With a 30% growth year-on-year, the Materials Handling Middle East Exhibition & Conference provided companies and professionals a platform to showcase their products and services, and to discuss new ideas and best practices in related sectors.

A non-profit organisation dedicated to the supply-chain and logistics industry, the Dubai-based SCLG and some of its member-companies have been actively supporting the annual event for the past three years.

Held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, on May 31 to June 2, the event had on its fifth year participants coming from the logistics, supply-chain, freight and cargo, automation and IT sectors.

“Freight and logistics have been witnessing unprecedented growth even during a difficult economic climate,” said Mahmut Gazi Bilikozen, senior show manager of the Materials Handling Middle East exhibition.

The Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZ), for instance, declared a 48% rise in net profit for the first quarter of the year, and 49% growth in revenue compared with the same period last year.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of DAFZ, said occupancy by international companies grew by 58% last year, leading to an 84% rise in net profit and 59% revenue growth from 2007.

This was due to the steady growth in passenger and cargo traffic in 2008, and the successful opening of Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport. The airport handled 37.4 million passengers and 1.8 million tonnes of cargo last year compared with 34.3 million travellers and 1.7 million tonnes of cargo the previous year.

DAFZ will continue to grow, owing to $544.8 million (Dh2bn) worth of allocated investment for new facilities, said Sheikh Ahmed, who is also president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group.

Speakers during the event, organised by Epoc Messe Frankfurt, a subsidiary of Germany-based Messe Frankfurt, stressed that Dubai’s growth in 2008 was favourable to the materials handling industry.

Sheikh Ahmed said the exhibition helps advance the UAE’s leadership in the related sectors. “The transportation and logistics market in the UAE is one of the most dynamic in the global business scene today,” he stressed.

Bilikozen said the material handling equipment is an integral part of any plant, warehouse or distribution system. “As a regional hub, the UAE is set to play a significant role in production and consumption of machinery,” he added.

Earlier, Epoc Messe Frankfurt said the materials handling equipment market would exceed $104 billion (Dh382bn) in sales by 2010. In 2008, investments in the Middle East’s logistics industry reached $60 billion (Dh221bn).

Elisabeth Brehl, managing director of Epoc Messe Frankfurt, said the growth drivers include rising per capita incomes, expanding manufacturing output and increasing investments in infrastructure development.

The growth will be more profound in the Middle East, especially the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran and Iraq; and in Asian countries, such as India and China. The other outstanding markets are Russia, Mexico and Turkey.

EMIRATES Glass, together with two sister companies, has secured a 20% stake, amounting to $5.4 million (Dh20m) per annum, in the total glass production of Emirates Float Glass (EFG).

This means that Emirates Glass (a subsidiary of Glass LLC), Lumiglass Industries and Saudi American Glass Company will buy a total of 100,000 square metres of glass from another sister company, EFG, every year.

Emirates Glass, a leading processor of architectural flat glass in the Middle East, and the two other buyers will coat and temper the raw clear glass from EFG according to the requirements of clients in various construction projects.

“We are very glad to support our sister companies by providing them with float glass produced with superb craftsmanship and cutting-edge equipment,” said Ghassan Mashaal, vice-president of EFG.

Faisal Rashid, general manager of Glass LLC, which is owned by Dubai Investments, said this collaboration was triggered by a growing demand for glass from the construction industry. “This partnership with our subsidiaries further cements our position as a substantial player in the local market,” he added.

The general manager of Emirates Glass, Ziad Yazbeck, said the annual order shall be increased after the installation of a new coater in his company by September. He said the facility would have a total capacity of 3.7 million square metres of flat glass, and feature a purchase requirement of $12.3 million (Dh45m).

STRESSING that Dubai is not “over-retailed”, an official of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) said the retail sector is expecting to have good revenues from the ongoing city-wide sales promotion, Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS).

“Dubai is not over-retailed as it is made out to be,” said Laila Suhail, chief executive officer of the DSF Office. “Yes, the city’s gross leasable area is the highest in the region, but this is the dynamic nature of Dubai.”

Suhail described the emirate as the world’s fourth-most dominant retail city, offering value-added promotions on international brands through shopping extravaganzas, such as DSF and DSS.

