GE Oil & Gas won the ‘Best in Supplier Development’ honour at the In Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) Excellence Awards programme.
The programme marked the first anniversary of the launch of IKTVA, Saudi Aramco’s value creating contribution to Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Programme. The IKTVA Excellence Awards recognise demonstrated excellences in local value creation, and value added local content in Saudi Arabia. Awardees are recognised local value creation partners of Aramco.
Among GE’s key initiatives that supported the goals of IKTVA in strengthening the Saudi supply chain are the opening of the second phase of the GE Manufacturing Technology Center (GEMTEC) in Dammam that manufactures heavy duty gas turbines in the Kingdom. GE Oil & Gas has already delivered 12 high-efficiency gas compression trains for the Phase 1 of Saudi Aramco’s Master Gas System expansion project, which were assembled fully at GEMTEC.
GE Oil & Gas also contributes to the IKTVA programme with the GE Oil & Gas Multi-Modal Manufacturing Centre, a manufacturing, assembly, repair, services, and training facility in Dammam that will create 100 high quality jobs. It will serve as a hub for the full portfolio of businesses under GE Oil & Gas, including digital solutions, downstream technology solutions, turbomachinery solutions, subsea and surface, as well as all services of the recently acquired Alstom Grid business.
Further, GE, Saudi Aramco and Cividale SpA are jointly working to build the region’s first-of-its-kind, world-class Forging & Casting Manufacturing Facility, which will supply the Kingdom and global markets with forged and cast materials for the Marine and Energy industries. With a total investment of $400 million, the facility will be operational by 2020 and create over 2,000 new local jobs.
As part of GE’s initiatives to empower Saudi SMEs, GE hosted the Global Supplier Forum in Riyadh this year. The objective of the global event was to encourage GE’s international suppliers to either establish or increase their presence in the Kingdom. The Forum convened over 500 partners and suppliers from over 20 countries. Over 300 local Saudi manufacturers – qualified GE suppliers and local suppliers invited by MODON, SAGIA and Saudi Aramco – networked with GE’s international suppliers for potential new partnerships and to become part of a global supply chain.
In 2016, building on the IKTVA theme of partnerships formed for mutual benefit, Saudi Aramco launched IKTVA Excellence Award to recognise demonstrated local content achievements and commitment within Saudi Aramco’s supplier network. The idea of awarding and recognising top performers in the IKTVA programme came from Prince Saud bin Nayef Al-Sa’ud, who called for awarding the best suppliers during the launch of IKTVA on December 2015.
