The Big 5 show that will open at the end of this month looks poised to break the records set at last year’s event, which saw not only the biggest ever show in the event’s long history, but an all-time high number of exhibitors and visitors.

The 27th in a line of highly successful events staged for the Middle East’s building and construction industry, the show will be held at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre (DIEC) in Dubai from October 28 to November 1.
Bookings have already been received from all over the world and around 2,500 exhibitors will arrive as individual companies or national pavilions from Europe, Australasia, the near and Far East and the Indian sub-continent at the event. The show is expected to include around 30 national pavilions.
“Firmly established as the largest and most prestigious building services and construction event in the Middle East and Asia and one of the largest dedicated exhibitions for any industry anywhere in the world, last year’s show was the biggest ever, occupying the entire Dubai International Exhibition Centre, filling 10 exhibition halls, the Al Multaqua Hall and one pavilion,” says Bernard Walsh, managing director of dmg world media Dubai, the organiser.
“We were inundated with re-bookings, even before last year’s show opened. This event keeps breaking its own records year after year, and with the DICEC having created additional floor space for this year’s Big 5, it will definitely be an even bigger event,” he adds.
Around 30 per cent more floor space will be available following the completion of the new Zabeel Hall at the DICEC in time for the exhibition.
The massive demand for space at the Big 5 show is attributed to the sustained growth in the commercial and residential sector across the Middle East. Exhibitors from 58 countries participated in the exhibition, with 1,886 stands representing 2,477 companies – there were also 29 national and regional groups, with all of the world’s leading building and construction markets strongly represented.
The high level of interest in the building and construction sector has been clearly demonstrated by the 14.4 per cent year on year growth in visitor numbers, with a total audience of 38,535 trade professionals attending the show last year including 16,700 overseas visitors and exhibitors, says the organiser.
While 42 per cent of registered visitors came from Dubai, 23 per cent from Abu Dhabi and the other emirates and 13 per cent from Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states. Overseas visitors comprised about 22 per cent of the total and included a high number who travelled to the event from Egypt, India, Iran, Africa and Europe. Significantly, visitors from India and Pakistan increased by 30 per cent, from Iran by 9 per cent and from Europe by 39 per cent, further evidence of the still growing importance of The Big 5.
The visitor audience attracted to the Big 5, both in terms of numbers and quality, cannot be matched by any other event in the construction and building services industry in the Middle East, claims the orgniser.
Always a dependable barometer of the state of the region’s building and construction industry, last year’s Big 5 exhibition clearly demonstrated the current buoyancy and dynamic nature of these two sectors – the response to the event, both in terms of the number of visitors and exhibitor feedback, also indicated that in the long term there will be continued expansion across the region, with many more large-scale projects and developments coming on stream.
“More and more projects have made their way from the drawing board to the construction phase during the year,” says Walsh. “Major developments continue to attract incredible amounts of investment.”
“What is really significant, and will create even greater opportunity for companies involved in the building and construction sector, is the recent decision taken by Dubai Municipality which will allow international contractors without local contacts to bid for major projects – construction majors from Brazil, Malaysia, Turkey, Japan, and Latin America are among those targeting lucrative Dubai contracts,” adds Walsh. “This is a major strategic shift, and one that will have a massive effect on the continued growth and expansion of the industry.”
Comprehensively covering seven key product sectors – building and construction, water technology and environment, air-conditioning and refrigeration, cleaning and maintenance, glass and metal, bathrooms and ceramics, marble and machinery, this year’s Big 5 will be the largest ever, with every one of these product sectors greatly expanded to meet the huge demand generated by one of the world’s most active construction markets.
Among the key industry sectors that have an expanded presence are air-conditioning, marble, stone and ceramics and bathrooms and sanitary ware as they continue to enjoy strong growth, with the demand for quality products and innovative systems higher than ever.
“All of the major international companies from each of these vital sectors will be represented at this year’s event,” says Walsh. “In addition, the Big 5 has always prided itself on bringing the very best the world has to offer to the region, and products that increase efficiency whilst maintaining high levels of quality are sure to be of major interest.”
