Successful edition reflects industry upbeat mood

ArabPlast and Tekno Tube Arabia 2011 attracted 18,680 visitors from 8 - 11 January at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Over 800 companies from the Middle East region and from around the world exhibited their products, up by 25% from the previous edition. The mood has been upbeat, as exhibitors believe that the world economy is recovering from the crisis and demand will once again follow an upward trend.

HE Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment & Water, said during the opening ceremonies: "The success of ArabPlast and Tekno Tube 2011 exhibitions demonstrates the robustness of the exhibitions industry in the UAE." The concurrent events are considered the leading business and industrial platforms in the region and given the huge investments poured into these industries, there is great future for the plastics and petrochemicals in the GCC.

ArabPlast 2011, the Middle East premier trade show for rubber, plastics and plastic processing, saw significant international participation. Messe Düsseldorf handled once again the acquisition and support of international exhibitors based outside the Gulf States. This was the fourth time that it organised the official German trade fair presence of over 50 companies. There were also joint presentations from Austria, Italy and Portugal, while Tekno Tube Arabia had joint presentations from China, Austria and Germany (Bayern International). Companies from China, Taiwan, United States, Turkey, Egypt, Canada, India, Hong Kong, and other parts of the Middle East also participated in the show.
According to Mr. Erhard Wienkamp, Division Director, Messe Düsseldorf: "ArabPlast and Tekno Tube Arabia have strengthened their positions as the leading business platforms n a market with major investments and a great future. The United Arab Emirates have successfully emerged as the hub of the Middle East markets. International and regional industry players find this market beneficial for their operations."

At ArabPlast 2011, deals comprising machinery products at the show crossed AED 4.61 billion, involving mainly European and far Asian companies. There was a huge turnout from regional plastics factories that looked at the show as an ideal platform to buy machinery instead of travelling overseas to place orders. The governments of the GCC are opening the doors wide for plastics producers and these factories are grabbing the opportunity to produce plastics domestically.

Petrochemical companies in the GCC are also supporting plastics producers in enhancing their competitiveness and in exporting their products. Major players were present with some of them sponsoring the event. These include: Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO), Borouge, Abu Dhabi Polymers Park, Petro Rabigh, National Petrochemical Industrial Co. (NATPET).

The Gulf region, including the UAE, is amongst the world's largest sources of petrochemicals and plastics products since oil-producing member countries are putting substantial investments into downstream petrochemicals. The GCC countries produce 62 million tonnes of plastics and petrochemicals and it will increase by 72% to reach 111 million tons by 2012. According to forecast, polyethylene production capacities in the GCC will increase from 10.7 million tonnes in 2009 to 21.5 million tonnes by the year 2015. The production of polypropylene will also increase from 4.8 million tonnes in 2009 to 9.5 million tonnes by 2015, an increase of 98%. This will bring the combined production capacities of the two major polyolefin resins to over 31 million tonnes by 2015.

EXHIBITORS FEEDBACK

Mr. Khalfan M. Al Muhairi
Application Marketing Manager,
Pipe Borouge Pte Ltd
Tel: +971-2 607 0888
Fax: +971-2 607 0666
E-mail: Air Jordan VII 7 Retro