(MENAFN - Arab News) Yokogawa Saudi Arabia (YSA) and Saudi Aramco signed a corporate procurement agreement (CPA) that encompasses all the services that Yokogawa will provide to Saudi Aramco.
At a press conference held at Dhahran Techno Valley office, YSA executives emphasized that their strong commitment to Saudi Arabia had paved the way to sign the strategic agreement with Saudi Aramco.
Shuzo Kaihori, president and CEO of Yokogawa Electric Corporation, said: "With the true and sincere support of the Saudi government, customers and academia, Yokogawa Saudi Arabia has successfully executed many process automation projects in the region."
"Yokogawa has doubled the size of its facilities in the Dhahran Techno-Valley. In addition to engineering and project execution capabilities, the expanded facilities allow Yokogawa to manufacture specific components of its control systems and to strengthen its research and development activities," said Kaihori Pierre DeVuyst, senior executive vice president.
"The total investment of the Yokogawa Saudi Arabia in the Kingdom is about 15,000,000 dollars, however, we can't give figures for the upcoming projects' investments," he added.
Akira Ogawa, president and CEO of YSA, said: "The CPA with Saudi Aramco covers equipment supply, project management, engineering, spare parts, and maintenance services. It greatly simplifies the process by which Saudi Aramco purchases process automation equipment from Yokogawa. Yokogawa is the first automation vendor to sign such an agreement with Saudi Aramco."
Regarding the Saudi employment and training at YSA, Ahmed Al-Abdrabbuh, senior executive vice president, said: "Yokogawa Saudi Arabia has trained nearly 130 Saudi trainees. However, these trainees also have benefited from the programs, which include visits to Yokogawa global engineering centers in Japan, Singapore, and the Netherlands. Under the Nitaqat program, Yokogawa is in the top platinum Saudization tier, and will firmly remain at this level in the future. The current work force of 300 at Yokogawa Saudi Arabia includes a large female engineering team. This team supports not only Saudi projects but also projects in other GCC countries."
Through these projects, Yokogawa has developed the capabilities of many Saudi engineers and technicians by deploying and fully involving them in every facet of project execution, and will remain in the Kingdom with a work force that has the knowledge and expertise to support its installed base throughout its lifecycle," said Kaihori.
Appreciating the contributions made by the Saudi engineers, Kaihori said: "I am not exaggerating when I say that Yokogawa Saudi Arabia's operation owes much of its success to the central role played by these Saudi personnel."
