ArabPlast is the event that will kick off 2017's plastics calendar, bringing thousands of plastics professionals from all over the world to the prestigious Dubai World Trade Centre from January 8th-10th.
Etisalat Tower 2, Dubai World Trade Centre, and Dubai World Trade Centre Residence via Wikimedia Commons.
Dubai World Trade Centre
The next edition of ArabPlast expects to build on the success of its last outing, anticipating in the region of 1,000 exhibitors and some 27,000 visitors, with a significant number coming from overseas to present everything from materials science to plastics processing machinery, inspection technology, software, recycling and other services.
The show
ArabPlast has been bringing the latest in plastics processing technology to the Middle Eastern marketplace since 1994. In 2007, the number of exhibitors had grown to 326, with some 9,657 visitors coming through the doors of the Dubai International Exhibition Centre. These figures ballooned in 2009 to 537 exhibitors and 14,500 visitors. This is still almost half of the figures ArabPlast is expecting to record in January 2017, but crucially, in this year the number of international participants started to gain ground, as the show continued to take on more and more floor space to accommodate this growing interest.
The venue
The Dubai World Trade Centre is the ideal platform for the biennial ArabPlast showcase thanks to its prominent position on Sheikh Zayed Road in the beating heart of Dubai's business district. The showground is a short journey from the airport and a quick trip on the metro to the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, and the promenade of the rich and famous at Jumeirah Beach Residence. Even though the Dubai World Trade Centre is a famed international venue, visitors are requested to respect local culture by dressing modestly and in business attire.
Who's there?
Major global players will be in attendance including ExxonMobil Chemical, Al Sharq Flexible Packaging, NATPET, ORPIC Refineries, Borouge, Croda Middle East, Labotek and ENGEL, while visitors can easily navigate the show's nine halls by perusing the pavilions for China, India, Taiwan, Messe Düsseldorf and Iran.
Who's going?
With ArabPlast, it is less a case of who's going and more who isn't. The show covers the complete spectrum of plastics machinery, plastic and rubber processing technology, pre- and post-processing systems, plastic packaging technology, injection moulding machinery, blow moulding machinery, wrapping technology, extrusion machinery, chemicals and additives, semi finished goods, engineering plastics and plastic products and anybody with an interest in any of these technologies at any point down the supply chain will be on-site.