The German Pavilion at the Big 5 show has continued to show a year on year growth in size.

As in previous years, German Federal Government has included the most important trade show for building technology and industry in the Middle East in its foreign exhibition programme and supports German companies participating in this show. 
The VDMA, the German federation that enfolds 3,000 mainly small and medium-size member companies in the engineering industry, making it one of the largest and most important industrial associations in Europe – will support its members’ participation at the event even as German manufacturers of construction and building material machinery are witnessing growth in business with an increase of up to 10 per cent in their sales forecast this year.
“Due to the continuing high demand, the construction equipment and building material machinery association increased the sales forecast for the industry from previously eight to 10 per cent for this year,” says Christof Kemmann of BHS Sonthofen and president of the industry’s association, which is part of the German Engineering Federation, VDMA. “The domestic sales volume rose by nearly 27 per cent during the first half of this year to about 1.14 billion euros ($1.44 billion) for the German manufacturers of construction machinery. For the manufacturers of building materials, ceramics and glass machinery, the sales volume rose by nearly 23 per cent to about 390 million euros,” he adds.
Exports have also done well so far this year with sales volume rising by 22 per cent to 3.1 billion euros for the manufacturers of construction equipment and by 12 per cent to more than 1.1 billion euros for building material, ceramics and glass machinery manufacturers. Export quotas of the industry continue to be more than 75 per cent. 
The highest development potential for the industry currently is to be expected in exporting to the Arabian Peninsula, India, Russia and Eastern Europe but other markets, like South East Asia, are attractive again, says the VDMA. 
“It never looked that well and promising before,” says Michael Michaelis of Liebherr Export, depicting the mood the industry currently finds itself in.
According to the VDMA: “Dubai is currently the number one boom area in the Arabian peninsula but over the next five years, the boom will move to other countries of the region and in the medium-term, Abu Dhabi, in particular, could become the new centre of construction. Qatar and Kuwait are also becoming increasingly more interesting, and so with Saudi Arabia. If all projects currently envisaged are carried out, the volume they represent will outshine by far all other projects realised up to now in the region.”
The Arabian Gulf countries are now the partner region of bauma, the biggest trade fair on construction equipment and building materials machinery worldwide which takes place in Munich between April 23 and 29, next year.
“The level and growth of export figures of construction equipment and building material machinery to the Gulf countries reflect the rapid development of the construction industry in that region. According to the Construction Equipment and Building Material Machinery Association, which is part of the VDMA, the export volume of the German manufacturers to the seven countries (GCC countries and Yemen) of the region increased by a total of 40 per cent to nearly 280 million euros in 2005 as compared to 2004. The lion’s share of this was machinery and equipment worth nearly 103 million euros exported to the UAE and around 86 million euros worth to Saudi Arabia that equals an increase of 25.7 per cent and 19.8 per cent, respectively, compared to 2004, making these two countries the most rapidly developing construction markets of the region. Last year, the biggest growth in import of German construction equipment and building material machinery was from Qatar with an increase of 229 per cent and in Kuwait with a plus of 114 per cent, however, in both cases coming from a very low base. Germany together with Japan and the US are the three most important supplying countries that deliver construction equipment and building material machinery to the region.
“German engineering expertise is in high demand in the Middle East as most clients believe that it is able to meet the particular challenging requirements of this construction boom in the region where construction schedules are tight and temperatures and environmental conditions are extreme.”
German machinery is being currently being used on some of the most prestigious projects in the region including the Palm a TBM (tunnel boring maching) from Herrenknecht is at work and the Burj Dubai project, where a world record in high-rise concrete conveying currently is held by the Putzmeister concrete pumps and formwork concepts by Hünnebeck are used to meet the special requirements on cycle times, and tower cranes from Liebherr rise higher every three weeks to ensure that a whole floor can be completed within five days on these high construction sites. 
VDMA, a non-profit organisation will assist in various customer-supplier relationships, enabling co-operation across the board at the Big 5 show this year.