“It must be noted that we achieved this in a short span of time, unlike other seasoned retail destinations that have been retailing for decades,” Suhail said. “And we are pooling our efforts to ensure that the efforts put out this summer will be unmatched by any other retail destination.”

This year’s DSS, which began on June 11 following the registration of retailers from May 17, will be the longest shopping promotion ever organised in the Middle East. For four months, retail outlets are expected to offer discounts of up to 80% on various items.

THE RAS Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) has reported a 16% rise in revenue for the first quarter from a year earlier, as it assured of continued growth through future investments worth $1.98 (Dh7.3bn) billion.

“Everybody at RAK FTZ works hard, and we are proud to see that hard work is paying off with a further increase in business and revenues,” said Oussama Al Omari, chief executive officer and director-general of RAK FTZ.

The free-trade zone’s new liaison offices in New York, Miami and Hong Kong have contributed so much for this success. It also has offices in Germany, Turkey and India that help promote its state-of-the art facilities to foreign investors.

“We participate in trade shows and conferences all over the world, making it easy for companies which are looking to expand internationally,” Al Omari said, adding that RAK FTZ is anticipating more investments after a visit from a German delegation.

There was another high-profile delegation that went to Prague recently, generating interest for the products and services being offered by the free-trade zone. Some RAK FTZ officials also did a presentation at the last British-Iranian Chamber of Commerce event in London.

Al Omari said the next three years will be marked by the development of flagship projects within the free-trade zone, including the Navigator Business Campus, Academy Zone and Downtown Business Plaza.

“Through these developments, we also ensure that we can cater to new businesses that will eventually contribute financially to the economy,” he added. “We have to keep our competitive edge, despite the volatile business atmosphere at the moment.”

THE UAE government will push for economic diversification to expand its revenue by investing in sectors that promise high returns, as the country is seen to recover from the credit crisis towards the end of the year.

“We will see positive indicators by the third and fourth quarters,” said Mohamed Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Shehi, director-general of the Economic Department. “And, for us, in moving forward, the watchword will be diversification.”

Speaking on behalf of Sultan Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, Al Shehi added: “We will concentrate on expanding our revenue streams through focused investments, and by developing high-growth sectors.”

At the recent ‘MegaTrends’ conference in Abu Dhabi, Al Shehi said the UAE economy has begun to recover from the global financial turmoil, while another UAE official described the tourism industry as a key driver of economic diversification.

Organised by Aim Events, the conference identified trends and insights on various sectors in the UAE through various interactive sessions addressing the future of regional and global economies.

Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman, who is also a professor of economics at Princeton University, pointed out that the world economy has been stabilised and is now recovering. A situation similar to the Great Depression 80 years ago will, therefore, not happen in the present world.

“The velocity of growth and change comes from an organisation or society’s ability to innovate,” said Ross Dawson, chief executive officer of international consulting firm Advanced Human Technologies.

The panellists in a forum addressing the financial landscape in the Gulf region stressed that Abu Dhabi’s strong fundamentals and sound economic plans have made it well-equipped to deal with the credit crisis compared with the other cities in the US and the UK.

ARAMEX has signed an agreement with Vodafone Qatar, one the new mobile telecoms operators in the Gulf, to provide express and logistics solutions in Qatar.

“The agreement with Vodafone Qatar further expands Aramex's growing portfolio of telecommunications companies in the region, and enhances its servicing capabilities for the sector,” Aramex said in a May 25 statement.

Aramex will provide a number of services for Vodafone Qatar, among them, network logistics, retail distribution, logistics management and support for various marketing initiatives.

An international express delivery, freight forwarding and logistics service provider, Aramex will also extend to Vodafone Qatar services in express and freight shipping, inventory management and provision of warehouse space for storage of handsets, SIM (subscriber identity module) cards and marketing manual.

There are value-added services involved in the contract, such as the provision of a break-bulk facility equipped with steel shelves at Vodafone’s main station, closed-circuit television (CCTV) system and smoke detectors.

UPS has teamed up with AFL to expand its field stocking location (FSL) network in India, aiming to boost global post-sales service options at a time when Asia’s contract logistics market is set to overtake that of North America.

