CHANGING THE FUTURE OF MANUFACTURING

Developing the future of manufacturing is an important part of the NEOM journey—to create the region’s leading zone for advanced and clean industries, with state-of-the-art approaches like Industry 4.0 and the circular economy helping to create the factories of the future. In addition to driving the advancement of manufacturing technology, this will also provide numerous benefits to the broader ecosystem here as it creates the opportunity to attract innovative tenants that will drive jobs and GDP. I also see the national picture. A thriving manufacturing base at NEOM is a huge opportunity to enrich national and regional supply chains that are resilient—with widespread access to Gulf Cooperation Council, African and European markets.

Our advanced and clean manufacturing approach is our way of supporting industrial companies on their path to manufacturing excellence — embedding the concepts of Industry 4.0 and the circular economy into their production systems, so that they gain competitive advantage. The ‘advanced’ part is focused on the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – typically called Industry 4.0 or ‘4IR’. It builds on the digitization and automation of the Third Industrial Revolution, though this time enhancing the interconnectedness of machines and systems. Ultimately, it's about achieving self-adapting and optimizing factories. The ‘clean’ part is focused on circularity, to create sustainable factories and ecosystems. Here, the companies are focused on reducing, recycling, reusing and removing materials at every stage of the design and manufacturing process. Additionally, we look at how individual plants work together as a green ecosystem — supporting each other where the outputs of one become the inputs of another. That’s what we call ‘horizontal symbiosis’.

As you might expect, with NEOM being an accelerator of human progress and a sustainable city of the future, we are building our project with all the elements that will enable manufacturing companies to harness these latest approaches. It’s clear to me that by doing this, we will provide manufacturers based here with the best tools, platforms and support to get better at what they do. Allowing them to scale-up, invest in new lines of business, train their employees in highly-skilled jobs and contribute to the world’s green circular economy.

NEOM represents the vision of a new future and my part is to bring this to life through the most advanced manufacturing, port and supply chain infrastructures and capabilities. I truly believe that by looking at things differently — through the lens of technology and the environment — we can work, live, and serve our communities better than we have ever done before. The legacy will be far-reaching. In fact, it will amount to a new way of thinking about manufacturing and how businesses utilize natural resources. The implications for the consumer, the environment and the sustainable business model will be historic.

I very much hope that NEOM and its objectives are crystal clear and well-communicated. It offers a new way of life and an opportunity for Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. The clarity of purpose that everybody has here is clear for all to see — in what we are doing, how we do it and how we communicate our values and goals.

Life here is buzzing. In addition to the rapidly evolving NEOM community, every day brings exciting new challenges. On a macro level, it is intense. There are huge ambitions and a lot is happening all at once. On a granular level, the project is exceptionally well-managed by truly incredible talents from across Saudi Arabia and other nations. There is a tangible feeling of the scale of opportunity we face and the urgency to make things happen. We live, eat and breathe NEOM and when you are building a high-performing team, it's key to have everyone here at our new headquarters.

When I looked at the project, I saw a very clear focus and set of core values; they just fit so well with my own. Right at the very heart of it all is a respect for what humanity is capable of, the precious nature of our environment, and of course, the enormous business opportunities. I saw it as a way to give something back, as well as doing something no one else has done before. How could I not join NEOM?