Steelfab Exhibition addresses changing needs of Middle East metal manufacturing industries

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Mr. Fasahat Ali Khan, Advisor to the Chairman and Board of Directors of Expo Centre Sharjah, Mr. Saif Al Midfa - Director General of Expo Centre Sharjah, officials of various government departments, and members of the diplomatic corps and trade associations.

Companies supplying to the steel manufacturing and processing industries, and who represent over 400 brands from more than 30 countries, have descended on Sharjah this week to showcase the latest technological developments within the sector.

SteelFab and SteelTech, which make up the region's largest and most comprehensive trade fairs dedicated to the steel industry, have attracted record number of exhibitors with more space than ever devoted to the exhibition; whilst running concurrently is the Gulf Iron and Steel Conference that is being addressed by key players in the Steel industry from across the globe.

New at SteelFab 2008 is a special focus hall, dedicated to sheet metal manufacturing solutions with equipment and machinery for AC duct manufacturing, Kitchen Manufacturing, Cabinet Manufacturing and other similar sheet metal product processes in the Middle East region. Exhibits include punch presses, AC duct manufacturing lines, hydraulic presses, CNC profile cutting machines, Roll Forming machines and Coil Processing machines.

"The construction boom in the Middle East, is fuelling the demand for kitchens, cabinets, switchgears, air-condition ducting, poles, enclosures and other such metal products," said Mr. Saif Mohammad Al Midfa, Director General, Expo Centre Sharjah.

Several new factories are coming on stream to service this need and SteelFab 2008 addresses their manufacturing machinery requirements by bringing international manufacturers to the UAE on a single platform.

"SteelFab will continue to address the changing needs of the dynamic market in the region, and this year we will have a special focus on Machine Tools for metal cutting," he added. "Growing the industrial manufacturing base is an important agenda of the GCC countries, and this is evident in the new businesses coming to the region. With new industries like auto-building coming here, we envisage the need for more Metal Cutting machine tools, and SteelFab will endeavor to address this need as well.

"SteelFab has enjoyed an excellent track record with consistent growth of over 50% every year since its debut in 2004. We expect it to continue on this expansion path, with the addition of new profiles related to metal working," he concluded.

A special pavilion, from Germany's Bavaria region, is another first at SteelFab. This pavilion is supported by Bayern International, and features nine exhibitors with different products for the metal-working industry. Its participants include Bernd Siegmund, BTH Tech, FlexiCAM, Hans Schröder, Kolb & Baumann, Rösler Oberflächentechnik, Heinz Soyer, Steinbichler Optotechnik & Weiler.

There is also a large contingent of around 50 enterprises from Italy, sponsored by the Italian Association Of Manufacturing Machine Tools, Robots And Automation Processes - UCIMU-Sistemi Per Produrre - showing off their best production processes in the sector over a floor area of more than 700 square metres. The Association provides support to its associated enterprises and acts as a reference point for users all over the world.

The SteelTech exhibition is another first in the Middle East, and is meant to be the procurement platform for the growing steel-making industries in the region. Breaking the trend of hotel-based conferences, SteelTech brings the steel industry's suppliers and steel mills into a fully fledged exhibition and conference platform.

Mr. Fasahat Ali Khan, Advisor to the Chairman and Board of Directors of Expo Centre, Sharjah said :"With the expected growth in demand for steel, many businesses have announced new mills and expansion projects. Experts predict that these developments could well see regional steelmaking capacity double by the end of 2010."

"We have recognized the need for a fully fledged show, and are confident that SteelTech will provide the procurement needs in the years to come," he added.

The fourth annual edition of the SteelFab exhibition and the debut edition of SteelTech - both of which are open for trade delegates only - will be open for one more day until January 23rd at the Expo Centre in Sharjah.