As part of its long-term partnership with the Saudi government and in support of its Vision 2030, 3M has announced its investment plans.

Osama Hammoudeh, MD at 3M, stated: “3M received its license from Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allowing the company to operate directly in the Kingdom following the submission of a business plan prepared by the company encompassing a total investment of $100 million over three strategic phases.”

Hammoudeh added: “3M is present in Saudi Arabia since 1980s; however, its direct presence in the Kingdom was in 2009 when it established a representative office to provide scientific and technical support to our customers and partners in the local market.”

Mansour Aljuaid, GM, country government business development and strategic planning at 3M, stated: “Saudi Arabia is one of the top 10 countries maintaining sustained growth for our international operations.”

“3M’s ambitious plans for the Kingdom were initiated in 2014 and they continue,” Aljuaid added.

“Our investment plans continue in a phased manner. In first phase (2017-2019), we will establish our manufacturing footprint in the Kingdom by manufacturing some of the products currently sold in the local market. This phase will focus on the health care and infrastructure market segments. In the second phase (2020-2023), the company will expand its manufacturing capabilities to cover more of the local market to pave the road toward exporting products to other countries. This also includes a plan for 3M to establish R&D centers to develop new application for new products. The third phase will be based on the outcome of the first two phases,” Aljuaid said.

3M, which is currently serving Saudi Arabia commercially through its Dubai office, provides technical support through a technical and scientific office, and operates customer technical centers and a learning center in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.