Kanoo Machinery

General information

"Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo" (YBA Kanoo) is one of the largest, independent, family-owned, groups of companies in the Gulf Region. Established in Bahrain in 1890 by Haji Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo, the group grew from its early trading and shipping to become amongst the most diversified and highly regarded business houses in the Gulf region and beyond.

From Bahrain, the YBA Kanoo spread in Saudi Arabia in 1930s.

In 1967, Hamed Kanoo came from Saudi Arabia to the UAE to establish and grow the family's business. He managed to successfully put up "The Kanoo Group" as a trusted name in the country from a humble start of 5 people including him.

At present, The Kanoo Group operates in UAE and Oman. There are over 1,200 people working for the group and its joint ventures in the UAE.

The Kanoo family remained true to their early values. This adherence to ethics and beliefs made The Kanoo Group an essential component of the UAE's business life.

One of the first industries that Kanoo excelled at was shipping. No one could have predicted that it would challenge the monopoly of long established British companies and goes on to become the largest regional shipping agency in the Middle East. Today, Kanoo Shipping covers an extensive network area, including the Gulf, Red Sea and Indian Sub-continent and represents some of the oldest, largest and most respected ship owners and operators in the world. It handles 11,000 port calls every year which covers all ports in the Suez to India range.

The historic rise of Kanoo Travel has proven similarly impressive. The group's interest in travel started in 1937 when the company used to provide refuelling facilities for Imperial Airline sea-planes en route to India and Australia. In 1947, Kanoo Travel became the first IATA agency in the Gulf and became the very first travel company in the Middle East to receive the ISO certification in 1997.

The group's another success story begun in mid 1960s. Kanoo Machinery used to supply construction and material handling equipment in the region. At that time, the UAE was just setting up its oil and gas industry and developing its infrastructure. By providing the government and private sectors with world-class equipment and services, Kanoo Machinery helped lay down the foundations of the vital sectors of UAE's economy.

Today, for "over 120 years of pioneering the future", Kanoo has diversified business industries in shipping, travel, machinery, logistics, property, oil & gas, power industrial chemicals, training, joint ventures, retail and commercial activities, among others; and operates extensively throughout Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and Qatar.