THE environment and green buildings products are once again the overriding focus of this year’s Big 5 show, as close to 3,000 exhibitors – both regional and international – showcase their best, latest and in many cases “pioneering” and “revolutionary” products and services this month (November 23 to 26) in Dubai, UAE.

A total of more than 58,000 visitors are expected to throng the burgeoning number of exhibition halls at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre (DICEC), which offer a total floor space of 38,600 sq m. Close to half these visitors are expected to arrive from outside the UAE.
Companies from as many as 53 countries – some grouped under the 26 national pavilions at the expo – will showcase their expertise within the exhibition centre’s Al Mulataqua, Sheikh Maktoum, Sheikh Rashid, Zabeel, The Arena, 11 other halls and concourse areas.
The newly-built Arena has now made it possible to accommodate The Big 5 PMV – a dedicated showcase for construction plant, machinery, equipment and vehicles sector – under the same roof as the region’s largest building and construction show.
The Gaia Awards 2009, a new concept that was launched last year, has blossomed into a star attraction of the show. The results of the prestigious construction environmental awards – which has attracted 125 entries this year – have just been announced ahead of the exhibition, with this year’s gold winner hailing from Australia.
The awards were open to all The Big 5 exhibitors, which could nominate those products and services that demonstrate a commitment to protecting the environment.
The Gold Award went to Australian Innovative Systems (AIS), which beat off stiff competition with its Ecoline technology. A new and revolutionary on-site, in-line chlorine generation plant, Ecoline is capable of producing chlorine in fresh water from the small amount of natural salts and minerals already present, providing sterilised, healthy natural water, free of complications and risks of manually adding chemicals.
There was a threefold increase in applications this year, with an incredibly high standard, according to dmg world media Dubai, the organiser of The Big 5 show. In total, one gold, six silver, 10 bronze and 15 green awards were made, covering 32 products and services.
Silver awards were presented to UAE-based Mapei (Innovative Building Solutions), Ductsox Corporation from the US, Chang Yi Shin Company, Constromech, Logical Group of Companies and Ikan-Custom Building Products (Middle East).
Bronze awards went to the following companies: Dutch Digital Distributors (3D), Gulf International Trading Group, Joubert Plywood, Henkel Polybit Industries, Saint-Gobain Technical Fabrics Europe, Texo Innovation, Pittsburgh Corning Europe, Anchor Bay Anchor Bay Formwork Products Limited and Best Choice Floors Protection Manufacturing.
The finalists were Constromech, ETAP, Green Precast Systems and Technologies, Gulf International Trading Group, Hamos Recycling-und Separationstechnik, IDM –Ingeniería y diseño de Edificaciones Modulares, Jehan Gulf Horizon, Lindner Depa Interiors, Nuova Osmo, Walls and Floors Middle East, Avic Special Glass Technology Company, Al Fajer Establishment and Brumstyl.
Presenting the awards to the winners, dmg world media’s vice-president of construction, Simon Mellor said: “The entries this year were all outstanding and competition was fierce. With an increasing awareness of the importance of environmental responsibility in the construction sector, the technologies being submitted were highly advanced and it has been fantastic to see the initiatives being applied by so many companies around the world. The Big 5 will provide a showcase to help raise the profile of the winning green solutions, and we know from previous Gaia winners that the awards can make a real difference to their business.”
He continued: “The Big 5 has taken the first steps to going carbon neutral this year; we are the first exhibition in the region to do so, and we are also trying to educate our exhibitors, visitors and the public about the ways in which way they can reduce their own carbon footprint.”
In addition to the announcement of the Gaia Award winners, The Big 5 has confirmed that, as part of its steps towards carbon neutrality, it will be offsetting its carbon emissions by contributing to a waste heat recovery-based captive power project in Chhattisgarh, India.
The region’s premier emissions reduction specialist EcoVentures will also be present on The Big 5’s Green Stand (located in Hall 9), which will host experts from planning, construction and facility maintenance who will focus on the benefits of green methods and materials with a variety of seminars being held throughout the four days of The Big 5. The Green Stand will also illustrate the benefits of building green, by highlighting how some ground-breaking greener and eco-friendlier products from large and small companies have generated positive environmental benefits, as well as featuring the winners of this year’s Gaia Awards.

Buyers programme
An innovative concept launched for this year’s event is the Key Buyers Programme, which is designed to bring the exhibitors and the major potential buyers closer. Through this initiative, global construction giants can hope to expand their visibility at the show, by tapping the huge opportunity to network with about 300 key buyers, worth at least $500 million each.
The programme aims to ensure that key buyers have access to information about the products to be exhibited prior to attending the show, enabling them to easily locate exhibitors and make appointments.
A research team has selected key buyers based in the Middle East, North Africa, Iran and India, who will be entitled to fast-track access to the show where they will be hosted in private lounges and be able to hold meetings in suites, according to the dmg world media Dubai.
“This year we’re gathering more information about the products and services that exhibitors will be promoting and putting them at the disposal of the big buyers prior to the show,” says a spokesman for dmg world media.

Seminars & conferences
Long established as the principal trade event for the building and construction industry in the Gulf, The Big 5 offers a unique platform to demonstrate, educate and gain valuable insights into what the construction sector has to offer on a global basis.
A series of seminars will be held alongside the exhibition on three days of the show. To be held in the Seminar Rooms above Sheikh Maktoum Hall, the product seminars this year will be based on themes such as cost saving, products and services, environmental solutions, innovations and new releases and product demonstrations (see Product Seminar schedule).
In a bid to provide to raise the bar in terms of information in the construction sector, a conference programme will be held concurrently at The Monarch hotel on November 24 and 25. This year, the programme has been expanded to include a business as well as a technical conference.

Paula Al Chami, event director for The Big 5, says: “The conference topics for this year have been chosen on the basis of today’s most demanding issues, providing industry professionals with the opportunity to share their views, findings and recommendations with an international audience.
“This year, The Big 5 is taking its first steps to becoming carbon neutral and we are committed to ensuring that we educate our exhibitors and visitors as much as we can.
“With this in mind, several of the conference topics have been formulated around the environment and what can be done to encourage ‘green’ building practices.”
The business conference will be held on the first day and is themed ‘Building Future Cities of the Middle East – Opportunities, Challenges and Lessons Learned’, chaired by Sheikh Khalfan Saeed Al Ka’abi from the Construction and Contracting Committee of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with Ibrahim Al Janahi, Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority’s (Jafza) chief communications officer and Dr Imad Al Jamal, vice-chairman of the UAE Contractors Association.
The technical conference will kick off on the second day of the series of conferences and will target engineers. Leading technical professionals will share their views on sustainability and green environmental engineering, energy-saving solutions and district cooling and project management (see Technical Conference schedule).
The Big 5 brings together architects, engineers, contractors and developers from the public and private sectors to network, source and specify the latest building and construction products and services. It lines up the most comprehensive product offering with the support of national pavilions from all major exporting countries of the world. The show covers seven core industry segments: building and construction, water technology and environment, air-conditioning and refrigeration, cleaning and maintenance, glass and metal, bathrooms and ceramics, and marble and stone – and now also includes The Big 5 PMV under its roof.

Link for the Product Seminars:

Link for the Technical Conference: