Gulf Construction Online - Strong French contingent expected at Big 5

Expo News

Strong French contingent expected at Big 5

01 May 2008

Having recorded a successful showing at last year’s Big 5, this year’s French pavilion under the banner of UbiFrance, will be bigger and better than ever before, says a spokesman for the French agency for international business development.

“Last year, we had 51 leading French companies at Big 5, and many more have already confirmed their participation for this year, both as part of the official French pavilion and as independent exhibitors,” says the spokesman.
Quoting statistics, he says: “In 2007, French exports to the UAE of products and services related to the construction industry increased by 29 per cent year on year, totalling €664 million (just over $1 billion), up from €516 million ($815 million) in 2006.
“The Big 5 2007 featured 2,839 companies from 52 countries and 30 national pavilions,” said Bernard Walsh, managing director of dmg world media Dubai, organiser of the event. “This emphatically underlines the fact that the Mena (Middle East and North Africa) region is one of the world’s most active and important markets for the global construction industry, and the significant role that the Big 5 plays in building the Middle East.”
In 2008, the Big 5 will again present a comprehensive showcase of the latest product and service innovations in the construction sector, and this will include French company Ugitech, a world-leading manufacturer of stainless steel long products (bars, wire rods and drawn wires), with worldwide sales of more than 200,000 tonnes of product every year.
Ugitech, which celebrates its centenary this year, will be at the Big 5 for the third consecutive year. “We decided to take part in this exhibition because the Big 5 is the most popular building exhibition in both the Middle East and the world,” said Gwennaël Godot of Ugitech.
“The Middle East is the place to be in the field of building – the organisation of the Big 5 is very good and the contacts we make during the event are always of a high quality. At this year’s show, we will present our entire product range, with a focus on Ugigrip, our stainless steel rebar for concrete structures. We are also building a local stock in Dubai, which means that we can improve our service to customers, offering a full range of products: engineering, free-cutting and tool steel for both carbon and stainless steel.”
“The risk of corrosion in the Arabian Gulf is one of the highest anywhere in the world – Ugitech’s product range offers the highest corrosion-resistance while at the same time being eco-friendly. The recent renovation of the Mosque Hassan II in Casablanca was undertaken using Ugigrip,” he adds.
In total contrast, and indicative of the diverse selection of products and services on show, another of the French companies exhibiting at this year’s Big 5 is the Yves Pertosa Group, which, since 1977, has been designing and manufacturing “spaces of well-being” ranging from bathrooms to spas, and is internationally regarded as the “haute couture” of bathrooms and spas.
The Pertosa factory, located in the south of France, produces unique pieces of furniture and refined bathtubs (featuring marble, gold finish, stone inlays, and art paintings), showers, latest-generation spas that are cutting edge in terms of design and technology, plus hammams, all of which are fitted, if required, with customised hydrotherapy.
Petrosa’s R&D department designs to any project brief, offering refined, traditional or contemporary lines. More than 1,000 colours are available as well as six different kinds of wood and fully personalised fittings.
“This will be our first time at the Big 5 – we chose this exhibition because of its reputation. We are in a luxury market and think that Dubai is a place where we can do real business,” said Florence Pertosa.
“This year will see the Big 5 once again deliver the biggest and best showcase of construction-related products and services ever seen in the region,” says Walsh. “We are confident that we will again break our all-time record number of professional trade visitors, which last year totalled 50,420 – an increase of 22.8 per cent on 2006 – including strong growth in the number of visitors from outside the UAE.”
“But over and above the pure number of visitors, the Big 5 is designed specifically to generate business, and that’s exactly what happened last year, with many multi-million dollar deals either signed or agreed as the result of meetings held at the show,” he concludes.