Trailblazing firm announces manufacturing first in Saudi Arabia

Anand Puthran

A Cumbrian engineering company has opened a satellite operation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Workington-based McMenon Engineering Services has launched the first British manufacturing facility of flow and temperature instrumentation.

McMenon, which has a 70-year engineering heritage, has formally opened the centre of excellence in Dammam to support growth opportunities in Saudi Arabia other parts of the Middle East and additional international markets.

The Department of International Trade (DIT), a UK Government organisation that promotes British trade across the world, played a key supporting role in the new venture which meets the criteria for IKTVA (In Kingdom Total Value Add), a Saudi Aramco created programme designed to drive localised supply chain efficiency and add value to operations in Saudi Arabia.

The facility is a joint venture with GulfTek Arabia and will complement McMenon’s existing site in Workington which employs 70 people.

McMenon’s markets include the energy, petrochemicals, power, water, pharmaceuticals, nuclear and basic materials. The Workington operation was acquired from global industrial technology giant ABB in February 2018.

Chief executive, Anand Puthran, said: “The centre of excellence in Saudi Arabia is a game-changing development for us.

“Our facilities will support each other as we seek to achieve further growth in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East.”

Simon Penney, HM Trade Commissioner for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said: “Saudi Arabia holds many opportunities for UK business, and I am delighted that McMenon, in a local joint venture partnership with GulfTek Arabia, has become the first British manufacturer of flow and temperature instrumentation in the country.”

The business recently appointed Bipin Nair as general manager for the Middle East and Asia Pacific to support Middle East regional director, Shiv Nair.

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