HERITAGE & LEGACY

GLTRCORE is built upon a multi-generational legacy of international business, strategic partnerships, and cross-border engagement between Europe and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Established in 2017 in Spain by Ms. Kira Negron, the platform evolved from a long-standing network of global relationships, representation mandates, and institutional connections shaped over decades through trade, industry, and international cooperation. Building on her existing international network, she developed representation, agency, and distribution agreements with globally recognized manufacturers across multiple sectors.

In May 2019, Ms. Negron expanded her activities by honoring and building upon the legacy of Sheikh Ahmed Ashmawi, further developing the business in alignment with long-standing heritage and family values.

Today, GLTRCORE preserves that heritage while operating as a modern institutional platform aligned with governance, transparency, and long-term strategic coordination.

Legacy started when Sheikh Ahmed Ashmawi founded the family business, S.A.M., in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1947. His son, Sheikh Mohamed Ashmawi, assumed leadership as Chairman of the Board in 1960. Registered under Saudi Arabian law, S.A.M. developed into a leading trading and representation company, managing a broad portfolio of agency and distribution agreements across sectors essential to the Kingdom’s economic development.
Saudi Arabian Markets Limited (S.A.M.) expanded its operations to include international partnerships and joint ventures with global companies such as Shell, BP, Burmah Castrol, Fosroc International, and Taylorplan. Its activities included lubricant blending, aviation refueling, construction materials, chemical manufacturing, and nationwide catering and support services.
The company represented a broad range of international organizations, including Shell International (Western Province), Rolls-Royce Motors International, Van Cleef & Arpels, RCA Global Commodities, Air Canada, Sudan Airways, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin Lagonda, Shinko in Jeddah and Riyadh, Dexion, Traiple A.G., Foseco Minsep, Lansig Bagnall, Mosler International, and Simplex Time Recorder.
Sheikh Mohamed Ashmawi also played a significant role in introducing, representing, and promoting prestigious international brands such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, American Custom Coachworks, Venturi Cars, Alfa Romeo, Stutz Cars, H&R Johnson, Lista, Dexion, Forbo, and others.
In 1980, Sheikh Mohamed established a presence in Marbella, Spain, where he became actively involved in promoting the city internationally. His contributions included collaboration with international institutions and participation in initiatives linked to the United Nations, including major public and cultural events. His involvement included opening a United Nations office in San Pedro de Alcántara in his capacity as Chairman of the U.N. Board in the Andalucía chapter and hosting the four-day celebration marking the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, which included a parade, gala dinners, an open public concert, and the naming of a street now known as Avenida de las Naciones Unidas.
He also founded and presided over “Al Andalus” Television, which promoted Marbella and its surroundings across the Arab world and beyond through a Nile satellite station.
Beginning in the 1990s, Sheikh Mohamed was recognized for his patronage and contribution to the city of Marbella. The city honored him through the naming of the street in front of his residence as Mohamed Ashmawi Boulevard.
Following his passing in May 2019, the Mayor of Marbella once again honored Sheikh Mohamed and his family by updating the boulevard’s designation to Mohamed Ashmawi Boulevard and presenting a new commemorative sign at the pedestal in his honor in the roundabout.
Shell maintained a presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for more than sixty years and held investments with partners in the Kingdom in excess of eight billion dollars. These investments developed over the years across blending, sales and marketing of Shell-branded lubricants, aviation fuel, refining, petrochemicals, and exploration.
Sossa, or Shell Overseas of Saudi Arabia, served as the representative office for Shell in Saudi Arabia, overseeing Royal Dutch Shell Group interests in the Kingdom.
Shell’s first business partnership in the Kingdom began in 1945, when it established a relationship with Sheikh Mohammed Ashmawi to sell Shell lubricants in the Western Provinces of Saudi Arabia. In 1947, the Jeddah-based Ashmawi family formally established Saudi Arabian Markets Limited and was appointed as Shell’s official distributor in the west of the Kingdom. Another long-standing relationship with one of the Kingdom’s leading families also began in the late 1940s, when the Al Jomaih family was appointed distributor of Shell-branded lubricants for the Central and Eastern Provinces. In 1956, this agreement was formalized.
Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company, known as Sasref, was Shell’s first major investment in Saudi Arabia and was located in Al Jubail on the east coast of the Kingdom. Sasref was a fifty-fifty joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Shell, and the refinery, designed by Shell, began production in 1985. As Shell’s third-largest refinery in the world, Sasref became the focus of the company’s Middle Eastern refining operations and was also the second-largest refinery in the region.
