Johnson Controls Arabia manufactures 70% of products locally: CEO

Mohanad Al Shaikh, CEO of Johnson Controls Arabia

Mohanad Al Shaikh, CEO of Johnson Controls Arabia, said the company used to manufacture only 30% of the products sold in the Saudi market over the past four years. However, government industrial initiatives helped boost the local manufacturing share to around 70% today.

In an interview with Argaam, he added that the newly introduced standard incentives aim to close the remaining 30% gap, noting that these incentives encourage the private sector to invest in strategic sectors in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

According to the top executive, these incentives will help cover the gap in water-dependent cooling products such as chillers, which are used in major projects including the Haramain High-Speed Railway in Makkah and Madinah, hospitals and medical cities, and Princess Nourah University in Riyadh.

Al Shaikh went on to say that these technologies are currently not manufactured in the Middle East and are only available in China and the US, stressing that, with the support of government incentives, the Kingdom has begun producing these products locally and even exporting them to international markets, including the US, from King Abdullah Economic City.

He noted that the incentives signed by the company with the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources are an extension of the industrial localization journey that began about five to six years ago.

On plans for a potential listing on the Saudi Exchange, Al Shaikh said the decision rests with the company’s owners, adding that Johnson Controls Arabia is prepared for such a step. Preliminary discussions are under way, and details will be disclosed at the appropriate time.