Dubai Investments has entered into a partnership agreement with Gaussin SA France through its industrial arm, Dubai Investments Industries (DII), to set up a manufacturing plant in Dubai.

Shukri Al Mehairi, general manager of DII, and Christophe Gaussin, chairman of Gaussin, signed the agreement.
The joint venture is to set up a large facility for the design and manufacture of industrial and port trailers as well as self-propelled industrial vehicles at Dubai Investments Park (DIP). The cost of the project is Dh130 million ($35.3 million).
The technical know-how will be provided by Gaussin which has extensive experience in logistics and handling solutions and is well known for the development of innovative solutions in this field, said a company official. 
Dubai Investments has worked in tandem with Gaussin for over eight months to investigate and determine the feasibility of the investment and to iron out every detail of the partnership, Al Mehairi noted.
“We are happy to be associated with Gaussin in establishing the first specialised trailers and industrial vehicles manufacturing unit in the UAE and in the region.”
“We believe that the winning combination of DII’s intricate knowledge of the Middle East region and Gaussin’s expertise in the business as a market leader across the globe will take this venture to great heights and contribute in a large way to the growth of the local economy. This joint venture also underscores the importance of cooperation between the corporate sectors of the UAE and France,” Al Mehairi commented. 
The production facility will be operational in the second quarter of 2009.
It will be capable of designing and manufacturing a wide range of port and industrial trailers as well as automated guided vehicles. The plant is aimed at meeting the specific requirements of customers primarily in the GCC and Middle East countries.
DII, the green field project development arm of Dubai Investments, has made a name for itself with a number of successful subsidiaries operating in the UAE.
Gaussin SA is a listed company on the Paris stock exchange and has been involved in the design and manufacture of trailers for over 50 years with a client base stretching across diversified industries including ports and airports, aerospace, auto-motive, steel, petrochemical and other heavy industries.    
Gaussin said Dubai was preferred as the base of its first production facility outside the European Union primarily due to its strategic location and its conducive environment for industrial development including investor-friendly regu-lations, state-of-the-art infras-tructure, and tax-free environ-ment.
“With Dubai Investments Industries as our strategic partner, we are confident that this production facility will be able to meet the growing demand for our products in the region,” he added.