Flower Power in the desert sand
Messe Essen and planetfair were evidently on the right scent when they decided to grow an offshoot of the International Plant Expo IPM in Dubai.
We haven't had a presence in the region until now and were able to sound out various things. With the contacts made we can now get going here immediately," Klaus Mayer from Mayer GmbH & Co. KG, Heidenheim, says. "It was the right decision to go to Dubai with the IPM, and the avenue should be developed further." From the outset, the International Trade Fair for Plants, Technical Equipment, Floristry and Sales Promotion provided a launch pad for market entry into an important growth region of horticulture and floristry. Messe Essen inaugurated IPM Dubai - International Plant Expo - from March 14 to 16, 2006 with 90 exhibitors from more than ten Middle Eastern countries. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is patron of the event co-organised by planetfair Dubai llc. It is supported by the Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Dubai and the Dubai Flower Center.
The more than 1,500 professional visitors came from all important target groups, such as plant production, the wholesale and retail trade, horticulture and landscape gardening. They demonstrated considerable interest in the exhibiting companies products and services. "We were able to meet our clients from Oman, Iran, Qatar, Egypt and Tunisia, who accepted our invitation to come and see us. They never travel to European fairs," Antonia Meiners, export manager at Stender AG, Schermbeck, was pleased to report. The company supplies soils and substrates. Henning Bruns, regional manager in charge of sales and exports of TEKU products for professional horticulture at plastics processing company Pöppelmann from Lohne, said that new business had already been generated. Additionally, longstanding contacts to the region were intensified through participation in the fair. The high quality of attendance, also from the surrounding Arab countries, confirmed Dubai as the right place for an exhibition of this kind, Bruns explained: "The IPM was implemented extremely professionally, going into greater depth on the horticultural aspect than existing local fairs. That was previously lacking in the region." The degree of internationality at the maiden IPM Dubai also came as a pleasant surprise. "We expected attendance from the Middle and Near East. But visitors came from over 50 countries, with a particularly large contingent from Southeast Asia. We expect firm post-exhibition business. Wéll be back in 2007," Hans-Joachim Labowsky, Indega Deutschland, enthused. The exhibitors from Germany were represented with a joint stand endorsed by the German ministry of Food, Consumer Protection and Agriculture.
"Dubai has a long tradition as a commercial centre at the intersection of the European, Asian and African continents. For some years demand has been strong for all horticultural products from cut flowers to landscape gardening and amusement park design," Sabina Dillen, director trade fairs/exhibitions at Messe Essen, says.
Right next to the Dubai Flower Center, a new complex with modern logistics, warehousing and cooling facilities, is the IPM exhibition venue, the Airport Expo Center. Daily guided tours through the flower logistics centre were offered to exhibitors. Next year already, more than twice as many exhibitors are expected to the "green industry's" annual trade fair. Egon Galinnis, managing director of Messe Essen, and Ingo Klöver, planetfair Dubai, are confident: "The IPM Dubai - International Plants Expo Middle East will put down roots as the leader fair for gardening and floristry in the Middle East." The 2007 date: March 6 to 8.
m+a report Nr.3 / 2006 vom 28.04.2006
m+a report vom 28. April 2006