Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Ports, Customs and Free Zones Authority, inaugurated today (Monday) at the Expo Centre Sharjah the 18th edition of the steel Exhibition, SteelFab 2023, the largest commercial event of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa. The event boasts extensive international participation with 200 companies that represent 33 countries and top-notch manufacturers and suppliers. The pavilions therein include over 400 local and international brands.
The inauguration ceremony of the exhibition, which last until January 12, was attended by HE Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Chairman of Expo Centre Sharjah (ECS), HE Saif Mohammad Al Midfa, ECS’s CEO and a number of SCCI’s BoD members, in addition to a host of government officials, representatives of the national industry sector, businessmen and industrial investors.
Sheikh Khalid Al Qasimi praised the SCCI and ECS efforts and endeavours to promote the event, which managed, over 18 editions, to serve as an ideal platform for the steel industry stakeholders in the region. He spotlighted the fact that the UAE is witnessing an unprecedented industrial boom thanks to the government support for the industrial sector, which is deemed as the basis of modern economy. Therefore, he added, this exhibition comes annually as a key opportunity for local manufacturers in the UAE or the Emirate of Sharjah, which has the most sustainable industries and forms the heart of manufacturing industries at the national level.
HE Abdallah Sultan Al Owais stressed that the SCCI’s keen support and sponsorship of the SteelFab 2023 exhibition stems from its strategy based on harnessing all capabilities to boost industrial development in line with the goals of the national strategy for industry and advanced technology “Operation 300 Billion”, through developing an event whose outputs would contribute to supporting the manufacturing industries in the UAE, which ranked first in the Arab world in 2021 in terms of the value of manufacturing exports, reaching over $142.5 billion. He also highlighted the SteelFab exhibition’s role in introducing the latest world-class products, solutions, technologies and applications that develop the expertise of national companies and beef up their competitiveness.
Saif Mohammed Al Midfa said that the ECS events have largely contributed to cementing Sharjah’s regional leadership as a hub for doing business and starting businesses and an ideal platform for companies, investors and experts from all over the world to meet in one place. “This is what we always seek in all our events – especially the SteelFab exhibition, which was able year after year to ascertain its important role in supporting the steel industry and related sectors, by attracting thousands of visitors and stakeholders every year, reflecting its growing regionally and internationally as a key event for discovering the huge and promising investment opportunities in the steel and metal forming industry,” Al-Midfa added.
The exhibition witnesses, over four days, some fine range of state-of-the-art products, solutions and technologies in the steel industry from such leading countries in this domain as the UK, China, Italy, India, Germany and Turkey. There are national pavilions that host the industry’s most prominent commercial and industrial companies in the world as well as a selection of some of the best local and regional companies. The activities of the eighteenth editions will also witness the launch of the 2nd edition of the Best Welder @SteelFab competition, which is organised by ECS in cooperation with ESAB and the Middle East Industrial Training Institute (MEITI), with the aim of promoting excellence in the welding industry among professionals.
The competition, which runs in two rounds, includes 40 participants. After the final exams, a judging panel composed of representatives of the organisers will then name the winners. SteelFab 2023 coincides with the Fasteners World Middle East exhibition, which is specialized in industrial fasteners, assembly systems, bolts, connection and fastening systems and technologies. The event, which opens to visitors daily from 10am until 6pm, provides an unprecedented chance for all companies and factories looking for the latest technologies and cutting-edge equipment that provide quick returns on investments and save costs for manufacturers of various types of metal structures and those who seek safe, efficient and effective solutions in the metal sheets and sections forming and fabricating industry.
