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Organisers Report PALME 2006 Success

The fourth annual PALME 2006 exhibition featuring Install, Event 360 and MUSAC, its three dedicated vertical sectors attracted an all time record visitor audience that saw a 30% increase on the previous years figures during its recent three-day run at Dubai’s International Exhibition Centre.

The region’s only exhibition of professional sound, light, music, audio-visual and systems integration technologies, PALME showcased the industry world leaders, many of whom have supported the show since it began, and new exhibitors who were using the exhibition as a way to evaluate the potential of the Middle East market.

“This year’s show has really strengthened the international reputation of PALME as a world-class event,” said Darren Brechin, group exhibitions director, Entertainment and Installation Technology Group, IIR Exhibitions. “There has been so much positive feedback from exhibitors in terms of the quality of visitors and the show in general that we are confidently looking forward to growing the event even further for next year.”

Exhibitors across the show were delighted with their experience, and rated their participation as a success. “It’s been a great show. MUSAC is really great – we’ve had all kinds of suppliers in here, plus buyers and dealers,” said Tyler Smith, executive director of Thomsun Pure Music. “We’ve made lots of good contacts and I want to thanek the organisers for putting this show on.”

Dubai-based ZAK Electronics, who represent Korg in the UAE also had a successful show. “We are getting a lot of trade enquiries and a lot of visitors coming to our stand,” said Ziad Al Hajj, general manager. “Compared to last year, more trade companies are here, and we are getting a lot of enquiries, especially from outside the UAE. We are doing good business and will be participating again next year.”

The Middle East market is incredibly active, and with the latest industry re-forecasts indicating that the regional market is now worth over US$3 billion a year, it’s no surprise that PALME is growing in international significance. Featuring 600 exhibitors from all over the world and more international manufacturers than ever before, PALME 2006 was by far the largest ever staged, having grown by over 50% from 2005.

First time exhibitor FogScreen of Finland, had a particularly successful experience. “We chose to open in the Middle East market at PALME and it’s been a great success. We’ve got really good sales leads and expect to make a strong entry into this market through the show. We’ll be back again next year,” said Niina Metsala, product marketing manager at FogScreen.

Regular exhibitors, such as Adam Hall from the UK have seen the show develop over the years, and continue to be impressed with the response they get. “The size of the show is double this year, and the number of enquiries is way up on last year. The good thing about this show is that you don’t get time wasters unlike other shows, just solid enquiries from people that are genuinely interested in your products,” said Rob Fricker, general and export sales manager at Adam Hall.

Similarly, Rob Robinson, marketing director of Sardraw.com viewed his company’s participation as highly beneficial. “We know the Middle East is a great emerging market for our products, particularly with the amount of new homes and infrastructure development taking place. We’ve had a good number of leads and have met a lot of the companies that we wanted to meet,” he said.

World renowned brands such as UK-based Tannoy, which has decades of experience in the industry, also appreciated the effectiveness of the show in attracting the right type of audience.

“The show’s been very good in terms of the leads we’ve received,” said Simon Sinclair, sales director. “We’re starting to get more serious about the Dubai and Middle East markets, and are working on a lot of large scale projects, so from that perspective it’s been very good. We’re exhibiting here to meet consultants from the large construction projects and the show has been very positive for us in that respect.”

Many of the companies taking part at PALME 2006 offer highly technical products to a very specific target audience, and found that the event delivered the industry professionals that they were looking to meet. “It’s our first time at Install,” said Reinhold Stumpfl of AV Stumpfl from Austria. “We’re here because the Middle East is one of the few blank spots for us, and it’s a market that we are keen to enter. The quality of visitors to the show is very, very good and we have been pleasantly surprised. The questions we are being asked shows us that it’s a very qualified audience, and we have made a lot of sales.”

PALME has grown, over a very short space of time, into one of the leading international events in its sector. The three dedicated vertical shows within PALME were introduced to meet specific industry demand, and are in line with the organisers’ commitment to continually develop and enhance the exhibition.

Event 360, specifically designed to help the extensive regional event industry attain world class quality levels, now has the full support of Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) due to the contribution it makes to the enhancement of the events industry. MUSAC, created for the region’s buoyant musical instrument and accessories market, is the region’s only showcase of musical instruments and accessories, while Install is a unique event that is dedicated to the dynamic AV installation sector. All of these dedicated “shows within a show” have really captured the imagination of the industry, with professionals viewing them as essential visits.

With lighting now an essential consideration in the design and construction of more and more buildings, Install 2006 also featured, for the very first time, a specially created Architectural Lighting and Interior Illumination Zone - this dedicated area put the focus on permanent and temporary lighting installations for all types of buildings and events, and included a series of specialised seminars that featured world class speakers such as multi-award winning and world renowned lighting architect Jonathan Speirs of UK-based Speirs and Major Associates.

Another significant new feature that was announced during this year’s show was the introduction of the Middle East Lighting Design Awards for 2007. “Our objective is to further encourage and stimulate creativity in the field of architectural lighting by recognising creativity and innovation in the lighting design field,” said Darren Brechin.

Next year’s PALME runs from 20-22 May 2007 at Dubai International Exhibition Centre. A high number of companies rebooked at this year’s show, and interest from new exhibitors from all around the world is already strong. “We’re looking forward to delivering an even bigger and better PALME 2007,” concluded Brechin. “The massive long term potential of the Middle East market, linked to the highly successful format of the show makes PALME the ideal platform to build business throughout the region.”

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Organisers Report PALME 2006 Success

16th May 2006

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