By Laura S. in't Veld
Supply chain events conducted in Turkey, the U.K. and Germany.
Potential suppliers spoke to our delegation one-on-one, exploring the potential business opportunities with Aramco in more detail.
As part of the In-Kingdom Total Value Add (iktva) program, the team from Aramco Europe has been working hard to scout and expand the supply chain program among European manufacturers, engineering companies, and contractors.
They traveled around the continent, organizing country focused events to explore business opportunities for companies in Saudi Arabia, strengthening Aramco’s global supply chain with new potential partners for critical commodities and technologies.
From Turkey to Scotland to Germany
The series of supply chain focused events kicked off in Ankara, Turkey, where more than 150 contractor representatives convened to listen to Aramco’s ambitions in a wide range of fields, such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, energy and electricity, infrastructure, and housing projects.
These companies, members of the Turkish Contractors Association, collectively represented expertise from well over 11,000 projects across 133 countries over the past 50 years.
The team then moved on to Aberdeen, Scotland, where they were joined by about 1,700 attendees from 800 companies at the Energy Exports Conference. Organized by the Energy Industries Council, the event focused on enabling business owners to find new routes to growth and resilience in the continuing difficult market conditions.
Aramco Europe’s president and CEO, Ahmed Alkhunaini, is joined by the team working to expand Aramco’s supply chain program across the continent.
In this context, Aramco Europe president and CEO Ahmed Alkhunaini emphasized the importance of the materials transition. He highlighted that developments in sustainable materials, in an attempt to compensate for high emission and hard-to-abate industries such as steel, aluminum, and concrete, would offer great opportunities for innovators in these areas.
A third event was hosted in Frankfurt, in collaboration with Germany’s engineering industry association, VDMA. The event brought approximately 100 companies together, representing an important voice for the machinery and equipment manufacturing industry.
In support of taking “Made in Saudi Arabia” to a higher strategic level, attendees had an opportunity to interact with a German company who is already progressing its localization plan in Saudi Arabia.
At each of these events, attendees had the opportunity to speak to Aramco one-on-one, exploring the potential business opportunities with Aramco in more detail.
A World-class Supply Chain
Through these efforts we are building a world-class supply chain to support our needs and the needs of our partners. With locally accessible, reliable, and innovative partners, Aramco is focused on delivering greater value and enabling continued growth.
Iktva, being a catalyst for the development of the Saudi energy services sector, helps us to attract, establish, and promote an industry that is globally competitive. Further activation across Europe, through more of these events, will follow later in the year.
— The Arabian Sun: July 10, 2023