Gulf Industry Fair 2011 dates change

Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE), Bahrain announced that their 2011 flagship industry exhibition, the Gulf Industry Fair (GIF 2011), will run from 8-10 February 2011. The event, which runs over three days at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre in conjunction with the Gulf Industry Forum, is traditionally held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain. "The decision to hold our events in February as opposed to the traditional January timing has been arrived at after careful consideration and consultation with key exhibitors and other regional event organisers." said Jubran Abdulrahman, managing director, HCE. "January is a busy calendar month for industry in the GCC and hopefully the decision to hold our exhibition in February now will mean that exhibitors can not only take advantage of the huge opportunities that GIF offers in the market, but may also be able to attend other, regional conferences and events," he added. "It is essential as exhibition organisers that we recognise not only the huge business potential for exhibitors of our own geographical location, but are able to see the larger market as a whole, and take decisions based on the overall business needs of our clients. In addition, now that the show enters its fourth year, increased interest from international participants has meant that pushing the show dates back also gives them more time to prepare for the events after the 2010 festive season. We feel that our decision will achieve that and allow the best possible advantages overall to our loyal exhibitor base," he said. Global pioneer eyes aluminium village community concept Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) will again be a strategic aluminium partner at the fourth Gulf Industry Fair (GIF) in Bahrain next year following the renewal of a sponsorship agreement with show organisers Hilal Conferences & Exhibitions (HCE). The sponsorship agreement with HCE, a subsidiary of Bahrain-based Al Hilal Group, is the second successive year that Alba will provide top-level support for the aluminium segment of the show. It is also the first company to commit to a Strategic Sponsorship role for 2011. In addition to aluminium, the fair covers the key industrial segments of metal, automation, metrology, energy, petrochemicals, logistics and manufacturing. The event also provides a unique opportunity for the operators of industrial areas and free zones to meet an interested market of decision makers in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. Alba is one of the world's largest aluminium smelters and is a key industrial driver in Bahrain, supporting a range of downstream industries and making a major contribution to the national economy. The Company is in the midst of a broad-based drive to improve competitiveness by optimising operational and organisational efficiencies, as well as expanding its production capacities to meet future global demand, particularly from rapidly-growing economies such as China. Laurent Schmitt, Alba CEO, said, "One of Alba's remits is to stimulate the growth of the downstream aluminium sector in Bahrain and further integrate the aluminium value chain in the Kingdom, in line with government objectives. Alba's strategic support for Gulf Industry Fair demonstrates our commitment to this approach, through which we aim to help showcase the services and capabilities of the local and regional aluminium community at the Fair." Ronnie Middleton, managing director, Al Hilal Group, said of the agreement, "We are delighted that Alba is the first Strategic Sponsor to renew its support for Gulf Industry Fair in 2011. This is a clear endorsement of the show's growing status in the region and Alba's ongoing support for showpiece international events in Bahrain." Jubran AbduAdidas Fotballsko