ALJ
Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, president of Abdul Latif Jameel Group (ALJ), opened the “Customer Comes First” center, which is launched in line with its “Customer Comes First” program. The center hosts all departments, a call center with 50 employees to receive remarks and comments from guests, and after sales service related to maintenance and spare parts. The center also encompasses divisions, such as human resources, “Toyota Way” continuous development (Kaizen), and branch development and after sales service planning. The center gives utmost care to gather remarks and comments from guests, and includes activities covering planning and preparation on how to provide care. Jameel said the center would focus on root-deepening customer care, which is of one of the most important foundations upon which ALJ was established. Engineer Jameel said that the center will be specialized in developing strategies. Meanwhile, in its most admired companies list, Fortune magazine recently named Toyota the world’s most admired company in motor companies’ category and the world’s third in the general category after Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The top 50 most admired companies list included BMW in 28th and Honda in 32nd positions. Dillard was the least admired company.
MOBILY
Mobily on Wednesday gave away the first prize after having extended its hawiyyati campaign. The prize, a brand new 2009 Toyota Camry, went to winner Abdulrahman Abdulhamid of India. Abdulhamid was given the prize by Waleed Aldosary, information flow supervisor at Mobily’s commercial support and development, and Mohammed Al-Suwailem, a representative of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Mobily’s incentives have greatly encouraged subscribers to update their personal data in order to preserve their security and privacy,” Abdulhamid said. Mobily announced earlier this year that the Hawiyyati campaign would be extended till year-end, saying at the time that it was extended thanks to its popularity among subscribers. Mobily launched the campaign in 2008 in response to directives by the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission, which ordered all mobile operators in the Kingdom to have their prepaid subscribers update their personal data. Mobily did not only dispatch SMS messages to its subscribers, but opted to invigorate public response with the Hawiyyati campaign.
LUFTHANSA
“The economic meltdown has created difficulties. However, with every crisis comes an opportunity,” Abdul Aziz Mangera, Lufthansa’s Jeddah-based regional manager for Western Province said at the airline’s agency awards function this week. “There is no doubt that 2009 will be a challenge, but we are ready to face it,” he said. “This is our opportunity to capitalize on the crisis and therefore we have invested in this market with additional capacity,” he said, adding that the German and Swiss national carriers together have become more innovative in a bid to continuously increase their efficiency and improve their in-flight and ground products. “It’s a company in which a strong team, strong products and a strong balance were decisive in ensuring success.” German Consul General Michael Zickerick and Swiss Consul General Adrien Evequoz are both upbeat about the prospects of their national carriers together continuing with their success story. Zickerick said he was present at a meeting of General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), following which Lufthansa started operating from Jeddah daily and is complimented by four weekly Swiss international flights. Lufthansa and Swiss together offer 29 flights from all three international airports of the Kingdom. The German carrier is celebrating 40 years of uninterrupted service to Jeddah on May 7. Evequoz said the Swiss national carrier had made its contribution to the group’s positive results. The two consuls general presented awards to travel agencies including ACE, Alireza, Attar, Elaf, ITC, Kanoo, Mirage, Musaid, Alnawras, Portfolio, STTB, Al-Tayyar, Transad, TTS and Zahid.
SABIC
Mohamed Al-Mady, CEO and vice chairman of SABIC, has been awarded the 2009 Petrochemical Heritage Award at the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association’s International Petrochemical Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Al-Mady was recognized for his outstanding contributions to the petrochemical community and, as a recipient of this year’s award, he joins a select group of honorees chosen in previous years for their distinguished service in the industry. The Petrochemical Heritage Award was established in 1997 to recognize leaders who inspire achievement and promote public understanding of the modern sciences, industries, and economies. The award was presented on behalf of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, the Founders Club and the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association at the NPRA’s annual Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “The business of petrochemicals is an increasingly global one and no one knows better the challenges and opportunities of internationalization than Mohamed Al-Mady. As CEO of one of the largest petrochemical companies in the world, he has engineered SABIC’s growth from a regional to a global industry leader that is at the forefront of reshaping the worldwide chemical industry,” Thomas Tritton, president and CEO of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, said. Al-Mady has been vice chairman and CEO of SABIC since July 1998.
