Muscat: Shell Oman Marketing Company, Raysut Cement, Al Maha Ceramics, Sohar Aluminium and Moon Iron and Steel Co (MISCO) have signed up as partners for OER’s Manufacturing Summit and Awards 2021 – a flagship event by the Sultanate’s premium business magazine – which will take place in Muscat later this year.

HE Eng. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Deeb, Deputy Chairman, Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) will be the guest of honour at the Summit.

Madayn, MIZAH, Credit Oman SAOC and Oman Manufacturers Association (OMFA) are the endorsement partners of the Summit, which is organised by UMS Events. Shell Oman Marketing Company and Raysut Cement are the Strategic Partner while Al Maha Ceramics, Sohar Aluminium and MISCO have signed up as the Associate Partners.

Times of Oman and Al Shabiba are the Media Partners and Businessliveme.com, the online media partner.

OER’s Manufacturing Summit will train the spotlight on the opportunities and challenges facing the manufacturing sector in Oman.

It will do a deep dive into unlocking the potential of the sector, creating job opportunities and negotiating newfound challenges i.e. logistical disruption, shrinking international export markets and enhanced global and regional protectionist policies.

OER’s first of its kind Manufacturing Summit will bring in government officials, C-suite executives, consultants and analysts to discuss a cross-section of issues impacting the manufacturing sector in Oman, possible solutions and the way ahead.

The Manufacturing sector is one of the priority sectors identified by Tanfeedh or The National Programme for Enhancing Economic Diversification. The sector is also a key sector for the creation of job opportunities within the country.

Oman offers a strong value proposition for manufacturing with a wide range of industrial estates and special economic zones (SEZs) adding to the attraction.

Madayn, the nodal agency for industrial estates which manages and operates ​​​eig​ht industrial cities in Sur, Suhar, Raysut, Nizwa, Buraimi, Rusayl, Samail, Ibri in addition to Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) and Al Mazunah Free Zone attracted RO6.6bn worth of investments in 2019.

Oman’s geostrategic location is also a considerable advantage with the country’s three principal sea gateways in Sohar, Duqm and Salalah connecting it to some of the world’s busiest trading routes and most dynamic markets.

On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic and a challenging economic situation owing to low global oil prices have led to a host of challenges for manufacturing companies such as – supply chain disruption, vanishing export markets, increased downtime, sustaining business and the need for a skilled workforce.

A number of manufacturing companies have undertaken Industry 4.0 initiatives such as digital transformation, smart manufacturing and flexible production. These changes have led to process improvement, increase quality management an enhanced safety.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to hasten the pace of adoption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution practices.

Negotiating the impact of the economic downturn, strengthening supply chains for minimal disruption, mitigating shrinking export markets and protectionist tendencies, necessity of adopting 4.0 industrial processes and attracting skilled manpower and Omanisation will be the key topics of discussion.

Manufacturing sector Excellence Awards 2021 will also be presented at the Summit. The awards will recognise exceptional organisations and individuals in the sector. For more information contact Shivkumar on 99267159, shivkumar@umsoman.com