Design trade fairs open today

The events target the fast growing building trades, interior and landscape design sectors. They feature a total of nearly 900 individual exhibitors from dozens of different countries, and are described by the organisers as the ultimate building-fest for architects, property developers, designers and buyers.

"ISH Kitchen & Bathroom, Lightstyle Gulf Light, Gardening & Outdoor Living, and Hardware & Tools present just about everything you could need to create, decorate, equip and light all sorts of properties," said Michael El Nayal, Managing Partner of exhibition specialists, Epoc Messe Frankfurt.

All of the events have grown substantially over the past year since they were last staged. El Nayal said that "this was a consequence of the massive building boom resonating up and down the Gulf and across to the Red Sea. Residential, leisure, commercial developments and new hotels are popping up everywhere".

Industry and media sources estimate that the market is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, but irrespective of its precise value, the opportunities are immense and visibly increasing everyday. He added "all have something in common that gives our shows and their exhibitors a reason for being. They all have a shopping list for materials and supplies as long, or perhaps as high, as the Burj Dubai, and nobody's too sure how tall that will be!"

This is great news for their exhibitors who anticipate meeting an estimated 17-18,000 professionals and trades visitors, flying in from every country in the region.

One of the most important shows is the famous ISH Kitchen & Bathroom exhibition. This is a phenomenal brand and one that Messe Frankfurt have established around the world as the leading design event for the kitchens and bathrooms industry. Architects, interior designers and property developers attend ISH for inspiration, to find out about the latest trends and to establish contacts with new sources of supply.

Spanning two halls, ISH Kitchen & Bathroom presents around 150 exhibiting companies and 7 national pavilions including the UK, Italy, Greece, Germany, Hong Kong, China and Egypt. Major players at the show include Allmilmoe Kitchens, AMR Helmy, BMC Gulf, Baumatic, Siemens, General Electric, Gaggenau, Hera, Jacuzzi, Kohler, Miele, RAK Ceramics, Rangemaster, Teka Kuppersbusch, Victoria & Albert Baths, The Sultan Group, and Villeroy & Boch.

Commenting at the press conference on Saturday, Mr Donato Pizzulo said that "ISH Kitchen & Bathroom offers Villeroy & Boch, a good opportunity to present the brand in an interesting setting. In this regard, we are particularly looking forward to presenting our markedly design-oriented 2005 product launches, which will delight our customers in the Arab world."

Another massive feature of the ISH show is the 300m stand from RAK Ceramics, the third largest manufacturer of ceramics in the world, featuring four fully equipped bathroom suites amongst other items on the stand.

In addition to kitchen and bathroom sets, the show presents kitchen furniture, designer appliances, sanitary wear, bath tubs, shower units, whirlpools and spas, along with a whole host of accessories, fixtures and fittings for the entire bathroom and kitchen sector. There's even a celebrity chef from Spain appearing daily on the stand for Teka Kuechentechnik!

The next major component of the 4 show festival is Lightstyle Gulf, the region's only dedicated design lighting trade exhibition. This has 180 participating companies from 20 countries and 6 national pavilions, and has grown threefold since the first event last year.

The lighting show reflects exciting new trends for retailers, designers and architects, landscape designers and town planners.
They can expect to meet an array of major international manufacturers including companies like Osram, the official sponsors of the show, Neonlite Electronic, Brumberg, Zoomlux, Haji Commercial Co, Ruud Lighting, Abdul Aziz Dawood, Kraus Chandelier and Tecon representing Vega Lighting, Industria Lighting and Luxonic Lighting.

Philips Lighting are also major exhibitors at the show and will be presenting a wide range of lighting solutions. Lights for sports applications, offices, shops, roads and tunnels will be on show. At the press conference, Mr. Niels Van Duinen of Philips Lighting said that "LightStyle Gulf is the only fair of its kind targeting architects, where lighting and architectural ideas are visualized on a creative patio. Lightstyle highlights the creative and aesthetic aspects of both indoor and outdoor architecture, grounds where Philips Lighting has offered resourceful and inspiring solutions".

Visitors can expect to see the latest and best lighting solutions for architectural lighting for gated communities, parks and gardens. Lights for golf courses, tennis courts and stadiums. Lights for offices, hotels and leisure facilities, plus a whole range of lights for the home, as well as the massive 150kg "SKY' light from Austria by Kraus Chandelier.

Moving into the world of exteriors, the Gardening, Landscaping & Outdoor Living show has also grown dramatically, in fact by 75% compared to the previous show. It's also the only event in the Middle East dedicated to the garden products and accessories market and will present over 100 companies from 15 countries.

Major exhibitors include garden and outdoor furniture manufacturers like Scherer Jardin, Ascot, Lembert, August Fichter, Seggio Line, Irak Plastic and Global Furniture Solutions. The Stone Gallery, Stone Place, Stone Concepts, Al Banna Marble, EKA Rock Art, Moonstone, Galleria Home and Garden & Zimsculpt will be exhibiting their exquisite range of stone and garden features.

From garden machinery, tools, furniture, water features, pond accessories and fertilizers right through to swimming pools, landscaping tools and irrigation systems, the list of products and solutions on show is endless.

The largest of the shows in terms of exhibitor numbers is the Hardware & Tools exhibition. El Nahal said that "this is really massive this year with over 260 exhibitors from 14 countries targetting the construction, building equipment, supplies and the DIY markets."

Some of the biggest names in the business are on show including power tools from Dewalt, Bosch, Unitech AEG, Plano Europe, Perino, Arwani Trading, Milwalki, Spit; hand tools from Piher, Sanson, Ivar Pro, LG; and accessories from Sentry Safes, Harris paint brushes and much more.

There are national pavilions from Germany, Italy, China, along with high level trade delegation from Spain. Egypt too is strongly represented through the HEDO Group, exhibiting a range of power tools, welding equipment and air compressors.

All four shows open daily between 10AM - 1PM and from 5PM - 9PM, until Tuesday 17 May.