Construction industry professionals will find a myriad of opportunities next month as the Big 5 PMV exhibition joins the region’s largest cons-truction exhibition, the Big 5, to create a mega trade exhibition in Dubai.

Being held from November 23 to 27, the Big 5 PMV, which last year was the largest single sector launch ever in Dubai, has relocated to a site adjacent to the Big 5 at the Dubai International Conven-tion and Exhibition Centre.
This year’s Big 5 PMV features a purpose-built indoor pavilion and a large outdoor arena and for five days will provide a meeting place for the regional and international construction machinery industry.
Says Nick Webb, director of Streamline Marketing Group, organiser of the Big 5 PMV: “For the first time the Big 5 PMV will run alongside the Big 5, so visitors will be able to gain access to both events, multiplying the benefits for constructions professionals throughout the region.”
Emphasising the high quality of the exhibition, the show has the support from an assembly of prestigious industry associations that include the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), Anmopyc – Spanish Manufacturers Association of Construction and Mining Equipment; Builders Association of India; Camara Ciudad Real (Spain); Construction Products Association (UK); Comamotor – Italian Earthmoving Machinery Manufacturers Association; Agency of the Chamber of Commerce of Ancona (Italy); Chamber of Commerce of Venice (Italy); UbiFrance – the French agency for international business development; and the Society of Engineers UAE.
This year, the show has grown to 40,000 sq m in size up from 30,000 sq m last year, and will feature more than 300 exhibitors (up from last year’s 240) from 22 countries, including nine national pavilions from Austria, China, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Taiwan, and the US. The other countries represented at the show include Australia, Bahrain, Korea, Lebanon, Malta, the Netherlands, Qatar, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, Vietnam and the UAE.
Over 10,000 trade visitors are expected to attend the show, according to Webb. He adds: “Visitors to the show will have a chance to see the most modern techniques and products in the market, essential to maintain a competitive edge as the industry changes, as well as the full range of plant, machinery and vehicles used to build the major developments, commercial and residential towers, resorts, hospitals, roads and entertainment venues.”
The show has a dedicated outdoor area for large construction equipment where visitors can see tower cranes from several international crane companies such as HKTC from South Korea; Chang Yu Hoists Enterprise Company from Taiwan; Liebherr from Germany; Tecnoponti and Tecmer and the Piccini and PM Group from Italy; Guralp Company from Turkey; Altec from the US; Comansa from Spain and the UAE-based Swaidan Trading displaying Sennebogen cranes and Orientals Group exhibiting Hua cranes, among many others.
 “The outdoor area will also display the most technologically-advanced large construction equipment, enabling visitors to see in person the large plant, machinery, construction vehicles and equipment, rather than in a brochure,” he says.
In light of the growing interest of American companies to the attractive prospects of this region, Big 5 PMV will feature a dedicated US pavilion with many high-end companies from across the country participating. Elaborates Webb: “While US presence in the Middle East construction industry is still relatively small in comparison to Europe, there is a growing interest from local and international businesses based in the region to work with companies from America, particularly in light of the competitive rates they can offer due to the low US dollar.
“At the same time, as the Gulf construction and property boom continues, many US construction companies and suppliers are keen to learn more about the exciting opportunities that exist. With this in mind, many US companies are participating at the Big 5 PMV under their national pavilion.”
The US pavilion will include New York-based Technology Trading Group, a supplier of concrete paving equipment, and California-based FrameMax, a manufacturer of panellised light-gauge steel and concrete composite wall panels. Also, straight from the manufacturing Midwest, many Iowan companies will join the US pavilion including glass manufacturing company, Cemen Tech, Mechdyne Corporation (a supplier of automated systems for parking and storage) and Heavy Equipment Manufacturing, which will display its mobile conveyors.
Meanwhile, with safety emerging as a major concern within the region’s construction industry, the Big 5 PMV has announced its full support for Build Safe Dubai, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting best safety practices within the construction industry.
Says Webb: “It is reassuring to see that the safety industry has been growing here in the Middle East, in correlation with the construction boom. The Big 5 PMV provides an ideal forum to raise awareness of construction safety and the latest products available, and we are proud to support Build Safe Dubai.”
Build Safe Dubai was formed in January 2008 to create a platform for all construction industry stakeholders of Dubai to openly share safety information and work together to prevent accidents from happening.  Speaking on the group’s objective, Elias McGrath, group administrator of Build Safe Dubai says: “Build Safe Dubai aims to raise the current benchmark of health, safety and welfare practice of all construction-related stakeholders in Dubai by educating them about the true benefits of investing in safety from start to finish on projects.
“Safety is ethically the right thing to do and business-wise, the smart thing to do and we encourage any organisation which is committed to this mindset to join Build Safe Dubai.
“We are very pleased to see a big event like the Big 5 PMV take safety seriously. We hope to encourage those attending and participating in the event to make safety their first priority.”