Up to 30,000 racing helmets will be made in Bahrain every year once an under-development factory in Sakhir starts production.

The Bell Helmets factory deal was signed on the sidelines of last year's Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, part of a one-million-sq-m plot of land earmarked for the development, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

According to Bahrain International Circuit chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, the factory should be up and running very soon.

"We handed over the building in November, and we want to have the opening soon, possibly with the Formula One," he said.

"After it's up and running, we'll be producing F1 helmets here in Bahrain.

"It'll make between 25,000 and 30,000 helmets a year,

"They're moving everything here, the factory will be moving from China and the research and development division from Italy.

"Everything will be produced here now."

The GDN previously reported that more than 100 jobs are expected to be created when the factory opens.

Bell Racing Helmets supplies helmets to many of the world's leading drivers, including F1 stars Jean-Eric Vergne, Esteban GutiŽrrez, Pastor Maldonado, Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson.

They also produce karting, rallying and GT racing helmets. - TradeArabia News Service