Aramco, Yokogawa ink strategic deal

Riyadh, October 7, 2012

Yokogawa Saudi Arabia and Saudi Aramco recently signed a Corporate Procurement Agreement (CPA) covering equipment supply, project management, engineering, spare parts and maintenance services.

The CPA 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.

Yokogawa has also 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.

Under the Saudi government’s Nitaqat Programme, Yokogawa is in the top Platinum Saudization tier, a statement said.

The current workforce 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.

“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,” said Shuzo Kaihori, president and CEO of Yokogawa Electric Corporation.

Yokogawa has also been providing a one-year graduate engineer training programme and shorter internship programs that are specially tailored to the needs of the Saudi job market, targeting recent graduates and students of Saudi universities and colleges such as King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), Jubail Industrial College (JIC), and Yanbu Industrial College (YIC).

So far nearly 130 Saudi trainees have benefited from these programmes, which have included visits to Yokogawa global engineering centers in Japan, Singapore, and the Netherlands. – TradeArabia News Service

Tags: Training | Saudi Aramco | Yokogawa | Procurement deal |