With less than one weeks to go until The Big 5 returns to Dubai, Technical Review ME caught up with Nathan Waugh, event director of the co-located PMV Live and Middle East Concrete (MEC), to find out what visitors to the Dubai World Trade Centres Saeed Halls can expect from both shows this year
Technical Review ME: What new features will you have in store for visitors to PMV Live and Middle East Concrete (MEC) this year?
Nathan Waugh: The main focus this year has been on developing the content available to our visitors, which comes in two formats. Firstly, we have added a second seminar theatre located on the show floor to our free-to-attend sessions, which will be available to all visitors. This has almost doubled the amount of free content available.
Sessions will include seminars on 'The role of pre-cast factories in sustainable construction' and 'Effectiveness and use of macro synthetic fibres in concrete' ? both of which will form part of the 30-plus free seminar programme, completed with the addition of four dedicated panel sessions on topics such as sustainability and safe working at heights.
Secondly, as part of the overall content programme, we will be hosting two specialist pay-to-attend events ? a full day Asset Maintenance Workshop and a two-day conference on sustainability ? the International Concrete Sustainability Conference, which will draw technical experts on sustainability from around the world.
Finally, across both events there will be a number of live demonstrations such as Kryton?s demonstration of its revolutionary concrete waterproofing products, and Mapei demonstrating additives for the effective recycling of returned concrete among the highlights.
Technical Review ME: What can we expect from the outdoor exhibition area at this year's Big 5?
NW: The outdoor exhibition area as always forms the centrepiece of MEC and PMV Live, where visually impressive displays of machinery often tower over the plaza area. This year, the outdoor exhibition space will be more than 3,500 sqm in size, almost exactly doubling the size of 2012's outdoor area.
A wide range of products such as lifting equipment, trucks, earthmoving machinery, power generation equipment, site installation equipment and much more will be on display from a variety of global suppliers. To beat the heat, visitors will be able to take a break at the Al Laith Outdoor Caf? where they can network and talk business without the need to leave the outdoor area.
Technical Review ME: Can you tell us a little about the range and quality of exhibitors at this year's events?
NW: At this year's MEC and PMV Live combined, we expect up to 350 exhibitors from more than 25 countries, making the event a truly international experience.
Large country pavilions from Germany, Italy, France, Austria and China will rub shoulders with the biggest and best local brands in the concrete and plant, machinery, vehicles sectors.
Top brands such as BASF, Grace, Putzmeister, RMD Kwikform, Masa and many others will be displaying their latest innovations and we anticipate that more than 1,000 products will be available in total at MEC and PMV, offering our visitors an unprecedented range of options for their next project.
Technical Review ME: Alongside the Big 5, PMV Live and MEC are now well-established events in their own right; are we likely to see more shows launched alongside The Big 5 within the next couple of years?
NW: 2013 saw two new launches in The Big 5 portfolio ? Big 5 Kuwait and Big 5 India, both of which ran very successfully in September and are both well placed to show excellent growth in their second year.
As far as developing events out of existing Big 5 product sectors goes, the success of both MEC and PMV Live has prompted the launch of Middle East Stone ? a brand new event focusing on the marble, stone and ceramics industry, which will run for the first time in June 2015.
We are always on the lookout for ways in which we can add greater value for our exhibitors and visitors by developing additional focused and targeted events, which have a synergy with our existing products, and these are always developed off the back of detailed and comprehensive research into what the market needs.
PMV Live and Middle East Concrete will take place alongside The Big 5 in the Saeed Halls at Dubai World Trade Centre from 25-28 November 2013
