Bardawil Aviation FZCO

About Bardawil Aviation FZCO

Bardawil was founded in 1945 by Philip H. Bardawil, after having lived and worked in Manchester (U.K.) and the Gold Coast (now Ghana) in the 1920s and 30s. Bardawil & Co was started modestly in 1945 in Beirut, Rue de Tripoli in the L’Orient Le Jour building, trading in a wide variety of goods. It rapidly focused and became known for its specialized machinery and equipment as well as steel office furniture. With the passing away of the founder in 1948, his son Fouad P. Bardawil first joined the business straight out of university followed in the early 1950s by his brothers William Habib and Labib. The group started expanding into a number of Middle Eastern countries in the late 40s and early 50s: Syria (1948), Kuwait (1952) and Iraq (1956). It became known throughout the Middle East for its high-quality products & services. In the 60s, the group established operations in the UAE (1967) and Saudi Arabia (1969) and started expanding its product range into new areas such as construction materials, specialized contracting services, and aviation equipment and services. With the commencement of the civil war in Lebanon in 1975, the group shifted its focus abroad, to strengthen its already existing foreign operations which had been established since the early 1950s and 60s. They were thus well positioned to take advantage of the massive construction efforts being undertaken by GCC countries in the late 1970s. Meanwhile, the home base operation kept on going despite all the difficulties faced during the war years. The group expanded into the UK and manufacturing sectors in the early 80s through the acquisition of a small UK-based construction chemical manufacturer Building Chemical Research Ltd.