GE’s eight-decade-long presence in Saudi Arabia marked another milestone last month with the official opening in Dammam Second Industrial City of Phase II of the GE Manufacturing & Technology Center (Gemtec), which the company now describes as the region’s first ‘Brilliant Factory’. 

The 9,000 sq m expansion, which brings Gemtec’s total area to 26,000 sq m, offers expanded capabilities, including the ability to manufacture HA and F-class turbines. GE says its HA turbines are the world’s largest and most efficient, while the Phase II inauguration also coincided with the completion and delivery of Gemtec’s first 7F turbine to Saudi Electricity Company’s Waad Al Shamal combined-cycle power plant. 

“Gemtec’s expansion and transformation is a significant milestone in our operations here in the kingdom,” said GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, who joined senior company officials and partners at the Phase II inauguration.  

“This facility will serve as a manufacturing, repair and research hub that services a wide market. GE’s investment of digitally-driven advanced manufacturing capabilities in Gemtec demonstrates our continued commitment to serving as a leading partner for transformational growth in Saudi Arabia.”

According to GE, Gemtec Phase II will continue to develop an integrated industrial ecosystem in the kingdom, through local, Saudi-driven manufacturing, services and R&D. The company says it will create more than 150 high quality jobs for Saudi professionals and will draw on more than 300 Saudi suppliers to provide locally-manufactured gas turbine parts. 

In addition to enhanced manufacturing competencies, the facility will also offer services and repairs for gas turbines, as well as the region’s first balance of plant (BOP) test and inspection services, says GE. 

The expanded Gemtec also has a dedicated Monitoring & Diagnostics Center – Saudi PowerGen Efficiency Centre – for gas and steam turbines, which opened earlier this year. Another core component of the expansion, said GE, is the construction of a dedicated building for the Hot & Harsh Centre of Excellence, where researchers will study the effects of high temperature, dust, corrosion, erosion, duty cycle, and fuel harshness on the reliability and efficiency of power plants. This facility, expected to be complete by the end of 2016, will design and prototype gas turbines and auxiliary components for testing.

By introducing advanced digital industrial capabilities to Gemtec, including sensor-enabled service centre equipment to provide utilisation and performance data in addition to diagnostics, GE said Gemtec is now considered the region’s first ‘Brilliant Factory’. The facility also utilises real-time monitoring of all utility consumption, and site equipment and infrastructure can be fully controlled and monitored remotely using GE’s ‘brilliant’ manufacturing suite of services.

“With this expansion, GE can now build any heavy-duty gas turbine we offer right here in Saudi Arabia,” said Steve Bolze, president & CEO of GE Power. 

“We’ve already completed an F turbine at Gemtec, and we look forward to building our world-record-setting HA turbine in the kingdom, for customers in the kingdom and beyond.”

Gastec is a key component in GE’s $1 billion total investment to date in Saudi Arabia. With more than 500 skilled workers (70 per cent of them Saudi), it serves more than 70 customers in 40 countries, servicing components from more than 600 turbines. More than 60 per cent of all gas turbine manufacturing and components at Gemtec are exported outside the kingdom, further strengthening Saudi Arabia’s competitiveness and supporting the Saudi Vision 2030 to create an exports hub.