The Economic Update discusses the past, present and future of Shield Security Consultants Ltd with co - founder and managing director, John Schembri.
John Schembri was introduced to his prospective business partners whilst still in the army in 1998, but the vision for Shield Security Consultants Ltd quickly became a clear and viable enterprise to engage upon. Thus, the company was born.
John explains that the company takes great pride in providing risk management services to its clients, with particular emphasis placed on occupational health and safety in large projects. Through the recruitment of highly trained experts who are capable of identifying latent or emerging risk, Shield can give pre-emptive advice, and counteract potential issues through appropriate and cost-effective strategies. “This may sound like a cliché, but I honestly believe it is our close teamwork which has enabled us to deliver such services,” explains John. “Group perseverance is invaluable within any industry, and we have worked extremely hard to sensitise and shape the market, all the while contending with an environment which is typically not very risk conscious. Yet we have stuck at it, so to speak, and today our clients reap the benefits of the collective knowledge, experience, expertise and competences which reside within Shield.”
Despite the risk of the financial crisis of 2009, Shield experienced a modest growth in business. “We feel that our clients have retained faith in us, and for that we thank them all and pledge to continue to improve further”.
Like many others who have managed to prosper during the downturn, John attributes much of this to taking the opportunity to reflect on areas of the business which could be improved. However, it was more the reflection of other businesses which enabled Shield’s growth since, as the managing director puts it, “…organisations will have reflected on the broader dimensions of risk, not just the fiscal side,” he explains. “Security, health and safety, business continuity management, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, quality assurance – all these areas combine to engender an organisation’s resilience. Failure in one area, or several, could be catastrophic for a business in the short to longer terms”.
“Of course there are costs attached to managing risk, but the cost of failure is more severe by far, and we firmly believe that Shield’s clients recognize and acknowledge this reality, and act accordingly”.
Plans for 2010 seem all about consolidation for Shield Security Consultants Ltd, who are looking to further improve services to clients. “We are looking to improve several areas of the company, and not just personnel. In our line of business you cannot hope to just throw people at a problem and succeed. It does not work that way.
“2010 will be a very interesting, challenging and hopefully rewarding year for Shield, a year in which we improve on our own internal quality, move to new premises with better facilities, recruit fresh personnel and launch a steady stream of highly value-adding services on the market,” John adds further.
“By the end of 2010 we at Shield will be better equipped to serve our existing client base. Furthermore, we shall be able to offer more diverse services of a higher quality and, in the case of some of our clients, even synergise to create mutual business opportunities”.
So 2010 is shaping up to be another excellent year for Shield, with potential growth in many aspects. The company has a long term plan which they are well on track to achieve. “Shield is not here today and gone tomorrow. We have been hard at work for twelve years now, and intend to continue for many more,” finishes Mr Schembri.
Shield Security Consultants Ltd. – Network Building Suite 2, Industrial Zone, Mriehel BKR 3000 – Malta
Tel: [+356] 21 446 980 – Fax: [+356] 21 497 045 º Mob: [+356] 9942 4811 – E-mail: consult@shield.com.mt