Gulf Construction Online - Big 5 show rings in high-profile deals

Expo News

The Big 5 show ... good for doing business.

Big 5 show rings in high-profile deals

01 December 2009

A RECORD participation of exhibitors culminated in the announcements of high-profile deals at The Big 5 exhibition in Dubai, UAE, which was hailed by many as the best ever in terms of doing business.

Held last month at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), the show witnessed an increase in exhibition space and exhibitors. Over 3,000 exhibitors showcased their products and services spanning an area of 40,000 sq m compared to 2,833 exhibitors and 38,000 sq m of exhibition space last year.

“The show has always been good for us,” said Dr Salwan Al Assafi, general manager, Pultron Composites. Exhibiting for the fifth time, the company reported some “very good leads”.

Another exhibitor AHI Roofing, participating at The Big 5 for the 10th time, said it has always been a difficult decision for the company whether or not to participate in The Big 5.

“This year we noticed an increase in attendance compared to last year,” said Mike Pass, regional manager, RHI Roofing. “The key indicator of the outcome is after the show when we follow up on leads.”

Some major deals were also announced during the four-day show, including a joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s Alessa Group and US maker of industrial conditioners Huntair worth $200 million (see Regional News).

The UAE’s Mulk Holdings also signed an $80-million contract with Dacs Electro Systems for the manufacture and distribution of its products. Mulk Holdings said that it had done more business at The Big 5 this year than in any previous year and is set to double its capacity over the next two years.

“Widely regarded as barometer of the construction industry, many people were waiting to see what would happen at this year’s Big 5,” said Paula Al Chami, The Big 5 event director.

The positive note on the exhibition floor was supported by the speakers at The Big 5 Conference, who concluded that the Middle East is still a key region in the world for the global construction industry to flourish.

The environment was an overarching theme with a number of companies announcing the launch of ‘green products’.

These included RAK Ceramics’ pro-environment façade system called Rakslim tiles, developed to reduce the amount of heat and sound that buildings absorb and help save the amount of energy needed by buildings in the UAE, and PPG’s new Ultra-Cool extrusion coating for aluminium panels, which helps save eight to 15 per cent reflected energy over conventional paint coatings.

A number of seminars were hosted to raise awareness of green buildings. The Big 5 also featured the Gaia Awards, which is in its second year. This year’s Gold Award went to Australian Innovative Systems (AIS) for its Ecoline Technology. Ecoline is an on-site, in-line chlorine generation plant capable of producing chlorine in fresh water from the small amount of natural salts and minerals already present, providing sterilised healthy natural water, free of complications and the risk of manually adding chemicals.

There were six Silver Award winners including DuctSox systems from America’s DuctSox Corporation; the Keraflex cementitious adhesive from Mapei; automatic and manual faucets from Taiwan’s Chang Yi Shin Company; Transguard concrete curing covers from Reef Industries of the US; and an eco-friendly plastic panel from the UAE-based Logical Plastic Industries.

Alongside The Big 5 was The Big 5 PMV, the region’s premier construction plant, machinery and vehicles event. This year’s event attracted 149 exhibitors from 20 countries.

Next year’s Big 5 is scheduled to be held from November 21 to 24.