Gulf Construction Online - Batimat’s Futures Gulf makes a strong debut

Expo News

Batimat’s Futures Gulf makes a strong debut

01 May 2008

Building Futures Gulf by Batimat made a successful debut at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre last month drawing 225 exhibitors from 26 countries.

Held from April 20 to 23, the show elicited an encouraging exhibitor feedback on visitor participation and other aspects of its organisation, says a spokesman for the organiser.
Organised by Reed Exhibitions Middle East with the support and participation of the International Union of Architects (UIA) and the UAE Contractor’s Association, the event attracted some leading international firms that included Saint Gobain Glass, Knauf, Afico-Owens Corning, Technal, AMC Protection-Siplast, Dow Corning, Somfy, KME, Kingspan and Corus. At the same time, major local and regional companies included Tabreed, Emirates Iron and Steel, Unibeton and Emirates International Investment Company, he says.
Several new building industry technologies were showcased at the show. Eubiq, a pioneering Singapore-based company, showcased a first-of-its-kind electrical power outlet system that is both practical and safe. The innovative track system allows the addition, removal and repositioning of power outlets anytime and anywhere and is very convenient for use in homes, offices and commercial buildings, according to the firm.
Somfy, which is the global leader in providing motors and control systems in residential and commercial buildings, had on display its patented animeo technology at the show. The system has been used at the new headquarters of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and at other landmarks worldwide including the Commercial Bank of Qatar headquarters, the Media Tower (Germany), Environment Protection Agency Building (US) and the headquarters of Banque Populaire de l’Atlantique (France).
Nahr Security Solutions Limited presented its integrated security solutions covering video analytics, biometric identification, access control and IP network testing solutions while Knauf displayed its industry-leading fire, moisture and impact-resistant boards, which are widely used in the building industry today. AMC Protection-Siplast showcased its range of waterproofing systems including its basement tanking systems.
Held parallel to the exhibition, the International Architects Conference saw a panel of expert speakers comprising world renowned architects sharing insights on a variety of topics including the concept of whole-life value of buildings, environmentally-sustainable construction techniques, as well as other key issues confronting the Middle East building industry from an architectural stand-point.
The conference was hosted by the UIA and Reed Exhibitions Middle East and was themed around “Fair Practices in the Building Sector”.
The highlight of the last day’s presentations was a joint session addressed by Gaetan Siew, current president of UIA and Professor German Suarez Betancourt from Colombia who spoke on “The Whole Life Value Concept for Cost-Effective and Sustainable Buildings”.
Among the other leading speakers at the UIA conference were Nikos Fintikakis, director of the UIA’s “ARES” (Architecture and Renewable Energy Sources) programme, Jean-Marie Charpentier, a member of the UIA board, Vivianna Metallinou, an expert on city architecture, Gunham Danisman, vice president and member of the board of directors at Istanbul Metropolitan Brand, CTA, Chamber of Architects of Turkey and Lebanon’s Michel Barmaki.
According to Reed, visitor surveys conducted at the show revealed that 82 per cent were decision-makers from a range of project management and contracting companies and architecture firms. Seventy-nine per cent of the exhibitors who were polled at the event said that it has exceeded their expectations.
“We are very pleased with the success of the inaugural edition of the show. We believe that the event has managed to achieve its objectives,” said Leonard Lecoq, show manager at Reed Exhibitions Middle East.