Prominent Indian businessman Siddeek Ahmed, who heads the Alkhobar-based Eram Group, was among the key backers of the Techno Feast 2012 event organized by Indian Engineers Forum's Dammam chapter on Thursday.

Eram Group sponsored the IEF awards that were presented to two leading Indian researchers at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM). Professor S.M. Javaid Zaidi and Dr. S.U. Rahman were in the news recently for having won the prestigious Almarai Prize for Scientific Innovation.

Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao honored Zaidi and Rahman in the presence of nearly 150 Indian engineers, including IEF Chairman Amir A. Khan, Dammam Chapter President Shuja Sheriff, Vice President Mohammed Z. Nadeem, Ather Jamal, Mir Imran Ali, Javed Farooq, Feroz Sulaiman, Mateen Ahmed and Syed Imran.

The IEF president acknowledged the support of Eram Group and other corporates. "We are looking forward to increasing our cooperation with the Alkhobar-based Eram Group and other companies in the Eastern Province," said Sheriff. "For us honoring these two engineers was extremely important, and we are thankful that Siddeek Ahmed supported our idea."

Eram Group employs a large number of engineers in Saudi Arabia and abroad. Founded in the mid-1980s, the group has achieved an exponential growth in recent years.

"Our phenomenal growth is guided by our corporate values -- teamwork, entrepreneurship, customer loyalty and social commitment," said Siddeek Ahmed. "Our most valuable assets are the more than 9,000 employees that work for us in 10 countries."

The group's activities span a wide range of industrial verticals, including oil and gas, petrochemicals, power, mining, water, automotive, health care, travel and tourism, information technology and electronics.