PENTAIR Ltd and Saudi Arabia-based construction and contracting firm Ali Abdullah Al Tamimi Company have signed an MoU indicating their intention to form a joint venture through which Pentair would establish a “new local presence” to manufacture, sell, and service its products in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

The MoU was signed at the US-Saudi Business Opportunities Forum in Los Angeles. A Pentair spokeswoman told the media that a formal agreement regarding the joint venture will not be signed until later this fall, and she declined to disclose financial terms of the agreement or whether Pentair will hire new employees or build an additional facility in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The Golden Valley (US)-based company currently has 14 locations-including manufacturing, sales, and operations facilities in the Middle East.

Pentair-which manufactures valves, filtration and pump systems, water storage tanks, and other products for the energy industry-said it is interested in serving clients within the region’s energy and water sectors as well as offering desalination, agricultural and oil and gas products and services.

“Pentair is excited by the opportunity to work with Ali Abdullah Al Tamimi Company in the largest energy market in the Middle East region,” vice president and managing director for Pentair’s Middle East division Ramesh Nuggihalli. “We are committed to local manufacturing in this region, which not only creates jobs and economic benefits, but offers greater efficiencies for customers and opportunities for collaboration.”

The Ali Abdullah Al Tamimi Company-whose main office is based in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, consists of more than 40 Saudi Arabian companies. The firm specialises in pipeline construction, commercial real estate, contracting and power generation manufacturing, among other specialties. It employs approximately 16,000 at its regional offices.