|
|
|
The last half of the twentieth century brought intense change to Egypt. In less than fifty years, the country experienced the transition from colonial rule and monarchy to socialism, followed by a period of liberalization, and now a bid for democracy and an open-market economy. Riding the wave of this dynamic period was a challenge that few businesses established prior to the 1952 Revolution were able to meet. The Mansour Group not only survived, it flourished. Today the Group is one of Egypt's top private sector conglomerates with over 11,000 employees and an annual turnover exceeding $1 billion dollars.
 The Group's success story began with the resourcefulness of its founder. Loutfy Mansour was a keen businessman who withstood the nationalization of his cotton trading business in the 1960's and knew how to seize the moment of Egypt's liberalization in the 1970's. He negotiated with General Motors and established the Mansour Motor Group as their dealer in 1975.
Sharing Loutfy Mansour’s value for strategic thinking and his belief in the importance of the individual, his three sons diversified within a framework of professional, team-orientated management. The General Motors affiliation was the first in a series of prestigious relationships with global market entities.
 In 1977, the Mansours established the first local dealership of Caterpillar construction, power systems and material handling equipment. In 1985, the Group deepened its commitment to the automotive industry by investing heavily in the first private sector vehicle factory in Egypt, operated by General Motors. In 1992, the Mansour Group entered the consumer goods market handling brands like Philip Morris/Marlboro, and in 1994, the national McDonald’s franchise. In 1997, the Group acquired the Caterpillar dealerships for six African countries from Unilever, forming a new company called Unatrac. IBM, Microsoft, HP, 3COM and Compaq also joined forces with Mansour Group, choosing them as national distributors for their line of PC’s and accessories.
 In cooperation with the El-Maghraby Group, another well-respected Egyptian conglomerate, the Mansour Group established the Mansour-Maghraby Investment and Development Company (MMID). MMID is particularly active in Egypt’s financial sector, owning equity in several investment banking and insurance firms. MMID also participates in Egypt’s tourism, real estate development and marketing sectors, as well as in industrial and information technology projects.
As the Mansour’s star continues to rise, the Group maintains its commitment to people, offering employees excellent training and opportunities for advancement. As responsible corporate citizens, the Mansour Group is active in a variety of community endeavors. A recently built park along the banks of the Nile helped beautify a city sorely in need of green space and the Group is currently involved in building and equipping a hospital for children, also in Cairo.
The Mansour Group is well-positioned to benefit from Egypt’s economic reform, and is committed to making the change to an open market a positive one. No major business concern can separate its history from that of its country. For Egypt and the Mansour Group, it is a history of renewal and growth.
|
|
|
