SteelFab - Steel Fabrication and Metal Working Exhibition opens at Expo Centre Sharjah

And for the first time this year, SteelFab will be collocating with the debut edition of the SteelTech exhibition - a trade fair featuring the complete range of technology, equipment and products for the Middle East-based steel production sector, including steel producers, rolling mills, tube and pipe manufacturers, wire manufacturers, steel processors, and rebar manufacturers.

The two shows are being organized by Expo Centre Sharjah with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Over the past three years, SteelFab has successfully attracted a wide category of personnel from the regional steel working industry, such that the show is now considered essential viewing by anyone engaged in the sector.

SteelFab 2008 will feature over 400 brands and will occupy an exhibition area of 16,000 square meters, compared with 8,000 sq. m. last year - an increase of 100%. Exhibitors are coming from more than 25 countries including Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan (ROC), Turkey, UAE, UK and the USA.

Of the total number of brands that will be represented at SteelFab 2008, approximately 100 will be focused on steel machinery, 75 brands will be dedicated solely to welding and cutting, and over 50 in surface preparation and finishing. Almost all the major manufacturers of structural steel fabrication machines will have an imposing presence at the event.

SteelTech 2008, which is being held at the same time as SteelFab, is the first trade exhibition for the Middle East which is specifically designed to cater to the sourcing requirements of the region's booming steel-making industry. It will showcase new technologies, the latest equipment and raw materials for steel melting and rolling, as well as the processing sector, and will feature products for steel producers, rolling mills, tube and pipe manufacturers, wire manufacturers, steel processors and rebar manufacturers.

Meanwhile, a major attraction of SteelTech 2008 will be the Gulf Iron and Steel Conference, which will be addressed by key players in the industry from across the globe. Among the participants at the event will be top decision makers from the regional iron and steel sector as well as technology providers, equipment manufacturers, and raw material suppliers to the industry.

"A large number of infrastructure and industrial development projects are currently underway in the Middle East region," explained Mr. Saif Mohammad Al Midfa, Director General, Expo Centre Sharjah.

"These developmental projects have to a very large extent contributed towards the unprecedented growth that the regional steel working industry is currently witnessing. The Middle East steel fabrication industry is at an all time high owing to high oil prices, subsequently leading to astronomical investments on infrastructure and industrial development in the region," he added.

Mr. Fasahat Ali Khan, Advisor to the Chairman and Board of Directors of Expo Centre, Sharjah said: "With demand far outstripping supply, the regional steel working industry has been left with no other option but to expand its existing capacities, which in the process has resulted in a huge demand for steel fabrication machinery, equipment and consumables, Such is the demand that many global suppliers to the steel working industry now consider the Middle East the most lucrative market, with no sign of any let up in infrastructure and industrial development in the region.

"Last year's SteelFab attracted almost 6,000 visitors, of whom nearly 70% were from the GCC. There was also a significant number of visitors from the CIS and the Indian sub-continent. That equates to an increase of nearly 75% on the previous year, which we hope will be repeated yet again this year," he concluded.