PALME exhibitors acclaim show success

PALME exhibitors acclaim show success

Curtain falls on Mid East’s largest professional audio, lighting, entertainment and event management show with exhibitors in high spirits

Palme Middle East 2009, the premier exhibition for the region’s lighting, AV, systems integration and event management industry, closed today with exhibitors hailing the success of the show. In addition many exhibitors have confirmed that due to high quality of visitors that attended the show, they would be back for next year’s event.

“Many exhibitors, told us they were very impressed with the quality of visitors that attended the show, especially those from outside of the immediate region. Some participants had even reserved exhibition space for PALME 2010 by the second day,” said Alex Heuff, Show Director of PALME 2009.

“We’ve made every effort over the last 12 months to align visitor profiles with the appropriate vertical sectors of the exhibition. With a number of deals worth several million dollars already concluded onsite, we’ve clearly got that profiling right.”

The 7th annual PALME Middle East exhibition ran from Sunday April 26 to Tuesday 28 in Halls 5-8 at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre and covered 20,000 square metres of exhibition space showcasing more than 160 companies, representing more than 600 brands.

However it was just about the exhibitors, The feed-back from visitors to the show was that they had come to see what the new trends were and had not been disappointed either on the exhibition floor or during the series of conferences, many of which were oversubscribed.

One of the companies already booked for next year is audio equipment systems specialist APart, of Belgium. Kris Vermuyten, Sales and Marketing Manager, said the show had provided good systems integration contacts, which, as the company only worked through distributors or systems integrators, is exactly what he was looking for.

Creative Director at Lobo, Alexander Hennig , reported a record number of direct sales enquiries as well as other good contacts that he has made at the show.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the level of interest shown. We met people from all over the Middle East and as far afield as India and Italy,” said Henning.

Karl-Gustaf Kahlau, Export Sales Manager of the Swedish loud speaker system supplier, Renkus-Heinz, said the show had been “perfect” with regards to the number of customers and new prospects that had visited the stand.

“We closed a few deals, but most of our projects are long term, so it’s always important to make new contacts which this show has been very good at supplying. I’ve been here five times before and I’ll be exhibiting again next year,” he said.

Mindstec’s Qomo 105-inch interactive white board not only attracted substantial interest from the education sector, but also secured several sales. The company was particularly pleased with the number of visitors from beyond the UAE.

“We had a lot of enquiries from Saudi, which was very good as it’s a market we are looking to expand further in the coming year,” said Rajesh Nair, Business Development Manager, Mindstec.

Another company pleased with the amount of interest in its products and the quality of the visitors was electronic voting products supplier, Fleetwood. It is the company’s second participation at Palme and its Vice President of Sales and Marketing Electronics Division, Pat Moody, said the company would be back next year.

“When we came here about four year ago, there was not much awareness of our electronic voting products, used in game shows, AGMs, market research, conferences and surveys. But it was different this year,” said Moody.

“The traffic (visitors) to our stand was good and the quality of the visitors was very professional - we were dealing with qualified buyers and this year the market was much more aware of our products,” he added.

Events industry honours Dubai Duty Free’s McLoughlin

Events industry honours Dubai Duty Free’s McLoughlin

Lifetime achievement award for outstanding contribution to regional events industry at the Middle East Event Awards

Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, was honoured last night (Monday 27 April 2009) with a lifetime achievement award in front of over 400 top regional industry professionals at the Middle East Event Awards during the event 360 exhibition.

The award to McLoughlin recognises his pioneering role in utilising events to develop the profile of Dubai as a business, leisure and sporting destination. “From the very early days of the operation in the 1980s, Dubai Duty Free under Colm’s direction, has understood the importance and the power of marketing events in order to reach out to a local, regional and global audience,” said master of ceremonies Dave Crane.

Even before Dubai had an airline, a tourism board and tourism infrastructure, Colm and his team were identifying events, such as snooker, horse racing and tennis and which have now become synonymous with Dubai Duty Free. The Dubai Tennis Championships is one of the biggest events staged and managed by Dubai Duty Free and reaches the homes of an estimated 400 million people worldwide.

“Without a doubt, Colm and Dubai Duty Free have, through their selection and management of key events here in Dubai, helped to firmly position Dubai as a leading destination in its own right,” Crane added.
Some of the other highlights included, Flash winning two Awards for The Capitala World Tennis Championships and the George Michael and Alicia Keys Concert; HQ Creative for winning two Awards, for Summer in Abu Dhabi 2008 and arrival of the QE2 and Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company for winning the best venue in the Middle East and Best Exhibition for IDEX 2009.
In addition to Colm McLoughlin, Simon Horgan, Chief Executive Officer of ADNEC won the Outstanding Contribution to the Middle East Events Industry.
A panel of judges from a variety of industry sectors and disciplines selected the winners. Hosted by event 360, the awards are open to companies who plan, manage, supply or service exhibitions; consumer, corporate and public events; weddings, parties, concerts, venues and theatres.

