Gulf Construction Online - Industry fair to set floor space record

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Industry fair to set floor space record

01 January 2013

Enthusiasm is building up as final preparations get under way for the Northern Gulf’s largest and most influential trade fair for a wide spectrum of industries and associated fields ranging from oil, gas and metals to logistics services and industrial cities.

Some 94 exhibitors will participate in the sixth edition of Gulf Industry Fair, which will be held at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre this month (January 15 to 17), showcasing their products over what the organiser Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE) says is the largest floor space the show has ever had.

HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Bahrain, inaugurated last year's show.

The exhibitors will be pursuing leads and new initiatives to boost their business as purchasing executives scout for technologies, products and partnerships in a new era that serves up exciting opportunities for OEMs (orginal equipment manufacturers) and secondary producers and their agents.

Exhibitors at Gulf Industry Fair represent leaders in technologies, products and services that could contribute to ongoing and future projects in the region.

The comprehensive fair embraces players in the segments of aluminium, energy, environmental protection, steel and alloys, industrial processes and manufacturing, ports, logistics and free zones, training for industry, and industrial security and safety. Key sponsors are Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco)/National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga), Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) and Maajal.

“This year the show has seen the maturing of the industrial sectors into larger zones,” said Jubran Abdulrahman, managing director of the Bahrain-based HCE. “Strategic support for Gulf Industry Fair coming from a global industrial heavyweight like Alba is integral to the promotion of our Aluminium Village concept, since it is encouraging other related local and GCC downstream companies to benefit from participation, which in turn underlines the importance of the sector to the national economy.

“This has proved successful as the Aluminium Village boasts major downstream aluminium companies such as Bahrain Aluminium Extrusion Company (Balexco), Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mill Company (Garmco), Aluwheel, Midal Cables, Scantech and ITSS.”

Abdulrahman continued: “Gulf Industry Fair 2013 is a watershed in its development. We have seen an expansion in the floor space taken by companies of 25 per cent on 2012 by 94 companies.”

New initiatives of the sixth edition include an Industry Week and a dedicated procurement promotional corner. University students have been invited to visit leading Bahrain industrial firms to get an understanding of the competencies and processes underlying operations.