A high level delegation, headed by former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi visited the Saudi Cable Company Industrial Complex in Jeddah recently. Waheeb A. Linjawi, group president and MD, received them at the company’s corporate office.

Badawi got acquainted with the latest accomplishments of the company and its success in obtaining necessary approvals from Saudi Electricity Company as the first local supplier of Extra High Voltage Cables 380 kV, thereby enabling the group to get implementation contracts in this regard. Also, a presentation was made on the company’s growth and its distinction in a number of vital projects, locally as well as globally, as the main contractor for turnkey systems for power cable projects. The company’s plans includes expansion of its production lines for high voltage and extra high voltage cables to keep pace with the rising demand for them and acquisition of Elimsan Group in Turkey, which is a specialist manufacturer of electrical switchgear, transformers and related accessories.

Badawi visited the factories and observed the various stages of cable production as well as the “most modern” production lines that have been added under the expansion plan and recently commissioned. The expansion of the Industrial Complex for Power Cables is considered a vital accomplishment aimed at increasing the production capacity and ensuring high quality and customer service levels.
 


Jeddah-based Abdullah Hashim Company Ltd. (AHCL) hosted a delegation from the National Bearing Company Ltd. (NBC), part of the National Engineering Industries Ltd., Jaipur, India, which was founded in 1946 by industrialist B.M. Birla. The delegation, headed by Sanjeev Taparia, vice president marketing of National Engineering Industries, took part in the recently held ‘autocare arabia’ expo organized by Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions at the Jeddah Center for Forums & Events.

With a modest start of 30,000 bearings, the company is now manufacturing over four million bearings per month in over 500 different sizes, ranging from 6 mm bore to 1,300 mm outer diameter, and has the capacity to manufacturing bearings up to 2,000 mm outer diameter.

With ever increasing activities and grant of industrial licenses for other vital industries and manufacturing, the name of the company was changed in 1958 to National Engineering Industries Ltd. while retaining its original trademark NBC. “NBC is the only unit in India manufacturing a wide variety and range of bearing such as ball bearings, steel balls, tapered roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings and axle boxes for railway rolling stock including spherical roller bearings, cartridge tapered roller bearings and large diameter special bearings in separate fully equipped factories,” Taparia said.
 
 
KAU/Sungard

King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) in Jeddah is embarking on a plan to transform itself into an ‘Open Digital Campus’ (ODC), which is described as a new vision and technology strategy that aims to give it more flexibility to shape how technology meets the evolving needs. The university is in its deliberating stage and will officially announce it as soon as various modalities are worked out with its partners.

“The cost of the new project and its implementation will follow in due course,” KAU’s dean of Admission and Registration Abdulfattah Suliman Mashat told reporters at the meeting he and other officials had with a SunGard Higher Education team comprising GM Mathew Boice, SVP International Chris Howgego, and Osama S. Al-Saif, GCC account manager.

The ODC gives higher education leaders more freedom to address today’s rapidly changing needs and readies them to meet the demands of tomorrow’s higher education constituents,” said Boice. ‘Open’ refers to expanding the digital campus to include the use of modern technologies and alternative delivery methods, and also simplifying the interfaces with various systems through the use of industry standards.
 

A group of Saudis from the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (JCCI) Minaret Business Organization (MBO) headed for Japan to study the Japanese culture and economy for a week from May 13. The 15-member delegation is touring different Japanese cities including Osaka and Kyoto, according to Japanese Consul General Toshimitsu Ishigure.

An orientation program was held for the Japan-bound group before leaving Jeddah. The consul general told the group that the visit was meant to enable them get first hand knowledge of the economy, culture and lifestyle of Japan and also its success as an economic power.

Hassan Abdulmouti, GM, project management, Abdul Latif Jameel Co. Ltd., dealt at great length on Japan’s culture and tradition and focused on its competitive success in general and the Toyota philosophy in particular. “Japanese people follow discipline, etiquette and cleanliness in their public dealings. They always uphold punctuality and sincerity in their human and business dealings,” Abdulmouti added. Some members of the Saudi Association of Japan Graduates and Associates (SAJDA) were among those present. SAJDA’s members are mostly graduates from Japanese universities.
 

Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA), claimed to be the largest commercial helicopter and fixed wing aircraft operator in the Middle East, has signed an AED80 million deal with the Saudi Red Crescent Authority. ADA is set to provide six fully crewed air ambulances for Saudi Arabia’s leading humanitarian organization. The agreement, signed at the Abu Dhabi headquarters of ADA, will further strengthen bilateral ties between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Nader Ahmed Al-Hammadi, MD, ADA, and Dr. Rasheed Al-Eid, CEO, Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) signed the agreement. Among those present was Saudi Ambassador in the UAE Ibrahim Bin Saad Ibrahim.

ADA will provide six fully crewed air ambulances to Saudi Red Crescent, which will provide invaluable support to the Saudi Emergency Medical Services Program. These will include four Bell 412 and two AW 139 helicopters, which will be stationed in Riyadh and Jeddah providing 24/7 coverage. The Saudi Red Crescent Authority Air Ambulance Service, launched in December 2009, offers rapid transportation of patients and accident victims to hospitals.
 

Siemens displayed its vast portfolio of products and solutions for the petrochemical industry from the divisions of industrial automation, oil and gas, and drive, building and water technologies at the 9th SABIC Technical Meeting Exhibition and conference held in Jubail recently. Siemens also presented two technical papers in the conference on ‘Asset Management’ and ‘Process Automation.’ It received an award from SABIC on its contribution to the event as a diamond sponsor.

At the exhibition, Siemens demonstrated a strong commitment to green business and to the global mega trends of climate change and urbanization.