RIYADH – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's $800 million printing industry is the oldest and biggest in the GCC and is growing at an annual rate of 8 per cent per annum. In spite of the availability and popularity of online editions, the printing of newspapers remains resilient with almost 5.2 million copies of dailies and 2 million copies of magazines published in the country. The KSA's economic growth, increasing government expenditure, population growth, rising cultural and educational activities, and growth in the retail industry have contributed to the surge of the printing, advertising and marketing industries, creating additional demand for printing equipment and services leading to overall industry. Recent fluctuations in the oil industry have created the need to diversify the KSA's economy. The printing industry is one of the main industries that has benefitted from the government's diversification initiatives away from the oil and gas sector. In addition, new challenges and opportunities in the global printing and packaging industry in recent years have impacted the local market.
Against this backdrop, Riyadh Exhibitions Company is organizing Saudi Print and Pack 2015 – the 12th International Trade Exhibition for Printing and Packaging Technologies to be held on March 1-3, 2015 at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events that will showcase modern concepts of packaging.
The event will explore how state-of-the-art technologies and innovative products have radically transformed printing concepts and procedures. Since KSA's print industry is traditional and gradually opening up to modernization, the show will offer local audiences a gateway to the newer concepts such as digital and 3D printing. Although new to the KSA market, digital printing has shown robust growth taking 10 percent of the overall market.
Saudi Print and Pack 2015 will be concurrently organized with Saudi Plastics and Petrochem 2015 – the 12th International Plastics and Petrochemicals Trade Fair. Accredited by UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, Saudi PPPP 2015 will be held under the patronage of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the participation of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) as the Diamond sponsor along with Saudi Polymers Company as the Platinum Sponsor and Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co. (Petro Rabigh) as the Gold Sponsor.
The 2014 Saudi Print & Pack and Saudi Plastics & Petrochem was held over an exhibition area of 15,000 sqm. It hosted 520 exhibitors representing 26 countries and over 20,000 local, regional and international business visitors. The event was also supported by leading associations from the participating countries. — SG
