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May 30, 2008|
Coatings manufacturers worldwide are lining up to serve a new class of consumers in the Middle East who are young, sophisticated in their tastes, and ready to spend money to decorate their homes, shops and offices. Never was this more apparent than at the Middle East Coatings Show (MECS) held at the Dubai World Trade Centre in March. Sales representatives of X-Rite Inc., a designer and manufacturer of color measurement equipment and software, said they experienced strong interest in the company's line of products by businesses involved in both new construction and home decoration.
"We are riding the tremendous wave of construction in the Middle East, which translates into greater demand for our paint matching and mixing products that maintain quality control for manufacturing," said X-Rite EMEA Sales Manager Peter Simmen. "Sales leads at the MECS were up 20 percent compared with what we experienced from the show last year in Cairo, and the quality of the leads and inquiries improved as well." The MECS show is the main exposition for coatings companies that serve the Middle East.
Simmen said paint manufacturers are finding that they not only need to maintain tight precision on their processes to large-scale production projects, but they also must innovate on color selections to satisfy the cultural shift in countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia where consumers are spending more on interior design and trying do-it-yourself home decoration projects.
The main spark for the demand in coatings is new construction. Corporations involved in any aspect of the construction in the region of Gulf Co-operation Council – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman – are straining to keep pace. The Dubai-based research firm of Proleads estimates there is more than $1 trillion (USD) worth of projects currently under construction or being developed, and it forecasts another $1.5 trillion (USD) worth of projects on the drawing boards for the region.
While China tops the world market in construction projects, the Middle East isn't far behind as countries with significant oil reserves plough revenues back into public works projects and private investment continues for hotels, resorts, offices and high rise residential projects.
www.xrite.com
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