OREANDA-NEWS. GE (NYSE: GE) today announced new strategic partnerships and localization initiatives that support the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 approved by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques HRH King Salman bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud and endorsed by the Saudi Cabinet.

Aimed at supporting the transformational growth of the Kingdom, and in line with the strategic vision document announced by HRH Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Saud, the new initiatives support economic & industrial diversification, the creation of quality jobs for Saudi nationals, human capital development as well as productivity and efficiency enhancement across the energy, aviation, healthcare and digital sectors.

The initiatives were announced by GE's Chairman & CEO Jeffrey Immelt during his visit to the Kingdom where he underlined GE's commitment to Saudi Arabia’s socio-economic progress under the new development strategy, which aims to position the country as a strategic global hub that serves the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe.

Jeffrey Immelt said: “We are a committed partner in supporting the Kingdom’s transformational and diversified growth, underscored by our 80 years of presence in Saudi Arabia. Our roots are deep, and today with our partners, we are growing in a new and visionary way. Together, we will create quality jobs for Saudi youth, help build a robust SME chain, boost exports, enhance economic competitiveness, and support the vision and aspirations of Saudi Arabia. New sustainable and equitable opportunities as well as strong business outcomes will flourish under these initiatives.”

Deepening its partnerships to help achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, GE is collaborating with the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (SAIIC) to develop joint ventures that will expand and localize industrial value chains in Saudi Arabia, to serve the domestic market and beyond.

GE is also partnering with Saudi Aramco, Cividale SpA, Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC), Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON), Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation (MiSK), Asharqia Chamber, National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP), Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group (HMG) and  SaudiVax in the new initiatives.

The key initiatives announced today by GE that support the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 are:

  1. Forging & Casting Manufacturing Facility with Saudi Aramco: GE, Saudi Aramco and Cividale SpA are jointly working to build the Middle East and North Africa region’s first-of-its-kind, world-class Forging & Casting Manufacturing Facility. This will supply the Kingdom and global markets with forged and cast materials for the Marine and Energy industries. With a total investment of US$400 million, the facility will be operational by 2020 and create over 2,000 new local jobs.
  1. Localization of Aviation Capabilities: GE Aviation is currently working with Saudi-based Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC) to develop a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for select Saudi Arabia’s military engines.  To further support MEPC’s development into a world-class MRO facility, GE and MEPC also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore utilizing GE’s Industrial Internet platform, Predix, to establish a “Brilliant Depot” in Saudi Arabia.
  1. Brilliant Factory with MODON: GE is partnering with MODON to transform the manufacturing sector of the Kingdom by digitizing 10 factories with GE’s Brilliant Manufacturing Software Suite. This will strengthen the operational efficiency and productivity of these factories, and help gain significant cost savings. MODON will be able to gather and connect data, thus creating a ‘digital thread’ for seamless transfer for information from systems that earlier operated in silos. The Brilliant Factory model can be replicated across the Kingdom to boost productivity and competitiveness.
  1. LED Manufacturing Facility: GE’s energy startup Current, powered by GE, is establishing an all-new GE Center of Excellence for LED Luminaire Manufacturing at the GE Manufacturing & Technology Center in Dammam, and will be operational late 2016. It will manufacture & test outdoor LED fixtures that can reduce energy use by as much as 50 percent. About 100,000 to 300,000 LED fixtures will be manufactured each year when the facility is fully operational with a significant percentage being exported. Localizing these energy efficiency products is well in line with the region’s objective to enhance energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. Current will establish a commercial joint venture with a local partner, as part of strengthening Saudi partnerships.
  1. Saudi Leadership Academy with MISK: GE is launching an exclusive Saudi Leadership Academy in partnership with Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud Foundation (MiSK). MISK is a non-profit organization that aims to enable learning and development amongst Saudi youth, and build a creative, knowledge-based economy. The high-level training program will be held for Saudi youth in the Kingdom and at GE’s Crotonville facility in the US.
  1. ‘Women in Industry’ Partnership with Asharqia Chamber: Complementing the Saudi Vision 2030 goal of promoting workplace diversity and empowering women professionals, GE has signed an MoU with the Asharqia Chamber to organize GE Garages-led training workshops for Saudi women in industry. Focused on Saudi women-owned and led SMEs and start-ups, the training will cover in-depth sessions on 3D printing and design, Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling, injection molding, and other industrial programs. Additional digital trainings will enable them to develop industrial software applications on Predix. GE aims to train 1,000 women in the next five years.
  1. Biotechnology with National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP): GE has started a design study with SaudiVax for a multipurpose Vaccine & Monoclonal Antibody Facility in Riyadh that will help develop a full-fledged life sciences industry in the Kingdom and create over 1,500 new jobs. This marks economic diversification into the high-innovation bio-tech field. In addition, GE Healthcare Life Sciences has been commissioned by NICDP to undertake a vaccine feasibility study to potentially set up the Kingdom’s first bio-science park.
  1. Radiology Services with Al Habib: Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group (HMG) and GE Healthcare to jointly deliver ‘Managed Radiology Services,’ with the goal of driving productivity and strengthening the efficiency of the healthcare sector across the Kingdom. The joint initiative complements the goal of the Ministry of Health to transform healthcare delivery in the Kingdom. A leading owner and operator of world-class hospitals and medical centers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, Dr Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group will work with GE Healthcare, which brings cutting edge radiology, digital and productivity solutions, to deliver radiology services on behalf of the Ministry of Health and other public healthcare providers in the Kingdom.

The new initiatives build on the US$1 billion investment delivered by the company in the past three years in Saudi Arabia and will contribute to positive outcomes that are aligned to the country’s growth priorities and Saudi Vision 2030 by:

  • Doubling GE’s workforce in the Kingdom from 2,000 to 4,000 by 2020
  • Doubling GE’s Saudi supplier base from 150 to 300 to build a strong Saudi supply chain that supports GE’s local manufacturing facilities
  • Doubling leadership, technical and engineering training across sectors to over 10,000 Saudi professionals through local and global programs
  • Focus on achieving in excess of US$100 million in value of exports of products and services from GE to different parts of the world including the US and Europe

With a presence of over 80 years, three offices and seven facilities, Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest GE workforce in the Middle East with over 2,000 employees driving the Aviation, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Power & Water and Transportation businesses.