Daikin Industries, Ltd., the leading global manufacturer of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVAC-R) solutions, is working on expanding its footprint across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) in line with its Fusion25 five-year growth plan. With a focus on sustainability and localization, Daikin seeks to grow its footprint across residential, commercial, and industrial applications as it supplies the region’s leading hotels, malls, commercial buildings, residential compounds, and stadiums with innovative and sustainable solutions.
In the last 10 years, following MEA HQ in Dubai, Daikin established entities in KSA, Egypt, and Qatar, sales offices in Nigeria and Morocco and reached 600 employees covering the region, and a sales network of more than 100 independent distributors.
As part of its localization drive, Daikin recently opened its second regional manufacturing facility after Jebel Ali, Dubai and first factory in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Located in Sudair Industrial City, 150 km from Riyadh, the custom-built premises is designed to enable Daikin to better serve the local market with its latest technologies and innovations. At the same time, the new facility will support national energy efficiency and sustainability goals, create vital job opportunities, and support the Kingdom’s economic growth. The opening of the new facility also marked ten years of operations in the Kingdom for the company.
Meanwhile, in Africa, the company opened its first training centre in Nigeria, which is focused on providing wide-ranging training programmes for the local workforce. Developed in partnership with Lagos-based technical vocational training institution Etiwa Tech, the new centre is part of Daikin’s aim to build a cleaner environment in the African region by appointing new channel partners and establishing more training centres.
“At Daikin Middle East and Africa, we are committed to fuelling local economies, empowering local talent, and investing in, supporting, and facilitating initiatives that support carbon emissions reductions as we expand our regional footprint,' said Tuna Gulenc, VP of Daikin Middle East and Africa.
“With over 80% of our net sales coming from outside of Japan, the high-growth markets of MEA are critical to realizing our strategic growth plans as outlined in Fusion 25. These markets will remain a priority as we continue to introduce our state-of-the-art energy-efficient products. Designed for the region, Daikin products and solutions support the comfort, health, and well-being of both our customers and the planet,” Gulenc added.
In line with the net zero ambitions of regional governments, Daikin plans to achieve a 30% reduction in net greenhouse gases by 2025 and carbon neutrality by 2050, according to its Environmental Vision.
As of 2021, Daikin achieved a 10% reduction rate of net greenhouse gases demonstrating that the company is on track to achieve its targets. To support its environmental goals, in June of this year, the company launched a new solar plant at its headquarters in Dubai which will help Daikin reduce its carbon emissions by over 300 tonnes annually in line with Dubai’s Carbon Abatement Strategy 2030.