WAHOOO!
From the team that brought the wonder of snow to Dubai, comes their latest enterprise, Wahooo! a waterpark adventure in Bahrain. The makers of Ski Dubai, the world-famous indoor snow resort in the desert, will open their latest attraction, a 15,000 square meter indoor “aqua-park” in the heart of Bahrain’s capital this summer. Wahooo! is an incredible mix of slides, chutes and rising rapids in the largest temperature-controlled waterpark in the region. Among the many attractions is the exciting “Flowrider”, one of the world’s largest full size surfing machines, a 190 meter “Masterblaster Rollercoaster” and a four-lane “Matt Racer” that loops around the outer edge of the waterpark. All this is at a guaranteed 30 degrees Celsius — all year round! Wahooo! is located within Bahrain’s largest and newest 1.5 million square foot retail offering, the Bahrain City Center. Damien Latham, general manager Wahooo! Waterpark said: “Wahooo! has already generated a lot of excitement across the region. It promises to be an exciting new addition to Bahrain’s leisure offering. People, young and old, will have a great adventure and the name Wahooo! says it all.”
LANDMARK
Landmark Properties, one of the major real estate companies in the Middle East, has opened an office in the UK. The office, located at Mayfair, London, caters to clients in the Middle East who are interested in taking advantage of the up to 50 percent savings available on properties in the current UK market. “The London office has been set up as our clients in the UAE and neighboring countries have shown great interest in investing in the UK. Investment opportunities are available now as property prices are dropping and the UK market continues to be both solid and mature. Our London Property Consultants are providing our clients strategic counsel on neighborhoods in the UK and helping educate them on the different types of properties available for investment. Some clients are even inquiring on the relocation process which we are able to assist with as well,” said John Michael, manager, Landmark Properties UK. Investors from the Gulf are finding that the UK is a proven property market with robust long-term fundamentals. Mature markets such as London have been through many previous cycles, experiencing both peaks and troughs, so the longer term movements can be anticipated. Therefore, analysts estimate that property values in the UK may appreciate considerably in value in the next 3 to 4 years.
MAGRABI
Magrabi Hospitals and Centers has signed an agreement with the Saudi Human Resources Fund represented by its General Director in the Eastern Province Hisham Lanjawi. As per the deal, Magrabi will train the fifth group of high school students in order to prepare them for their career life after graduation. The initiative came during the commencement ceremony of the Saudi Work Exhibition that was opened by deputy minister of labor, Abdul Wahid Al-Hameed. A tour was taken around Magrabi’s exhibition wing. Mansour Al-Omari, HR director at Magrabi Hospitals & Centers, said: “Magrabi’s strategy goes in line with the Kingdom’s overall goals in localizing jobs and increasing the percentage of Saudi employees in all establishments, as Magrabi is considered to be one of the biggest institutions in the Kingdom and among the first corporations that formed agreements with the HR fund. Magrabi is one of the biggest sponsors for the Saudi Institute for Medical services, whether financially or by training individuals for their future jobs.” Magrabi’s wing at the exhibition witnessed a big success as many visitors and attendees of the event took a tour around the booth and made many inquiries. Al-Omari also received a big number of job applications for Magrabi Hospitals and Centers.
BAB RIZQ JAMEEL
Thirty-five young men have joined Bab Rizq Jameel (BRJ), a program of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Programs (ALJCSP), through its taxi ownership program. The men have applied to the program among many others. They passed the interview and fulfilled program requirements, including holding a general driver’s license, being not involved with a public or private job, and passing the fingerprint test conducted by the security authorities, Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, CEO of job creators team at BRJ, presented keys of the cars to the beneficiaries. The full-options cars are delivered with full insurance cover. Payment period could be extended to four years, after which the beneficiary will own the car. Mohammed Hussein, one of the beneficiaries, was so pleased with joining the program.