Business & Money | Tuesday 2 August, 2016 4:03 am |

King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) has signed a contract with Gulf Start Factory for Petroleum Industries, owners of the Neutron and Shield brands, to lease a 15,677-square-meter parcel of land in the Industrial Valley.

With construction set to begin later this year, the company’s facility is expected to commence production of motor oils and lubricants for sale in Saudi Arabia, as well as exports to countries in the Arab world and Africa through King Abdullah Port.

Fahd Al-Rasheed, Group CEO and Managing Director of KAEC, said Gulf Start brings new skills to the city, thanks to its vast expertise in the manufacture of lubricants.

“Expanding in the field of light industries is part of the city’s desire to become a hub of varied, qualitative industries,” he said. “This also supports our strategic objective of creating alternative industries that meet the aspirations of a changing market.”

Eng. Saleh Bashanfar, General Manager of Gulf Start, said the company’s decision to invest in KAEC’s Industrial Valley is part of its plans to expand into global markets.

“Our decision to manufacture at the Industrial Valley came after we explored all possible investment opportunities and studied KAEC’s existing achievements, after which we concluded that the city is the best possible place to take our national and international investments. Gulf Start will be able to reach a wider range of consumers thanks to the strategic location of the Industrial Valley amid a comprehensive network of land and sea transport lines.”

Rayan Qutub, CEO of the Industrial Valley, welcomed Gulf Start and its staff, saying: “The city enjoys many advantages that have helped it attract a wide range of major national and global investors, some of which are in the region for the first time. To date we have succeeded in attracting 120 national, regional and global companies, mainly in the six industries that the Industrial Valley is focused on, which are food and consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, logistics, packaging, construction materials and automotive industries.”