Synthetic rubber materials firm Arlanxeo’s next phase of its growth plans will be to expand its R&D efforts into Saudi Arabia, by setting up a technical R&D centre focused on elastomers in Dhahran Techno Valley Company (DTVC), Saudi Arabia.
Arlanxeo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of petrochemical firm Saudi Aramco, has entered into a collaboration framework with DTVC, a company wholly owned by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineral (KFUPM), an academic institution for oil and gas.
Both parties formalised their intention to collaborate through a letter of intent. Pursuant to the letter, the two parties will seek to work together to develop products and applications relevant for Arlanxeo’s elastomers businesses.
Donald Chen, CEO of Arlanxeo, said, “Arlanxeo will seek to leverage the technical know-how and core competencies of DVTC and KFUPM to support our efforts in building an innovative elastomers industry in Saudi Arabia. This collaboration is a natural fit for Arlanxeo as a member of the Saudi Aramco family. KFUPM as an academic institution has deep ties to Saudi Aramco in terms of R&D partnership, while DTVC has a long-standing reputation for pursuing innovative excellence and is home to a state-of-the art R&D infrastructure.“
Commenting on the collaboration, Abdulaziz Al-Judaimi, Saudi Aramco’s Senior Vice President of Downstream said, “this cooperation would give Arlanxeo the opportunity to capture the expertise of highly qualified research and academic personnel from DTVC and KFUPM. Furthermore, this collaboration with KFUPM would enable Arlanxeo to accelerate development of growth opportunities integrating the strong feedstock position of its parent, Saudi Aramco.”