International players are keen to boost their presence in the Middle East while others closed in on multimillion-dollar deals, the second day of the Gulf Industry Fair (GIF) in Bahrain showed Wednesday. Billed as the most comprehensive industrial fair in the Middle East, the event, at the Bahrain International Exhibition Center, has provided an ideal platform for several industries to set up units in the region besides emerging as a strong catalyst for business. Apart from networking, the show is presenting the region's industrial sector an opportunity to highlight its products and services and interact with international players, Arabian Business reported. Hit by the economic downturn in the Western markets, companies from East Europe and the US have used the fair to tie up with Bahraini businesses to sell their products and services in the region. MetalTek International, a US-based company producing high-tech petrochemical furnace components, centrifugal castings and high alloys, has decided to shift its focus from the US and European markets and concentrate on the Middle East. MetalTek Petrochemical Products director Patrick Ryan said his company signed an agreement at the fair with Bahrain-based International Technical Supplies and Services (ITSS) to market its products in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. “Next week we will sign an agreement with Mannai Corporation to distribute our products in Qatar and Abu Dhabi,” he said. “While the market in the US for petrochemical components is undergoing a 14 to 15 percent contraction, we thought this is the right opportunity to take our business to the Middle East.” “We are also planning to set up a joint-venture unit in the Gulf. The location would be finalized on the basis of the market survey that we are currently conducting,” he said, adding that initially the firm plans to invest between $2 million and $4 million on the high-tech fabrication unit. Byelorussian Steel Works, a producer of steel from the Republic of Belarus, plans to open a representative office in Dubai. Head of marketing Vladimir Chaus said the firm, which produces 2.5 million tons of steel products per year, expects to do a lot of business in the region. “We export our products to 73 countries worldwide. The Middle East will be our focus from now on,” he said, adding that the exhibition has helped his company explore ways to build partnerships in Bahrain. Helmut Eppich, GCC sales manager of Spain's Taim Weser, said that the company has been doing good business in the region since it set up shop in Bahrain last May. “We are in the final stage of negotiations on a $70-million materials handling equipment contract with Saudi Aramco for the Jubail export refinery. Also, we are in talks with a logistics group for supply of logistics equipment totally valued at over $100 million,” he said. A number of companies from East Europe have tied up with Bahrain's Mimco Group to explore the possibilities of doing business in the Middle East. Bahrain-based small and medium enterprises also received a boost when they got to display their products at the exhibition under the auspices of the Tamkeen initiative. GIF concluded on Thursday.
