Toyota’s second largest service center in the Kingdom, Mega Khalidiya Body & Paint Service Center, opened in Dammam on Sunday in the presence of Katsutada Masumoto, managing officer at Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Faisal Abdalla, VP, Abdul Latif Jameel Co. (ALJ). “The new facility has been built to fulfill the demand for body and paint services in the Eastern Province and its size and state-of-the-art equipment emphasizes the importance ALJ attaches to reaching out to its customers in the region and providing them with the highest level of service excellence,” Abdalla said. Masumoto said: “Mega Khaldiya is not only a milestone for Dammam and the Eastern Province but for Saudi Arabia as well. Toyota stands for innovation, quality and advanced technology in cars, but its quality standards apply equally to sales and service, as can be seen in this superbly equipped new center. “Our workshops provide genuine Toyota parts and are manned by highly qualified technicians who use top-of-the-line tools and equipment with the latest technology for vehicle maintenance,” Abdalla added. Othman Al-Orabi, MD, at ALJ’s maintenance services, said: “The center is the largest of its kind in the Eastern Province and the second largest in the Kingdom with over 16,000 square meters in capacity area. It is staffed by more than 150 qualified technicians who were trained at the ALJ Center in the latest training programs adopted from Japan and they are continuously updated with the latest technologies.”

Qatar Airways has been named official airline of the “Tour de France” cycle race. This year’s edition — the 98th Tour de France — takes place from July 2 to 24. International cyclists such as Tom Boonen, Frank and Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador will be competing next month for the winner’s yellow jersey, eyeing victory in arguably one of the world’s most difficult races as it meanders through France before reaching the finale day along the Champs Elysees in the French capital. Announcing the exclusive partnership with the Tour de France organizers at a press conference in Paris this week were Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France, and Jean-Etienne Amaury, CEO of race organizers Amaury Sport Organization. In attendance were legendary cyclists Eddy Merckx of Belgium, and Frenchman Bernard Hinault, who each won the Tour de France five times. As Official Airline of the Tour de France, Doha-based Qatar Airways will fly all competing cyclists from the French city of Grenoble to Paris Orly International Airport on July 24 before they disembark for the final stage of the race. The airline will transport cyclists, teams and media on the special charter flight operated by a state-of-the-art Airbus A330 aircraft. Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways has a strong affiliation with cycling both in Qatar and around the globe and our sponsorship of the Tour de France is an excellent way of reinforcing our passion for this sport.

Saudi-based Al Rushaid Group has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Al Rushaid Petroleum Investment Company (ARPIC), has entered into a shareholder agreement with Raffles Education Middle East Ltd., in relation to the formation of a joint venture company by the name Raffles Education Middle East Group Ltd. (REMEG), to be operated under the laws and regulations of Saudi Arabia. Under the terms of the agreement, REMEG will be incorporated for the purpose of providing education services in certain countries across the Middle East including establishing and operating universities, institutes and training centers, pre-school, kindergarten, primary and secondary schools as well as the provision of professional training and education related consultancy services. REMEG is to be incorporated with a planned investment of SR300 million over a five-year period, starting in Riyadh and spreading across the Middle East. The joint venture is a major step toward enabling expertise in the Kingdom. Abdullah Al Rushaid, chairman, Al Rushaid Group, said in Dhahran: “Our capital investments and industrial units in the Kingdom have contributed significantly in creating jobs, local know-how and enhanced technological and manufacturing capabilities among Saudi nationals. Wafa Al Rushaid, CEO of REMEG, said: “We are committed to boosting our Saudization levels and providing impetus to the Saudization plan.” The group focuses on innovation and development of human resources.

Saudi Airlines Cargo is raising its freighter fleet by 3 additional B747’s to increase frequencies on the scheduled services and create more capacity for the charter market. The carrier will increase weekly freighter frequencies to 14 in Brussels, 5 to Amsterdam, 6 to Hong Kong, 5 to Johannesburg, 3 to Sharjah, 4 to Khartoum and 4 to Addis Ababa. The city of Ndjamena in Chad will be added to the growing network as new destination. With the arrival of an additional B747-400F, the fleet of Saudi Airlines Cargo will grow to 10 freighters and increase the frequencies on the scheduled services. In July, the carrier will add additional B747 to create availability for the ad hoc charter market. Shihab Al-Amoudi, head of global communications and advertising and media spokesperson of Saudi Airlines Cargo, said: “The frequency increases in Africa, Europe and Asia will strengthen our position in the air cargo market. To serve the ad hoc charter market better we are building a strong department headed by charter veteran Steve Manser.” Saudi Airlines Cargo operates 10 freighters and sells the belly-capacity on 125 passenger aircraft for Saudi Arabian Airlines spanning a rapidly expanding global network of 225 destinations.

Harman House, a retail chain in home, professional and car infotainment, is taking the hassle out of connecting a cable between your iPod and a speaker, with the launch of the new JBL ‘On-Air’ Wireless AirPlay speaker dock. The release of the new ‘On-Air’ speaker dock gives the Kingdom a first time look at Apple’s revolutionary technology for streaming audio between iOS devices. The new docking device gives users the advantage of playing music from their iTunes library on a Mac or a PC, and from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch device over your existing Wi-Fi network. The JBL ‘On-Air’ speaker dock features a bright LED color display that can display album artwork and song information. Users will also have easy control and navigation of their playlist through a provided remote control - making for easy navigation to next and previous track searching. As with all other AirPlay devices, the JBL ‘On-Air’ speaker dock requires iTunes 10.1 or newer software versions and iPhone, iPad or iPod touch with iOS 4.2 or any of the latest iOS versions. “Since the unveiling of our very first iPod dock, Harman has always been at the forefront of creating the most cutting-edge products for consumers,” said Amit Malani, president, Harman Middle East. “With the new JBL ‘On-Air’ wireless speaker dock, JBL will set the standard again by introducing a solution for music lovers to store, access and listen to their music content for an even greater seamless music experience within the home.”