RIYADH: When competition is stiff and global, one has to venture out onto uncharted routes and try something new and challenging. “If Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd. stands tall in the world and here in the Kingdom today, it is mainly because it has been able to blend its technological prowess with highest standard of business ethics,” said Shin-Youl Kang, vice president and resident director of Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd., in an interview, here on the occasion of Korean National Day.
Currently engaged in building the world’s largest ammonia plant for Ma’aden, a prestigious Saudi mining company, Samsung’s successful Saudi story, since it began in 1999, has been one of more a fusion than just an entrepreneurial adventure. It’s a blend of technology, professional engineers as well as talented and potential Saudi engineers — where business prospects of a foreign enterprise and social needs of the host country are blended together to make it what Samsung calls it “co-prosperity”.
Inclusive of the Ma’aden Ammonia Project, which is going to be completed by Dec. 2010, Samsung in Saudi Arabia has a number of projects such as TASNEE Ethylene project, APPC PDH/PP project, SHARQ EG project, Ibn Zahr PP-III, Ibn Zahr OCT, Kayan PP project, Kayan Amines project and Aramco DHT project amounting to $4.4 billion.
Referring to the Samsung’s growing presence in the Kingdom, Kang said, “Samsung Saudi Arabia Ltd. has emerged as a major player in the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) market of the Gulf region with a remarkable performance.” The company, he said, has handed over five multimillion dollar projects to its clients in the year 2008 ahead of time with the satisfaction of customers overcoming the demanding market situation in Saudi Arabia.
“As a major player in the high-tech petrochemical and oil and gas plant market, Samsung Saudi Arabia ranks as an important regional power that creates high future value for customers,” he said. It is mainly because of its emphasis on strengthening customer-oriented business and enhancing project execution capabilities.
Of all the future projects, Samsung pins much hope on its ‘In Kingdom Engineering, Procurement and Construction’ (IK EPC) Establishment. The objectives behind this establishment are to upgrade project execution capability for local EPC projects, to contribute in job creation in harmony with Saudi government policy, to expand the business portfolio and searching for the opportunity, to contribute to Saudization in high-technology and to get along with local society for co-prosperity.
“The idea is to establish the IK EPC to maximize the local contents and Saudization,” explained Kang, while giving the salient features of this new challenge. Also in line with Saudi government policy, “we are going to contribute in job creation and transfer the technology and project management know-how”, Kang explained.
“All resources will be mobilized in Saudi Arabia, and all activities required for IK EPC and project management will be done in the Kingdom, which means local content will be 100 percent,” he said. “At the initial stage, we are going to mobilize about 320 staff from South Korea, India, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and local partners,” the Samsung official said.
“We have already deployed recently nine professional engineers and management staff from the headquarter of Samsung Engineering as members of our team and now we are processing and preparing to recruit senior technical staff from Saudi Arabia, India, the Philippines, Indonesia and so on,” he noted. The resident director was also quite upbeat about Samsung Jubail Complex (Tentatively, Samsung “Naffora” Techno Valley Project), which will be constructed in a plot of 50,000 square meter inside the Jubail support industry area. The objectives behind setting up Samsung “Naffora” Techno Vally are to upgrade the regional safety standards, training and education for transfer of high technology and global project managerial skills, to be the headquarter of IK EPC company to improve the EPC capability and human resources development for young, potential Saudi staff and worldwide engineers. This will be done through continuous education, and global R&D Center for the research in desalination and solar energy sector necessary for the Kingdom, he explained.
Asked about the completion of the projects, Kang said that all the projects are running ahead of schedule or on-schedule despite the market situation such as shortage of construction resources based on advance management. “One of our core values is co-prosperity with local society,” he added. As a link of this philosophy, Kang said, “Samsung is planning to do a lot in corporate social responsibility and safety management and training”.
The company set up a Safety Training Center. This ambitious initiative will help young Saudi engineers and technicians to learn about safety rules and practices along with the world class standards of safety.
“It’s a unique and outstanding facility to improve the safety standards in the Jubail area for our esteemed clients, subcontractors and public through the experience of comparable situation between safe and unsafe condition based on the experience of operation for the safety training center in Korea,” Kang said.
The company is poised to consolidate and enlarge operations after successfully completing several mega projects ahead of schedule and is continuously securing major orders from oil/petrochemical giants such as ARAMCO/SABIC, etc. To maintain its aggressive growth in Saudi Arabia and to staff its IK EPC, Samsung is looking for talented and dynamic professionals. Samsung is seeking to fill large number of positions in design/engineering, procurement, construction and project management field for its newly established ‘In Kingdom Engineering, Procurement and Construction’ (IK EPC) office in AlKhobar. The newly established EPC office offers deserving candidates the opportunity to work in leading positions and a fast career growth.
Referring to Samsung’s contributions to Saudi society, for which it has shown its commitment since the very first day of operation, Kang said that Samsung Saudi Arabia has been involved in several social and charitable projects in the past. The company, he said, has donated a major dining facility in Jubail for children suffering from disability disease called “down syndrome.”
He said, “It is company’s philosophy to contribute to the local society and share moments of happiness with everyone.”