Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), the regulatory body for Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), an integrated free zone technology park, and Finsa, a Spanish industrial company, celebrated today the inauguration of Finsa Middle East’s new regional office at Dubai Digital Park in DSO. Dr Juma Al Matrooshi, Deputy CEO of DSOA, officially inaugurated the new office along with Pablo Figueroa, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of Finsa.

Headquartered in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Finsa operates across 80 countries with 3,347 employees, 12 production plants, eight logistics platforms and 18 commercial branches. The company is a pioneer in the manufacturing of particle boards and became the first manufacturer of technical wood on the Iberian Peninsula to provide the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its products. In Q4 2018, Finsa reported total annual sales of €942 million with a sales turnover of €916 million and investment of €87 million.

Finsa Middle East new offices at Dubai Digital Park will offer a dedicated client’s showroom that showcases the company’s vast range of wood products and building solutions. It will also host regular events and welcome partners, distributors and industrial customers, as well as consultants, designers, architects and potential clients.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Al Matrooshi said: “We welcome Finsa Middle East to Dubai Digital Park. The company’s relocation reflects its continued keen interest in the region and trust in the emirate, as well as the potential of leveraging the resources that Dubai Digital Park has to offer. We remain steadfast in our commitment to attracting foreign direct investment from companies of all sizes and backgrounds to Dubai.”

He added: “Dubai Digital Park will provide Finsa Middle East with premier services and bring it closer to its staff as well as existing and potential clientele. We are confident that Dubai Digital Park as well as the wider DSO community will benefit from having such a well-rounded multinational company among its partners.”

Recent numbers show that the trade and economic ties between Spain and the UAE are poised for growth as multiple Spanish firms plan to enter the market. In 2017, the bilateral trade stood at €2 billion, and the number is expected to increase in the coming years. Around 200 Spanish companies are currently based in the UAE, while UAE companies have also invested in Spain.

Pablo Figueroa, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of Finsa, said: “The Middle East is an important market for us as we evolve our business on the global stage. Setting up in Dubai Digital Park will give us the setting to access that market unlike anywhere else in the region, while offering us a great space to innovate and digitize our operations.

“When looking for a location to set up in the region, there was nowhere else that offered the ideal mix of a sustainability-first mindset with innovation at its core as well as close proximity to existing and potential clients – I’m proud to call Dubai Digital Park our home in the Middle East.”

Constructed by DSOA with an investment of more than AED1.5 billion, Dubai Digital Park is DSOA’s latest developments that is considered the first smart city project in Dubai. DSOA has also invested more than AED100 million in DDP’s comprehensive range of 60 smart city services, offered through a unified and secure platform that effectively integrates the operational requirements of enterprises with the needs of employees, residents and visitors.

Dubai Digital Park supports and contributes to the development of a geo-economic map of Dubai in accordance with the second item of the 50 Year Charter, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, earlier this year. DDP also sets new global benchmark for smart technology solutions and supports the objectives of the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution that aims to enhance the UAE’s position as a global hub for piloting cutting-edge technologies and contribute to developing a competitive national economy based on knowledge, innovation and future solutions.

The 150,000-square-meter community comprises 47,000 square meters of office space, 17,000 square meters retail units, 235 smart residential apartments and more than 5,000 square meters of ready-made and plug & play offices. Its host of value-added contemporary lifestyle facilities includes a Radisson Red hotel that consists of a 112-key business hotel rooms and 59 fully furnished apartments. DDP also includes a convention center that can host more than 500 people, restaurants, cafés, fitness centers, running tracks and cycling trails, a shopping center and an underground parking garage that can accommodate more than 2,000 cars.

Companies seeking to set up their operations at DDP can benefit from the flexible office space available within eight buildings that ranges from 50 to 10,000 square meters. In addition, the project features eight Signature Boutique buildings that provide ideal locations for corporate headquarters.