CMI Defence LLC is an MRO Service provider to the Saudi Armed Forces with more
than 125 employees, mainly Saudi. “Today, we aspire to be an important member of
the Saudi defence market by extending our activities to manufacturing of weapons
systems and spare parts,” says Olivier Carlens, General Manager of CMI Defence
LLC. In an interview with Arabian Defence, he speaks about the company's
operations, successful journey and participation in the World Defense Show 2024.
Olivier Carlens, General Manager of CMI Defence
LLC.
1)Could you give us an overview of CMI Defence LLC?
CMI Defence LLC is a Saudi Defense Company registered in Riyadh. We are the
Saudi subsidiary of John Cockerill Belgium. Our company is providing MRO and
Training Services to the Saudi Armed Forces and to the Saudi Defense Industry.
2) Could you take us through the story of the successful journey of the
company?
The company started its activities in January 2015 though it was officially registered
in December 2014. Since then, our story has been one of growth. We progressively
moved from providing services to John Cockerill Defense, our parent company, to an
MRO Service provider to the Saudi Armed Forces with more than 125 employees,
mainly Saudi. Today, we aspire to be an important member of the Saudi defence
market by extending our activities to manufacturing of weapons systems and spare
parts.
3) Could you give us an overview of the range of services offered in the
defence sector by your company and your localization efforts?
As a service company, we mainly deliver value to its customers through the expertise
of our manpower. Therefore, local content is ipso facto high in our contract. However,
most of our spare parts are still coming from Europe. We are intending to transfer
most of our Supply Chain in Saudi Arabia and in the GCC countries in the coming
years.
4) What do you consider as the company’s major success?
I am particularly proud of our success in terms of Saudization and localization of our
activities in Saudi Arabia. There is obviously still a lot to do but we are progressing
every year in the right direction in line with Vision 2030. So, our company has won a
prize for the best GCC HR Nationalization program.
5) What are the highlights of your participation in the World Defense Show,
Saudi Arabia? How do you consider the expo a platform to expand your
business in the Middle East?
The World Defense Show is very important for us. It is a very good opportunity for us
to show our capabilities to our traditional customers but also to the whole Saudi and
GCC Defense Industry. The fact that we are sharing a booth with our mother
company, John Cockerill Defense highlights our close synergy and our ability to bring
high technology to the Saudi market. It shows that we can manufacture and deliver
weapon systems from 20 mm to 120 mm from Saudi Arabia as well as simulation
systems.
6) What are the company’s immediate goals in the coming years? Could you
share your expansion plans?
We are obviously intending to participate in several bids to the Saudi Armed Forces,
either alone or in cooperation with our Saudi partners. We also hope that our
customers will reiterate their trust in our company and allow us to continue to serve
them. In the meantime, we will continue to transfer most of our Supply Chain base
from Europe to Saudi Arabia as mentioned previously.
