03 November 2015
DUBAI: GE has affirmed its commitment to substantially increase localization in energy supply chain from extraction to consumption.

This follows the Brilliant Factory announcement of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) and GE to take the Kingdom's manufacturing sector into the next industrial era.

GE's new initiatives aim to double Saudi work force, strengthen local manufacturing, develop SME supply chain and train Saudi professionals.

With the successful accomplishment of its $1 billion investment commitment in Saudi Arabia over the past three years, GE has embarked on further long-term initiatives that underline its transformation as a digital industrial company and its focus on supporting its partners in the Kingdom to achieve stronger operational efficiency and productivity.

"GE enjoys a strong history in Saudi Arabia of over 80 years of operation, and we are a partner that has invested in the long-term growth of the nation," Jeffrey Immelt, GE's chairman & CEO, said. "Today, as GE marks its transformation as a digital industrial company, we look forward to further strengthening our technology innovation, localization, manufacturing and training programs."

The new initiatives announced under GE's Saudi 2020 Sustainability Program are expected to result in critical outcomes aligned to the country's growth priorities.

They include doubling GE's work force in the Kingdom from 2,000 to 4,000 by 2020, doubling its Saudi supplier base from 150 to 300 to build a strong Saudi supply chain that supports GE's local manufacturing facilities; doubling training in energy, health care and localized research for over 10,000 Saudi professionals through local and global programs, and focus on achieving $100 million in value of exports of products and services from GE to the United States, Europe and elsewhere.

The Saudi GE Innovation Center, located in Dhahran Techno Valley, joins the family of GE's select global research centers. Now named the Saudi GE Technology & Innovation Center, it is described as the first of its kind in the region with the principal goal of helping meet the Kingdom's growing demand for power through highly optimized operations across the energy supply chain.

The Saudi GE Technology & Innovation Center's global research initiatives will focus on 'hot and harsh' technology programs for power generation and oil and gas applications as well as the Industrial Internet, accelerating software solutions and analytics.

Nidal Ghizawi, a GE veteran of over a decade, has been appointed as the chief technology officer of the center.

As part of GE's long-term investment and partnerships in the Kingdom, GE aims to substantially increase its localization plans across the energy value chain by 2020.

GE has signed a memorandum of understanding with the MoCI to take industrialization and manufacturing across the Kingdom into the next digital industrial era by deploying Brilliant Factory technology.

GE's goal is to create $100 million in exports from Saudi Arabia to different parts of the world through locally-based facilities.

Growing talent and the next generation of leaders being core its culture, GE is working closely with customers on bringing that expertise and capability to the Kingdom.

© Arab News 2015