GE Oil & Gas on Wednesday won the ‘Best in Supplier Development' honor at the In Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) Excellence Awards program that marked the first anniversary of the launch of iKTVA, Saudi Aramco's value creating contribution to Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program. The iktva Excellence Awards recognize demonstrated excellences in local value creation, and value added local content in Saudi Arabia. Awardees are recognized local value creation partners of Saudi Aramco. Prince Saud Bin Nayef Al-Saud presented the award to Rami Qasem, President and CEO, GE Oil & Gas, Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, and Rod Christie, CEO, Turbomachinery Solutions, GE Oil & Gas. "Through this award, GE is recognized for its efforts in developing the capabilities of In-Kingdom suppliers in a number of areas, such as technical capabilities, technology transfer, quality improvement and integration into the international supply chain. Other considerations included GE's costs in supporting development of local supply-chain capabilities," said the Award citation by Saudi Aramco. Rami Qasem, President and CEO, GE Oil & Gas, MENAT, said: "Winning the first iktva Excellence Award is a great honor for us, and a strong testament to GE's continued commitment to localization not only in Saudi talents but also in building the SME ecosystem of the Kingdom. We empower our Saudi suppliers to strengthen their technical competencies, help build an assured market for their products, create new jobs for Saudi youth, and also drive exports growth, contributing to the increased competitiveness of the economy." Among GE's key initiatives that supported the goals of iktva in strengthening the Saudi supply chain are the opening of the second phase of the GE Manufacturing Technology Center (GEMTEC) in Dammam that manufactures heavy duty gas turbines in the Kingdom. GE Oil & Gas has already delivered 12 high-efficiency gas compression trains for the Phase 1 of Saudi Aramco's Master Gas System expansion project, which were assembled fully at GEMTEC. The GE Oil & Gas Pressure Control Manufacturing Facility at MODON in Dammam 2nd Industrial City is another investment by GE that supports the local supply chain. It already has the full competency to manufacture all ranges of wellhead equipment in the Kingdom to the highest specifications. The Pressure Control facility has now tripled its capacity to manufacture wellheads, valves and other equipment for the oil and gas sector in Saudi Arabia, as well as for exports. GE Oil & Gas also contributes to the iktva program with the GE Oil & Gas Multi-Modal Manufacturing Center, a manufacturing, assembly, repair, services, and training facility in Dammam that will create 100 high quality jobs. It will serve as a hub for the full portfolio of businesses under GE Oil & Gas, including Digital Solutions, Downstream Technology Solutions, Turbomachinery Solutions, Subsea and Surface, as well as all services of the recently acquired Alstom Grid business. Further, GE, Saudi Aramco and Cividale SpA are jointly working to build the MENA region's first-of-its-kind, world-class Forging & Casting Manufacturing Facility, which will supply the Kingdom and global markets with forged and cast materials for the Marine and Energy industries. With a total investment of US$400 million, the facility will be operational by 2020 and create over 2,000 new local jobs. As part of GE's initiatives to empower Saudi SMEs, GE hosted the Global Supplier Forum in Riyadh this year. The objective of the global event was to encourage GE's international suppliers to either establish or increase their presence in the Kingdom. The Forum convened over 500 partners and suppliers from over 20 countries. Over 300 local Saudi manufacturers - qualified GE suppliers and local suppliers invited by MODON, SAGIA and Saudi Aramco - networked with GE's international suppliers for potential new partnerships and to become part of a global supply chain. In 2015, Saudi Aramco announced a dramatic change to the standard of doing business with the company and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In partnership with its supplier network, the company announced it will double the percentage of locally-produced energy-related goods and services to 70% by 2021, increase the level of exports for local energy goods and services industry to 30%, and help the energy sector to deliver hundreds of thousands of new well-paid jobs for Saudis citizens. The ambitious program, called iktva will have far-reaching impacts on the Saudi economy, and will be a win-win for Saudi Aramco, for the Kingdom, and for the companies that do business here. In 2016, building on the iktva theme of partnerships formed for mutual benefit, Saudi Aramco launched iktva Excellence Award to recognize demonstrated local content achievements and commitment within Saudi Aramco's supplier network. The idea of awarding and recognizing top performers in the iktva program came from Prince Saud Bin Nayef Al-Sa'ud, who called for awarding the best suppliers during the launch of iktva on Dec. 1, 2015. With a presence of over 80 years, three offices and seven facilities, Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest GE workforce in the Middle East with over 2,000 employees driving the Aviation, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Power & Water and Transportation businesses. — SG
