Sharjah Trade Fair seeks to better participation from countries with strong manufacturing base

In this regard, commercial attaches and trade commissioners from China, Germany, Italy, the UK, Taiwan, Turkey, Malaysia, Romania and Japan met recently, and reviewed preparations for the show.

The show will be held from October 12 to 15, 2009, at Expo Centre Sharjah. Conmex Middle East is the region's most important trade exhibition that exclusively displays the complete range of machinery, equipment and vehicles for the construction industry.

The show will be jointly organised by IMAG, Messe Munich, organisers of Bauma, and Expo Centre Sharjah, the exhibition organisation of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

IMAG (Internationaler Messe-und Ausstellungsdienst GmbH) is a member of the Munich International Trade Fairs Group, which is the organiser of Bauma, the largest construction machinery show in the world.

The Expo Centre Sharjah team was led by Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General of the Centre, and discussed ways to attract more participation from these countries.

IMAG CEO Mr Harold Muller and Project Manager of Bauma Mr Gunther Miedaner also attended the meeting. Leading distributors of construction machinery were also present at the meeting.

"Many of the leading manufacturers from these countries are looking for better markets and they are of the opinion that the Middle East offers excellent business opportunities," Mr Midfa said after the meeting.

"The forthcoming edition of the show will be a good opportunity for them to showcase their machinery and equipment. It will also be an excellent platform to network with manufacturers and distributors from so many countries at a single venue," Mr Midfa said.

The previous edition of Conmex featured more than 300 brands from over 30 countries that occupied a total exhibition area of more than 30,000 square metres (including indoor and outdoor area).

"We are working towards improving upon the previous year's figures and the meeting was a positive step in that direction," Mr Midfa added.

Reputed firms and manufacturers from the UK, the UAE, Australia, China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan (ROC), Italy, Germany, Russia, Slovenia, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, the US, Spain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Romania, Belgium, Ireland and Iran, exhibited at the previous show.