LEAP 2026: Riyadh became the first Lenovo site to build the company's full product range
Lenovo produced its first laptop inside Saudi Arabia and showed the device at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh on Monday, 18 months after the company and ALAT announced their manufacturing collaboration at the same event. Mass production of a limited range of products is expected to begin late in 2026.
The Riyadh plant is the first Lenovo site anywhere to produce the company's complete product range, covering PCs, desktops, Motorola smartphones and servers. It joins a network of more than 30 manufacturing sites across 11 countries, an arrangement global hardware makers have been widening as customers and governments press for production closer to the markets they serve.
Dr Muhammad Aldawood, Acting CEO of ALAT, said the value of the project lies in what remains behind after the equipment is installed. “Today's milestone reflects what long-term partnership can deliver,” he said. “Alongside Lenovo, ALAT is helping build advanced manufacturing capability in Saudi Arabia. This creates skilled jobs, develops Saudi talent, and strengthens the industrial foundation for Vision 2030. What matters most for us is that the capability we build together stays in the Kingdom for the years ahead.”
Lenovo has expanded its Saudi operations over the past year, opening its regional headquarters for the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa in Riyadh and appointing Dr Rabeah Alzaidy to lead research and development in the country. A training partnership with ALAT, the Human Resources Development Fund and the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has taken a first cohort of Saudi engineers through specialised programmes at Lenovo manufacturing sites abroad.
Tareq Alangari, Senior Vice President and President for Lenovo Middle East, Türkiye and Africa, described the laptop as evidence rather than intent. “At LEAP last year Lenovo and ALAT announced an ambition to help establish Saudi Arabia as a global technology and manufacturing hub. Today, we are proud to unveil the first Lenovo laptop manufactured in the Kingdom,” he said, adding that the country “will play an increasingly important role in Lenovo's global manufacturing, innovation, and supply chain network.”
The company also brought industry software to the show floor, including a robotic inspection system aimed at oil and gas, power and utilities customers, alongside technology it supplies to sporting organisations.
