GUC Industrial Park...
A path to the future
If you are a GUCian, chances are you have heard about the industrial park. But what is it? In order to find out, we went to the man in the know, Eng. Essam Hamouda. He is the GUC Secretary General and in charge of the industrial park.

 

-What is the GUC Industrial Park?

The GUC industrial park is a new idea which has been initiated by Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mansour, GUC Chairman of Board of Trustees and Prime Founder. The aim is to cover the gap between the Egyptian industry and the academic life, especially with the GUC students.

This is because in Egypt we have no real industry existing and at the same time we are willing to introduce to the market new graduates who are capable of meeting the real "industrial style" or new technologies which are not available in the Egyptian market and also not available in the Egyptian universities. This gap should be covered by having some sort of real up-to-date industrial machinery. The students should have training courses to be able to deal with the market when they graduate.

 

- What are the companies cooperating in this project and how were they chosen?

We started with TRUMF, which is the market leader in sheet metal work, starting from cutting technology using normal cutting machines up to metal cutting using laser, which they are the technology producers of, passing by punching technology.

On the other hand we have partnership and cooperation with DMG (Deckel Maho Gildemeister), which are the market leaders of the high speed CNC (Computer Numerical Control)

Also, we have some sort of cooperation with Festo, which is the market leader of automation worldwide. Almost in any production line you will find some Festo components. Even with the machine from TRUMF, there are a lot of parts coming from Festo in the control and sensors and so on.

Recently, we have some cooperation with WALTER (pronounced "valter"). WALTER is the market leader in tool design, When you are working with high-speed CNC machining, an important part is the tooling itself. Selecting the right tool is quite a job. For example, in some cases, you may pay €40,000 or €50,000, just to have the right design for the tool. And therefore it is very important to have the right partner concerning tooling. Walter is a very important player in this field worldwide.

Of course, the four companies are market leaders in their fields and they are German.

- Tell us more about the Industrial Park area?

The industrial park consists of three hangers and one administrative building.

Two hangers are for sheet metal and high speed machining. The third is still unassigned. And we have some plans which we are not going to announce yet until we reach a final decision. The administrative building will have courses or the training programs. The industrial park is going to serve the students in the GUC mainly but also it is going to serve the industry and we are also going to provide training for young generations who are looking for jobs and so on.

-How big is the Industrial Park?

If we are talking about area, it is almost 42000 m2. If you are talking investments-wise taking into consideration the land and buildings, then we are talking about 200 million pound until now (one hanger is still empty).

-On 6 June 2006, was the laying of the foundation stone? When is the official inauguration?

It was planned to be in March 2008, but I think we will postpone it, because we are still doing some final touches we estimate that it is going to be in May.

I have been to the industrial park a few times myself and it is actually supplying the university with a lot of its furniture; cupboards, desks and chairs. Except for the antique looking wooden chairs in Eng. Essam's office, the whole office has its furniture from the GUC industrial park. Furthermore, it also supplied Mercedes with some of its components. So, some Mercedes cars are 1% made in the GUC!

On my way out, Eng. Essam talked to me about the importance of the industrial park. And he recalled how the machines on which he received his training in Cairo University where exhibited in an open museum in Germany.

If I have to add one last thing, it is, GO visit the GUC industrial park.

You need nothing more than your GUC ID card.

 

“There is nothing comparable in Egypt, not even between western countries, as the one we have with the GUC. We have no such huge cooperation or installations which will systematically educate and transfer knowledge.”

“Companies located in Egypt and the area should benefit and use the GUC-DMG training academy to further develop their own process and be competitive to international standards”

Dr. Dipl. - Kfm. Thorsten Schmidt
Gildemeister Sales and Services – Asia Business Sector

“The GUC industrial park: where latest technology in sheet metal processing is applied. It is a real chance for the coming engineers to taste the real industry. Our challenge is providing consultancy for the Egyptian market and solve their technical problems”

Nadette Mousssa
Mechanical Design Engineer, GUC Industrial Park

“We have very high expectations and students will be available to serve the industry and have solid knowledge which will prepare them to be future manufacturing experts”

Thomas Bone
DMG-training-academy Managing Director Germany, Bielefeld

“GUC is young, but our students are outstanding and have been selected by DMG to go for one month internship in Germany and get hands on experience on the internal process”

Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Abdel Kader
GUC President

“The GUC is of high political importance and accounts for the excellent cooperation of both countries”

Dr. Annette Schavan
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research

“How the GUC is going a step further and is contributing to the development of the German – Egyptian industry relations and in providing and promoting high and innovative technology”

Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mansour
GUC Prime Founder and Chairman of Board of Trustees

Ali Ibrahim Omar
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