Latest news with #Idex2025
The National
26-02-2025
- Business
- The National
How Emirati talent could drive 'homemade' manufacturing
When a product is described as 'homemade', the suggestion is that it is made with care and skill. In the UAE, several recent announcements that more citizens are to take up high-tech manufacturing jobs in the near future shows that the country is making a serious commitment to expanding its 'homemade' industrial and technical base. This week, jet engine maintenance specialist Sanad, an Abu Dhabi business owned by Mubadala Investment Company said its new aircraft engines overhaul deal with Pratt & Whitney would more than double its workforce and create more than 1,000 new jobs in Abu Dhabi, providing high-tech roles for Emiratis. Similarly, Thales Emarat Technologies, a defence and technology firm, this week said it aimed to double its workforce this year to 340 people, with 30 per cent of the new hires to be Emiratis. Pascale Sourisse, senior executive vice-president of international development at Thales, told The National that the company is also working with local universities to source Emirati talent, mainly engineers, for high-tech jobs. These developments come amid a string of high-profile contracts signed with local companies at Idex 2025, the Middle East's biggest defence and security expo that was held recently in the UAE capital. Over five days, the UAE awarded 55 defence contracts worth Dh25.15 billion ($6.8 billion). Close to 70 per cent of these were awarded to local companies. A look behind these impressive numbers reveals not a collection of unrelated developments and deals but a well-established national plan to transform the economy and enable the country's talent base. For example, last May it was announced that the UAE's industrial sector would receive an additional Dh23 billion ($6.3 billion) in funding, backed by major companies. Another example of prioritising 'homemade' industry is the UAE's Operation 300 Billion strategy that seeks to increase the contribution of the domestic industrial sector to the country's gross domestic product to Dh300 billion by 2031. The positive ripple effects as a result of this embrace of domestic manufacturing, development and engineering are many. As well as creating the next generation of highly skilled citizens through Emiratisation, it reduces the country's reliance on foreign suppliers for critical equipment, it drives research and development in cutting-edge technology and reduces vulnerability to geopolitical pressures on international supply chains. Somewhat counter-intuitively, it also helps to build better foreign partnerships. The more that significant companies like France's Thales and America's Pratt & Whitney invest in UAE talent, the more their expertise will inform the development of the domestic industrial sector. This is a practical partnership in which all sides benefit. As UAE companies and specialists develop more and better products, the export market fuelled by such innovations will also bring the country into a closer working relationship with foreign governments and other overseas customers. This week's developments show that the UAE is in the process of building a robust, Emirati-focused manufacturing sector to ensure future prosperity and resilience. That this can be achieved with the right foreign partnerships is testament to the country's agile approach to business. But Emirati technology and products that come with the 'homemade' tag could be a gamechanger for the UAE economy and the wider region.
The National
24-02-2025
- Automotive
- The National
Sanad jet engine deal with Pratt & Whitney to create 1,000 jobs in Abu Dhabi
Jet engine maintenance specialist Sanad said its new aircraft engines overhaul deal with Pratt & Whitney will more than double its workforce and create more than 1,000 new jobs in Abu Dhabi, providing high-tech roles for Emiratis and diversifying economic activity. The Mubadala-owned Sanad will increase its workforce to as many as 2,000 employees, up from 700 in 2025, as it prepares to open a new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Al Ain by the end of 2028, Mansoor Janahi, managing director and chief executive of Sanad, said in an interview on the sidelines of Idex 2025 in Abu Dhabi. "Job creation with this new project will be 1,080, based in Al Ain. Our current workforce is 600 and we're going to be 700 by the end of this year. So you're talking about a workforce of anywhere between 1,700 and 2,000 [people] for this project," he told The National. "Currently our Emiratisation rate is 32 per cent and we are looking to reach over 50 per cent with the new project." The 30-year agreement with Pratt & Whitney is a "step-change" for Sanad because it will become the only MRO service provider for GTF engines in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia regions, according to Mr Janahi. Pratt & Whitney, which is owned by US aerospace giant RTX, last week said it added Sanad to its global network of GTF engine maintenance providers. The Al Ain-based facility will service PW1100G-JM and PW1500G engines for the Airbus A320 Neo and A220 aircraft, respectively, as well as the PW1900G engine for the Embraer E-Jet E2 aircraft with full MRO services and test capability. The Pratt & Whitney GTF MRO network includes 20 shops across four continents, providing aftermarket services. The installed base of the GTF is 5,000 engines – powering the Airbus A320 Neo, the Airbus A220 and the Embraer's E190-E2 and E195-E2 aircraft – which is expected to double to 10,000 engines that will provide a strong demand for aftermarket services, according to Mr Janahi. Sanad's share of GTF engines' maintenance will be roughly 15 per cent of the global market, he said. This is expected to result in 360 shop visits per year, in addition to the 170 that Sanad completed in 2024 and the 200 shop visits it expects this year, he added. Its existing facility has capacity for 250 engines. Construction of the GTF facility will start "immediately" and when completed will span 64,000 square metres, Mr