Qapco, Principal Sponsor of Arabplast Dubai

These figures were released at a press conference held today (12th December 2012) in Doha to announce that Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco), the leading Qatar based petrochemical company, is the Principal Sponsor of Arabplast 2013 for the second time in a row.

Arabplast, the Middle East's No 1 tradeshow for rubber, plastics and petrochemicals, will be held from January 7 to 10, 2013, at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.

The press conference, hosted by Messe Düsseldorf Germany and Al Fajer Information and Services, co-organizers of the show, stressed that a huge amount of plastics in different formats will be needed to cater to the requirements of the World Cup 2022 in Doha, especially since the construction and redevelopment of stadiums for the Mondial will kick off in 2013. This presents an ideal opportunity for Qatar to domestically supply its plastics needs for the World Cup 2022 preparations.

In Qatar, five stadiums are currently in planning or tendering stages and these would need large quantities of plastics that could be partially or fully supplied domestically, according to the conference speakers.

Highlighting the significance of Qatar in the petrochemicals sector as one of the six Gulf States that produce petrochemicals for the global market, the speakers said that Gulf States command an 11 % share of the $600bn global petrochemical industry.

Mr. Satish Khanna, General Manager of Al Fajer Information & Services added: "The petrochemical industry in the GCC began to evolve with the establishment of QAPCO in 1980 as the first petrochemicals company in the Gulf."

Khanna added that companies are aggressively competing to showcase their latest technology in plastics manufacturing at the exhibition. This is expected to give further boost to the demand for industrial machinery.

He said: "Over the next five years, the Gulf's market share of the global petrochemical industry will jump to over 17% and Qatar would remain a key player."

Qapco has a strong track-record of growth and excellence. The company is a major player in the global petrochemical industry. It has continued expansion, both in production facilities and target markets.

Khanna stressed on the importance of the petrochemicals in the GCC as a key driver of the economy and one of the bases of economic diversification in GCC countries, including Qatar.
QAPCO has extended support to Arabplast as principal sponsor, as the event highlights the development of the petrochemical industry in Middle East and in the world.

The Arabian Gulf region has been the petrochemical hub of the world and it will become the world's largest producer and exporter of petrochemicals and plastics within the next few years. About 30-40% of the world's petrochemical requirements have been supplied and met by GCC countries.

Major sponsors for Arabplast 2013 include QAPCO, BOROUGE, PETRORABIGH and TASNEE.

Arabplast 2013 will be 34 percent bigger than the 2011edition, following record number of exhibitors and sponsors.

A record number of companies from 47 countries are participating in Arabplast 2013, a reflection on the growing importance attached by GCC countries to strengthening their manufacturing industries, including plastics and rubber sector, which are known to be more sustainable investments in the long run.

Arabplast 2013 will showcase latest technologies and track market trends of the Middle East plastics and rubber industry, which continues to be the world's largest exporter, offloading the majority of its output to international markets.

Companies from Taiwan, USA, Turkey, Egypt, Canada, UK, Germany, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, China, Switzerland, Spain, Norway, KSA, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, UAE, India and Iran are participating in the show.

On display at Arabplast 2013 will be new products and technologies in injection molding, blow molding, wrapping and packaging, pre and post plastic processing techniques as well as raw materials, such as masterbatches, additives and polymers.

The show covers a wide spectrum of plastic machinery, plastic/rubber processing technology, pre and post-processing systems, plastic packaging technology, injection molding, blow molding, wrapping technology, extrusions, chemicals and additives, semi finished goods, engineering plastics and plastic products.