“UPS is expanding its post-sales solutions in the Asia-Pacific region to fulfil these market needs,” said Brad Mitchell, president of UPS Logistics & Distribution.

The courier firm will put up over 130 FSLs across India through an agency agreement with AFL, a leading logistics and domestic transportation service providers in that country.

In a statement, UPS said AFL will use the former’s post-sales technology to manage the forward stocking inventory of customers in multiple locations. This solution also provides value-added services, such as inventory planning.

An expanded network of FSLs will support same-day, next flight out and next-business-day delivery of critical service parts. Basically, FSLs provide support for companies that must respond quickly to customer service needs.

“Despite the current economic conditions, Asia continues to be a global manufacturing hub, and a market research indicates that Asia’s contract logistics market could overtake North America’s in the next five years,” Mitchell said.

He added that the partnership with AFL makes UPS well-positioned to serve both local businesses and multinational corporations. “It gives our global customers improved access to one of the world’s largest economies,” he stressed.

UPS has the biggest FSL network in the world, with more than 700 FSLs in 120 countries. Fully integrated with the company’s global transportation network, these FSLs help customers locate the needed products and services nearest to them.

LIFT & Shift India has successfully completed the shipment of eight process system modules involving a project for the Das Island facilities of Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction (ADGAS).

One of India’s leading specialists in heavy lift and over dimensional projects cargo, Lift & Shift did the shipment in behalf of Technip, an engineering company headquartered in Paris.

Grenald Alves, general manager of Lift & Shift, said the modules were shipped in two batches from India to the Abu Dhabi Terminals, also known as Mina Zayed, from December 2008 to May 16.

Early last year, ADGAS awarded Technip a turnkey contract worth $610 million for gas compression plants and associated facilities for Das Island.

The project had to be configured in large-scale process system modules and interconnecting racks, which were manufactured and assembled at construction yards before their transportation to Das Island.

ADGAS’s plant facilities on Das Island include compressor and booster stations, fuel gas treatment and gas dehydration units. These will treat 211 million cubic feet per day of associated gases produced by offshore fields in Abu Dhabi.

WANTING to support India’s plan to attract millions of travellers, Emirates Airline will add 22 weekly flights to the world’s second-most populous nation.

This will bring to 185 from 163 the number of Emirates Airline’s weekly flights to India’s 10 gateways during the summer and winter periods, the airline said in a statement.

The airline, meanwhile, launched its third and largest lounge in Germany at the Düsseldorf International Airport. The 700-square-metre facility is part of the airline’s programme to offer pre-departure comfort at key airports worldwide, and follows similar travel sanctuaries in Frankfurt and Munich.

“These lounges are an integral part of the Emirates’ experience, putting passengers in the best possible frame of mind for their journeys,” said Mohammad H Mattar, the airline’s divisional senior vice-president for airport services.

The Indian routes facing high demand from travellers include Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. India plans to attract 100 million tourists by 2010.

“When traditional European markets dried up, India was quick to refocus its trade and marketing efforts in targeting regions not severely affected by the economic downturn…” said Majid Al Mualla, the company’s vice-president of commercial operations for West Asia and Indian Ocean.

These regions include the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and parts of Southeast Asia.

With a global network spanning over 100 cities in at least 60 countries, Emirates Airline can connect India well to the world.

“Already, Emirates is witnessing a surge in the number of Middle East travellers seeking medical tourism options in India,” Al Mualla said, “given the favourable exchange rate and world-class facilities available.”

CARGO movement at the Abu Dhabi International Airport climbed five per cent in April while passenger traffic jumped 12% compared with the same month last year, as aircraft movement was up five per cent.

The growth in passenger traffic was attributed mainly to the various conferences and exhibitions held in Abu Dhabi, as well as the arrival of Sudan’s Sun Air and the start of daily flights to Melbourne in Australia by Etihad Airways.

“We keep attracting new airlines to the airport which is testament to the quality of services and facilities we provide, as well as the increasing interest in Abu Dhabi as a global business and tourism destination,” said Mohammed Al Bulooki, vice-president of Airline Marketing and Aeronautical Revenue at the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC).

London is Abu Dhabi’s busiest route, followed by Bangkok and Doha while the emirate saw strong growth in the Indian Subcontinent through competitive pricing and high volume workforce traffic.

