Between 53 degrees in Al Ain and the Leadership Summit in Luxembourg
An airport implementation in 2008, unexpected help in the desert, and a leadership meeting a year later: Jan Wilhelm looks back on two years in which international work also meant being able to count on people.
53 degrees outside temperature. In 2008, the heat in Al Ain was not just a backdrop, but part of everyday life. In November, the implementation of facility management services for Dussmann Gulf LLC began there. The project was managed until 2010.
But the memory of this time consists of more than just work and processes. It also consists of moments when help arrived exactly when it was needed.
When the workday is not yet over
One evening, after work, the car battery would not start in front of the terminal building. Jan Wilhelm stood there with the car and waited. About an hour later, a service partner arrived and helped him out.
On the way to work, another breakdown occurred: a flat tire on a desert road. Wilhelm got out, looked at the tire, got back into the car, and made a phone call. Then he noticed movement. A Pakistani man came over and helped him.
“Boundless willingness to help” – that is how Wilhelm describes this moment. The encounter has stayed with him: a stranger stopped and helped without asking many questions. In an unfamiliar environment, a flat tire turned into a personal experience of solidarity.
Leadership is also evident in everyday life
An airport is a place of constant movement. For travelers, only the visible part is usually present: arrival, departure, paths through the building. Behind this, many processes must work together. Facility management contributes to ensuring that infrastructure and services meet the requirements of operations.
At 53 degrees, this task becomes particularly vivid. Planning must prove itself under local conditions. The implementation of FM services is not a single start date, but a process: services are introduced, coordinated, and managed in day-to-day operations.
One year after the start of the project, the journey led from Al Ain to Luxembourg for the 2009 Dussmann Leadership Summit. There, a different perspective took center stage: the exchange on leadership. For Wilhelm, the two milestones are still connected today. One reminds him of responsibility in ongoing operations, the other of leadership and collaboration across national borders.
An experience that continues to resonate
The years from 2008 to 2010 form an important chapter in Jan Wilhelm's professional career. They encompass the implementation and management of FM services in Al Ain, the Leadership Summit in Luxembourg – and encounters that show how much practical willingness to help can mean.
Today, Wilhelm brings his experience to the work of ELB Services GmbH. Facility management, commercial processes, and reliable implementation continue to occupy companies. Looking back at Al Ain and Luxembourg makes it clear: good collaboration is created through clear responsibility – and through people who stand up for one another.