In a major move to cut reliance on foreign workers in line with government’s policies, Al-Sadhan Trading Co. has signed an agreement with the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) that will facilitate the employment of 458 Saudis in Al-Sadhan’s operations across the Kingdom. This will bring the total number of Saudis to 3,000 to be employed by Al-Sadhan in a staggered schedule during the next three years. The accord will also cover on-the-job training and employment of Saudi job seekers in different departments of Al-Sadhan’s operations. “The agreement falls in line with our strategy to reach Saudization targets,” said Khaled Al-Sadhan, a member of the Al-Sadhan board of directors. Khaled said that “this step reflects the company’s commitment and efforts to promote localization of workforce in our operations, mainly in the hypermarkets.” Khaled said that the company in cooperation with the HRDF will train and employ 458 Saudis. The move is in keeping with Al-Sadhan’s $300 million expansion plan that would see the opening of 18 hypermarkets in the Kingdom within the next few years.
ZAC
Zamil Air Conditioners (ZAC), the leading international manufacturer of air conditioning systems in the Middle East, has become the first Middle Eastern company to achieve the newest Eurovent certification for its air handling units (AHU) TW/TW(H) Series. ZAC units have successfully passed the requirements of the new Eurovent regulations OM-5-2006, which mandate tolerances between the calculated values and the measured values of only +/- 2 percent for air quantities, air pressure drops, cooling media pressure drops, cooling capacities, heating capacities, energy wheel heat recovery performance, and filtration. Previous regulations 6/C/005-1999 included tolerances of +/- 10 percent. Eurovent is a capacity/performance certification that has been made mandatory in Europe and is quickly becoming the operational standard around the world. The Eurovent Certification Program for Air Handling Units supplies a common platform for product evaluation, providing consultants, contractors and consumers with the confidence that product operation will be consistent with the stated performance data.
Al Baik
Al Baik Food Systems Ltd launched its four week summer program “With Al Baik You Are the House Hero” at a press conference held on June 13 at the Vocational Industrial Institute, Jeddah, in the presence of officials from the Saudi Red Crescent and the Saudi Civil Defense. The participants in the program are more than 300 students, all eager to make the most of their summer vacation by discovering their latent talents and learning practical skills in a variety of fields. Directed at boys 12-18 years of age and girls 10-16 years of age, the summer program, now in its sixth consecutive year, is part of teaching a new generation of students how to handle social responsibilities and prepare them for their future role in society. The overall objective of the program is to support social development.