MAN Group, a leading European motor vehicle, engine and mechanical engineering group with annual global sales of around 13 billion euros, yesterday opened its regional group head office at the Dubai Airport Free Zone.

Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of MAN AG, said the setting up of the Dubai regional hub was aimed at concentrating its activities in the Middle East. As a leading provider of bus and trucks to the UAE with an yearly sales of 1,500 trucks, the MAN Group has been successfully active in the Middle East for more than 100 years, he said.

"Representing the entire MAN Group, and situated in the Dubai Airport Free Zone, MAN House Dubai will become the sales and service hub for MAN products in 16 countries — from Yemen to Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Our new facility is the logical expansion of our already strong position in the Middle East,” he said.

"We are increasing our investment in new plants, partnerships and service sites and are implementing the MAN House in Dubai as a common homebase for the control of our activities in the region. The MAN House is our acknowledgement of this important growth region,” said Samuelsson. MAN has maintained a presence in the Middle East for over a century. In the past year, MAN has received contracts from the region to a value of over 1.5 billion euros.

Headquartered in Germany, MAN manufactures trucks, buses/coaches, diesel engines and turbo machinery besides providing industrial services. The Group has a global workforce of around 50,000.



MAN Nutzfahrzeuge has over 30 successful years in the truck and bus business in the region. "One example of this is the fleet of over 120 buses that service Dubai Airport. Only a few weeks ago, the Roads & Transport Authority contracted MAN to supply about 400 city buses. With sales of over 1,500 trucks a year, MAN is the market leader among European suppliers in the UAE, a position it also holds in Oman and Bahrain. In Saudi Arabia and Qatar, MAN is already the second most important provider," said Samuelsson.

Managed by MAN Ferrostaal, a shared sales and service platform is being set up for the companies in the MAN Group, which will grant customers easier access to MAN products on a global scale. The concept promotes a distinct presentation for the brand, together with an enduring improvement for brand presence. Last week, the first MAN House was inaugurated in Beijing. The company plans to establish further bases in other growth regions during the next few years.

Samuelsson said the strong growth seen in the Middle East has led to a rapid increase in the demand for stationary engines. An oil-rich region in particular can benefit especially from engines that can run on anything from diesel, through heavy or crude oil, to gas. In Saudi Arabia, MAN Diesel is the market leader in delivering stationary plant for rapidly-expanding industries such as the cement industry.

As a global provider of industrial services, MAN Ferrostaal uses the MAN House Dubai as a strategically valuable location for doing business with countries in the region. A methanol plant was constructed in Oman with a yearly capacity of 1.05 million tonnes, with the total volume of investment reaching $500 million. MAN Ferrostaal has a 20 per cent stake in the Oman Methanol Company, which will operate the methanol plant. The target market for the methanol produced is the chemical industry in Europe and Asia.