Serving the Flow

Today, I met Lew Kling, CEO, and Lars Rosene, head of global communications, from Flowserve again - more than two years after I had supported them at trade fair Achema in Frankfurt. It was great to say hello again, and to see them well and the company prosper! Indeed, they inaugurated today what they call a Quick Response Center in Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone Area (JAFZA), having just opened another one in Abu Dhabi last Sunday. We helped them with coordinating a few media interviews on-site.

Jafza, by the way, is a 49 square kilometers area in Dubai where it's easier for foreign companies to set up shop and where they enjoy more rights and more freedom. It's located close to Jebel Ali Port, which is the world’s 7th largest seaport. Since Jafza was founded in 1985 (making it one of the first free zones in Dubai), the number of mainly industrial companies there has skyrocketed from 19 to over 6000 in 2007, according to their website. Driving along the dusty roads, I saw many well-known brands from Siemens to GE, and many I had never heard of before.

Flowserve had planned for more than two years to come here. Responding to a Dow Jones question how he felt about the project's timing (due to the current crisis), Lew said: "We feel very comfortable. This facility shows our dedication to support our clients globally as well as locally, and not just in good times."