Rapid response

Mellor believes that the big 5 is well known as a buying show.

In one of the toughest years the region’s construction industry has ever faced The Big 5 still looks likely to bust a few records. CW chats to Simon Mellor, vice president of construction for DMG World Media to find out why.

In the construction industry, it pays to have a track record. Established credentials and proof of performance are bound to boost confidence in your ability, especially as the little guys fall by the wayside in tough economic times.

Maybe that’s why sometimes big is better. The Big 5 International Building and Construction Show seems to be proving the point.

Story continues below

Advertisement

FEATURED COMMENT Please click here to comment on this article

In what has been a tough year for most contractors in the industry, The Big 5 has performed ‘quite surprisingly’, according to Simon Mellor, vice president of the construction division for DMG World Media.

“We’ve been a long established show here and in being long established, people inherently have confidence in the products and services on offer within The Big 5 environment,” he said.

The result, the organiser promises, is a show that will be bigger than it has been before. Mellor feels there
are a few important reasons why.

One, there’s more space available this year, thanks to an extension of the facilities. Added to this is the fact that the
show has a reputation for attracting buyers ready to give exhibitors an ‘instant response’.

“We’ve always attracted a broad audience from right across the Mena region and exhibitors have always been successful in promoting a strong community,” said Mellor.

“It was a community, in a sense, restricted by the size of the facilities. The GCC and the wider Mena region have been so positive and strong over the last five to ten years that we have been struggling to meet demand with the size of the venue.

“This year the venue has extended facilities, which has allowed us, to some extent, to meet the true demand and against all expectations, we will put a bigger show on in 2009 than in 2008.”

One of the immediate benefits of the bigger facilities was that The Big 5 PMV show can come indoors for the first time. The PMV exhibition space will have a 14m roof clearance, leaving plenty of room for some of the biggest kit around to be on display.