3M to build MENA's largest manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia

3M, which manufactures Post-it products, laminating systems, and glass, plans to build its largest manufacturing facility in the Middle East and North Africa in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Gazette reported.

The 50,000 square meter facility will sit in Dammam’s third Industrial City, and will be built in three phases over a five-year span. By 2020, the facility will manufacture products related to air quality, identity management, oil and gas, corrosion protection, as well as products related to infrastructure and healthcare markets.

The value of the facility and costs of construction, however, were not revealed.

The move comes as the kingdom aims to diversify its economy and attract private and foreign investments amid slumping oil prices.

“In addition to creating jobs for Saudis and locally manufacturing products, the research conducted and knowledge transferred at this site will pay further dividends to our partnership, creating win-win outcomes for both 3M and Saudi Arabia for years to come,” SAGIA governor and chairman Abdullatif A. Al-Othman said in Dammam at a conference.

The US-based company currently has several offices across the region; including Lebanon, Dubai, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.