Saudi Arabia’s Abdulhadi A Al Qahtani Sons Group has inked a landmark project with India’s Sledgehammer Oil Tools. The heads of the companies tell Karan Bhardwaj how thecollaboration will strengthen the bond between both nations
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s recent visit to India is being touted as a significant move in strengthening the bilateral relations between the two countries. The business representatives in both the nations are also capitalising on the growing congruence. “The trade between Saudi Arabia and India has grown multifold in last ten years. We are expecting it to boom tremendously this year. We are encouraging small, medium and large enterprises in India to invest in Saudi Arabia, which is a big market with tremendous potential,” said Abdulaziz Abdulhadi Al Qahtani, VC of Saudi Indian Business Council and chairman of Abdulhadi A Al Qahtani Sons Group. His group is launching a big plant in Saudi in partnership with India’s Sledgehammer Oil Tools. “It’s a deal of its kind. We are utilising technology from India in a field (oil, gas) which is dominated by mostly American and European companies. It is in the oil sector which has demand and utilisation of imports of technology. We are using state-of-the-art technology of Sledgehammer to leverage the infrastructure that Qahtani group has. We also plan to increase our product range depending on the demand of Saudi clients. We also create research and development team which will comprise engineers from Indian and Saudi Arabia. This R&D will develop products as per changing requirements of clients. We are also building training programmes. It will enhance sharing of technology between nations,” Abdulaziz said.
Qahtani group deals in oilfields service, pipelines and allied services (oil, water and gas drilling and related equipments and services) besides telecommunications, soft drinks and agricultural products.
The Sledgehammer group is excited to expand its wings in the “gold mine of oil”. “It’s going to be a successful venture for us. Saudi Arabia is a big market for us and holds 28 per cent of market share of our products. I have known Qahtanis for five years and they are very cordial. I think we are seeking right guidance. It will offer us enormous growth,” said Pradeep Mohanty, MD, Sledgehammer Oil Tools. The Qahtani group also plans to buy equity shares in Sledgehammer company. “We want to do an overall deal of 50 million dollars,” Abdulaziz said who finds Indian companies a substitute for Chinese and European players. “There is a lot of good understanding between businessmen from two countries. The time has come to open doors for each other. Saudi groups are discovering what Indian counterparts can bring on table. I think they can be best substitute to companies from Europe, Japan and China,” he said.