German exhibition organizers target Middle East business sector

This announcement was made at a press conference held yesterday in Dubai. According to Messe Dusseldorf, the fast growing metallurgy and foundry industry in the region can receive a significant boost through participation in international trade fairs.

The company also announced the launch of NEWCAST, the International Castings Trade Fair, which is the latest event to be held in conjunction with a variety of exhibitions at Dusseldorf, Germany in June 2003. Currently, the exhibitions list includes GIFA 2003, the International Foundry Trade Fair, METEC 2003, the International Metallurgical Technology Trade Fair and THERMOPROCESS, the International Trade Fair and Symposium for Thermo Process Technology.

"Countries in the Middle East have commenced diversification of their economic resources and have begun to make considerable investments in the industrial sector, especially in the metallurgy and foundry segment. Although still in its infancy stage, the region is currently witnessing exponential growth in this area," said said Dr. Gutamann Habig, General Manager, Federation of the Engineering Industries (VDMA). "We feel that with increased participation in international trade fairs, this sector will receive considerable support and encouragement to grow at an enhanced pace and be on par with international organizations. In view of this positive forecast, we are laying added emphasis on the region."

"NEWCAST will join GIFA, METEC and THERMOPROCESS exhibitions which are held every four years in one of Europe's leading economic hubs, thus providing exhibitors with a ready-made platform to target the established markets in the continent. As a customer-centric organization, Messe Dusseldorf leverages its wide network of agents and representatives to offer exhibitors value-added services like ensuring that visitors or potential exhibitors can obtain catalogues or admission tickets from home, providing assistance them travel plans or hotel reservations. This generates inestimable benefits for visitors, journalists and exhibitors alike, as they are able to rely on optimum local support in many practical matters relating to GIFA, METEC, THERMOPROCESS and NEWCAST," he added.

"Many new developments have been performed in the field of metallurgy and rolling plants. Further advancements include the integration of process steps which had been separated previously, enhancements in productivity and more efficient use of energy," Friedrich-Georg Kehrer, Project Director, GTMN 2003. "The four exhibitions endeavor to provide a comprehensive platform for exhibitors to display the latest innovations in this market segment. With over 96,000 trade visitors from 84 countries that travel to Dusseldorf for the exhibitions, it is evident that exhibitors have access to a wide spectrum of people who can ultimately be converted into potential customers."

Speaking about NEWCAST, the most recent addition to the exhibition agenda, Kehrer added, "NEWCAST is a unique trade fair specifically focused on casting products and thus constitutes the ideal complement and natural thematic extension to GIFA, METEC and THERMOPROCESS. The addition of the new exhibition provides a technological platform that serves as a perfect link between machinery, technologies and manufacturing processes on one hand and products or end results on the other. With its wide product spectrum, NEWCAST is the ideal forum for all companies from the fields of ferrous casting and the non-ferrous metal casting sector. In addition, companies focusing on Information Technology solutions, who offer the means for conducting business processes on the Internet through websites and data interchange by email will also be present at the event."

"Ranked as one of the leading exhibition organizers in the world, Messe Dusseldorf has 62 foreign representatives including subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, Singapore and Moscow, in addition to 9 liaison offices in 94 countries, which is truly representative of our widespread global presence," Bassel Amaneddine, Representative of Messe Dusseldorf Gmbh Trade Fairs in the UAE

GIFA, which takes place concurrently, offers an ideal opportunity for casting products to consolidate their position in the world market. Together, the two fairs close the value chain from casting technology to the end product. The four technologically entwined trade fairs offer interfaces, mutually beneficial information and are bound to give rise to additional synergies through the inter-related specialist knowledge that they represent. The pooling of competencies created by this multi-technology concept also provides the ideal platform for investigating inter-sectoral trends, markets and innovations.

METEC 2003 is the international forum for the world's manufacturers and operators of plant and equipment employed in the production and processing of steel and non-ferrous metals. Suppliers from all over the globe will be presenting their developments in metal making, metal shaping and rolling technology at next year's event. Aside from the general objectives of increasing productivity and flexibility, environmental protection will also be a significant subject area for the show.

THERMOPROCESS is the world's premier trade fair for industrial furnaces and thermal production processes. It has long provided the technological backdrop for its sister trade fairs GIFA and METEC. The thermal processes it represents are of major significance in steel, non-ferrous metal and also foundry production. The development of new alloys, computerized process control technology, new sensors and the possibility of process simulation have in particular added further momentum to the development of the various technologies and processes that can be categorized under this umbrella heading.

NEWCAST, which provides an excellent overview of the latest innovations is geared to a clearly defined specialist audience. The core target group can be found in segments of the economy such as vehicle manufacturing, machine building, aviation, construction, electronics, aerospace, designers, production managers and purchasers from all sectors in which cast products play a vital role.