Emrill, a leading facilities management (FM) company, said it has appointed Louise Arkley as the senior facilities manager for its Dubai International Airport contract following the internal promotion of predecessor Sarah Rodgers to head of training.

As a specialist in critical infrastructure FM projects, Arkley brings extensive international experience to Emrill having held several management positions within the NHS and city councils in the UK, said a statement from the company.

Arkley has over 15 years’ experience in aviation services and airside operations with periods working for both Emirates and British Airways. This includes over a decade of FM experience working on airside contracts for other major FM companies in the Middle East, as well as a period managing over 1,900 staff on a major dnata airside contract in the UAE.

In her new role, Arkley will take over the Emrill soft services contract at Dubai International Airport Terminal 3, which includes nearly 800 staff handling cleaning and janitorial services. It involves employees from 12 nationalities working in various shifts on the challenging 24-hour, seven-days-a-week contract at one of the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic, said the statement.

Originally from Gloucestershire in the UK, Arkley is a BIFM member and has lived in the UAE since 2014, it added.

Welcoming the appointment, managing director Alex Davies said: "The aviation sector, and our Dubai International Terminal 3, contract in particular are important activities for Emrill as we take active steps to further entrench our position as the UAE aviation sector’s preferred FM company."

"Our talent acquisition plan places significant emphasis on recruiting sector specialists with demonstrable industry experience in each one of our market segments served. Bringing Arkley on board, with her extensive hands-on aviation experience, is a good example of this commitment working," he stated.

"Through ongoing staff training, her industry-leading knowledge can be transferred to other Emrill team members with the objective of introducing new FM techniques and innovations that benefit our clients and end-users through constantly raising standards," remarked Davies.

"Furthermore, our business objective is to further grow our footprint in airport and aviation FM by constantly tailoring and customising our services to the unique and individual needs of clients in this way," he added.-TradeArabia News Service