Industrial Beacons Program Launched to Drive Manufacturing Transformation

Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef, along with Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim, launched the "Industrial Beacons" program today. It aims to empower leading national factories to adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, improve their production efficiency, and qualify them for global recognition within the forum's Global Lighthouse Network. AlKhorayef stated that the program is a strategic initiative by the ministry to promote digital transformation in the Saudi manufacturing sector, in line with Saudi Vision 2030. It will enable local factories to adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies on a large scale, achieve operational excellence and sustainability, and gain global recognition as leaders in advanced manufacturing. He indicated that the ministry aims, through the launch of the Industrial Beacons program, to have 14 factories recognized as global industrial beacons by the World Economic Forum (WEF) by 2030. This would complement on going efforts led by the ministry to adopt advanced and smart manufacturing solutions in national industries through the Future Factories Initiative. In its first phase, Industrial Beacons aims to evaluate 50 leading national factories and help them prepare the necessary transformation plans to apply for and obtain recognition from the WEF to be included in the Global Lighthouse Network. During the launch ceremony, a panel discussion was held on the journey of factories towards obtaining recognition from the WEF as a beacon. The discussion featured Saudi Aramco director of digital strategy and investment Mashal Al-Mishari, and Bosch Middle East general manager Per Johansson. The session showcased success stories, lessons learned, and challenges faced by their factories during their transformation journey to become global industrial beacons. The WEF's Global Lighthouse Network includes 153 factories recognized as leaders in the Fourth Industrial Revolution across various industries. The ceremony was at tended by Saudi Industrial Development Fund Chief Executive Prince Sultan bin Khalid bin Faisal and other senior officials. Source: Saudi Press Agency