• Home
• News Article

Jul 07 2011

more articles from

GE Lighting unveils its first dedicated distribution center in the Middle East in Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone

The center marks a significant foreign direct investment by GE (NYSE:GE) in Dubai's logistics sector. Spanning over 1,375 square meters, the GE Lighting distribution center will serve as a strategic hub for the company to further expand its presence in the UAE as well as strengthen exports to key markets in the Middle East and Africa.

To feature the advanced product range of GE Lighting, the pioneers in the Light Emitting Diodes (LED) technology as early as the 1960s, the warehouse will have over 2,000 products, bringing one of the largest showcases of GE Lighting products beside its headquarters in Budapest, Hungary. All products will be shipped in from Hungary and the other manufacturing centers of the company around the world.

John Lancia, Director of Government Affairs for GE in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), said: "GE Lighting is a thought leader in the lighting and luminaire sector, underlined by its focused research and development to boost energy efficiency across the entire spectrum of applications for residential, commercial and industrial uses. The opening of the new distribution center in Dubai, a regional trade hub, underlines the commitment of GE to further strengthen its regional presence in the UAE. The distribution center, which marks a key investment in the logistics sector of Dubai, will further drive exports and leverage Dubai's strategic geographic location."

Tamer Al Shaer, Regional Channel Manager, GE Lighting, explained: "The opening of our distribution center in the Jebel Ali Free Zone is a strong statement on our focus on the Middle East and Africa markets, which will be led through the centralized hub in Dubai. With the region focused on infrastructure investments, there is a growing demand for intelligent and energy-efficient lighting solutions, which GE Lighting will bring quicker to our customers through this new distribution hub. Dubai's superb logistics infrastructure with airline, shipping and road connectivity serves as a perfect fit for GE Lighting to establish its warehousing operation in the city."

"One of the many outstanding features of Dubai as an investment destination is its ability to inspire innovations and grow them into successful business models. We are delighted to see energy majors like GE Lighting using the competitive investment platform in Dubai to launch path-breaking innovations of great significance to business and growth, both within and beyond the region," said Khaled Al Boom, Executive Director, Investment Support & Promotions, Dubai FDI, the foreign investment promotion arm of the Department of Economic Development (DED).

Addressing the media to mark the opening of the distribution center, David Harris, Director, International Logistics Services at Dubai FDI, said: "With the UAE ranked as the 11^th most cited investment destination globally and the top destination in the Middle East according to the A.T. Kearney 2010 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, Dubai has emerged as a major access point for foreign investments and many global organisations draw on the city as a platform to enter the wider region. In driving FDI to Dubai, the logistics sector has played a key role, by offering a competitive environment backed by superb infrastructure. The opening of GE Lighting's distribution center in Dubai underlines the strong business confidence of global corporates in Dubai as a preferred foreign direct investment destination."

The new warehouse will help meet the growing need for advanced lighting solutions in the UAE and the rest of the GCC region, as well as demand from markets across the Middle East and Africa, where GE Lighting has established long-term partnerships. The product range covers solutions for home lighting, hotels, office, retail, showbiz and entertainment, street lighting, and special applications such as airfield, aircraft, transportation, heating, medical, bacterial destruction and shatter protection to meet the needs of original equipment manufacturers and end-users.

In the UAE, GE Lighting has been associated with several key initiatives including nearly 70 per cent of street lighting in Abu Dhabi, as well as lighting solutions for several landmark projects across the country.

The pioneer in lighting technologies right from the invention of the first affordable incandescent lamp by Thomas Alva Edison, GE Lighting business has combined its luminaire and LED expertise to bring unmatched product quality and reliability together in an integrated approach, which drives creation of environmentally sustainable cities.

Technology innovation and the company's ecomagination initiative - which puts into practice GE's belief that financial and environmental performance can be integrated to accelerate profitable growth for the company - enable GE Lighting to aggressively bring to market products and solutions that help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.

Today, GE Lighting has over 15,000 employees globally. The headquarters is in Cleveland, Ohio, the EMEA Headquarters is in Budapest, Hungary. The research and development of GE Lighting is coordinated through its Global Technology Center from Hungary with other key locations in Cleveland and Shanghai.

With its regional headquarters in Dubai Internet City, GE has a strong presence in Dubai, with Jebel Ali Free Zone being home to the GE Water & Process Technologies regional Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Dubai; and the GE Energy training center.

-Ends-

Join the conversation at our GE Hewar blog: http://middleeast.geblogs.com/

About GE Lighting:
General Electric was born from the invention of the world's first affordable incandescent lamp. A century later, GE Lighting is still bringing light to the world, developing new technologies such as fluorescents and light-emitting diodes, that operate with more efficiency, less cost and less environmental impact than ever before. GE Lighting is part of Appliances & Lighting, which spans the globe as an industry leader in major appliances, lighting, systems and services for commercial, industrial and residential use. Technology innovation and the company's ecomagination initiative enable GE Appliances & Lighting to aggressively bring to market products and solutions that help customers meet pressing environmental challenges. For more information about GE Lighting's products visit http://www.gelighting.com/eu/

For more information, please contact:
Caroline Wehbeh
GE Media Relations Manager, Middle East & North Africa
+9714 4296318
caroline.wehbeh@ge.com

Kelly Home/ Nivine William
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
+9714 334 4550
k.home@asdaa.com / n.william@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2011