His brainchild Bader Models is in many ways a model for businesses in Bahrain. The global success the company has achieved in the miniature models business shows how, in this age of globalization, one can spread his wings far and wide even without a high-budget blitz.

And to satisfy the growing global demand for his models, Bader has to expand. And plans are in the pipeline for a mega factory in Bahrain, new outlets in major international cities and a new, dedicated innovation and animation division.

“We have been reviewing various approaches to enhance our business model and I believe we have found the right blend. Over five years, we have maintained steady growth of 30 per cent per year.

So the current plan is to use the retained capital and cash flows from operations to fund our organic growth and strategic plans,” says Sami Abdulla Nass, chairman, Bader Models.

The new Bader Models factory, located at the Bahrain International Investment Park, will cover an area of 6,000 square metres and will employ more than 100 professional creative artists. The external building designed by Elmurad Innovation and was engineered by Almohandis architect. The factory will be fully operational May 2008.

“A number of different scenarios and strategic options have been evaluated and analysed, including the ability to implement those ideas, the desire to remain independent and our continuing focus on maintaining our quality standards. We therefore concluded that our expansion would be best facilitated by re-branding Bader Models first, which, incidentally, was our main long-term focus anyway.” says Bader Yousif Murad, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The new corporate identity was created by Impact Design, one of the leading European design companies. “It was a challenging and delicate project to work with because Bader products are sold and known among the top class clients all over the world. It will be interesting to come up with an identity that will attract and impress its current international elite clients,” says Impact Design director Daniel Topic.

“We had to recruit different artists from various regions and nationalities to analyse and to study the logo from all different aspects. After this part was completed, the logo was tested in different regions in a small scale, especially among Bader’s elite clients. The result was superb. During the process Mr. Bader himself took a major role in brining this identity to life, he is truly an artist.” he says.

The new identity will be marketed in over 100 specialty magazines and will be on display at the most important international trade shows worldwide throughout 2006. A budget of around US$1 million has been set aside for this campaign. “The budget sounds big for a company our size, but in order to achieve our goals we must give before we can take,” Bader says.

Bader’s unique line of downscaled production line replicas includes aircraft, yacht, architectural and race car models. His models often called the ‘Rolls-Royce of all models. Bader is considered the leader in the business and the only company that produces such a large array of miniature models under one roof.

Mr. Murad is happy that he has been able to convert his childhood hobby into a multi-million-dollar venture, which is now known all over the world for the quality and innovation of its products.

“Although the economy in the region is sky-rocketing, it represents less than one per cent of our total income, because most of our orders are from the USA, Europe, Japan and Australia,” says Bader.

He adds: “It is ironic that I am known worldwide since I started way back in 1997. But in Bahrain I have been known only during the last three years. In every region our company known for one type of model product more than the other. For example, in Japan and Europe we are known mostly for our aircraft models; in Australia and New Zealand we are famous for our yacht and architectural models; in the USA Bader has been always known for both aircraft and yacht models; in the Gulf region we are only known for the architectural models.

During the last two years, and as part of its global presence strategy, Bader Models officially opened three new branch offices in Chicago, Jeddah and Doha, marking the beginning of a series of branch openings worldwide. This year, three new offices will be inaugurated in Los Angeles, London and Abu Dhabi.

Bader believes that having offices all around the world will help it face the competition better, provide it a larger market share and give the company direct contact with its major clients for any quick advice or inquiry.

Within the next few months, the company will also announce its biggest and strongest venture yet, the innovative animation services.

Bader says the implementation of the company’s expansion strategy and the re-branding of the business will help it to maintain its position as a worldwide leader in the miniature model business. “The ongoing transition will see the company, for the first time, going beyond its home ground of model making into animation services,” he says.

Bader Murad entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2000 for his extensive aircraft models collection. And last year, education publisher Pearson in England featured his success story in its series of learning books published for worldwide distribution, targeted at young readers who hope to one day follow in Bader’s footsteps.

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