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Present at the opening ceremony were Mr Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General of Expo Centre Sharjah, Mr Fasahat Ali Khan, Advisor to the Chairman and Board of Directors of Expo Centre Sharjah, other officials and industry representatives.
Mr Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa said:
"SteelFab 2009 has come at the right time for the steel fabrication industry. The industry, along with the construction sector, is seeking a new direction in the wake of the global financial crisis and its fallout on our region."
"The global crisis has its negative and positive effects. We should also look at the positive outcome of the impact. A downturn in their home markets has forced many foreign manufacturers to look at the Middle East to explore business opportunities here. If such companies have to gain a foothold here, they will have to be extremely competitive, apart from providing top-quality products. That means we stand to gain -- we will have a better choice and the best pricing," Mr Midfa pointed out.
"Going by the recent government initiatives, I am sure that we can sustain our growth momentum and this could in turn bring in better opportunities for the regional steel working sector," Mr Midfa said.
Registering a huge growth from its previous show, SteelFab 2009 is hosting nearly 250 exhibitors and more than 600 brands in a total exhibition area of 18,000 square metres, featuring the Middle East's largest display of machinery, machine tools, welding equipment, supplies, consumables and ancillary equipment used in the pre- and post-treatment of steel.
According to conservative estimates, the construction activities in the Gulf region are poised to continue in its present scale and size.
The huge hike in public spending (42%) in the Dubai budget for 2009 has set the tone for this trend and Qatar has already announced that it is going to have a similar increase in its budget.
"The Middle East steel fabrication industry continues to be in the thick of activities on the back of the large number of infrastructure and industrial projects in the region. Though some of the new projects have been affected by the economic slowdown, majority of the trillion-dollar projects that are already under construction continue to be on schedule. This is triggering huge demand from the steel fabrication industry for machinery and tools," said Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa.
"SteelFab 2009 is strategically positioned to benefit from this demand surge. The success of its previous editions and the huge growth of the show have made the regional steel working industry to look at SteelFab as a highly credible sourcing point," added Mr Midfa.
The show will feature for the first time latest high-tech equipment like automatic beam-welding lines, resistance welding machines and laser punching machine. A major highlight of the show will be a special display area for CNC metal-cutting machine tools.
A special hall for sheet metal manufacturing solutions will showcase AC duct manufacturing lines, turret punch presses, cut-to-length lines, slit-to-length lines, coil-handling machinery and roll-forming machines.
The live machinery display will include shears, press brakes, punch presses, CNC profile cutting, beveling, grinding, oxy-fuel cutting, water-jet cutting, plate drilling/cutting, beam drilling/sawing, blasting/painting, cut-to-length, slit-to length, welding displays and stud welding.
"Changing economic realities across the world due to low oil prices and the financial crunch have placed added focus on SteelFab. Industry representatives are looking at new strategies to tide over the present situation," said Mr Fasahat Ali Khan.
"The huge networking opportunities available at the show will help industry representatives adapt to new market realities and sustain their businesses in these challenging times," Mr Khan added.
Italian firms will have a major presence this time. A total of 35 firms is participating in the show, a 60% rise in the number of exhibitors in comparison to the previous year's figure of 25. The Italian exhibitors is taking part in the show under the umbrella of UCIMU-Sistemi Per Produrre -- the association of Italian manufacturers of machine tools, robots, automation systems and ancillary products.
SteelFab 2009 is also featuring a dedicated pavilion from Bavaria, Germany, in association with Bayern International. The Bayern International pavilion had nine companies occupying 192 square metres at SteelFab 2008.
The exhibition will display machinery, equipment, products, services, and consumables related to surface preparation, blasting, galvanising, finishing and painting.
Steel machinery including metal forming, machine tools, and workshop machinery, grinding, cutting, power tools, tools, tooling for machinery, pipe construction equipment, tools, and orbital welding, software, services, training, testing, measurement, and NDT, welding and cutting including welding machines, and specialty welding, cutting systems including CNC - plasma, oxy-fuel, laser, and water jet, and material handling including overhead cranes, hoists and trolleys will also be on display.
Visitors can also look up to product presentations and seminars that will he organised alongside the show. The seminar will feature industry experts and top executives who will take up issues facing the industry.
SteelFab 2009 is being organised by Expo Centre Sharjah with the support from the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Posted by Siba Sami Ammari
