GE Energy Opens Manufacturing Technology Center Within a Month (Saudi Arabia)

With less than a month to go to the opening of the GE Energy Manufacturing Technology Center, employees of GE in the Kingdom are looking forward to the educational and hands-on training prospects that the facility will offer.

The Center further expands GE’s local job creation and training commitment to Saudi Arabia and is the largest GE turbine repair center of its kind in the world, which will enhance local Saudi repair and service capabilities.

The facility is also designed to support Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2020 of expanding its manufacturing and export sectors. Additionally, a US$20 million training center hosted within the facility will offer the latest technology and managerial courses for talented Saudi nationals.

Hisham Bahkali, GE Energy’s Country Executive for Saudi Arabia, said: “To support Saudi Arabia’s economic expansion, it is important to empower the youth of the Kingdom with the latest knowledge and provide them with promising career opportunities. The GE Energy Manufacturing Technology Center represents a further GE commitment to the Kingdom to support Saudi’s economic growth. Our goal is to employ at least 500 Saudi nationals by 2015, who will become part of a 1,000-strong workforce at the GE Energy Manufacturing Technology Center.”

Several GE Saudi national employees are currently involved in the final preparation of the opening of GE Energy Manufacturing Technology Center. Mohammed Al Marzoug, a sourcing manager at GE Energy in Saudi Arabia, said: “The Center is an investment that will develop new technology in the energy services field, and create many career opportunities for the local population. I believe that the Center brings advanced repair technologies for energy solutions, which will greatly strengthen Saudi national skill levels.”

Zaki Almuhaisen, Rotor & Mechanical Cell Manager, GE Energy, added: “The GE Energy Manufacturing Technology Center offers on-the-job training opportunities to work on the most advanced technologies. It will bring, for the first time to Saudi Arabia and the region, advanced F-technology service and repair. Gas turbine technology is evolving and there are various aspects to its maintenance which we need to fully understand so we can provide timely support to our customers. I look forward to the value added learning experiences that the Center will offer, especially in rotors and related parts.”

GE is Saudi Arabia’s leading power generation technology provider with over 500 GE turbines installed in the Kingdom, generating half of Saudi Arabia’s power. GE’s advanced gas turbines as well as its water treatment technologies are also supporting the Kingdom and the region’s leading LNG and petrochemical companies to increase production and support their efforts in achieving environmental goals.

With nearly 80 years of experience in Saudi Arabia and over 800 employees in the Kingdom, GE has expanded its energy presence in the Kingdom through public-private partnerships and a strong footprint of facilities providing service repair support and customer training centers in power, water and oil and gas.

The GE Energy Manufacturing Technology Center has been developed in collaboration with GE’s joint venture partner Ali A. Tamimi Co. GE has also established the GE Saudi Water and Process Technology Center and a manufacturing facility for heat exchangers in association with Ali A. Tamimi & Co. As part of its commitment to knowledge sharing, GE has established the GE Energy Fuel Research Center at the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals as well as several leadership development and cooperative learning programs with leading institutions.

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Source: GE, May 17, 2011;