The marble, stone and ceramics industry will once again be well represented at the show, with major groups from the main markets of Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Jordan, Turkey, plus many individual companies from overseas and around the region, including RAK Ceramics, which is now established as one of the world’s largest manufacturers in the industry.
Featuring the most renowned global brands from the bathrooms and sanitary ware industry, including industry leaders such as Franke, Geberit and Grohe, the Big 5 will showcase the world’s most creative product designs.
Grohe, which has exhibited at every Big 5 since the show was first launched, depends on the show as a key element of its marketing in the region, as it gives the firm the opportunity to meet the key consultants, engineers, contractors, architects and developers.
“This year, we will be looking to further enhance our market share through the launch of our latest products,” says Alexander Halabi, Gulf regional manager for Grohe. “We have a number of exciting new products, and are confident that these will have a positive impact in the Middle East market, which we expect to continue growing at a very fast pace, for at least the next 10 years.”
In the air-conditioning sector, JCI-York is one of the big names that will be participating, having found the show to be a highly effective way to establish contacts with owners, contractors and designers.
“This year we will be demonstrating our response to large fast-track projects and air-conditioning needs through packaged chiller plant with controls,” says a company spokesman. “One of the most exciting new product developments that will be shown at the event is our chiller plant with a single 11 kV power input – the unique feature of this system is that no external transformers are needed. We will also be promoting a new concept for the Middle East – our exclusive range of car-park ventilation systems. In addition to low operating costs, efficient air mixing and quiet operation, these are extremely beneficial in the event of fire, ensuring improved visibility during evacuation, smoke dilution, smoke cooling and rapid smoke extraction via axial flow fans.”
“Our Refrigeration Business Group will be showing a brand new range of ChillPac packaged ammonia chillers, which are extensively used in the food processing industry and cold stores,” he adds.
JCI-York foresees continued growth in the district-cooling concept, where several buildings are supplied with chilled water from a central cooling plant. These sophisticated, architecturally-enhanced, prefabricated chiller plants can result in earlier building occupancy for owners, savings in mechanical and electrical engineering for designers and smooth, on time transition for contractors.
Another main player in the air-conditioning industry, UTS Carrier has been exhibiting at the Big 5 for over a decade, making valuable contacts. Its regional business is growing by as much as 20 per cent gross a year.
“Our objective this year is to familiarise customers with the new features, increased efficiency and innovative features of our new products,” says Imad Richani of UTS Carrier.
The Middle East and North Africa’s (Mena) air-conditioning market offers huge potential to manufacturers. The latest estimates of the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA) show continued growth in the air-conditioning segment, with more than 2.7 million unit sales projected by 2008. “Sales of air-conditioning units have grown by 56 per cent since 2000,” says Walsh. “The JRAIA estimates show this trend continuing, although we suspect that the projections through to 2008 may be a little on the conservative side, bearing in mind the scale of construction across the region.”
The air-conditioning area at this year’s Big 5 will, as usual, be located in Hall 1 but will also now expand into the new Zabeel hall, allowing the organisers to stage what will be the largest and most comprehensive showcase of air conditioning products and related services ever seen in the Mena region.
The increase in exhibition space is not only welcome, but will have a further positive effect on Dubai’s competitive edge as it looks to stage the world’s biggest and most prestigious events. There are two major stages that form the strategic development plan to provide sufficient exhibition space for the future. The first is the expansion and enhancement of the current exhibition space and facilities, followed by the construction of Dubai Exhibition City, part of the Jebel Ali Airport City, which will offer a staggering 120,000 sq m of exhibition space by 2009.
A series of seminars will also be held in conjunction with the Big 5 in Rooms A and B above Sheikh Maktoum Hall (see Box 1).
Opening times of the show: October 28 to 31: 11 am to 8 pm and November 1: 11 am to 6 pm.
dmg world media Dubai Limited, part of the dmg world media group of companies, has a wealth of experience in organising exhibitions to the highest international standards. Index, the Big 5, the Office Exhibition and The Hotel Show are all leaders in their respective market sectors.