Gulf Construction Online - Show of strength at Gulf Industry Fair

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HRH Prince Khalifa inaugurates the 2012 edition of the fair.

Show of strength at Gulf Industry Fair

01 March 2012

THE Gulf Industry Fair (GIF) reinforced its position as one of the prominent trade exhibitions of the Northern Gulf with a strong turnout from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), leading industrial giants from Bahrain and representatives of several global business houses.

Held under the patronage of Bahrain’s Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who inaugurated the event at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, the fifth edition of the show featured more than 100 exhibitors while attracting as many as 2,300 trade visitors.

Organised by Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE), part of the Bahrain-based Al Hilal Group, the event presented exhibits from a spectrum of sectors including aluminium, machine tools, industrial equipment, manufacturing, automation and steel plus related segments such as shipping, logistics, industrial zones and training.

Al Hilal Group chairman Anwar Abdulrahman, who accompanied the Prime Minister around the show, indicated that Prince Khalifa had been “very impressed with the turnout and the exhibitors”.

HCE managing director Jubran Abdulrahman said: “Gulf Industry Fair has taken place in an environment of industrial investment and promotion in the GCC region. The annual show held in Bahrain encapsulates the vibrancy of the region’s increasingly diverse industrial landscape and the show’s continued success sends a strong message about underlying confidence in GCC industry.”

The show also proved good for business with several deals together worth millions of dollars announced and new partnerships struck over the course of the event.

Ali Ahmed Al Kuwaiti Group finalised a deal worth $2 million and the company’s managing director Ahmed Ali Al Kuwait said the exhibition had been “particularly fruitful for the company”.

Other successes included Hull Diving Services Company (HDSCo) of Bahrain with a deal worth more than $1 million, and Al Ghassan Trading with orders worth more than $25,000 for Pelican protective cases and advanced portable lighting systems from buyers in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Samel, a joint venture between Schmidt Heilbronn and logistics specialist Agility, announced it had struck a deal to set up a base at Bahrain Logistics Zone (BLZ) within the Khalifa Bin Salman Port for its operations in the Gulf.

Samel and BLZ will work together to set up an economical and efficient solution to store and handle bulk materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, catalysts and additives for the chemical and petrochemical industry.

Banz Trading and Contracting was successful in winning an order for a Godrej five-tonne forklift during the show from Bahrain Water Bottling and Beverages Company.

The number of Bahrain SMEs that took part in this year’s fair more than trebled since the last edition. Tamkeen, which previously supported 12 companies at the event, this year helped a total of 38 local companies through generous subsidies to display their products and build their businesses at the event.