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The facility is located in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone Wilo Group, the Germany-headquartered global supplier of pumps and pump systems, has expanded its UAE production facility by boosting capacity by 60 percent and tripling warehouse space to serve emerging markets across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The expansion of the factory in JAFZA, Dubai, also includes new in-house machining and fabrication capabilities, as well as higher automation integration, the company’s AMEA CEO and CSO Jens Dallendörfer told Zawya Projects. He didnt share the investments involved but said the factory will serve as a ‘Made in the UAE’ production hub for the global South, manufacturing pumps for building services, water management, and industrial sectors. The factorys product-mix includes submersible pumps, vertical turbines, deep well pumps, split case pumps, and firefighting pumps. It also houses the largest accredited test bench in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, handling capacities up to 500 kW and maximum flow rates of 9,000 cubic metres per hour. Dallendörfer said the UAE factory has been benchmarked against Wilo’s Dortmund facility in Germany, which won the Factory of the Year 2024 award in Europe. “On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 represents a factory developed in line with Industry 4.0 standards such as the Dortmund factory, I would rate Wilo’s UAE factory at 7,” he said. “Our goal for the UAE factory is to reach the same level as the German factory within the next three years.” Strengthening supply chain The Wilo executive said the UAE presents strong incentives for local sourcing and manufacturing as projects move at a fast pace and customers demand quick service. “Additionally, we want to manage future supply chain risks by producing locally and delivering quickly. Our operations were severely impacted by the international supply chain disruption during the COVID pandemic,” he said. Currently, over 80 percent of sourced parts for the UAE factory are procured regionally, excluding large components and foundries. Beyond pumps and core building services market, Wilo is also engaged in systems and solutions that address broader challenges of food security, water scarcity, and sustainable energy. “Our project business provides water management solutions for agriculture, water conservation, wastewater and sewage treatment. We supplied pumps for the Toshka land reclamation and irrigation mega project in Egypt, which is aimed at securing the country’s food and water supply. We are also gearing up to supply to large-scale infrastructure and municipal projects in Saudi Arabia,” he said. Wilo currently operates an assembly plant in Saudi Arabia to support the growing number of projects in the Kingdom. “Expanding operations or production in the future will depend on the sales turnover,” Dallendörfer said. The Saudi market is mainly served from the UAE, India, and China. The company’s product development strategy focuses on improving the performance of motors, hydraulics and electronics to reduce energy consumption, an example being the design and production of control panels in-house. “An advanced control system ensures the pump runs only when needed and at the required power level, which translates into higher energy efficiency. Our pumps consume 90 percent less energy than they did 10 years ago,” said Dallendörfer. Sustainability and future expansion In terms of sustainability in operations, Wilo is working towards integrating solar power and green hydrogen at its UAE factory. He elaborated: “We have received approvals and started the process for installing solar panels on the roof of the factory. The next step would be to produce hydrogen from solar energy and power the factory for as long as possible,” he said, adding that the plan is to install hydrogen power plants in all major factories in next three to five year. Since 2022, the company has been operating a hydrogen power plant at its Dortmund factory to serve an emergency or back-up energy source. Looking ahead, Turkey is the likely location for Wilo’s next factory expansion. Dallendörfer said: “During the last two years, we have opened advanced production facilities in China, India and now, the UAE. Turkey is one of our major production centres worldwide and due for an expansion so that’s probably our next stop.” Wilo has manufacturing facilities in Germany, France, Korea, Russia, USA and Italy. |
