The U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council hosted an exclusive breakfast roundtable discussion with Mr. Badr Al-Olama, Chief Executive Officer of STRATA Manufacturing, on Monday in Washington, D.C. Senior executives representing American and Emirati industry, and officials from the U.A.E. Embassy in Washington, D.C. participated in the closed-door discussion.
After a brief introduction from Danny Sebright, President of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, Al-Olama laid out STRATA Manufacturing’s current operational strategy and objectives for future growth to support the Abu Dhabi government’s vision of achieving an aerospace “hub” status within the decade. In doing so, Al-Olama specifically mentioned STRATA – a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company – as being tasked with the ambitious goal of becoming one of the top three aerostructure manufacturers in the world by 2020. During his remarks, Al-Olama made it clear that STRATA, and its parent company Mubadala, recognize and value the importance of local human capital development and encouraged American companies in the room to explore potential partnerships geared toward training Emiratis in high-skill jobs.
“STRATA and Mubadala understand how vital quality human capital development and vertical integration are to the success of our businesses and the sustainability of an Emirati workforce tasked with supporting the Abu Dhabi governments broader economic diversification efforts,” said Al-Olama.
Al-Olama went on to describe how existing commercial partnerships between Emirati and American firms – like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, and others – can serve to educate Emiratis about the importance of the aerospace sector to the economic vision of the country and its potential to create a significant global footprint. Al-Olama emphasized STRATA’s objective to grow these existing partnerships and develop capabilities necessary to become a leading aerostructure manufacturer and link in the global supply chains of the world’s leading aerospace firms. He pointed to potential investment in the U.S. market as a way to build upon existing relationships with American firms and create new ones.
“We view the United States as a sensible investment climate and plans are in motion to enter the U.S. market in the near future to support our customers’ global supply chains from America and integrate seamlessly with operations already taking place at our Al Ain facility,” said Al-Olama.
Following Al-Olama’s formal remarks, the floor was opened for a question and answer session affording senior executives the opportunity to discuss issues and commercial opportunities directly with an Emirati thought-leader driving the country’s aerospace sector development. Topics discussed during the session included a status update on the operations of STRATA’s flagship facility in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, where currently over 80% of the local workforce and 95% of locals in the technician level is made up of Emirati women, strategy surrounding STRATA’s foreign direct investment in the U.S. and domestic capacity building in the U.A.E., and possible commercial opportunities for aerospace companies with standing U.A.E. Offsets obligations.
Sebright concluded the event by thanking Mr. Al-Olama for his insightful and candid remarks, and to representatives around the table for their substantive engagement.
