The demand for German engineering technology in the Gulf countries is currently at an all-time high and this trend will continue well beyond 2008 as German manufacturers of machinery and equipment continue to experience a highly receptive export market in a region where projects are estimated to be worth almost $1,500 billion.

German exports of construction equipment and building material machinery to the Gulf – excluding Iran and Iraq – increased by 5.2 per cent in 2007, as compared to the previous year and currently equals about €419 million ($620.05 million). Only eight years ago, this figure was just about €80 million.
The Arabian Gulf is one of the top growth markets in the world for the German construction machinery industry, besides China and India.

Building material machinery
The building material machinery industry is doing particularly well, with German engineering know-how being applied in prestigious construction projects such as Burj Dubai and Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, UAE.
German engineering is also in high demand in the building material machinery industry. For instance, Masa delivered a full block-making machine to Dubai last year and there are now 60 steady large pallet machines manufactured by Masa alone, used in the region. Ebawe and Sommer delivered circulating pallet plants for concrete block production to Abu Dhabi while double wall production plants by Vollert/Weckenmann are in use in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Lingl has also put three lines for the production of coring clay bricks and tiles into operation last year in these countries.
The regional cement plant industry is also doing well and German companies have played a significant role in supplying their expertise to this sector. Pfister, a leading German manufacturer specialising in weighing and dosing technologies in a variety of materials, delivered machinery for a cement factory owned by Gulf Cement Company in Qatar. The new cement factory belonging to the Jordan Al Mafraq Cement Company is currently using impact and hammer crushers by Hazemag and EPR as well as a roller mill by Gebrüder Pfeiffer. A cement factory in Hofuf in Saudi Arabia has also been expanded with four new Loesche roller mills and Haver and Boecker cement bag plants can be found everywhere in the region.
All the German companies operating in the Gulf have either representations or service points in the region with the aim of working closely with their local partners to address the needs of the clients directly. Although the clients may have different manufacturing processes, they usually all have the same requirements as regards to the equipment, which should offer optimum performance levels, and be environmentally friendly and high in operator comfort and safety.

Trade fairs
Trade fairs in the Middle East are an important sales and marketing promotional medium for German manufacturers. The Big 5 trade show, the region's largest construction event where major pavilions and companies showcase their products and services, has become a star trade fair for the German construction equipment and building material machinery industry. Last year, around 352 German companies exhibited their products at the German common stand at this fair, although normally German participation is much smaller at similar trade fairs.
There is again a great demand for exhibition space at the German common stand at the Big 5 Show 2008 which will be held in November from 21 to 28, with more than one-third of the available space already sold. The German Engineering Federation is currently also discussing whether the Conmex Middle East exhibition in Sharjah, UAE, should also become a part of the official German trade programme.
German manufactures have a lot to offer to clients in the Gulf countries, with their wide range of products and services. With the Gulf Glass expo – a popular event for machinery, equipment and raw material suppliers – a large number of German manufacturers of the glass technology industry have found a platform to present their products to clients in the region.
The Gulf countries were also the partner region to the bauma 2007 – the international trade fair for construction machinery, building materials machinery, mining machines, construction vehicles and construction equipment that took place last April last year at the New Munich Trade Fair Centre in Germany. At this fair, many existing contacts from Germany into the region were renewed and new contacts were made by all the participating companies from the Gulf countries.

Brand recognition
German engineering technology is a ‘brand’ that has made a name for itself for its performance, productivity and quality, which internationally remain the three most important criteria based on which a client decides to buy a certain product. It is difficult for any other nation to compete with the wide range of machinery, equipments and components that German manufacturers have to offer. The advanced and sophisticated standard products on offer from these manufacturers are completed by system concepts and customised solutions, which are developed together with the client.
The requirements of the Middle East countries that have to be met by machinery, people and material are constantly increasing. The machinery has to be durable and be able to withstand extremes of the region such as very high temperatures, densely populated areas or areas that are sparsely populated such as deserts or even the ocean ground. Due to these reasons, people and environment are the main focus of research and development of these German companies, with most of their innovations focused on certain topics such as reduction of noise, dust emission and exhaust, while at the same time ensuring and even increasing the machinery’s performance.
With a high demand to run construction-sites as effectively as possible, tight deadlines and cycles as well as the constant shortness of qualified workforce keep German manufacturers looking for new technical solutions that can make construction times shorter and also be cost-effective for the client.