APTS ME exhibition eyes fifty per cent growth

"Exhibitor response to the inaugural event far surpassed our expectations and we are confident it will grow by more than 50 per cent in 2006," said David Wood, Managing Director, IBE.

The confex was given a massive thumbs up by exhibitors who said its important for the regional security industry will grow further.

More than 550 delegates, from over 40 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Indian sub-continent, Europe, Australia and North America, attended the inaugural APTS ME conference at the Grand Hyatt Dubai.

The exhibition, this year, featured participants from the United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, China, Singapore and the UAE.

"The show has been good for us and delivered vertically-focussed end users for our products. The quality of regional visitors was very high and we expect to generate a lot of business from our participation," said Mohammed Murad, Director - Sales and Business Development, IRIS Technology Division, LG Electronics USA.

According to Paul Davies, Head of Homeland Security, Avionics Group, BAE Systems, UK, APTS ME was a very successful event for the company and he expects it will be established as an annual event for the region's security industry.

Fu Qiyuan, Marketing Manager of China's Nuctech Company Limited was very optimistic about the growth of APTS. He said: "This was an extremely successful show for us. We definitely want to be back for the show next year as it gives us a foothold into the rapidly expanding Middle East market."

Visitors to the show said they had the chance to see state-of-the-art security products and solutions new to the region.

"APTS has more than met my expectations and I got to see the latest products and technology such as border security systems and baggage scanners," said Kiron A Kunte, Chief Executive Officer, Jawad Sultan Technologies LLC from Oman, a security solutions company.

Lt. Marine Eng. Awadh Salem Al Ketheri from the Ministry of Interior's Marine Police, Abu Dhabi Police General Head Quarters found the exhibition very good and the conference very informative.

"I came to see marine security products and solutions and was impressed with the range of products on display."

Dr. Taisir Taji, Dean of Jordan's Queen Noor Civil Aviation College said APTS ME was an excellent event that brought together the main players from the regional and international aviation security sector.

"Attending the first APTS ME in Dubai was an excellent opportunity for us all to meet, exchange views and further enlighten ourselves on security issues and furthermore to see the most recent security equipment and devices at the exposition," said Walid Nasrallah, Head of Training & Development at Middle East Airlines.

Meanwhile the conference will add another stream to its existing aviation and maritime sessions in 2006. The new 'Intelligence' stream will focus on the impact of passenger profiling and behaviour pattern recognition on security issues for airports and seaports around the world.

Airport, Port & Terminal Security 2006 will be held from April 3 - 4 at the Grand Hyatt Dubai.