Honeywell and Aramco have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to provide a set of end-to-end business process automation solutions, under the Aramco Namaat Industrial Investments Program.
The technology solutions will be offered to a wide range of industrial sectors to help maximise profitability, improve productivity, sustainability and operational excellence, on a global scale.
The new JV offerings will leverage Aramco’s Plant.Digital platform (formerly Integrated Manufacturing Operations Management System – iMOMS) as well as Honeywell Connected Enterprise’s technology development and industrial digital solutions implementation experience.
The JV aims to equip industrial companies with the tools, processes and practices they need to run plant operations more effectively and accelerate sustainable digital transformation and operational excellence initiatives. It will emphasise the development, integration, and deployment of Operations Technology (OT) solutions and Digital Transformation consulting.
Commenting on the joint venture, Ahmad Al Sa’adi, SVP Technical Services at Aramco, said: “This JV agreement with Honeywell is expected to bring new jobs to the market, contribute to economic growth and serves as another way in which Aramco continues to pursue its Digital Transformation program as part of its evolution to become the world’s leading digitalized energy corporation.”
Meanwhile, Kevin Dehoff, president and CEO, Honeywell Connected Enterprise, said: “The powerful combination of Aramco’s business, operations, technology and Plant.Digital delivery expertise, coupled with Honeywell’s proven experience in industrial software and big data analytics solutions, as well as our long tenure in the Kingdom, is anticipated to unlock tremendous value for the industry.”
The new JV is expected to create more than 300 jobs in Saudi Arabia within five years, supporting the Aramco Namaat Industrial Investments Program, which is designed to boost Saudi economic and workforce development.
The collaboration highlights the efforts of Aramco and Honeywell to support Saudi Vision 2030 – the national roadmap to transform the Kingdom into an industrial powerhouse and a global logistics hub. The vision’s focus is on developing high-tech and knowledge-based careers that add significant value to the Saudi economy to compete globally.
Honeywell and Aramco have partnered for more than 60 years to drive Saudi Arabia’s industrial leadership forward through technology and innovation. This JV is the latest milestone in that journey, building on an MoU signed between Honeywell and Aramco in September 2021 to explore the co-development and commercialization of a next-generation digital technology solution for industrial companies. Closing of the joint venture is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The companies also signed an MoU in 2017 to explore the benefits of Honeywell’s Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) offering in support of Saudi Vision 2030.