ADSI joins Offset Program to offer opportunities to UAE graduates

ADSI was established in 2006 as a joint venture between Selex Sistemi Integrati, which owns 43% of ADSI, and Abu Dhabi Ship Building, which owns 57%.

Now, the company has joined the UAE Offsets Program as a result of Selex's obligations arising from supplying military equipment to the UAE Armed Forces. Selex is owned by Finmeccanica Group, the main Italian industrial group operating globally in the aerospace, defense and security sectors.

The venture brings high-tech Italian integrated and innovative technical systems solutions from design and manufacture to installation and training, all the way through life-cycle support of the systems.

According to Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri, Chief Executive Officer of the Offset Program Bureau, said:

"This is another opportunity for Offset to support the influx of new technology to the Emirates. Of equal importance, ADSI will offer opportunities for new UAE graduates to enter a technical field. ADSI will hire and train new UAE graduates, contributing to the growth of expertise in the UAE, building a solid knowledge base for the economy."

"We are proud to facilitate this unique venture, created in line with the requirements of the UAE Offsets Program, which aims at adding economic and commercial value to the UAE economy through defense equipment procurements made by the UAE Armed Forces," said Khaleefa Al Hemairi, Senior Projects Manager at the OPB's Offset Ventures Unit.

"We have worked very hard over the last two years to prepare the project and are delighted to see those efforts come to fruition," he added.

Chief Operating Officer of Selex Sistemi Integrati, Aldo Calvello, commented: "Through the creation of ADSI, Selex Sistemi Integrati and ADSB have established an engineering and management centre of excellence in the UAE in electronic systems design, development, integration, and maintenance."

Calvello said, "Selex Sistemi Integrati has given the necessary know-how transfer and financial support to this joint venture and now deeply believes that ADSI will succeed in this mission and will soon become a new example of an industrial success-story in the UAE."

"We are proud of our achievement and sincerely interested in continuing to develop our business in the UAE and in the GCC area through a tight collaboration with the UAE via the OPB and our partner ADSB in order to find the best win-win business opportunities to support the industrial and economic development in the UAE," he added.

The CEO of Abu Dhabi Ship Building, William Saltzer, remarked: "ADSB is extremely pleased that through joint cooperation between ADSB, SELEX, and the Offsets Program Bureau, we have created in ADSI a new UAE company in the field of electronic systems integration that helps our companies grow our business, adds value for both the UAE Military and the UAE Economy, and at the same time fulfills the strategic objectives of the UAE Offsets Program."