We used to manufacture between 30 and 40 scroll chillers per year for the Saudi market, and we are proud to have managed to develop the know-how and capacity in our factories to extend our product lines and become a global supplier, and today we export our products to 26 countries.

We have made significant strides in local manufacturing, with 80% of our sales coming from locally manufactured products. the company's exports have also grown to account for over 30% of its total production, demonstrating our commitment to global expansion and market diversification.

We are extremely proud to export 300 Saudi-made YORK Scroll Chillers to the United States as a first phase this year. This is a big achievement for us because, as a Saudi-US venture, we have managed to reach a level of integration and knowledge transfer whereby a Saudi manufactured good under a US brand is being exported back to the US, and it speaks volumes of the potential both our countries can achieve if we join resources, knowledge and business acumen.

The United States has always been the first port of call for us, as many Saudi officials have expressed, and we want to continue exploring various avenues of cooperation. Today, we export our American branded Saudi-made products to tens of countries including China. Our factories in Saudi are certified globally, and we are becoming an integral part of the global supply chain for our products, and while we have manufacturing facilities in the USA and China, when they have capacity issues our company relies on our Saudi Arabian operations.

Saudi Arabia has historically relied on oil exports for its economy, but the country recognizes the need to diversify revenue sources. It aims to create new income streams and develop sectors beyond oil, such as tourism, mining, and manufacturing. Vision 2030 serves as a roadmap for transforming the Saudi economy.

Take, for instance, the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLP), a key component of Vision 2030. This program foresees Saudi Arabia evolving into a regional hub for the global supply chain and a center for various industries, catering to markets across Africa, Southern Europe, and West and South Asia.

The Johnson Controls Arabia Manufacturing Complex located just minutes from King Abdullah Port, which aspires to become one of the largest ports in the Middle East, we believe that as Saudi Arabia gains prominence in the global supply chain, companies will benefit from the opportunities presented by Vision 2030.

In industry terms, we are now talking about Industry 5.0. Saudi Industrial Development – which is geared towards financing industry-based projects – has partnered with various funds and world companies to take advantage of new opportunities in technology. There are now around 11,000 factories in Saudi Arabia that have been launched since the Kingdom was united more than 90 years ago. Under the latest National Industrialization Strategy, we aim to increase this number to around 36,000 by 2035.

These will require the latest technology for several reasons. The first is to reach our target output in the coming years. Additionally, the Kingdom wants more industrialization for local content and does not want to add more expatriates to the workforce. However, we do not have enough Saudis to cater to the market. The expected rise in demand can only be met using technology. Our global team wants our production flows to have fewer people and involve more artificial intelligence and machine learning. This is not only required as a manufacturer, but we can also sell this technology to other manufacturers to help set up their facilities in Saudi Arabia.

We have Johnson Controls International OpenBlue technology, which we use in the factory’s Innovation Center. It showcases data-enabled technology vis-à-vis manufacturing production lines and its usage in construction and even marine and naval applications. This ongoing discussion is being held at a global, regional and local levels. Our different products are not only for us but are being offered to our customers as well.

We are a certified Energy Service Company (ESCO), and our products and services decrease the consumption of electricity, we perform energy audits and come up with a list of energy-saving measures. Now, we have hundreds of millions worth of products that use the ESCO template under the Saudi Green Initiative.

The ESCO model involves making changes to both hardware and software as well as incorporating machine learning and Artificial Intelligence. In practice, it requires around 250,000 sensors that are linked to variable air volume boxes, air handling units, chillers and fan coil units within buildings. Different machines have different levels of energy consumption modulations. Each machine performs under certain levels of ambient temperature and certain levels of occupancies in the building that cannot be optimized through human intervention. It takes two to three years from when you plug in the sensors to find the optimal operational parameters.

We provide this architecture for customers and in turn contribute to the Kingdom’s goal to become net zero in particular applications by 2040 and ultimately have net-zero carbon emissions by 2060. A big part of our local oil consumption in Saudi Arabia is geared towards electricity production which is mainly due to HVAC systems because of our weather, and we are the Kingdom’s largest provider. We have installed no less than 2.5 million tons of cooling units. At our YORK Manufacturing Complex located in King Abdullah Economic City, we are currently producing two lines of products that are the most efficient products ever built in the Middle East and Africa. They align with Saudi Arabia’s regulations regarding local content and localization. On top of widening our market share, they also help the Kingdom achieve its net-zero aspirations.

There has been a significant revolution in terms of regulations for HVAC systems when you compare 2015 to today. His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy is taking sustainability quite seriously. Government mandates have created many opportunities for us as a global company known for its state-of-the-art technology and facilities. While the initial transition was painful, we successfully capitalized on the new opportunities it presented.

The Saudi-US relationship began with business, even before diplomatic relations, and business remain to be the bedrock of this relationship. Almost 1 million Saudis graduated from US universities in the past decades, and they came back to fill the various roles in government, business and cultural aspects of Saudi life, so we look at the United States as our first and most important partner, and I believe that the relationship between both our countries is destined to continue to flourish.

The Saud market is becoming more competitive now, and we are seeing with time and increased interest from various nations, including China for example. Our company have taken advantage of the close relationship with USA for the past 40 years; it is why we are where we are today and if our business is an example of where the Saudi-US relationship is heading, then I’m confident it’s heading in the right direction. This will also benefit US companies as many of the parts used are manufactured in the US, fostering a mutually beneficial synergy between the nations.