OREANDA-NEWS. November 27, 2012. The 10th SABIC Technical & Innovation Meeting (STIM-10) was inaugurated. Held under the patronage of His Highness Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, Chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu and Chairman of SABIC, this major innovation focused event was officially opened by Mohamed Al-Mady, SABIC Vice Chairman and CEO.

The exhibition has brought together around 200 exhibitors from 22 countries, counting with the presence of industry leaders in a wide variety of fields where innovation plays a key role such as in: Asset Management, Electrical & Control Systems, Fertilizers, Chemicals, Construction, Environment, Health and Safety (HSE), Quality Assurance, Analytical Research and Automation. The event will continue in the following days until Wednesday, November 14. Prior to the inauguration, Al-Mady highlighted the importance of investing in technology, innovation centers and research that ultimately help deliver innovative and sustainable solutions for customers.

Commenting on the unique angle of this year’s STIM-10 Exhibition, Al Mady said “This year’s exhibition will demonstrate innovation as a tool to turn ideas into profitable products and services. ‘Innovations that matter’ is the theme of this year’s STIM-10 and this reflects the importance of investing in the ideas of scientists and researchers to deliver ingenious solutions to our customers”. SABIC’s Vice-Chairman & CEO also highlighted that this year’s exhibition has witnessed a larger participation of exhibitors from global companies, which demonstrates how the STIM-10 exhibition and meeting are turning into a global specialized platform for collaborating and sharing ideas and knowledge.

Al Mady noted that SABIC has sought, since its very establishment, to localize technology and spur innovation in Saudi Arabia and beyond. The company has made considerable efforts in inspiring its employees to continue to search for and present new ideas in the form of diverse programs and initiatives adopted by the company. One of those is “MY IDEA”, a program through which SABIC gives its people the opportunity to present an innovative business idea. This goes through a rigorous assessment and the most original and relevant ideas are eventually executed, supported by a special company fund for this purpose.

As part of this year’s STIM-10 event, a number of workshops have been running in parallel to the exhibition. Numerous work papers and keynote speeches have been presented, focused on adding value to SABIC’s culture of ingenuity. Themes have included: “From Innovation to Market Relevance”, “Setting Financing Standards”, “Innovation as a Driving Force in Aerospace”, “Intellectual Property at SABIC”, “Manufacturing Excellence – A Strategic Option”, among many others.