ABB, Siemens CEOs to visit Saudi for conference

The chief executives of ABB and Siemens are travelling to Saudi Arabia to attend a supplier conference. ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer and Joe Kaeser from Siemens will travel to Dammam for an event organised by Saudi Aramco called In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) which is due to take place on Monday and Tuesday.

During his trip Spiesshofer will visit an ABB factory in Dammam, and will also meet representatives from Saudi Aramco, one of ABB’s most important customers in the region. Among other attendees at the IKTVA event are Paal Kibsgaard from Schlumberger and Jeff Miller, CEO of oilfield services company Halliburton. “Alongside being a responsible partner to our customers, we act as a responsible employer to our workforce.

Therefore, our CEO will meet some 200 employees at our plant in Dammam during his trip to Saudi Arabia,” ABB said in a statement yesterday. “In addition, the CEO will also be meeting one of our most important customers in the region in order to foster further dialogue with them.” A person familiar with the situation said Spiesshofer was only taking part in the opening ceremony, and would not be a speaker or a panelist. Siemens confirmed the attendance of Kaeser.

“This is a business trip to the Middle East where Mr. Kaeser will visit customers and business partners in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia among others,” a Siemens spokesman said.