14/02/2016
Japanese RO Membranes Produced in Dammam
Toray Membrane Middle East LLC (TMME) has started production of the reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements in its facility at the Dammam 3rd Industrial Estate. This was disclosed by Mr. Takashi Kurai, Marketing Manager of TMME at a workshop at Asharqia Chamber today.
TMME is a joint venture in water and wastewater treatment technology between Riyadh-based Abunayyan Holding and Japan's Toray Industries Inc. It was established in 2014 with an investment of SR45 million to build a world scale production factory by applying Toray's production technology. TMME manufactures and sells water treatment membranes, in addition to providing technical services.
Mr. Kurai pointed out that TMME was set up with the objective of meeting growing demand from large-scale seawater desalination projects and wastewater recycling applications in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The workshop focused on Japanese latest water production, efficient management, waste water treatment and energy saving technology and expertise. Key executives and experts from 7 leading Japanese companies engaged in the water and power sectors presented their technical papers. The companies included Azbil Saudi Arabia Ltd, Ebara Corporation, Yokogawa Middle East & Africa, Solar Frontier, Hitachi T & D Systems Saudi Arabia Ltd and NEC Saudi Arabia Ltd.
Mr. Takashi Mitsuka, Chief Representative of the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME) in Saudi Arabiahighlighted strong and friendly relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan saying that this event was taking place on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He hoped that bilateral ties will be strengthened further through the transfer of Japanese technology and expertise to the Kingdom.
Mr. Mitsuka noted that although Saudi-Japanese economic relationships are mainly based on importing oil from Saudi Arabia to Japan and exporting Japanese cars and industrial products to the Saudi market, Japan has started manufacturing facilities in the Kingdom. At least, 10 industrial projects have been undertaken through the Japan-Saudi Arabian Industrial Cooperation Task Force, he mentioned.
Japan has now become a vehicle manufacturer in the Kingdom. Its Isuzu Motors has set up a truck manufacturing plant in the Eastern Province. There is also Saudi Japanese Automobile High Institute established to provide advanced training for Saudi youths in the field of automotive technology and maintenance.
Mr. Mohammed T. Radwan, Manager, Local Content & Investment Center of Asharqia Chamber in his welcome speech said that water is a precious commodity in Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom is considered one of the largest countries for water consumption and desalination in the world. Demand for water and electricity has been rising conspicuously in the Kingdom with the growth of population, he added.
Ebara Corporation introduced its sea water technology at the workshop. Mr. Hideki Kanno of the company presented a paper highlighting Ebara's accumulated knowledge and technology about corrosion and corrosion protection.
Mr. Tetsuya Kurasawa of Azbil Saudi Limited presented a paper on "Contribution of optimum maintenance operations for water and power plants." Azbil Saudi Arabia Ltd started its operations at the Dammam Second Industrial City with the manufacture of control valves and selling Azbil Corporation's process automation and factory automation products/systems and providing maintenance and related services.
Mr. Hasem A. Hassan of Yokogawa Middle East & Africa presented a paper on "Yokogawa Innovative Control Systems and Solutions for Power and Water" while Mr. Kazuyuki Kamimura of the Solar Frontier K.K. focused on his company's CIS solar photovoltaic technology.
Hitachi T & D Systems Saudi Arabia Ltd introduced its Hitachi's transmission & distributions solutions through a presentation by Mr. Yuichi Wakabayashi of the company at the workshop while Mr. Mark Moreton of NEC Saudi Arabia Ltd. presented a paper on NEC's smart energy solutions.
