Yesterday (Tuesday evening) the head office of SABIC Europe in Sittard was opened by HH Prince Saud bin Abdullah Ibn Thunayan Al-Saud (Chairman SABIC) and Joop Wijn (Minister of Economic Affairs of The Netherlands).
HH Prince Saud bin Abdullah Ibn Thunayan Al-Saud underlined the importance of the new Head office for SABIC, "This building with its unique techniques will be a tribute for the revitalization of energies and the incentive to unleash the creativities and capabilities and help enhance corporate achievements."
During his speech HE Joop Wijn focussed on the already long lasting ties between Saudi Arabia and The Netherlands, especially since SABIC came to Europe, "The petrochemical industries clustered at the Chemelot complex are of great importance of the Dutch economy." Furthermore he mentioned "Saudi Arabia is The Netherlands' foremost trade partner in the Middle East. "
The mission of SABIC in Europe and in that respect the establishment of the new head office in Europe was especially underlined by Frans Noteborn, CEO of SABIC Europe, "SABIC Europe has a mission to grow. This challenge and the opportunity to design and built a new European head office created the unique possibility to optimize the European business and service organization, our working methods, our IT and communication technology and did challenge the people involved to become the owner and design of their future working environment and working methods. "
Other guests of honour were the CEO of SABIC, Mohamed Al-Mady, the Mayor of Sittard-Geleen, Jean Bronckers, the Governor of the province of Limburg Lon Frissen, the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Ren van der Linden, and the CEO of SABIC Europe, Frans Noteborn. In their speeches they underlined the relationship between Saudi-Arabia and The Netherlands and the importance of having SABIC Europe headquartered in Sittard-Geleen.
SABIC Europe (Sittard, The Netherlands) is a SABIC subsidiary which includes all of SABIC's activities in Europe and employs around 2,300 people. Its Head Office is in Sittard and there are production sites in Geleen (The Netherlands) and Gelsenkirchen (Germany), with a Research & Technology center in The Netherlands. The company had sales of 6.5 million metric tons of petrochemicals and a turnover of 5 billion euros in 2005.
The construction of the SABIC Europe headquarters building commenced in 2004. It is a 6 stories building and accommodates more than 550 employees.
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is the largest public company in the Middle East, ranked by market capitalization (more than US$ 150 billion), and one of the world's 10 largest petrochemicals manufacturers. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, glycols, methanol, MTBE and fertilizers as well as the fourth largest polymer producer.
SABIC's profit rose to a record SR 19.2 billion (US$ 5.1 billion) in 2005, a 35% increase on 2004 and the company's highest profit since inception. Sales revenues for 2005 totaled SR 78.3 billion (US$ 20.8 billion), making SABIC the largest and most profitable public company in the Middle East.
SABIC operates six interlinked strategic business units: Basic Chemicals, Intermediates, Polyolefins, PVC and Polyester, Fertilizers and Metals. The company has significant research resources and has dedicated Research and Technology centers in Riyadh, Geleen in the Netherlands, Houston USA and Vadodara in India. SABIC has more than 17,000 employees worldwide.
SABIC has two large production sites in Saudi Arabia - in Al-Jubail and in Yanbu - comprising 18 world-scale complexes. Some of these complexes are operated with multi-national joint venture partners such as Exxon Mobil, Shell and Mitsubishi Chemicals. SABIC's overall production capacity has increased from 35.4 million metric tons in 2001 to 46.7 million metric tons of production in 2005.
Headquartered in Riyadh, SABIC was founded in 1976 when the Saudi Arabian Government decided to use the hydrocarbon gases associated with its oil production as the principal feedstock for production of chemicals, polymers and fertilizers. The Saudi Arabian Government owns 70% of SABIC shares with the remaining 30% held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
SABIC Europe, headquartered in Sittard, the Netherlands, employs nearly 2,450 people and operates two petrochemical production sites in Geleen, the Netherlands and Gelsenkirchen in Germany for the production of polypropylenes, polyethylenes and liquid hydrocarbons. These are marketed by its European network of sales offices and logistical hubs. In 2005, SABIC Europe produced 2.5 million metric tons of polyolefins and 3.1 million metric tons of basic chemicals, mainly for the European market.
Othman Al-Humaidi
General Manager,
Corporate Communications
© Press Release 2006