“Over 200 different event projects were submitted for consideration this year and the standard was incredibly high. But it is also a night for celebration not just recognition, and one of the main aims of these awards besides showcasing innovation and excellence, is the hope that they will provide inspiration and encouragement for the future development of an already vibrant industry,” said Alex Heuff, Show Director of organisers IIR Exhibitions.

Organised by IIR Middle East, event 360 is a dedicated vertical show under the umbrella of PALME Middle East at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre. Gold sponsor of the awards is Gemini Worldwide; Silver sponsors are Byrne Equipment Rental and Band Experience; Production sponsor is Neumann & Mueller.

The full list of last night’s other winners is as follows:

Best Meeting - B Communications, for the HP IPG Technology Roadshow.

Best Trade Exhibition - Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company, for IDEX 2009.

Best Corporate Product or Service Launch – Zaya, for the launch of Nurai Island.

Best Fair/Festival/Concert – Flash, for George Michael & Alicia Keys Live in Abu Dhabi.

Best Arts and Cultural Event – Pyramedia, for Al Mahabba Awards Festival.

Best Sporting Event – Flash, for the Capitala World Tennis Championship.

Outstanding Event using a Temporary Venue/Structure or Space - Action Impact, for the du Ramadan Experience.

Best Marketing of an Event - Chillout Productions, for the Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival 2009.

Innovative New Product for the Events Industry - Satellite Visual Communication for Spotme.

Best Meeting or Events Venue - Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Best Creative Use of Event Lighting - Mamemo Productions, for the launch of Venti Quattro Tower.

Best Event Theme/Décor - HQ Creative, for Summer in Abu Dhabi 2008.

Outstanding Production Achievement - HQ Creative, for the QE2 Arrival Event.

Green Award - Qatar MICE Development Institute, for the UNEP Ozone Protection Meetings.

Best Exhibition Stand Design - Omniyat Properties for its stand at Cityscape Dubai 2008.


Photo caption 1: Bernard Walsh, last year’s winner presents Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free with a lifetime achievement award at the Middle East Event Awards 2009.

Photo caption 2: Middle East Event Awards 2009 Winners

AED500,000 order for flagship technology as PALME expo bucks global trends

First day deals at entertainment show

AED500,000 order for flagship technology as PALME expo bucks global trends

Deals done on the first day of PALME 2009 exhibition, the Middle East’s premiere lighting, audio visual, systems integration and event management show included one for AED500,000, say the organisers.

A Dubai-based event-associated equipment rental company bought a state of the art digital mixing console from Digi Sonic, part of the Thomsun group of companies.

“This is considered a flagship in the mixing trade. It just shows that this industry is determined to stay ahead of the game and ensure it has got a competitive edge in the more competitive market that’s a result of the global recession,” said Alex Heuff, Show Director of organisers IIR Exhibitions.

“Many of the visitors on the first day indicated that they were at the event to keep up with new technology and products and to see what was new on the market. Exhibitors want to keep their products out there in the market and these early deals show how essential it is to keep marketing aggressively in difficult times.”

The seventh PALME exhibition runs until Tuesday April 28 in Halls 5-8 at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre and showcases over 160 companies, representing more than 600 brands and covers 20,000 square metres of exhibition space.

An Audio Visual and Systems Integration Solutions conference was held on the first day and a dedicated Lighting Solutions Conference, was held today (Monday April 27). In addition, certified courses for the audio and acoustic industry are being run throughout the event.

According to Dale Miller, Vice President of Christie, a global leader in the manufacture of visual solutions, visitors to the company’s 3D stereo demonstrations on the stand came from all corners of the region including many from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE.

Syed Abdul Wahab, Managing Director of gold sponsor Mindstec, said there was substantial interest in the company’s interactive 103-inch Panasonic screens especially from government representatives across the region.

Among those attracting high visitor interest was fireworks display production house Igual, fresh from the three-day Womad International music event in Abu Dhabi. Mohammed Ali, Business Development Manager of the 125-year old Spanish fireworks specialist, said visitors wanted to know about computerised effects developed by the company which handles firework displays for national days of countries throughout the Arabian Gulf.

The Oracle Projects International stand also attracted visitor interest with its inflatable domes capable of housing an audience of up to 4,000 people. The domes are modular and can be erected overnight for a small event or within a few days for bigger versions and are totally air conditioned.

Chris Sifton, Managing Director of the company which is based in Kuwait, Singapore and China, said the globes had drawn a lot of interest as an alternative to large marquees or in-hotel function areas because they are so flexible.

The exhibition also featured Lola, a restored 1963 Volkswagen Camper van converted to a mobile bar and DJ booth available for hire from Desert River. It acts as a DJ booth, food and beverage service or as a showpiece at a function.

PALME Middle East in addition to it industry-specific exhibits and events, is again holding the Pioneer-sponsored PALME DJ competition which finishes on Tuesday (28 April 2009). The best DJs are battling it out for prizes worth more than $10,000 and the crown of PALME DJ of the year.

Photo Caption:

Kartik Subramanian and Robbie Allen from Thomsun Group after the AED 5000,000 contract was signed

PALME Middle East 2009,Dubai photos, 26/April/2009

PALME Middle East 2009,Dubai photos, 26/April/2009