01 May 2008

The 17th edition of the Saudi Building and Interiors Exhibition (SBIE) ended its annual five-day run at the Jeddah International Exhibition and Convention Centre last month recording an unprecedented success and announcing the dates for next year’s event.

Organised by Al Harithy Company for Exhibitions (ACE), next year’s event will be held from April 12 to 16. “This year’s event attracted not just the standard engineer, architect, consultant, specifier and designer, but also had a cross-section of professional visitors including hotel managers, school and hospital administrators and company and bank directors, aside from manufacturers and businessmen,” said Zahoor Siddique, exhibitions director at Al Harithy Company for Exhibitions.
“A record 13,751 visitors attended the show, reflecting the growing interest in the context of the ongoing real estate boom in the kingdom,” he added.
In addition, a majority of the 320 national and overseas exhibitors at the show reported deals that run into millions of riyals, he added.
Equally interesting and well attended was an engineering symposium organised by the Saudi Quality Council (SQC), Western Region, which focused on a wide range of subjects related to the construction sector including precast concrete in economic cities, increasing housing costs, the role of value engineering in the national economy, the status of the mining sector, Hail Economic City development, real estate development, an approach to environmentally-friendly architecture, and new contractual approaches to avoid disputes.
Experts and members of SQC who gave presentations and conducted the discussion included Abdullah Khoja, Dr Faisal Al Shareef, Dr Ayed Al Amri, F Khayyat and Dr I BaSunbul.
Exhibited at various overseas pavilions and individual stands of national companies were building materials and hardware, climate control, construction equipment and tools, electricity and lighting, environmental conservation, marble, granite and stone technology, safety and security, fire prevention, water technology and waste management.
Also showcased at the stands were interior decor products for the hospitality industry, office environment, outdoors and landscape design, schools and hospitals, shopping malls and restaurants, and homes.
Germany made its presence felt at the SBIE ’08 through two of its major companies. Boecker Group showcased its crane and lifting technologies. “We found our participation in the exhibition most rewarding as there have been numerous inquiries about the wide variety of lifting solutions we offer,” said a spokesman for Boecker, adding that “many serious enquiries are expected to turn into deals worth millions of riyals later on.”
Frankfurt-based Kedas, a leading manufacturer of sockets and switches, was also part of the German delegation.
Turkey had the largest participation with its pavilion exhibiting products and services of 31 companies. “This exhibition has turned out to be a big success for Turkish companies,” said Ozgur Sofuoglu, director of international projects at Istanbul-based ADG Trade Fairs.
Exhibitors from Bahrain, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the UAE and the US, and many others from within the kingdom, said how the exhibition had helped them understand the demand of the Saudi market better.
Almost all exhibitors were immensely pleased and have promised to continue their support to the show in future, Siddique said.

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