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Industry Event In Sharjah Proposes New Parks For The Plastics And Printing Industries |
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Aiming to make the UAE an important hub for plastics manufacturing and processing, and boosting the growth of SMEs in the field, the idea of setting up a new plastics park in the country was floated at a recently held industry event in Sharjah. Industry executives, who gathered at Expo Centre Sharjah for the 2nd Plastivision Arabia, 2nd ArabiaMold, 5th PlastiCon Conference voiced the need to better organise the plastic manufacturing and processing industry by setting up a dedicated plastic park. Similar sentiments were echoed by the co-organisers & participants of the inaugural Print Pack Arabia who mooted the idea of a printing & printing machinery cluster in the UAE. According to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association, plastics processing in the region is geographically concentrated with around 90 per cent of plastics conversion in Saudi Arabia taking place across five industrial parks, while the UAE has the Abu Dhabi Polymer Park, the world’s largest plastics park, and a few clusters in Dubai and Sharjah. Currently, the plastics parks in Saudi Arabia and UAE account for more than 60 per cent of plastics processed in the GCC and around 70 per cent of the 50 largest processors. “The region is now focusing on downstream industries and plastics conversion, aiming to capitalize on the huge polymer capacity and to develop downstream manufacturing capabilities. The multi-industry event at Expo Centre Sharjah that became a gathering point for the region’s plastics, mold-making, printing and packaging industries was of the opinion that a dedicated industrial park will augur well for the regional plastics industry,” said Mr. Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO, Expo Centre Sharjah. After their successful debut in 2012, the biennial Plastivision Arabia and Arabia Mold were held at Expo Centre Sharjah from April 7 to 10, 2014. While Print Pack Arabia made its debut, the fifth PlastiCon was also held simultaneously, turning Sharjah into a meeting point for the regional plastics, mold-making, printing and packaging industries. During their four-day run, the three shows featured over 250 exhibitors from more than 20 countries, occupying 14,000 sq.m. of exhibition space as against the previous edition’s 10,000 sq.m. The number of visitors also increased from 7,000 from 66 countries to 7,277 visitors from 77 countries. “Though it is just two editions old, Plastivision Arabia has earned the USP of seeing all the machines used for live display being sold out. This honour is something which even well established trade shows can’t lay claim to,” said Mr. Midfa. Plastivision Arabia also featured a ‘Business Opportunity Pavilion’, ‘Consultation Counters’, and a ‘Recruitment Pavilion’. Modelled on DEMAT’s EuroMold, the Arabia Mold was positioned as a unique fair featuring mold-making & tooling, design and application development machines and equipment, attracting industrial designers, product developers, producers, suppliers, and end-users. “In the GCC, we are seeing a lot of interest in our 3D printing and we are expecting 3D printing to play a key role in architecture-related sectors and education. Since the World Expo 2020 is coming to the UAE, we are expecting a boom in the construction business where the demand on 3D printers will go up as they are used for model and structure presentations. We had a great response from more quality visitors,” said P. Viswanathan, Division Manager, Jacky’s Business Solutions, which took part in ArabiaMold. Jointly organised by Expo Centre Sharjah and the Indian Printing, Packaging and Allied Machinery Manufacturers' Association (IPAMA), the inaugural Print Pack Arabia turned out to be one of the finest showcases of latest printing & packaging technologies, machinery, equipment and supplies for the regional market. “The printing and packaging industry is fuelled by growing economies and rising demand from core sectors. Rising retail landscape is also keeping the order books busy for the industry. The inaugural Print Pack Arabia became a key sourcing point for the regional industry that was looking to invest in technology, machinery and skills development of its manpower to sustain growth,” added Mr. Midfa. "All the machines brought by the ten Indian exhibitors were sold at the show. No machines returned to India except for two demo machines which were not on sale" said Mr. K.S. Khurana, President of IPAMA. IPAMA which led an Indian contingent of 28 Indian manufacturers is also confident that a Print cluster in UAE will benefit the global printing industry. "It would be great to have a dedicated printing free zone or park here in the UAE. It would provide IPAMA members the opportunity to set-up joint venture plants with tie-ups with Western manufacturers, successfully adapting technologies while minimising the manufacturing costs" he concluded. At the 5th PlastiCon, the focus was on SMEs, underscoring the fact that the GCC plastics industry can offer a tremendous opportunity for the emergence of a dynamic and innovative small and medium enterprises sector. According to GPCA, the plastics conversion market comprises over 1,000 companies that can be classified as SMEs. Participants at PlastiCon heard how innovation can lead to global and regional growth of the plastics conversion industry, and featured speakers from the region’s top petrochemical companies, including SABIC, Borouge and Sadara Chemical Company. GPCA Plastics Excellence Awards was also given away during the event. The winners included Dr. Mariam A. Al-Maadeed, Director, Advanced Materials Centre at Qatar University, Safetix Mid East FZE, Al Haya Waste Management & Projects Co. from Qatar, Converters Milliken Chemical, SABIC and AGM/Toyota. |
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