One year on from the announcement that Siemens WLL in Bahrain would establish a service center to facilitate the Middle East's steel and aluminum industry and help to reduce downtime of machines for maintenance and repair, the company has today officially launched the facility, based at Bahrain International Investment Park at Salman International City.

The Middle East Service Centre for Metallurgical Services will handle manufacturing and repair of parts for example, cooling panels for steel-making furnaces, guides for rolling mills, gear boxes, etc. and will ensure an increase in component lifetime and reduction in costly and time consuming import of spare parts from Europe and South Asia.

This important facility was inaugurated by the Bahrain Minister of Industry and Commerce, His Excellency Dr. Hassan Fakhro, who commended highly on Siemens WLL investing in Bahrain, its people and its economy.

"From our base in Bahrain, Siemens is in a position to serve our partners faster, more economically and efficiently. By and large the market needs a workshop of this type in the region. The Centre is close to a large customer base in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and being located at Bahrain International Investment Park at Salman International City it offers an attractive location with easy access by air and sea ports nearby", explained Marek Szymanek, CEO of Siemens WLL in Bahrain. "Bahrain also offers the support of 'setting-up' and doing business; operates a business-friendly atmosphere and enjoys availability of local manpower".

Siemens is committed to the local workforce in countries it operates and for this service center project it aims to have 50% of its employees to be Bahraini nationals. The company is working closely together with Tamkeen, the Bahraini labor fund, and the National Institute for Industrial Training to train job seekers and offer on-site vocational experience. It will also gradually create jobs for metal experts, during the first 2-3 years of operation, of which half will be Bahraini.

"At Siemens we always invest in the training of our employees and Bahrain is no different. In addition, the Bahrain government has announced major investments in several areas, including infrastructure projects. As a major infrastructure solutions company, Siemens is happy to further contribute our expertise and technical strength to support the further development of the country."

Siemens has a successful history in Bahrain dating back to 1976 and a presence in the Middle East of over 150 years. It already operates similar service center facilities in USA, Europe, India and China to serve customers in these markets.

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