By Dr. Mohanad AlShaikh CEO, Johnson Controls Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector continues to stretch its wings, and the recent robust performance in October is a clear signal that the Kingdom’s economic transformation is succeeding in both depth and direction. According to official data from the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, 95 new industrial licenses were issued in October 2025, representing more than SR 2.4 billion in planned investment. Meanwhile, 81 factories moved into actual production with about SR 1.3 billion in investment and nearly 2,000 new jobs created, a testament to momentum at the grassroots of the non oil economy.
This growth matters far beyond the numbers themselves. It shows that Saudi Arabia’s strategy to re-engineer its industrial landscape is working, not just in broad ambition, but in real factories, real jobs, and real economic impact.
At the heart of this transformation is Vision 2030’s call for localization, empowered talent, and export-ready production. The idea is simple yet profound: a country that makes what it uses and exports what it makes gives its people sovereignty in their livelihoods and its economy greater resilience. Growing industrial output and factory activation are essential steps in creating a manufacturing base that can compete regionally and internationally.
I witnessed this momentum firsthand during the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources’ Standardized Incentives for the Manufacturing Sector event recently in Riyadh, where an official signing ceremony was held to award incentives to select manufacturers. Johnson Controls Arabia was honored to be among the recipients, with a project focused on localizing production of advanced water-cooled centrifugal chillers.
His Excellency Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, opened the event by announcing that SR 2 billion has been earmarked to support new and expanding factories across the Kingdom. His speech was followed by mine, where I shared a belief deeply held across our company:
“A country that manufactures is a country that holds its destiny in its own hands.”
This vision is moving from words to implementation and the results are visible not only in industrial licensing and factory activation but also in trade performance. Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports reached a record SAR 307 billion in the first half of 2025, marking the highest level in the Kingdom’s history. This achievement underscores the link between industrial growth and global competitiveness: every new factory and every localized product strengthen the Kingdom’s ability to compete internationally.
Localization is a foundation for scale, quality, and global relevance, never a move toward isolation. A product labeled “Made in Saudi” becomes more than an economic input. It becomes a statement of national capability. The ability to export high-value, high-quality Saudi products is essential to the Kingdom’s ambitions to expand its role among the world’s industrial powers.
As the Kingdom sets its sights on elevating its global industrial standing, this kind of growth and investment is not just a metric of success, it’s a strategic necessity. Industrialization supports diversification, anchors value chains, and enables the very sovereignty that Vision 2030 envisions.
When factories expand, licenses multiply, and production lines hum with activity, we witness a nation accelerating toward a future it is building with its own hands.
