The five-day Saudi Building Industries Exhibition (SBIE 2000) ended early last month, after its successful run at the Jeddah International Exhibition and Convention Centre, with professional visitors hailing the show as "extraordinary" and exhibitors terming it as "highly rewarding," according to its Jeddah-based organiser.

''One remarkable feature of the 10th biennial show, inaugurated by Misha'l bin Majid bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Governor of Jeddah Governorate, was that almost all of its 10,641 visitors were professionals or businessmen,'' said a spokesman for Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions. ''Notable among them were owners, CEOs, company directors, decision-makers, engineers, designers, public sector officials, site managers, architects, structural engineers, quantity surveyors, electricians, property developers, safety experts and environmental consultants from around Saudi Arabia and the neighbouring Gulf states.

''Groups of companies and national pavilions from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain and Switzerland ensured a strong European presence. They were joined by companies and representatives from Bahrain, India, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Romania, South Africa, Taiwan and Turkey. All in all, more than 300 companies were represented, and they all found the show both useful and fruitful.''

The importance of the exhibition was heightened by the visit of a four-member UN delegation, he says. Lutfi Omar Eissa, exhibition and information manager of the Riyadh-based Council of Saudi Chambers' Saudi Export Development Center, accompanied the UN delegation, which consisted of Andrew Toh of the New York-based Procurement Division, Martin Halland, chief of supply and transport section of the Geneva-based UN High Commissioner for Refugees, James Provenzano, assistant director, legal and procurement support at the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and John Clarkson, deputy director UNDP/IAPSO.

The UN delegates said their purpose was to know at first hand what are the products and services showcased by local manufacturers and agents, the organiser says.

"We've had meetings with the chambers of commerce and industry at Riyadh, the Eastern Province and Jeddah, as well as with individual businessmen. We want Saudi suppliers and exporters to make use of the huge business opportunities available at the UN by seeking to increase their modest share in the multi-billion UN procurement programmes. Tents were our recent procurement from the Kingdom, which we needed for the refugees in Eritrea. Also, we need a host of items for our peacekeeping operations the world over,'' said the spokesman quoting the delegates.

Interviews with a cross-section of exhibitors showed that all of them were satisfied with the exhibition results, he added.

D P Devnath, executive director of India's Eurocon Tiles, said: "I've almost clinched a deal for setting up a tile manufacturing plant in Jeddah. I've shortlisted at least five parties interested in the proposed joint venture which will cost up to SR25 million ($6.7 million) and employ 200 people. My participation in the show is highly rewarding and successful and I thank the show organisers for this.''

Stefano Ricci and Jihad Messarra, both of Italy's Steel Color, which belongs to the Predieri Group, said: "Our participation has helped us to know how large the Saudi market is for our stainless steel and aluminium products. We specialise in etchings to beautify elevators, refrigerators and a host of other stainless steel and aluminium products. The idea is to enhance their look and appeal. Our decorative designs have captivated many professional visitors. We're a first-time participant in this show and are amazed by the number of inquiries. In fact, we've found a number of local businessmen interested in distributing our products. The response is tremendous, and surely we would like to come back to this exhibition again.''

Enthused by the visitor turnout was Victor Ho of Taiwan's Infiniter Builders' Kit. "Our laser levelling tools, especially for tiling, installation, construction and a host of other building and furnishing jobs have impressed the visitors a great deal. We found they were keen to know more about these tools, of which our 13-year-old company is the only manufacturer in Taiwan. The Saudi market is very good for our products and we should be coming soon, much before the next exhibition. "

Daniele Dalla Valle, deputy director of Promec-Business Internationalisation Services of the Modena Chamber of Commerce, Italy, said: "The intense inquiries have convinced us how interesting and growth-oriented this market is. In fact, starting a joint venture ceramic tiles plant could be a great idea and we'll seriously examine it."

Jaume Almirall of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation, said nine of the chamber's participating members felt the show was a great event which should not be missed. There were several inquiries for the companies' exhibits, which included street-lighting and urban furniture, waterproofing, evaporative coolers, flexible connectors and bathroom accessories, rubber moulding and Spanish ceramic tiles.

Participants from within the Kingdom also found the exhibition very useful, said the spokesman.

Muhammad T Uthman, deputy general manager for technical affairs at the Arabian Cement Company, said: "The exhibition helped us to disseminate information about the various types of high-quality cement that we manufacture in our Rabigh plant. Surely, we'll be here in the next show.''

Some of the other local companies which found their participation "highly successful" were Rowad National Plastic Company Limited, Rolaco Trading and Contracting, A H Al-Zamil Group of Companies, Arabian Waterproofing Industries Company, Bougary Trading and Construction Establishment, Saudi Factory for Fire Equipment, Rose Paint, Jotun Paint, EI-Maimani Red Brick and Clay Products Factories, Jeddah-based City Metal Art Work which manufactures gates, doors, windows, balcony, chandeliers, furniture and other decorative items, and HACE-Heating & Air-conditioning Enterprises Limited.

The next SBIE will be held from September 29 to October 3, 2002.