Cummins and Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group Form Middle East Joint Venture
Cummins Inc. formed a joint venture with Saudi Arabia conglomerate The Olayan Group to help the engine and generator maker expand its markets in the Middle East and operate closer to its customers there. The partnership creates Cummins Arabia, a three-country distribution joint venture in the Middle East.
The joint venture consolidates the distribution of Cummins products in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Those products are currently distributed by Cummins’ wholly owned UAE distributor and Olayan-owned independent distributors – General Contracting Co. in Saudi Arabia and General Transportation and Equipment in Kuwait. The three countries represent some of the largest markets for Cummins in the Middle East.
The partnership will provide a platform to train and employ nationals in each country.
“Cummins is pleased to partner with Olayan, which is a highly respected leader in the global distribution business,” said Tom Linebarger, chairman and CEO of Cummins. “Olayan brings years of Middle East experience, and this partnership provides opportunities for our companies to grow and expand in this region while enhancing the service and support we provide to customers. Cummins will continue to look for new ways to build global partnerships that drive growth and success for our company, our partners and our customers.”
“We began distributing Cummins products in Saudi Arabia in 1956 and have always viewed ourselves as operating in a real spirit of partnership,” said Lubna Olayan of Olayan Financing Co. “This new company will further enhance our product offerings and services in the region and is truly a win-win proposition for Cummins, for us and our customers.”
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.