Plastics and tube industries show promise

Dubai: Investments in plastics and tube industries are on the upswing defying the global financial crisis, as investors shift their sights to industrial investments that are safer and more promising.

Satish Khanna, general manager of Al Fajer Information & Services, underscored the significance of the plastics sector which attracted $5b investments last year in GCC with over 1,253 industrial units operating in the Gulf.

"Plastics industry now accounts for 10.6% of the total manufacturing in GCC, of which 4% investment is plastics and petrochemicals and this sector employs over 9% of the total work force in the GCC.' The region's leading international exhibitions on plastic, rubber, industrial machines, metal works, tubes and pipes are once again geared to host some of the biggest players in the 18th year," Khanna said.

"GCC plastics industry grew fivefold in 1995-2007. In 1990 there were only 326 plastics manufacturers, with an investment of $932m with strength of 17,500 work force.

"The designated capacity of GCC in plastic production was 2.3 million tons last year where it was 0.50 million ton in 1990."

"Both exhibitions will feature the latest technology while simultaneously offering an interactive platform for key industry players.

"The rich source of raw materials such as petrochemicals and a demand projection of double-digit growth in plastic rubber and tubes sectors in this region, will significantly contribute to the growth of both exhibitions."

A series of global players are eager to make an entry into the Middle East market despite the credit crunch and will present the dynamics of plastics and rubber development to visiting trade professionals mainly from all across the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian sub-continent.

The Middle East market is a vibrant market where all areas of technology, tubes, plastics, industrial machinery and metals are being used in a vast number of applications.

"Dubai has successfully emerged as the regional hub of the Middle East markets. We felt the keenness of the overseas exhibitors to build business relations with trade visitors from the Middle East in an effort to widen their scope of business.

"They found this part of the world emerging, therefore lucrative for their international operations," said Duebelt Messe Dusseldorf GmbH.

Amidst the global financial crisis, the UAE manufacturing sector grew at 15 per cent in the first three quarters of 2008 - a phenomenon that is pushing a growing number of existing companies and new investors to take advantage of the city's business-friendly environment, according to experts.

Further, the rising demand for tube products and the setting up of numerous industries is fuelling the growth in these markets, acting as a magnet for investing in regional and international industrial centres.