At last week’s Cabsat show, systems integrator TSL announced its plan to expand its facilities in the UK and to open an office in Dubai. The Middle East representation will include design and engineering resources as well as sales staff, and in the UK the expansion will triple the amount of workshop space, writes Dick Hobbs.
Founded in 1986, TSL has developed an international business in the design and installation of broadcast systems, but has not previously invested in overseas offices. “We are seeing a tremendous growth in the Middle East at the moment,” said CEO David Phillips. “That growth is coming not just from traditional broadcast and production but from media playout centres, and not just in Dubai but across the region in places like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar.
“By bringing together some of our own engineering resource with locally-recruited engineers, our plan is that the Dubai office will give us visibility on the smaller projects which we could not easily reach from the UK, as well as local resources for big projects,” he added.
The office is planned to be in the Studio City complex just south of downtown Dubai. According to Phillips, the intention is to have the Dubai operation running by September.
Meanwhile, in the UK TSL has taken a second workshop building with double the floor space of its existing headquarters in Maidenhead. “We are working on the factory build of a project now which has 120 racks plus operational desks,” Phillips explained. “With more large-scale projects in view, and our determination to move into outside broadcast trucks, we desperately needed more room to pre-build.”
