The Middle East has become a key growth catalyst in the global plastics trade throughout the last couple of years. According to local market intelligence, the region's plastics industry is projected to achieve an annual growth rate of up to 30 per cent over the next five years.

Central to this development is Saudi Arabia. It has helped fuel the regional plastics industry's outstanding growth with large-scale investments making the country the Middle East's biggest producer by volume of polyethylene, a key component in the production and manufacturing of consumer plastic products.

Saudi Arabia is also home to the largest plastics industry show of the region. The Saudi Plas, their upcoming show from October 18 to 21 in Riyadh, is aiming to become one of the most prestigious conventions of the global plastics industry. The exhibition is part of a greater venue, the Saudi PPPP, which stands for Print, Pack, Plastics Technology and Petrochem. The venue has already 400 + international companies as registered participants.

"Saudi Arabia has all the elements to be a major player in the global trade of plastics," said Saudi PPPP project manager Kamil Al Jawhari.”
"The abundance of cheap raw materials, its proximity to European and Asian export markets and high availability of low-cost energy are some of the key factors that have sustained the dramatic growth of Saudi Arabia's plastics industry.”
"In addition, massive residential and commercial developments that are currently being built across the country will urgently require the latest in plastic products and technology."
"This is certainly a very exciting time to invest and look for gainful business opportunities in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East region," he added. "Saudi Plas 2009 will thus play a crucial role in providing a centralised platform for international suppliers, buyers, manufacturers and other stakeholders of the global plastics industry to discuss and identify new avenues for growth and to address emerging challenges."

We certainly regret that the timing of the venue makes it impossible for us to attend the show.  Pack Expo 2009 in Las Vegas and some ongoing commitments to our customers make our October very busy. As we have started to build new business relationships with customers from the greater Gulf region, we would have loved to go to the Saudi Plas and introduce some of our exciting new plastic converting equipment like the compact Slitter Rewinder GS6 model or the M7B-2800QL 7 layer Co-extrusion blown film line.

Excerpts from GulfDailyNews.com: Mideast growth catalyst in global plastics trade, September 03, 2009