Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) held a special meeting with local manufacturers in Jubail on June 12 to discuss ways of increasing the local content and technical capabilities needed to support the spare parts requirements of SABIC's affiliates in Saudi Arabia. The meeting was led by Abdullah S. Al-Rabeeah, SABIC Executive Vice President, Shared Services.
Some 120 local manufacturers, representing more than 88,000 consumer products that are considered investment opportunities attended the meeting. Some 36,000 of all the consumer products represented are high consumption and easy-to-manufacture products under Phase I of the proposed agenda. This phase of the project will be followed by more efforts to localize additional products, according to Al-Rabeeah, as well as offer further encouragement to local manufacturers to become more engaged with global companies such as SABIC by establishing production and training centers.
"These initiatives are expected to create an enabling environment that will foster the further development of the petrochemical industry in Saudi Arabia--both by ensuring a ready supply of spare parts and raw materials, and by creating additional employment opportunities for qualified Saudis," Al-Rabeeah said.
SABIC previously announced the launch of a national project to require greater localization of jobs by contractors doing business with the company in Jubail and Yanbu. This initiative, called the "SABIC National Saudization Program for Contractor Jobs in Jubail and Yanbu Industrial Cities," is managed by a dedicated team that is part of SABIC's plans and contributions to overall national efforts to reduce unemployment and to boost the recruitment of qualified national manpower.
SABIC, along with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, the Human Resources Development Fund, and contractors working on SABIC projects are participating in this ambitious collaborative project.
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About SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) ranks among the world's top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world's market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
SABIC recorded a net profit of SR 21.5 billion (US$ 5.73 billion) in 2010. Sales revenues for 2010 totalled SR 152 billion (US$ 40.5 billion). Total assets stood at SR 317.6 billion (US$ 84.5 billion) at the end of 2010.
SABIC's businesses are grouped into Chemicals, Polymers, Performance Chemicals, Fertilizers, Metals and Innovative Plastics. SABIC has significant research resources with 18 dedicated Technology & Innovation facilities in Saudi Arabia, the USA, the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, India and China. The company operates in more than 40 countries across the world with 33,000 employees worldwide.
SABIC manufactures on a global scale in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. SABIC's overall production has increased from 35 million metric tons in 2001 to 66.8 million metric tons in 2010.
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 percent of SABIC shares with the remaining 30 percent held by private investors in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
© Press Release 2011
