“The Kingdom of Morocco is an important market and hub for the Wilo Group thanks to its political stability, reliable infrastructure and politically accelerated visionary large-scale projects,” says Oliver Hermes. For those reasons, there are plans to expand Wilo’s Moroccan subsidiary based in Casablanca by adding a larger production unit in 2024. “The investment strengthens our presence in the region and emphasises our connection to Morocco, Africa and the Global South as a whole.” In this way, the expansion follows the multinational technology group’s ‘region-for-region’ strategy.
The North African country’s commitment to sustainability also aligns with the Wilo Group, which recently declared its sustainability strategy to be its overarching corporate strategy. Morocco has set itself the goal of reducing its energy consumption by at least 15 per cent by 2030 and sourcing 52 per cent of the energy it consumes from renewable sources. With the aim of solving the challenges associated with the megatrend of water shortage, Morocco is also investing heavily in the development and expansion of the national water infrastructure. According to the national water plan, 38 billion US dollars will be available for this project by 2050.
These plans are reflected in two megaprojects. The ‘Sebou Water Transfer Project’ connects the Sebou dam with the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah dam to secure the water supply for the metropolises of Rabat and Casablanca as well as surrounding areas. Wilo is supplying twelve vertical turbine pumps, each with an output of 4.5 megawatts, to equip the two pumping stations required for this. The ‘Tangier Water Transfer Project’ is now set to connect the city of Tangier with the Oued El Makhazine dam with similar success.
Oliver Hermes emphasised the relevance of the Moroccan projects during the talks with HE Zohour Alaoui. “The only way to overcome the major challenges of our time is through these kinds of bold initiatives,” says Oliver Hermes. Following the exchange, he presented the ambassador with a written declaration of intent expressing Wilo’s commitment to invest in the local site and support the positive economic development in Morocco in order to build on the successful past collaboration.
