The Middle East Drymix Mortar Association (Medma) will hold its opening conference and inauguration ceremony at the Big 5 Show this year.

The conference will focus on dry mix mortars and will include lectures on advanced drymix mortar applications, the current situation of specifications and standardisation as well as a general outlook on the dry-mix mortar industry and its opportunities for growth in the region.
To be held in the seminar rooms above Sheikh Maktoum Hall at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre, the conference will provide the perfect networking platform for experts from the dry-mix mortar industry to meet with specifiers, consultants and developers to discuss varied aspects of manufacturing, packaging, product performance, quality assurance and application technology.
“A building might be what you live and work in, but what you actually see are the various kinds of drymix mortars that have been used to finish it,” says Ferdinand Leopolder, secretary to the founding committee of Medma. “Drymix mortars are everywhere in building construction – as masonry mortars in the walls, as renders, plasters and tile adhesives on the walls, as self-levelling underlayments under the carpets or floor tiles and prevent the buildings’ energy loss by providing for external thermal insulation (EIFS).”
For the booming construction industry in the Arabian Gulf, dry-mix mortars represent a key technology to increase the speed of construction of buildings, improve efficiency and work environment, reduce repair and maintenance cost and to present a high-quality, aesthetically pleasing and long lasting unit to the final buyers.
“Medma is the industry association for drymix mortar manufacturers and their suppliers throughout the Middle East which promotes drymix mortar technology as a fast, safe, efficient, economic, healthy, ecological, long-lasting and energy-saving method of construction. It aims to provide clear guidance concerning specifications and industry standards to its target groups, including consultants, architects, developers, general and sub-contractors government specifiers and researchers spread throughout the Middle East,” says a spokesperson for the association.
Medma currently consists of 14 dry mix mortar manufacturers from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE as well as eight suppliers to the dry mix mortar industry along with two suppliers as regular partners.
Drymix mortars are advanced, formulated products commonly used in the applications of masonry mortars, exterior renders, interior plasters, tile adhesives, flooring materials which can be thick screeds as well as thin self-levelling under-layments, precision grouts, waterproofing, concrete renovation and EIFS. Drymix mortars are based on cement or gypsum as the main binder group and contain – depending upon application – various additives for improved performance.
There is no charge to attend the conference, which will be held on October 30 at 15.30 and delegates can register by email to info@medma.org.