PALME expands with two new expos as billion dollar sound, lighting sector surges

PALME, the Middle East's "professional sound, light, audio visual and systems integration exhibition", will bring industry-related INSTALL and Event 360 to the halls of the Dubai Exhibition Centre next year.

"Install and Event 360 are basically new exhibitions, but within PALME. They blend perfectly with and reflect the booming industry in the Middle East," says PALME project manager Darren Brechin.

INSTALL is geared to manufacturers and suppliers of residential and commercial installation and integration technologies. This field has been in great demand since PALME's inception two years ago.

"The surge in the construction sector goes hand-in-glove with the installation field so it is no surprise that it has grown to such an extent it requires its own expo' within PALME," says Brechin. "Indeed, INSTALL will take up about one-third of the space at PALME."

Exhibitors at INSTALL are likely to cover home automation, web-enabled control, touchpanel control, lighting control, HVAC control, security, remote monitoring, integrated audio and video distribution and control, structured wiring and cabling, blinds and curtains control, multi-room audio and home theatre. Seminars and product training will also take place.

Crestron Middle East's Vincent Philippo has heaped praise on the INSTALL concept.

He says that the company has supported PALME and "PALME has brought for Crestron exactly what we expected - visitors from all over the Middle East to show our control and automation solutions and many new leads." Philippo adds that PALME is "clearly the number one show of its type in the region and INSTALL will be a massive boost to the installation aspect of the industry."

Event 360 is another newcomer to PALME that reflects the healthy state of the burgeoning entertainment and event sectors.

Brechin says: "Event 360 is for the production companies, rather than being about the products. Event 360 is essentially for anyone events - and that's a lot of companies in the Middle East these days. This spans concerts, festivals, large turnkey operations and so on.

"So PALME is introducing two new areas to the show in response to market needs. One of the reasons PALME has been such a huge success is that we always listen to our exhibitors and visitors."

PALME, organised by IIR and already on track to be an early sell-out, is on in Dubai April 24-26 2005.

Brechin says: "All aspects of PALME give manufacturers and suppliers the opportunity to make face-to-face contact with the region's key decision makers. The days of people in this industry having to fly from the Middle East to Europe, the US or Asia to find out the latest industry happenings or developments in technology are over. PALME has quickly established itself as an integral part of the international sound and lighting trade show circuit."

The global sound and lighting sector is worth $20 billion a year and independent research recently found that the industry in the Middle East could reach $2 billion a year inside three years.

"There's no doubt it's one of the fastest growing new industries in the region. Progress has been breathtaking," says Brechin.

More than 70 products were launched in the Middle East at the last PALME, including several which made their worldwide debut. Brechin says regional product launches "will easily equal that figure" at next April's PALME.

The highly successful competition to again find the top disc jockey in the Middle East will in size by 25 per cent in floor space. A host of big name companies are lining up to support the event, including industry powerhouses and Stanton, Brechin revealed.