela. For these purposes, a site visit is crucial and he frequently finds himself in a position of advising the client on the best specifications for the particular need. He added that the infrastructure is normally very similar.
“We give the client the most cost effective solution for their requirements without compromising on quality”
“We give the client the most cost effective solution for their requirements without compromising on quality. If the client insists on a different opinion, we bow to their wishes but we always try to find the best solutions,” said Mr Abela, insisting that the aim is “complete customer satisfaction; to ensure that there are no complaints.”
The benefits of proper after sales service
Stock is never low, particularly on the staples such as CCTV, fire alarms and intruder systems. Project based requirements are specifically ordered, explained Mr Abela.
Focusing on the fire alarm systems, He continued to explain that these fall under the ELV umbrella and the main source material comes from Poland: Polon-Alfa.
He observed that the market has evolved considerably. One can, he pointed out, easily order equipment through international shopping platforms. However, further added value of buying through an established company such as Elektro Services lies in the expertise of setting up and following up on each project. Mr Abela said that independent installations frequently run aground due to lack of expertise which companies similar to his offer.
“If you install independently, are you sure that the specifications are sufficient, how are you going to claim warranty, where are you going to service the equipment? And most importantly, are you confident that the equipment will actually work when it needs to?” asked Mr Abela, adding that these complications are obviously handled competently by his company.
Describing the intricacies of setting up, Mr Abela noted that a few centimetres can make all the difference between what is acceptable to the engineering report and what is not.
Pyronix is another company in Elektro Services‘ established portfolio of industry-leading products and brands. Mr Abela noted that these intruder alarms are made and designed in the UK but are imported through the EU. They operate both on hard-wired and on wireless systems.
“Reliability of our wireless systems are at par with our wired ones”
“This is of particular benefit when one is faced with a finished home and one aims to avoid the complexity of grafting a wiring infrastructure to set the sensors into a finished development. Reliability of our wireless systems are at par with our wired ones, with the sole drawback of needing to change batteries every three years,” pointed out Mr Abela.
An eye to the future
With an eye on the future, Mr Abela shrewdly widens his net. Expanding yet further from their ELV origins, and from the executions of fire installations, Elektro Services Ltd are now taking on projects which provide complete water and electrical works of various complexities, collaborating with like-minded professionals in so doing.
“Today ELV cannot be taken on as an afterthought,” observed Mr Abela sagely adding that fire protection and detection as well as intercoms have become a daily necessity. “We are not aiming to grow bigger in terms of size. We are now focusing on more intricate work on a B2B basis rather than just B2C,” concluded Mr Abela. “This is where Elektro Services outshines the brightest any form of possible competition.”
Comment