RIYADH: More than 500 companies from 19 countries are expected to attend the Saudi PP & PPSG 2011 exhibition, scheduled to be held from Nov. 28 to Dec.1, at the Riyadh Exhibition Center, Mohamed Al-Hussaini, deputy general manager of Riyadh Exhibition Center (REC) said.
Al-Hussaini pointed out that more than 462 companies took part in the biennial show held in 2009, which drew a crowd of 27,000 trade visitors.
"This year it would be much more considering the enhanced number of participants," he said at a news conference in Riyadh.
He said the event would draw exhibitors and visitors from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
"We organized the press conference to shed light on the upcoming mega trade event -- Saudi PP (Plastics & Petrochem) & Saudi PPSG (Print, Pack, Sign and Graphics) 2011," he said.
Commercial counselors from Turkish, Austrian and German embassies in the capital also took part in the briefing, which was attended by a large number of journalists.
Each of these countries would display their products and services in separate pavilions at the show.
Besides these countries, a host national pavilions from different countries, including China, Egypt, India, Italy, Korea, Taiwan, and the UAE will also display their services and products at the show.
Al-Hussaini said the show is ideally positioned to cater to the networking needs of key stakeholders in the petrochemical, plastic, printing, packaging and sign and graphics industries, creating a conducive venue to meet and discuss the latest industrial trends and business opportunities in the Kingdom and across the region.
"In the light of the favorable economic landscape, we have a significant increase in the number of trade exhibitors and expect enhanced number of visitors this year, including key decision makers, industrialists, developers and contractors," said Al-Hussaini.
Saudi PP & PPSG 2011 will be a mega trade fair that combines the Saudi Plastics & Petrochem 2011, The 10th International Plastics and Petrochemicals Trade Fair, Saudi PPSG -- The 10th International Packaging, Printing, Sign and Graphics Technologies Exhibition, and Makinat Saudi Arabia 2011 -- The International Trade Exhibition for Industrial Machinery, Machine Tools, and Equipment & Technology for Saudi Arabia.
The grand event is set to showcase a wide array of industrial products and services including plastic containers, furniture, health care products, injection systems, pipes and household appliances, in addition to petrochemical products like handling and processing equipment, chemical engineering systems, chemical plant and machinery, environmental and safety equipment and labs and control equipment.
Products to be showcased also include consumer goods packaging, design and fabrication services, food and industrial packaging equipment, material and supplies, and printing equipment such as binding, cutting and folding machines, design and printing services and digital direct printing.
Architectural hardware, electric signage, graphic imaging and services and photo imaging and printing are among the sign and graphics highlights at the event.
"Machinery industry has been the driving force behind Turkey's industrialization process due to its rapid growth based on high value added and its contributions to other sectors," Selim Pasli, commercial counselor of the Turkish embassy here said,adding that 35 companies from his country is expected to participate in the forthcoming show.
Pierre Prunis, commercial counselor of the Austrian embassy said the Kingdom is Ausria's most important trade partner in the Middle East and Austrian companies appreciate not only the stable economic performance of the country but also the rapid growth of the petrochemical and plastic industry.
"The Kingdom is Germany's second most improtant supplier of engineering products," Peter Hoffman, commercial counselor of the German embassy noted.
SABIC Executive Vice President for Polymers Strategic Business Unit Khaled Abdulaziz Al-Mana and Majdi Al-Sahaf director of Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) also made presentation during the conference.
© Arab News 2011
