Nabil Alalawi is in a big hurry to turn his Abu Dhabi-based company into one of the Middle East's biggest providers of specialised engineering.

The fact that he does not wear a watch "I never have" may not seem promising, but the US-educated petroleum engineer does not fit the standard business mould.

The tiny AlMansoori Specialized Engineering company he founded along with two partners in 1977 has already grown to about 900 people and is now on a drive to double in size every four years.

And