Thales has announced its plans to establish a dedicated United Arab Emirates Defence Service Centre in Abu Dhabi, with the goal of being closer to its customers and to offer a consolidated suite of services. The Defence Service Centre will bring together and develop the existing UAE based Thales expertise. The Centre will also provide training and transfer of knowledge to enhance Thales’ support to the UAE Armed Forces.

The global technology leader for the aerospace and transport sector, said the new centre will serve all divisions of the UAE Armed Forces and will span across the entire Thales portfolio of solutions. It will ensure prompt and efficient service to promote satisfaction, build loyalty and drive Thales’ long-term growth, it added.

Initially built on existing local support, the service centre will ramp up recruitment of a team of professionals providing services to both the UAE Armed Forces and National Emirati Defence companies: With Arabic and English-speaking capabilities, a call centre will help initiate customer requests in real time. There will also be a dedicated support desk with a pool of professionals to provide general and specialised support.

The contact centre will deliver front office functions, as well as back office functions, such as procurement, spares, consumables and repairs, inventory management, shipping, customs, logistics chain management, installed base management and other customer support related activities.

A major step in Thales’ growth in the region, the centre will also host technical workshops and training to its customers.

Bernard Roux, Country Director for Thales in the UAE said, "The UAE Defence Service Centre is a significant step in driving the growth of our operations in the region. The Centre will bring us closer to our customers and enable us to help them focus on their priorities of keeping people safe, optimising their assets, and amplify their national capabilities. Through our commitment, we will help nurture the next generation of professionals within the UAE."