Sadaf was established as a fifty-fifty joint venture between Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, Sabic, and Shell. Located in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom, Sadaf began commercial operations in 1986. A cogeneration power plant was successfully started up in the middle of 2005 at Sadaf, making it the first independent power producer in the Kingdom. The plant uses natural gas to power turbines that produce electricity and uses turbine exhaust gases to generate steam for Sadaf’s production processes.
The South Rub Al Khali Company Limited, known as Srak, was formed to explore for and develop natural gas and associated liquids in two contract areas covering 210,000 square kilometers in the Kingdom’s vast and remote Rub Al Khali, or Empty Quarter.
Shell was also party to the joint venture conducting an exploration program in the Rub Al Khali area in the south of the Kingdom, holding a fifty percent interest in the project alongside Saudi Aramco.
Al Jomaih and Shell Lubricating Oil Company Limited, known as Josloc, was based in Riyadh and was established to manufacture and distribute Shell-branded lubricants in the Central and Eastern Provinces of the Kingdom. Josloc was a joint venture between the Al Jomaih Company and Shell, with the Al Jomaih family holding fifty-one percent and Shell holding forty-nine percent.
The Al Jomaih family’s first association with Shell began in the late 1940s, when it started buying Shell products for resale in the Central and Eastern Provinces of the Kingdom. The relationship was formalized in October 1956, when Al Jomaih and Shell signed an agreement for the distribution of Shell lubricants. In 1982, Al Jomaih and Shell became partners in Josloc, and in its first year of operation, Josloc achieved recognition as the largest distributor of Shell lubricants in the world.
This successful working relationship continued for many years. In 1985, production began at Josloc’s fully automated lubricants blending plant, with a production capacity of 50,000 metric tons per year, using advanced technology designed by Shell. Built to respond to the Kingdom’s growing domestic demand for automotive lubricants, the joint venture produced a range of automotive lubricants and diesel engine oils, which represented approximately eighty percent of Josloc’s production. The company also produced industrial lubricants, as well as gear and hydraulic oils.
At that time, Shell held a twenty-five percent share of the Saudi Arabian lubricants market. The primary automotive lubricants included Shell Super Plus Motor Oil for petrol engines and Shell Rotella for automotive diesel engines.
Peninsular Aviation Services Company Limited, known as Pasco, was a joint venture between Shell, BP, Saudi Arabian Markets, the Ashmawi family, and the Kamal Adham family. The company was established in 1977 to provide refueling services at airports throughout the Kingdom. These services included the provision of aviation fuels, advanced lubricants, greases, and special products. Pasco was managed and operated in accordance with Shell procedures.
The company operated at seven airports, including King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, as well as airports in Madinah, Tabuk, Hail, Qassim, Gizan, and Najran. In six of the seven airports, where Pasco acted as sole supplier, into-plane and storage facilities were owned and operated by Pasco. Fuel for these airports was purchased directly from Saudi Aramco and transported by road tankers through third-party transport contractors.
Pasco’s principal customers in the Kingdom included Saudi Arabian Airlines, the Royal Saudi Air Force, Garuda Indonesia, Air India, Mahan Air of Iran, Pakistan International, Air Algérie, Syrian Arab Airlines, Eritrean Air, Emirates, Air Arabia, Air China, Turkish Airlines, and EgyptAir. King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Madinah were among Pasco’s busiest airport operations, with the company attending to an average of twelve aircraft per day.
As part of Shell’s social investment efforts in Saudi Arabia, the Shell Intilaaqah program was launched in 2010, based on the Shell LiveWIRE Programme, an international initiative developed by Shell and implemented globally in more than twenty-six countries. LiveWIRE became available in more than twelve languages and was accessed through training workshops, internet-based tools, other information technology products, and published distance-learning materials.
Since the launch of Intilaaqah, the aim has been to establish a leading nonprofit small and medium enterprise training program in Saudi Arabia, with a focus on supporting young people through training and consulting programs that enable aspiring entrepreneurs in the Kingdom to manage and launch their own projects successfully.

This extended historical record reflects a legacy of long-term partnerships, cross-border cooperation, industrial development, and sustained contribution to key sectors across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and international markets. It forms an important part of the historical foundation from which GLTRCORE has evolved into a structured institutional platform.

You can read additional information:

https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/what-we-do/bp-worldwide/bp-in-saudi-arabia.html