The international Siemens concern announced yesterday its founding of an international procurement office, (IPO) in Israel. The office will be active in purchasing from Israeli industry, for Siemens and its subsidiaries worldwide, and for international companies and concerns with supply and purchase agreements with Siemens.
The Israeli office is the sixth in a series of head offices worldwide. The other offices are in the US, Japan, Singapore, Austria and Czechoslovakia.
The general manager of the at the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Industrial Cooperation Authority (ICA)Efraim Shoham said at a press conference he convened this morning that his office welcomed Siemens’s initiative, which holds out potential for improvement and promoting connections Israeli industry manufacturing connections.
"In everything relating to industrial cooperation with Israel, Siemens currently ranks first in Europe, and among the five highest worldwide," said Shoham. The company has already signed a reciprocal procurement and industrial cooperation agreement with the ICA, because of its sales to the government sector in Israel.
Within this framework, from 1993 until now Siemens made purchases and investments in Israel, in 70 Israeli factories. in a volume of DM 500 million ($300 million).
Siemens received the Israeli Distinction for Trade for 1997 for its activities on behalf of the Minister of Industry and Trade. Its main sales are to the Israel Electric Corporation.
Siemens Israel CEO Herman Kelle said that Siemens is happy with its cooperation with Israeli manufacturers, and anticipates that the founding of the new center will bring additional growth to the business volume between Siemens Israel and the State of Israel, which currently amounts to more than DM 300 million.
The new office’s general manager will be Dori Landa, who since 1996 has engaged in purchasing activities for Siemens Israel. Landa said that companies in Germany interested in expanding their trade with Israel have already approached the new office with a request to assist them in locating high standard manufacturers to supply merchandise in Israel.
In recent years, Siemens Israel has invested in Ornet, RADNet, Flower and Sivan, and also in an Israeli-German venture capital fund. The ICA recognizes these investments as part of its reciprocal procurement arrangement.
Published by Israel's Business Arena September 24, 1998