Global and regional digital leader LG Electronics in partnership with HG Ibrahim Shaker Company – the exclusive LG air-conditioner distributor in Saudi Arabia – has inaugurated an air-conditioning academy in Jeddah.

KH Kim, president of LG Electronics Middle East and Africa Operations, said: “Quality training has played its part in LG’s success in the regional market. The company’s first air-conditioner academy in the capital, Riyadh, has trained several hundreds of specialists to date, and similar academies for installers and contractors are run in Dubai as well.”
The company enjoys a leading, 28.4 per cent share of the kingdom’s air-conditioner market. LG produced 11 million units worldwide in 2004 and aims to make a total of more than 12 million units this year and is predicting a 30 per cent growth in its business this year in the Saudi markets.
CK Cho, general manager of LG Electronics Saudi Arabia, said: “The air-conditioner business is heavily influenced by the local construction industry, and large orders are won and lost based on price and quality competitiveness. The new academy will demonstrate the competitive strengths of LG products, and it is part of our number one position for both service technology and installation.”
“The main objective of the academy is to upgrade the knowledge and technical skills of people in a variety of business sectors, especially service technicians and engineers. It also plays an important in increasing awareness of the LG air-conditioner business among contractors, consultants, and end users,” said Hassan Shaker, CEO of HG Ibrahim Shaker Company.
The academy includes comprehensive training facilities, full-time trainers, and complete showcase of products to study and demonstrate installation and commissioning. The new Jeddah Academy will form part of a growing chain of LG training centres in Saudi Arabia and the region, and it will also benefit school-leavers and graduates.
Meanwhile, LG also sponsored the Beer Al Ain photography exhibition, which was inaugurated by Major General Dr Bandar bin Abdullah bin Turki Al Saud, director of the culture and education department in the Armed Forcers. On exhibition were 80 photographs taken by two photographers Adel Farhan, a Saudi national born in Jeddah, whose works are concentrated on the ancient monuments and ruins of his ancestors; and Walter Luedin, a Swiss national living in Saudi Arabia for the past 20 years, who is interested in underwater photography and field trips.
Few of the exhibited works were mounted on LG’s prestigious Artcool line-up of air-conditioners, which have received numerous design awards around the world including the prestigious (iF) award and the (reddot) design awards.
Cho said: “There is an increasing tendency for people to focus on style when selecting products. Impressively designed products are taking the market by storm, opening up new options for the way we design and use products. Simplicity is in; clear designs are rated highly.
“Our award winning Artcool air-conditioners are a great example of such a trend. Where air-conditioners have traditionally been big and ugly and needed to be hidden somewhere in the back of the room, the Artcool series blends seamlessly with the interior décor of the room.”
 “The look of the upgraded wide-panel air conditioner can be customised to customer requirements with the possibility of printing his favouritee photograph on the front panel,” commented Wael Hamadeh, national marketing manager of HG Ibrahim Shaker Company.