MILLION-DOLLAR deals and a high visitor turnout at gulfBID 2009 last month highlighted that business prospects for the construction industry continue to be strong across the Northern Gulf.

Held at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIEC) from May 5 to 7, gulfBID 2009 attracted as many as 190 exhibitors from 26 countries across the world and 4,203 industry professionals over the course of the show.
Jointly organised by Bahrain’s Al Hilal Group and dmg world media Dubai, gulfBID is the biggest construction and interiors exhibition in Bahrain and is specifically targeted at the markets of the Northern Gulf.
Bahrain’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who inaugurated the three-day show, said that despite the worldwide economic slowdown, there was ample business in the Gulf, especially in the interiors industry. Al Hilal Group’s Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE) division said visitor and exhibitor numbers showed that gulfBID 2009 – now in its fourth year – was the most successful edition of the show so far.
This year, the show attracted national pavilions from Germany, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and China. There were 25 companies from China taking part in gulfBID 2009, and even Cyprus managed to bring nine companies, some on repeat visits and some for the first time, to take advantage of opportunities in the region.
The Mimco Group – a joint venture of Euro Arabian Business Centre (EABC) and local partner Khalifa Ahmed Al Mannai – hosted a group of 25 companies from the Slovak Republic, Serbia, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Spain at the show where they were on the look out for business opportunities in the Gulf region (see separate article).
“Exhibitors who have turned up this year are here for the long term and they are all saying that the event got off to a great start,” said HCE managing director Jubran Abdul Rahman. “The general view is that the construction and interiors industry has weathered the worst of the storm and that, in this region certainly, things will start to pick up by the fourth quarter of the year.”
“In spite of the downturn, the number of exhibitors is up on last year which shows the importance of this event to international companies looking to benefit from making contacts and doing business in an area where there is still a lot of business to be had,” he added.
Apart from the strong exhibitor and visitor turnout, millions of dollars worth of deals and launches of eye-catching products were the highlights of gulfBID 2009, which attracted leading manufacturers, star designers and major specifiers from the region and beyond.
One of the big winners at the exhibitions was Alomi Real Wood Floors of Dubai, which notched up deals worth over $10 million over the course of the event.
CEO Albert Douglas said that the deals indicated to him that business was booming, despite the global financial scenario. “This was the most successful show for Alomi, which is participating in the exhibition for the fourth consecutive time,” he said.
“No other show so successfully connects specifiers with exhibitors. The environment is the perfect setting for unveiling new products, raising brand awareness and showcasing the greatest products and designs from around the world,” he said.
A number of local and international companies were looking at using the event as a launch pad for their products in the regional market. Bahrain’s Alyusuf Group used gulfBID to launch a new range of coated glass from the UK.
“By coating this glass here, we are able to offer an increase in the range of applications for this product and we have had a massive amount of interest,” says Basim Alyusuf, Alyusuf Group managing director.
“We have been talking to a lot of companies from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as well as local businesses, about this new product during the show and the response has been tremendous,” he added.
The group also launched Well Wear, a wood-plastic composite for flooring and a new generation of access panels, both manufactured at the company’s factories in China.
Commenting on the show, he said: “We have been here every year since the show was launched and this has definitely been the best for us. We have already decided to double the space of our pavilion for next year because gulfBID – which we have supported since its inception – is a key event for doing business in our industry.”
Several other exhibitors also had positive comments about the show.
Al Samahiji Trading is another Bahraini company that is signing up for next year’s edition of the show. The trading company, which specialises in lighting solutions, has been a regular exhibitor at the show.
“The first day was a bit slow, but that was expected, given the current economic climate,” said Yasser Al Samahiji, managing director. “However, we subsequently did some good business and made some very good contacts. We will certainly be back next year.”
For most of the exhibitors market presence was the main criterion in participating at the exhibition, while others were keen to appoint local agents in the region.
Aluminium rolling shutters and structural PVC profiles specialist Duroplast of Greece, which is keen to increase its market penetration in the GCC, said the event offered an ideal opportunity to create awareness of its products in the markets of Saudi Arabia and Qatar given Bahrain’s proximity to these markets.
“We participated at SaudiBuild and the Big 5 show, and by participating at gulfBID, we have explored all opportunities that the events circle allows to cover the regional markets,” said a spokesman for Duroplast.
“We have received good response for setting up joint ventures and from prospective agents, which is something we will look into closely as our type of product needs good after-sales service,” he added. “While we haven’t secured large contracts in the region, we believe that with the right partners in the area to promote our products, we will soon win the larger deals.”
Making its debut the show, the Sharjah-based Hepco 3B finalised negotiations to appoint an agent for the Bahrain market. The firm, which trades in PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and PPR (polypropylene random) pipes and fittings, also announced that it will launch a production facility in Ras Al Khaimah in September.
Canada’s Boa-Franc, a timber specialist, was at gulfBID looking to find a local distributor, says international business development executive director Roy Najjar.
“We want to set up a distribution network here in Bahrain and so far we have come across some positive prospects. It’s a long way from Quebec, but it looks like the show has been worthwhile,” he said.
Boa-Franc already does a lot of business in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as Kuwait and Iran.
Meanwhile, Ameeri Industries, which offers a range of road safety products, outlined plans to launch production of lighting poles under its Amgard brand. The plant is currently under commissioning. Under the Amgard brand, the company currently offers guard rails, open box beams, pedestrian fences, signal light fences, industrial vents and facilities such as a galvanising plant. In addition, Ameeri Industries manufactures electrical panel boards, electrical distribution boards, fuse boards, feeder pillars, control panel boards and motor control centres under the AmeTech brand.
Spanish company proiek, which specialises in outdoor and indoor public furniture, was at gulfBID to spread its wings in the international market.
“We are a new company, founded just four years ago in Bilbao, and we are now looking at overseas markets,” said Estibaliz Olasolo Larinage of the firm’s export and marketing department. “We saw the Middle East as a perfect market for our upmarket products and gulfBID seemed the ideal opportunity for us to break into this region.”
“The event has gone very well and there has been a lot of interest in what we are offering,” he added.
The next edition of gulfBID will be held from May 4 to 6, 2010.