Janahi said. Sanad will invest in the construction of the plant, the company's boss said, declining to provide the size of investment or the means of funding. Separately, Sanad last week also announced that it will expand its MRO operations by using an existing facility in Al Ain belonging to Abu Dhabi's Ammroc, an MRO service provider for military and commercial aviation. Ammroc's plant spans 4,900 square metres and will become Sanad's fourth facility as it increases capacity to meet rising global demand for MRO services. This facility will expand Sanad's production capacity from 250 to 300 engines per year. Soaring air travel demand and delays in new jet deliveries are forcing airlines to keep older aircraft in their fleet for longer, putting pressure on repair shops globally. Surging demand for jet maintenance also comes as airlines and manufacturers struggle with supply chain snags in the wake of the pandemic and more frequent engine repairs. "There's a huge demand for engine MRO services and we work with all OEMs and we've built that credibility and trust. The OEMs are coming to us to say 'we'd like to do more'. The Ammroc facility in Al Ain will be purely to address the existing portfolio," Mr Janahi said. Sanad's new facility in Al Ain will be operational by end of 2028 and will be "purpose-built" to specifically service the GTF engines, he said. "Our strategy has been to invest in a diversified product portfolio with a nice mix of legacy and new-generation engine. We are seeing legacy [engines] flying longer and the new ones having challenges in terms of durability. So the strategy is coming together from a maintenance perspective because there is demand for legacy and new engines," Mr Janahi said. "It's always been a strategy to future-proof the business ... with multi-OEMs and multiple products." That strategy to diversify the portfolio has paid off in terms of reducing risk, he added. Sanad has a long-standing relationship with Pratt & Whitney spanning more than 12 years through an MRO deal for V2500 engines that power the classic version of A320 aircraft. The agreement to add Sanad to Pratt & Whitney's GTF MRO network is part of RTX's offset programme with the UAE's Tawazun Council, the companies said. There are 11,000 GTF engines on order to date so there is a "tremendous opportunity" for aftermarket services, Marc Meredith, vice president of GTF Aftermarket Programmes at Pratt & Whitney, told The National. Pratt & Whitney's upgraded engine, the GTF Advantage, will be coming to market and the company is looking to win a share of the 34,000 single-aisle aircraft that airlines will require over the next two decades. "We see a long, bright future for the GTF as a programme, so as part of that, we need to have a number of engine overhaul centres to repair engines and that's where Sanad comes in," he said. Having an MRO centre in the region for GTF engines will save transport time and cost, filling the gap that existed in its global network of centres, he added. P&W will train 20 Sanad engineers on overhauling GTF engines and then they will train the local workforce. The deal will help ease MRO service capacity and satisfy the existing order and new orders in the future, Mr Meredith said. He declined to comment on the problems currently facing the GTF engines. A rare powder metal defect in these engines has affected mainly the A320 Neo jets, leading the manufacturer to call for inspections.
Trade Arabia
28-01-2025
- Business
- Trade Arabia
EDGE to showcase 200 disruptive solutions at IDEX
EDGE is making its third appearance at the International Defence Exhibition & Conference 2025 (Idex 2025) and the Naval Defence & Maritime Security Exhibition (Navdex 2025) with its largest presence yet, reinforcing its position as one of the world's leading advanced technology and defence groups. Returning as the official Strategic Partner, the group will showcase the rapid expansion of its highly competitive, all-domain portfolio, presenting double the number of products compared to Idex 2023. EDGE will announce significant developments, including strategic partnerships and joint ventures with leading global industry players, alongside a broad range of new solutions and advancements across its portfolio. These initiatives, driven by recent acquisitions, collaborations, and strategic investments, highlight EDGE's ongoing growth and its focus on delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, electronic warfare, cyber, and space domains. Hamad Al Marar, Managing Director and CEO of EDGE, said: 'As EDGE celebrates five transformative years in business, Idex 2025 provides the perfect platform to showcase our latest innovations and the advanced development of existing ones, the expansion of our global partnerships, and the substantial growth of our operations. Since Idex 2023, we have made remarkable progress, doubling the number of products on display to over 200 this year and growing from 20 entities in 2023 to more than 35 in 2025. This rapid development is driven by strategic investments and partnerships with world-leading industry players, all while maintaining a strong focus on building a sovereign industrial base.' Key highlights include autonomous systems such as the HT-100 unmanned helicopter, the Jeniah low-observation unmanned combat aerial vehicle, and the Garmoosha rotary-wing UAS, the UAE's first domestically designed and produced unmanned aerial system (UAS). Advanced munitions include the mission-proven Al Tariq line of precision-guided munitions, the versatile Mansup-er anti-ship missile, and the Skynight inner-layer air defence missile system. In the land domain, EDGE will showcase the mission-proven THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles, the Ajban MK II multi-role light patrol vehicle, the modular Radban infantry fighting vehicle, and the Hafeet MK II, a 6x6 armoured personnel carrier. On the naval side, highlights include the first-of-class 60-metre Falaj 3 patrol vessel and the Radban, the UAE's first fully in-house designed, developed, and manufactured offshore patrol vessel.
