Saudi Arabia is the second country in the GCC coalition that has the biggest demand for paper products valued at $220 million a year, trailing UAE which accounts for over $400 million of this industry. Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman account for approximately $65 million between them. Recent market research revealed that the GCC paper industry has a market value of about $700 million per year. Against this backdrop, the upcoming “Paperworld Middle East 2012” that will take place next year on March 6-8 in Dubai. Paperworld Middle East is the first-of-its-kind show to focus on the same product groups as the well-established Paperworld in Frankfurt, such as office supplies, school articles, wrapping, office paper and films, gift articles, household paper and films and greeting cards. It will furthermore feature a separate section on the remanufacturing and imaging industry. A wide range of companies have already confirmed their key locations for the 2012 edition with hundreds of brands and products on board. German companies Lamy and Schneider, who were original Launch Partners for the inaugural edition of Paperworld Middle East, are once more among the first exhibitors to join the fore for the 2012 edition. Both companies will be showcasing their range of high quality writing instruments. Durable, long-term exhibitor in Frankfurt, has now also confirmed its presence for the Dubai show, with the intention of utilizing it as a platform to further explore the regional marketplace. As one of the leading manufacturers of office organization and presentation media worldwide, the 80 year old Durable trade mark has been symbolic of high-class products for filing and sorting, clipping and binding, as well as in the fields of information and presentation. Another German company, Sigel, winner of the red dot design award 2011 for its stylish Conceptum notebooks, will once again present its range of trendy business products in Dubai. In addition, Messe Frankfurt is delighted to have recently received the news that the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology will fund an official German Pavilion for Paperworld Middle East 2012. This means that many more German exhibitors can be expected next March and augurs well for the long term future of the show. As well as German brands Lamy, Schneider and Sigel, many more companies will return for a second year running to the newly launched Paperworld in Dubai. Meanwhile, as the disposed commercial and domestic waste grows rapidly, recycling as an industry is gaining ground since it is economic and environmental. It is one of the best waste management methods that reduces the need for landfilling and incineration and turns materials that would otherwise remain as waste into valuable resources. Moreover, it offers commercial gains as the world turns more and more to using recycled plastic, and paper in the packaging of consumer goods. While recycling of all types of waste has grown in general, recycling of specific materials like paper, PET plastic, aluminum soft drink cans, steel packaging and major appliances is more on the rise. Construction and demolition waste recycling is also another area of growth. While the recycling industry across Europe is a mature one, the Middle East in comparison can be said to be in a nascent stage. However, this bodes well for entrepreneurs who wish to enter into the region's recycling industry and also for suppliers of waste management technologies, waste management service providers and waste management equipment suppliers. According to the World Bank estimates, tens of billions of dollars will be invested in the waste management and environmental sectors in the Middle East over the next 10 years. Amid this mounting concern for the environment, the market for waste management technologies and products in Saudi Arabia is growing rapidly.
