Bahrain’s Prime Minister inaugurates the show.
Gulf Industry Fair gets the thumbs up
01 February 2010
More than 75 per cent of exhibitors at the Gulf Industry Fair 2010 have expressed their interest in returning for next year's event, with many having already signed up, according to the organiser of the region’s premier industry show.
“A large number of exhibitors have already signed up for next year’s exhibition because they see this event as the key to building business in the region as we come out of the slowdown,” said Jubran Abdulrahman, managing director of Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE). A total of 84 exhibitors from more than 15 countries took part in the three-day event which was held in Bahrain lasy month and included an industry forum on the opening day.
Visitor numbers at the third edition of the show at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre were up by more than 12 per cent, according to HCE.
“The wisdom of the government in developing Salman Industrial City and the opening of the Khalifa Bin Salman Port was a major boost to this year’s event,” said Abdulrahman. “These facilities have put Bahrain clearly on the map as the industrial hub of the region and that has stimulated interest both regionally and internationally in the Gulf Industry Fair as the key meeting place for industrialists looking to do business across the Middle East.”
“The stability and strength of the oil price has equally brought confidence back to the regional economy and we are now seeing a lot of major projects going ahead. We are seeing the first signs of the financial crisis easing up and that is one of the reasons we have had a record attendance at this year’s event.Clearly the regional economy is now moving in the right direction, particularly in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Sectors covered at the exhibition included aluminium, machine tools, industrial equipment and manufacturing, automation, metal, energy, logistics, metrology and industrial cities and free zones.
International players used the platform to boost their presence in the Middle East while many others sealed multi-million dollar deals. Apart from networking, the show presented the region’s industrial sector an opportunity to highlight its products and services and interact with international players.
Companies from East Europe and the US used the fair to tie up with Bahraini businesses to sell their products and services in the region.
MetalTek International, a US-based company producing high-tech petrochemical furnace components, centrifugal castings and high alloys, has decided to shift its focus from the US and European markets and concentrate on the Middle East.
MetalTek Petrochemical Products director Patrick Ryan said his company signed an agreement at the fair with Bahrain-based International Technical Supplies and Services (ITSS) to market its products in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and is poised to ink another with Mannai Corporation to cover the Qatar and Abu Dhabi markets. The firm also intends to set up a joint-venture fabrication unit in the region, involving an initial investment of between $2 million and $4 million.
ByeloRussian Steel Works, a producer of steel from the Republic of Belarus, plans to open a representative office in Dubai.
Meanwhile, Helmut Eppich, GCC sales manager of Spain’s Taim Weser, said that the company has been doing good business in the region since it set up shop in Bahrain last May.
“We are in the final stage of negotiations on a $70-million materials handling equipment contract with Saudi Aramco for the Jubail export refinery. Also, we are in talks with a logistics group for supply of logistics equipment valued at over $100 million,” he said.
A number of companies from East Europe have tied up with Bahrain’s Mimco Group to explore the possibilities of doing business in the Middle East. Regional players are also looking at Bahrain. Saudi Arabian Amiantit Company plans to set up a $60-million facility to manufacture pipes in Bahrain, managing director and chief executive officer Dr Solaiman A Al Twaijri said.
However, the company has not decided the timeframe by when the facility will come up. “It all depends on how soon some of the mega projects will come online,” he said.
According to Dr Al Twaijri, Bahrain makes an interesting business case for Amiantit because of its strategic location. Over time, the company plans to turn its Bahrain facility into its export hub.
“We are committed to making Bahrain our export hub,” said Dr Al Twaijri, who presented a paper at the Gulf Industry Forum on the first day of the show. “It is easier and more accessible logistically, closer to our company’s headquarters, free from customs, tax, import and export duties. The Khalifa Bin Salman Port is also close to our new technology centre in Dhahran.”
Ameeri Industries put the spotlight on its latest product, Amgard light poles, which were launched on the market last year. The company expects to receive ministry approval for these poles soon, according to Karamchand Menon, a spokesman for the company.
Apart from street poles, Ameeri Industries manufactures road crash barriers, pedestrian fences, substation louvers and all types of mechanical engineering works.
“Our crash barriers have been used on a number of road projects in Bahrain including the Durrat highway and are currently being installed at the Sitra bridges project,” he says.
Apart from the Amgard brand – under which lighting poles and crash barriers are produced – other brands under the Ameeri portfolio include Ametech (switchgear) and Amelite (light fittings).
Tebodin Middle East was at GIF promoting its consulting engineering services within the industrial sector.
“We are currently offering our engineering expertise for the construction of Singapore-based MTQ’s facilities in the Bahrain Industrial Investment Park (BIIP),” said Mehdi Honar, director of the Bahrain Office.
MTQ Corporation specialises in engineering services, and is primarily involved in oilfield equipment repairs and rental operations.
Other Tebodin projects at BIIP include warehouses for Lauscha Fibre International, a worldwide supplier of premium quality fibres for filtration, separation, insulation and reinforcement applications; and First Bahrain. “We are also engaged in providing consulting services for Russia-based AAIM offices, which comprises three buildings and Kuwait-based Atheer’s facilities at the BIIP,” says Honar.
Tebodin Middle East was also involved in the setting up of Kraft factory in Bahrain. It also has a project at Raffles City at Bahrain Bay, which it hopes will be launched soon.
National Stained Glass Company, which has supplied its stained and decorative glass products to numerous hospitality, residential and commercial projects in Bahrain, is pleased with the response it has received to its stand, having secured two orders on the very first day.
The company has recently supplied its curved and decorative glass products to a project at Bahrain Bay, as well as other projects at Riffa Views, City Centre, Durrat Al Bahrain, Bahrain Financial Harbour and Amwaj Islands.
Bahrain-based small and medium enterprises also received a boost when they got to display their products at the exhibition under the auspices of the Tamkeen initiative. Twelve enterprises supported by Tamkeen's Enterprise Development Support programme (EDS) benefited from new promotional and investment opportunities through participation in the fair.
Among them were YNH, a pioneering electrical and electronic manufacturing establishment in Bahrain, and Integrated Water Systems, a manufacturer and supplier of water and waste water treatment solutions for households and the industrial sector.
