PHOTO
Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia : The Saudi Airlines Catering Company (SACC) celebrated its 40th anniversary at a special event organized in Jeddah on 19 December. The event was attended by a number of Their Excellencies, VIP guests, former leaders, top executives of SAUDIA, and several eminent Saudi personalities. The attendees were received and welcomed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SACC, Mr. Mohammed Abdulaziz Al Sarhan, accompanied by the board members of SACC, as well as the CEO, Mr. Wajdy Al-Ghabban, and the company's top executives.
Over the past 40 years, SACC has succeeded in building a respected legacy and solid partnerships, emerging as a leading company through strategic transformation to keep pace with the future and build on its strengths to achieve sustainable growth and profitability. Established in 1981 at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah to provide catering services to SAUDIA, SACC has grown into a broad and diversified enterprise offering a full suite of food and beverage, retail, hospitality, and support services to local and international clients. As part of SAUDIA’s privatization drive in 2008, SACC was restructured as a limited liability company, launching support services for non-aviation sectors.
At the start of the second decade of the twenty-first century, SACC was converted into a joint-stock company based on a decision by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The company launched an initial public offering in 2012, and its shares were traded on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). The journey of growth, progress, and development continued with the launch of the Skysales online shopping platform, diversification of services, signing of new contracts, opening of Skysales stores at Saudi airports, launch of the Wellcome Lounge at the international departure terminals 1 and 2 at King Khalid International Airport, and the creation of strategic partnerships, including one with the European group Lagardère, a pioneer in duty-free market operations. At the global level, the company opened the first international lounge for Saudi Airlines at Cairo International Airport. In 2019, the contract between SACC and SAUDIA was extended for an additional 10 years, and the company expanded into the sports and entertainment sector through a catering and sponsorship agreement with Rally Dakar 2020 in Saudi Arabia and the signing of a new 10-year contract with SAUDIA to design, build, and operate the new AlFursan Domestic lounge at King Abdulaziz International Airport while continuing to provide services for more than 100 airlines annually in the in-flight catering sector.
Despite the challenges to the aviation and related sectors brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, SACC managed to withstand the storm and continued to diversify its business, accelerate its strategic transformation, and consolidate its position in the food, beverage, and events sectors. It launched new revenue streams to counter the decline in revenue across the three segments of its operations, namely, the in-flight catering division, the retail division, and the catering and facilities management division.
Commenting on the company’s continued growth and success, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SACC, Muhammad Abdulaziz Al-Sarhan, said: “We are moving forward on solid grounds that allow us to enhance our strategic growth as the demand for air traffic and tourism in the Kingdom returns to normal. In the meantime, we continue our investment in digital transformation and automation to build a more resilient and effective company for the future. We will continue to work together to diversify our business and speed up recovery to create added value for our customers and the national economy and contribute to achieving Saudi Vision 2030.”
For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of SACC, Wajdy Al-Ghabban, said: "Today we celebrate the anniversary of a long journey spanning over 40 years, as we look to the future with hope and determination to provide the best services. Through our company's new strategy, we will focus on achieving a greater degree of balance between in-flight catering and other business activities by improving our catering services, developing our catering business and facilities management, transforming our retail activities, and exploring new opportunities for organic and inorganic growth that will further increase the scope and strength of our business.”
The 40th-anniversary celebration of SACC was an occasion to reaffirm the company’s commitment to achieving its vision and mission and acknowledge the invaluable contributions of its employees to SACC’s success and thank them for their outstanding efforts to ensure the company's sustainability and resilience amid the unprecedented challenges faced by the sector.
-Ends-
© Press Release 2021
Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.
The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.
