The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) announced its support for KKC Industries W.L.L. (iCOOL), a Chinese manufacturer of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) products for the purpose of growing the HVAC manufacturing sector in the Kingdom and creating high quality jobs for local talent.

This follows the establishment of iCOOL’s USD 10.7 Million manufacturing facility in Bahrain, which will produce and export air conditioning insulation pipes to the Middle East, United States and European markets.

The growing manufacturing sector is a major pillar of Bahrain’s Economic Recovery Plan, as it is the second largest contributor to the Kingdom’s non-oil economy which contributes to 14% of the national GDP. The strategy aims to increase the sector’s contribution to the overall GDP, increase national exports, and create additional job opportunities.

Commenting on this initiative, Ms. Maha Mofeez, Acting Chief Executive at the Labour Fund “Tamkeen”, emphasized the importance of supporting the manufacturing sector to fulfill Tamkeen’s strategic goal of driving greater economic impact for Bahrain. She stated: “iCOOL’s new manufacturing facility will create quality job opportunities for Bahrainis which upskills them for the future, and enables their career development. Furthermore, iCOOL will increase Bahrain’s exports to international markets, and provide growth opportunities for other economic sectors as they purchase their supplies locally.”

For his part, Gary Xu, General Manager of iCOOL Bahrain praised Tamkeen’s support for enterprises within the manufacturing sector. He stated: “We appreciate Tamkeen’s support and look forward to working with Bahrain’s highly skilled workforce to drive our business goals. We aspire to produce 480 containers of air conditioning insulation pipes within the first year of operation, which generates over USD31 million in revenue.”

Tamkeen extends its support for all enterprises across all economic sectors that aim to develop their offering, expand their business operations, export, innovate, and invest in local talent which will reflect positively on the national economy. Earlier this year Tamkeen unveiled an organization-wide strategic transformation plan that included the launch of 16 support programs for individuals and enterprises. The transformation initiative focuses on creating greater impact for Bahrain’s economy in response to market needs.