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Conmex Middle East 2008 Showed 300 Brands

Construction industry representatives from all over the region converged on Expo Centre Sharjah for the third edition of CONMEX Middle East, the region's largest exhibition exclusively dedicated to the industry. Over 300 brands from over 30 countries were on display, attracting more than 7,000 visitors from 42 countries to the four-day fair. CONMEX Middle East is jointly organized by Expo Centre Sharjah, the exhibition organization of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and IMAG - International Trade Fair Service, Germany. IMAG is member of Messe München, organizer of the world´s construction machinery show BAUMA.

Held from October 20 to 23, "the turnout during all four days of the show bears testimony to the fact that the regional construction sector is booming and remains unaffected by the global financial crisis in any way, " said Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General of Expo Centre Sharjah.

"Third-quarter results have been pretty good. Mega projects are still the order of day, there is enough liquidity in the market and most of the projects are on schedule. All this point to a robust property sector, and the huge success of CONMEX Middle East was a reflection of the flurry of construction activities taking place in the region, " said Mr. Midfa.

"CONMEX proved to a comprehensive trade event for construction machinery, equipment and vehicles that can offer complete technological and services solutions to the sector, " he said.

With a total exhibition area of more than 30,000 square meters, 300 brands from the UK, the UAE, Australia, China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan (ROC), Italy, Germany, Russia, Slovenia, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, Spain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Belgium, Ireland and Iran, exhibited at the event.

Based on a massive visitor promotion campaign in the GCC region, visitors came to CONMEX Middle East with the clear purpose to finalize deals. "IMAG and Messe Munich have extensive experience in organizing construction machinery shows like BAUMA, BAUMA China and others in Russia, Iran and Algeria. Compared to these shows, the visitor quality of CONMEX Middle East was absolutely on par and remarkably high", said Mr Harald Mueller, Chairman & CEO of IMAG. "Our aim is not to attract vast numbers of passers-by but to focus on decision-makers. Therefore the show clearly concentrates on construction machinery and does not present a mixture of other exhibits, " he added.

"The huge demand for construction equipment and related services points to the fact that construction activities are in full swing and supply is pretty tight, " said Mr Fasahat Ali Khan, Adviser to the Chairman and Board of Directors of Expo Centre Sharjah.

"Our interaction with visitors revealed that the demand is so high that contractors have to deal with long lead times when it comes to obtaining the right equipment they need, " said Mr Khan. "No wonder visitors to the show, who included industry professionals and other representatives, were seen negotiating deals and trying to obtain supplies as fast as possible, " Mr. Khan said.

Live demonstrations in the display area outside Expo Centre Sharjah and the exhibits of the open-air section were a boon for visitors who wanted to see the full capabilities of machines such as tower cranes, forklifts, earthmovers, concrete batching plants, and other light and medium range machinery, equipment and vehicles.

CONMEX Middle East also provided the platform for discussing important topics for the region's construction industry. Hundreds of delegates attended the concurrent conference on "How to control time delays and budget overruns in building projects" that was held 20th to 21st of October at the Conference Hall of Expo Centre Sharjah.

Majority of the participants were of the view that such issues are of utmost importance because a delay of even a few months could lead to budget expenses being doubled.

Product launches held on the sidelines of the event were another point of attraction. More than 40 products were introduced, which saw instant bookings and drew enquiries from many trade visitors.



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