JEDDAH, 25 February 2007 — LG Electronics and Shaker Group of Companies announced yesterday plans to build a manufacturing plant for air conditioners in the Kingdom.
On the sidelines of a conference organized by the two companies for introducing their latest, advanced air-conditioners at Alhamra Sofitel Hotel, top executives of the two companies said the groundbreaking ceremony for the facility will be held next month.
“The $10 million plant, being established at the Third Industrial City in Riyadh, will go into production by 2007-end and initially produce 300,000 air conditioning units per year,” Kang Yongjn, LG’s Seoul-based vice president for air conditioning overseas sales, said. “The plant will manufacture a wide range of its air conditioners, including window and centralized units and gradually increase its capacity to 500,000 units in the next few years.”
Shaker Group of Companies’ Chief Executive Officer Hassan G.I. Shaker told Arab News that “Saudis will constitute a sizable number of engineers and technicians at the plant.”
Yongjn predicted bright prospects for the company’s air conditioners, as the Kingdom’s mega cities were being planned and developed. “We expect the size of the Saudi market for air conditioners to be around 0.3 million this year, he said, adding that while the local facility will aim to meet the local requirements, it will also consider exporting to other parts of the Gulf. He said LG has decided invest $200 million in research and development this year, adding that this constitutes five percent of its overall $4 billion investment for the year.
“We are also embarking on strengthening our human resources by 2010,” Yongjin said. “We will recruit 1,200 to 2,000 qualified and efficient employees worldwide every year by 2010.”
He further said that in 2006, LG’s global market share reached 17 percent — the year in which the Korean electronic giant made a record shipment of 12.3 million units. America remains one of LG’s biggest markets worldwide. “In fact, our air conditioning division has been contributing about 13 percent to the company’s overall profits,” he noted.
Claiming LG’s leadership position in the Kingdom, the region and worldwide, Yongjin said: “We are sure that we will definitely continue with our outstanding achievements and maintain the number one position globally in spite of the unfavorable environment such as high oil and raw material prices.”
LG has developed its next generation commercial air conditioners including multi-power system and Multi-V through its continued research and development investment. “By providing such high value-added commercial air conditioners, we will accelerate efforts to maintain our top position in the Saudi market,” Yongjin said. “After all, the Kingdom remains a very important market in the GCC and we will make all efforts to remain on top, as our latest products are all environment-friendly and energy-savers, in line with the recently launched official campaign,” he added.