Record attendance at Materials Handling and Logistics

Evidence of this was on hand for all to see with more than 125 exhibitors taking part from around the world together with 5,000 trade visitors.

International statistics have already confirmed Dubai ports are amongst the top seven in the world, with future plans set to elevate capacity to compete head on with the mega-ports of Singapore and Shanghai. No wonder therefore that so many suppliers are keen to get a slice of the business being generated by projects such as Dubai Logistics City (DLC), Dubai World Central and Dubai Industrial City.

This year's event presented a blend of top flight multi-nationals such as Caterpillar along with formidable companies from the UAE including SPAN, Airlink and Al Thika Packaging.

According to Ms Amanda Westerman, Exhibition Manager of Materials Handling & Logistics, "the event has seen a consistent growth in the level of visitors and exhibitors. This year's event is a record and added to the response for delegates attending the conference. Many visitors were especially keen to learn about new developments in Information Technology as well as getting first hand information about new developments in the UAE."

In fact Mr. Rashed Al Ansari, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Industrial City (DIC), presented plans for the new complex, speaking at the Materials Handling & Logistics conference. Key aspects of the development were revealed for the first time.

Another major attraction of the show was an area given over to live demonstrations, allowing visitors to see first hand some of the latest equipment to be put to the test. Mr. John Maguire, Director Sales and Marketing for Maxton fork lift trucks said "from a marketing perspective, this gives us an opportunity to test drive our equipment for our clients, exposing them to a hands on experience of its capabilities which positively reflects the closure of a sale".

Further praise was leveled at the event by Mr. Douglas Donald of Dexion Storage Equipment. He said the show was "a great success for FAMCO and they are delighted with the response from visitors with large numbers of enquiries taken each day." Meanwhile Ms, Jacquelyn Dunand, Managing Partner of Zerwa Technologies said "I am delighted by the number of contacts we have received which have made me realize how important the show is."

Messe Frankfurt, the event organizers, are equally happy at the outcome. According to Eckhard Pruy, CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East, "we're in the business of making markets for our exhibitors. The whole logistics sector is growing rapidly in the Gulf and we aim to complement this by working closely with both major regional organizations as well as our own clients."