Steelfab 2010 bookings reflect recovery of ME manufacturing, steel fabrication industry

SteelFab 2010, the region's premier trade show for the metalworking, metal-manufacturing and steel fabrication industry, is scheduled to be held from January 11 to 14 next year at Expo Centre Sharjah. The 2010, event will be the 6th edition and is expected to host in excess of 250 direct exhibitors representing over 600 brands and covering about 18,000 square-metres of exhibition space. "Continuing infrastructure projects have helped ease the very worst of supply cuts and de-stocking measures. Regional governments are pumping in millions of dollars into these projects, such as infrastructure, oil & gas, and construction, which is generating demand for metalworking, metal-manufacturing and steel fabrication equipment and products," said Mr. Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General of Expo Centre Sharjah. "The fact that major manufacturing economies like Germany and France have come out of recession augurs well for greater exhibitor participation at SteelFab 2010," he said. Bayern International will be leading a pavilion of German companies from the region of Bavaria to SteelFab 2010. This will be the third successive edition of SteelFab to obtain the official participation from Bavaria. SteelFab 2010: 6th Edition Date: 11-14 January 2010 Venue: Expo Centre Sharjah, United Arab Emirates A new development will be the Italian Institute of Foreign Trade (ICE) pavilion at SteelFab 2010. The Italian Institute for Foreign Trade, also known as Italian Trade Commission, is the government agency entrusted with promoting trade, business opportunities and industrial cooperation between Italian and foreign companies. For SteelFab 2010, ICE is promoting joint participation of Italian companies under a dedicated pavilion. "SteelFab is supported by UCIMU-Sistemi Per Produrre -- the association of Italian manufacturers of machine tools, robots, automation systems and ancillary products. Participation by ICE will augment the usually large Italian participation at SteelFab," said Mr Fasahat Ali Khan, Advisor to the Chairman and Board of Directors of Expo Centre Sharjah. A total of 35 Italian firms took part in the previous show, a 40% rise in the number of exhibitors from the year before. This number is set to increase at SteelFab 2010. "The last edition of SteelFab had a small participation from the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society. They had a very good result and feedback from the show and the association will be promoting more members manufacturing welding supplies to participate at SteelFab 2010," he added. "SteelFab 2009 had a 100% increase in Turkish exhibitors, and we expect this to continue," he stated. "Already, we are receiving confirmations and many enquiries from Turkey." SteelFab 2009 featured a special area for the display of CNC metal-cutting machine tools. This special focus will be continued for SteelFab 2010, under the banner of "Machine Tools Middle East." Regional distributors of metal-cutting machinery are expected to participate in a big way in the dedicated area. "Tube & Pipe Machinery" will be another special focus segment at SteelFab 2010 and will benefit from special visitor promotions to bring in target visitor groups from the process, oil & gas, ship-building, MEP, pipelines and other pipe & tube user industries. Preparations are on to better develop these special focus areas for the coming edition and new launches will be part of this initiative. Though SteelFab 2009 coincided with the global financial meltdown, the show was able to generate interest in the industry and was termed a success on the back of the substantial number of trade visitors (6,463) and deals struck during the show. SteelFab 2009 hosted more than 600 brands in a total exhibition area of 18,000 square metres, featuring the Middle East's largest display of machinery, machine tools, welding equipment, supplies, consumables andJordan Flight Luxe