BPF Leads Middle East Drive at Arablast
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
At Arabplast 2013 held between 7th – 10th January in Dubai the BPF once again co-ordinated the British Pavilion. The pavilion was made up of 9 UK companies including Atlas Converting Equipment, ColorMatrix, CR Clarke, EPI (Europe) Ltd, Farrel Corporation, Listgrove, NDC, Perrite and Tinius Olsen. A number of other British Companies exhibited at the show including Applied Market Information, Wells Plastics Ltd, Symphony Environmental and Wessington Group.
Despite some signs of slowdown in the region the show proved to be a major success with the show organiser Al Fajar Information & Services stating that the show attracted approximately 30,000 visitors, up from 18,860 the last time the show took place in 2011.
The exhibition is a truly international affair with exhibitors coming from some 47 countries and featuring large international pavilions including Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Italy, China and India. The German pavilion alone featured 77 companies and covered more than 1,100 sqm.
Satish Khanna, General Manager of Al Fajer said that the numbers reflected the rapid increase of plastic consumption in the Middle East. Per capita consumption of plastics in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is 39kg annually, 33% higher than the world average and almost eight times higher than India, said Khanna.
Whilst the show does not register the same volume of visitors as shows in India or China the quality of visitors is exceedingly high with companies expressing a serious willingness to invest in high quality machinery and specialist materials.
Stephen Hunt, Business Development Manager at the BPF commented ‘The show provides the perfect platform for firms to meet not only with companies from across the Middle East but also from further afield including Africa, India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are huge opportunities for our member firms in this market not only through large infrastructure projects such as the World Cup 2022 in Doha but also in the packaging and recycling markets amongst others.’
Ryan Kirby, Managing Director, Listgrove International Recruitment stated “ArabPlast continues to be a rewarding event and having attended the last three shows it is evident that it generates increasing interest from those operating within the polymer sectors across Europe, the Middle East and Far East. From speaking with fellow exhibitors, it is encouraging to hear that most anticipate excellent business opportunities from enquiries received from this year’s exhibition. The region is set to invest heavily in the downstream polymer sector and will benefit greatly from the expertise available from Western based businesses.”
David Harry of CR Clarke stated “Arabplast was an excellent show for us and we made a lot of good new contacts, not only from the local region, but also from the likes of Russia, India and Pakistan. We sold the 3 small machines we had at the stand, and are close to confirming a couple of other decent orders in the near future.”
According to the Arabplast show organisers it has been reported that Machinery worth $3bn was sold during the 4 day exhibition. This staggering amount coincides with reports from the British Group stating that companies in the region are keen to invest in the latest technologies and machinery to increase production capacities and improve efficiencies.
Space is still available in the BPF co-ordinated British Pavilions’ at Chinaplas (Guangzhou, China, 20th-23rd May 2013) and Plastivision (Mumbai, India, 12th-16th December 2013). UK Trade & Investment grants of £1,800 are available for both shows. For more information visit www.bpfevents.co.uk
ENDS
Photograph of the BPF group at Arabplast is attached.
For all media enquiries, BPF logos and images, please contact Philip Law, Public & Industrial Affairs Director on 0207 457 5000 or email [email protected]
Notes for editors:
British Plastics Federation (BPF) is the UK trade association for the plastics industry – representing the whole supply chain including polymer producers, distributors, additives suppliers, machinery manufacturers, processors and recyclers.
