Market potential and exhibitor feedback sees Middle East Electricity strongly competing for the title of world's most important energy exhibition

With a successful track record that extends back over 30 years, Middle East Electricity, globally acknowledged as the power behind the Middle East energy industry, is the premier energy event in the Middle East. The 2006 show, which ran from 5-8 February 2006 at Dubai International Exhibition Centre, featured 803 exhibitors from 51 countries, including 18 country pavilions.

"This year was our biggest ever show, both in terms of the number of exhibitors taking part and the overall size of the show,"

said Sarah Woodbridge, Group Director Exhibitions, IIR Middle East. "The exhibition also attracted an all time record number of visitors - 24,321, which represents an increase of over 8% on 2005. Exhibitors were, as always, highly complimentary about the number and quality of visitors, 97% stating that the quality of visitors met or surpassed their expectations. This is one of the traditional strengths of the event - this year visitors, over 84% of whom were key decision makers, travelled to Dubai from 88 countries to attend the show."

Over the last 30 years, the MENA area's population has doubled to almost 386 million, and is growing at 2% per year - or the equivalent of 7 million people per year. The population of the MENA region is expected to double over the next 50 years, requiring massive investment in the development of the region. 2005 saw Dubai's economy grow by 16% and with GDP expected to expand to AED 150bn in 2006 from AED 36bn in 2005, along with foreign direct investment inflows to the UAE soaring $16 billion, the long-term investment outlook remains very good.

As the market continues to expand, so the strategic significance and international reputation of Middle East Electricity grows. The event has proven highly effective for both visitors and exhibitors. 94% of visitors said that visiting the show had positively enhanced their business effectiveness, while 74% of exhibitors view Middle East Electricity as crucial to their marketing activity in the region

"ERICO's expansion plans are closely aligned with its participation in Middle East Electricity - the best show in the Middle East for participants in the electrical industry, which gauges and showcases the market potential of the region. Over the years, the event has provided a perfect platform to network with prospective clients." said Andrew W. Weisel, Global Sales, Eritech Electrical Products, ERICO, USA.

The feedback was similar from the large country pavilions that participated this year. "According to French sources, Middle East Electricity, which is considered one of the world's top five energy shows, is a vital platform for related companies to seek contracts of mutual interest and contribute to the region's multi-faceted energy infrastructure projects." said Hassan Behnam, Director & Chief Information Officer, UBI France, France.

The 2006 event also featured many new exhibitors who were taking the opportunity to identify the market potential for their products and services. "The first two days of Middle East Electricity have been fantastic for us," said Dr. Seibold, Managing Director, Hauff-Technik, Germany. "By the end of the first day we had already made over 40 interesting new international contacts, and are confident that eight of these will develop into concrete business. This is already far more than we had expected and is much better than the response we are used to from other shows. The results so far show the business power of Dubai and the Middle East - Middle East Electricity has delivered a high quality audience of regional and international decision makers, and we have already decided to take part at next year's exhibition."

Osram, one of the main event sponsors, enjoyed another successful event. 'Middle East Electricity has always been successful for us. It's a great opportunity for us to meet the key people from the regional industry. We see huge growth potential in the Middle East, and Middle East Electricity is very important to us as it directly targets - and importantly attracts - the exact audience that we want to reach." said Peter Rothnie, Marketing Manager, Osram Middle East.

Over 91% of 2006 exhibitors have already confirmed their participation at Middle East Electricity 2007, which takes place from 11-14 February at DIEC (Dubai International Exhibition Centre).

"The recent announcement by DIEC that a further 30% (15,000 square metres) of additional floor space will be available by the end of 2006 is really good news - we managed to accommodate many more exhibitors this year due to a switch in halls, but still had a waiting list,"

added Woodbridge. "There are still many more countries and companies that want to participate, and we look forward to welcoming even more of them in 2007."

Middle East Electricity has added, over the years, focused areas for Power Generation, New & Renewable Energy, Gas and Lighting. These have proved to be highly successful. As the result of visitor feedback received this year, a further dedicated section of the show, this time for the water sector, will be added in 2007.

"The research that we conducted this year has clearly demonstrated that this is a crucial extension to the show," said Woodbridge. "The production of sufficient water to sustain the rapidly growing populations of the MENA region is a key concern for governments - in 1955, the list of water-scarce countries (less than 1000cm/capita) comprised seven countries, including three - Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait - from the Middle East. The latest UN studies anticipate that by 2025, eighteen of the MENA region countries will be classified as water-scarce, so the water sector is of huge importance."

Supported by the UAE Ministry of Energy, FEWA (Federal Electricity & Water Authority) and Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Middle East Electricity has the strongest international reputation of any energy event staged anywhere in the world. "Exhibitors and visitors come to the show confident that they will meet the right people, achieve their overall objectives and get a real return on their investment," concluded Woodbridge. "We are totally focused on delivering a show that is designed to maximise the benefit for our visitors and exhibitors, and work extremely hard to that end. So it's extremely satisfying when feedback tells us that no other show delivers like Middle East Electricity."