MEBC Produces Batteries in Saudi Arabia
18 March 1998
MEBC Produces Batteries in Saudi Arabia
FLINT, Mich., March 18 -- Middle East Battery Company (MEBC),
a joint venture among a group of Saudi industrialists and business leaders and
Delphi Automotive Systems, has begun producing ACDelco maintenance-free
automotive batteries in a new plant in Dammam in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The plant began shipping batteries to customers in January 1998 and will
increase production to build more than one million ACDelco maintenance-free
batteries a year, using Delphi's newest and most sophisticated battery
manufacturing technology, noted Khalid Al-Zamil, MEBC chairman.
"This technologically advanced facility makes the factory an important
addition to the growing industrial base of the Kingdom," AL-Zamil said.
"ACDelco is a dominant brand in the Middle East. Products which had been
imported will now be made locally. In addition, we have begun to export from
Dammam to other markets in the Middle East."
The new MEBC plant uses technology and production systems developed by
Delphi, which produces more than 30 million of its patented sealed
lead-calcium chemistry batteries a year, worldwide. Delphi has a 49 percent
share in the joint venture and Delphi's Energy & Engine Management Systems
division has management responsibility for the plant.
"This is the first Delphi battery plant built specifically to produce
batteries for the aftermarket," said Ronald M. Pogue, director-Battery
Business for Delphi Energy & Engine Management Systems. "The joint venture is
another example of Delphi's global strategy to localize production, especially
in support of the efforts, or presence, of our customers in particular
countries.
"In Saudi Arabia, as we do in all of our battery plants, we will meet the
most stringent environmental standards and we will actively pursue recycling
of used batteries," Pogue said.
ACDelco batteries produced by MEBC will cover most North American and
Asian car and truck applications and will eventually cover European automotive
applications. The primary market will be the Gulf Cooperation Council states:
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. Other
potential markets include Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, Iran, Jordan, Syria, and
Yemen.
The plant is Delphi's first manufacturing operation in the Middle East.
The plant's production will supplant the current importation of about 500,000
ACDelco batteries a year from France and the United States.
Delphi operates battery plants in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France,
and South Korea and a new joint venture plant in China will begin production
later this year.
Delphi Automotive Systems, with headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, is the
world's most diversified supplier of automotive components and systems. With
the recent integration of Delphi Delco Electronics Systems, Delphi operates
208 manufacturing facilities, 46 ventures and 27 technical centers in 36
countries. Regional headquarters are located in Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo.
Delphi can be found on the Internet at http://www.delphiauto.com.
SOURCE Delphi Automotive Systems