In 1975, the Saudi Arabian Trading and Construction Company (SATCO) started its operations covering sectors in construction, landscaping, catering, airports support services and systems control. A few short years after its inception, SATCO witnessed the construction boom of Saudi Arabia and took full advantage by forming joint ventures with foreign companies. The growth in Saudi Arabia ended in 1985 and many of the companies in the region, including SATCO’s foreign partners, exited. SATCO reorganized by acquiring the joint ventures’ assets and transferring their employees into divisions of SATCO. By effectively absorbing the foreign expertise and knowledge from its JVs, SATCO became an operating company.