New Saudi valve manufacturing facility opened
The new facility was officially opened on 8 November by IMI Critical Engineering’s Divisional managing director, Jackie Hu and Middle East, Africa and India’s regional president Tarak Chhaya.
Officials from IMI’s customer base in Saudi Arabia, spanning integrated oil and gas majors to seawater desalination firms, were also in attendance.
Following its acquisition in August 2020, the factory has since implemented IMI Critical Engineering’s global standards for design, quality, manufacturing, and safety and is now certified for ISO 9001:2015, API 6A, API 6D and API 609.
The site will manufacture butterfly valves and ball valves of various sizes and pressure ratings suitable for oil and gas, petrochemical, power, water, and hydrogen markets.
By 2023, the factory will also manufacture choke and control valves, while aiming to increase its team of employees significantly over the next five years.
“The opening of this new factory demonstrates our commitment to Saudi Arabia and further highlights our status as a key provider of engineering expertise, ensuring our Saudi Arabian customers can access valve assembly, testing, and other vital support services locally,” said Hu.
“We have long been a specialist in the design and manufacture of bespoke valves for critical applications and we are using this expertise to help Saudi Arabia enhance their operational efficiencies.”
The factory will provide accessibility to globally leading valve and actuating systems in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 strategic framework to enhance efficiencies across the region’s oil and gas, power, and petrochemical industries.