Sands China keeps open attitude on professional advice from SMEs

A fire system is a vital component of a building for safeguarding people’s lives and the property. Being the largest integrated resort operator in Macao, Sands China has set high standards in fire management, system maintenance and monitoring. Moreover, the company considers solid experience and professionalism as key factors when selecting service providers in this field.
Nevertheless, Sands China is more than eager to create opportunities for cooperation with well-positioned enterprises regardless of their operations scale, even though the system operations, employee training, and management of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) might not be in the same league as large international companies. China Fire Fighting Equipment Co. Ltd. is one such organization that has been growing steadily thanks to a partnership with Sands China.
Established in 2003, the company’s offerings include fire protection design, construction, maintenance, and the sale of fire protection products such as fire extinguishers, fire retardant paints and fire dampers. Over the years, China Fire Fighting Equipment Co. Ltd. has gradually been expanding its business scope by extending its offerings from fire protection engineering to fire protection designs and maintenance for residential buildings and hotels.
The cooperation between the two organizations began in 2019, when the SME began providing fire system operating service and 24-hour on-site monitoring and maintenance services for Sands Macao.
“For example, when the heat detector in a building is triggered, our staff will immediately be sent to the scene of the incident to deal with and investigate the cause of the alarm,” Deep Ao, managing director of China Fire Equipment Co. Ltd., explained.

Sands China has expressed satisfaction with the local enterprise. Gloria Chio, senior manager of procurement and supply chain for Sands China Ltd., and Anson Lai, senior officer, said: “The importance of firefighting maintenance services is self-evident. The supplier must have relevant work experience and be familiar with the operation of the system. China Fire Fighting Equipment Co. Ltd. provides similar services as other companies, and it has gained advantages through past experience. They have worked proactively and are attentive to their duties throughout our cooperation.”
Given that Sands Macao opened in 2004, the internal fire protection system and equipment have been in use for a considerable period of time. When China Fire Fighting Equipment Co. Ltd. took over in 2019, it spent a good effort assisting with equipment updates and researching system upgrades.
“The personnel of Sands Macao’s engineering department are highly coordinated and they provided assistance when the delivery period of some equipment was extended, and cross-department cooperation in system programming. It is a pleasant cooperation with the engineering team,” Ao stated.
Ao believes that his company’s advantage lies in its professional qualifications, strong support network, and rich experience in the design of fire protection structures. The SME is also equipped with knowledge of fire protection regulations in different countries and regions, and continues to study and find new and advanced fire protection equipment and products to be introduced to Macau. The SME additionally offers training to their employees to increase their professional knowledge. They also enhance their competitiveness by participating in trade exhibitions and communicating with different exhibitors and suppliers.

Sands China advises SME suppliers to maintain close relationships with clients so both sides can respond quickly in emergencies. “Suppliers’ experience is not the only factor that we value,” said Chio and Lai. “Professionalism is equally important, especially in firefighting and facilities management. Therefore, we recommend that their staff regularly participate in training courses, which also provides us with a sense of security for future cooperation.”
Sands China has maintained an open attitude toward new ideas and products from suppliers. SMEs are encouraged to submit optimization plans and suggestions so that both parties can keep up with the needs of the market.
China Fire Fighting Equipment Co. Ltd. said that working with a large-scale corporation significantly enhances their competitive advantage. “SMEs keep on improving themselves by learning about document processing, system operation and supervision, employee training, and so on. Taking the cooperation with Sands China as an example, large companies discover the potential capabilities of SMEs, including their experience, resources, and expertise. They maintain an open attitude and take the professional advice from SMEs into account.”
In the future, China Fire Fighting Equipment Co. Ltd. plans to delve into intelligent fire protection systems. The SME is currently studying Macau’s fire protection regulations and the prospects for city to support the development of intelligent systems. Ao believes the new direction of their business will be efficient in terms of firefighting supervision and will further increase safety. In addition, Ao hopes to take on a greater number of different projects from Sands China and expand the scope of cooperation.