In a statement, ADAC said traffic to and from India jumped 29.2% in April, followed by the UK with 15.1% and Pakistan at 13.9%. It also enjoyed strong growth in Australia, which became ADAC’s ninth largest market.

Al Bulooki said the third terminal has increased the airport’s capacity, so “we can keep up with the demand and open our doors to more airlines wishing to establish routes to Abu Dhabi in the future”.

THE GENERAL Organisation of Sea Ports (GOP) is considering hosting a multi-storey car park and a service area in the vicinity of Khalifa bin Salman Port (KBSP) that could provide customs-free storage, warehousing and commercial facilities.

This develops following the successful launch of KBSP in Manama which needs, along with the Bahrain Logistics Zone, a strategic component, such as a service area catering to the supply-chain and logistics companies.

“It will ensure that the tenants and the companies operating at the port and logistics zone will have access to the best possible facilities to support their business activities,” said Hassan Ali Al Majed, director-general of GOP.

GOP will announce soon the auction procedure for potential investors wanting to bid for a 25-year concession agreement under the build-operate-transfer, or BOT, scheme. The completed design for both the multi-storey car park and the planned service area will be provided to interested developers.

“The new service area will yet be another milestone in our continuous commitment to develop the Khalifa bin Salman Port community,” Al Majed said.

In a statement, GOP said the service centre, to be located behind the customs gate, will house 6,500 square metres of office space and general warehousing facilities. With a space for 4,000 vehicles, the car park will house the imported cars before their re-distribution across Bahrain.

The whole area will have a number of other important amenities, such as a petrol station, banking facilities, food outlets and a convenience store.

NINE members of the Supply Chain and Logistics Group (SCLG) bagged 11 of the 16 awards given by the Supply Chain and Transport Awards (SCATA) held in Dubai this month.

These are Gulf Agency Company, which won three awards, Maersk Line, Cargolux, Emirates SkyCargo, TNT Express, Unilever, SP Jain Centre of Management, Ehrhardt + Partner Solutions and Span Group.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World and its subsidiary-companies, was honoured with the Hall of Fame Award in a ceremony at Madinat Jumeirah.

Organised by the magazine publisher ITP Business, SCATA is on its third year, and has established itself as a major celebration of the achievements of the logistics industry in the Middle East.

“The market opportunity in the Arabian Peninsula, together with the fierce competition to succeed in the lucrative supply chain and transportation sector, means the Middle East is producing some of the most impressive players in the global logistics industry,” said Walid Akawi, chief executive officer of the ITP Publishing Group.

In 2007, the first SCATA event proved a success, reflecting the breadth and experience of ITP’s transportation magazines. This year, on June 1, SCATA included 16 categories covering the logistics, sea freight and air cargo sectors.

Here is the complete list of SCATA 2009 winners:

THE 25% fall in China’s exports recently has called into question the present structure of the global container shipping sector, whose major players announced huge losses for the first quarter of this year.

Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Neptune Orient Lines and Evergreen Marine said they lost so much revenue between January and March, according to UK-based Transport Intelligence (Ti).

The Danish conglomerate AP Moller-Maersk, owner of Maersk, may incur more losses for the rest of the year. The container business of Maersk lost $424 million in earnings before interest and tax, with revenue dropping to about 40% and volumes falling 14%.

A provider of intelligence on the global transport industry, Ti said total exports in China dropped by 22.6% in April from a year earlier while imports fell by 23% for the same period. It added that the drop in volumes may get worse if China’s exports decline further against those with other industrialised countries.

The US and the UK, for instance, are rebalancing their trade while South Korea is showing signs of stabilising its exports. This will create a change in the trading pattern worldwide, and that of the container shipping sector.

“The problem is the container shipping sector is oriented to making money from the China trade,” said Ti on an online article. “That is where the shortages of capacity were in the recent past, not on export lanes from Europe, North America or, indeed, from other areas of east Asia.”

Eivind Kolding, chief executive officer of Maersk, said the line had cut again its container rates on eastbound transpacific routes by about 10%.

Ti said the collapse in demand and increased capacity in the market resulted in losses among the container shipping lines.