Emirates Defence Industries Company (EDIC) is an integrated national defense services and manufacturing business, providing facilities, technology and support services for the UAE armed forces. Established in December 2014, it has 16 subsidiaries under its umbrella with assets worth more than US $860 million and 4,800 jobs on its payroll.
EDIC's companies include: Advanced Military Repair Overhaul Centre (AMMROC), Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investment (ADASI), Al Taif Technical Services, Bayanat for Mapping and Surveying Services, Burkan Munitions Systems, C4 Advanced Solutions, Caracal International, Caracal Light Ammunition, Global Aerospace Logistics, Horizon International Flight Academy, Naval Advanced Solutions, NIMR Automotive, Tawazun Dynamics, Tawazun Precision Industries, Secure Communications and Thales Advanced Solutions.
Homaid Al Shemmari has served as the chairman of EDIC since 2014. He is also the chief executive officer of Aerospace & Engineering Services at Mubadala Development Company, where he is leading the strategic development of the aerospace industry in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
Q. How does EDIC view current global defense industry trends?
A. Changing geopolitical and security environments require new defense capabilities. So armed forces across the world must adapt to new challenges while also facing budget restraints from their governments. The reality is that everyone wants more value from their defense expenditures.
In the case of the UAE, we can enhance value in four ways: listening better and adapting to clients' needs, exploiting synergies among defense industries that complement each other, spreading know-how and expertise, and transferring advanced technology. These are the principles by which EDIC is carrying forward its work to provide better value to our principal customer, the UAE armed forces.
Q. Is the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape around the UAE driving for more change and development in its indigenous military industry? How?
A. As a strategic asset of the UAE government, EDIC will continue to respond to the needs of our primary customer, the UAE armed forces, and will work to keep them at a peak state of readiness while also developing industrial capabilities in the country. In order to meet the future needs of the armed forces, we must further strengthen our businesses by increasing the transfer of advanced technology, capabilities and know-how. We look to achieve this by building on our strong relationships with OEMs [original equipment manufacturers].
Q. Do you plan to make any announcements at the Dubai Airshow?
A. EDIC is continuing to advance the consolidation process, and we are seeing steady progress there. At the show, you will find AMMROC and GAL, our MRO [maintenance, repair and overhaul] providers; ADASI, our autonomous systems company; and Tawazun Precision Industries, a world-class manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi operating in the defense, aerospace and oil and gas business.
Q. The inception of the Emirates Defence Industries Company came at a time when many UAE defense companies started seeing the light and supplying the armed forces. What were the reasons and motivations behind the establishment of EDIC?
A. Over the last two decades, the UAE has built a robust and successful defense industry offering a diverse range of products and services across the air, land and sea platforms. Very simply, the time and conditions triggered the leadership to make the strategic decision to bring these companies together under a common platform to position the industry for the next phase of growth. As a strategic asset of the UAE government, this platform will help to keep the UAE armed forces at a peak state of readiness, while also developing industrial capabilities in the country.
This strategy is well-known around the world. The UAE joins many other emerging market economies, such as South Korea, that have successfully consolidated companies under an integrated platform.
As we integrate the companies into the platform, we are working to unlock synergies and increase enterprise value through strategic alignment with our principal client, the UAE armed forces. Our long-term goal is to be recognized as the region's premier partner for manufacturing, services and technology development.
Q. How has EDIC developed over the last 11 months?
A. Over the last year, we have been working through the complex process of integrating a range of different companies. They came from three different owners and many have joint venture partners, so this process is complex and takes time. During this process, we have been focused on maintaining the integrity and continuity of these businesses as they change owner, so that service and quality levels are maintained.
At the same time, we have been exploring synergies between the companies, identifying additional efficiency gains that can be realized from the integration process. We have kept our eye on the long-term goal of positioning the industry for future growth, building national capabilities and generating new opportunities for UAE nationals.
When the transformation is complete, EDIC will be a substantial industrial services player with decades of homegrown national defense industry experience — and one of the largest companies in the Arabian Gulf region, comprising 10,000 personnel employed in manufacturing and services across air, land and sea platforms.
Q. For years the UAE has been embarking on developing an indigenous military industry and have partnered with major global defense companies. How well did the previous model of business and technology transfer from global defense partners fare out, and how will EDIC enhance that?
A. The UAE has established a strong and globally respected national defense industry over the last two decades with the help of our international partners. EDIC is proud to carry on this tradition. Working closely with our stakeholders and partners, we are building a new national defense champion.
We aim to develop existing partnerships and identify new commercial ventures, bringing new products and services to the UAE. In essence, we are a hub that can facilitate the UAE's relationships with international OEMs, ensuring that our businesses and operations are strategically aligned with the needs of GHQ [general headquarters]. Our mandate is to increase the speed of transfer of advanced technology, capabilities and know-how to the UAE, and this is made easier by being a larger entity with more negotiating power.
Q. After acquiring a full plate of subsidiaries in its inception stage, what is EDIC's next objective?
A. Our focus is on completing the legal transfer of our companies into EDIC by 2017, exploring synergies between them. We are progressively focusing more on operating these companies, and in some cases there will be further consolidation or mergers depending on the individual companies. All this takes time, and we cannot lose sight of the need to maintain our high quality and service levels during this period.
Moving forward, we will also work to promote innovation, technology development, state-of-the-art manufacturing and human capital development, specifically growing the next generation of Emirati engineers and project managers.
Q. What does EDIC hope to get from future partnerships with global defense firms?
A. EDIC seeks to develop, strengthen and deepen relationships with partners who, while pursuing their own goals, will work with us to meet our clients' needs and increase value in the UAE beyond local assembly. This last point, localization, is critical to EDIC's mission. We are focused on localizing manufacturing, servicing, testing and core elements of the supply chain.
We seek future partnerships that are mutually beneficial. We hope to benefit from localization, knowledge transfer and capability building, while our partners will benefit from enhanced technological resources and expertise from a centralized hub of world-class products and services.
Email: amustafa@defensenews.com
Awad Mustafa was a Middle East and Africa correspondent for Defense News.
