More than 100 exhibitors will attend Alumex 2007, the fourth edition of the exhibition-conference on light metals scheduled for April 22-24, 2007 in Dubai.

The event has been organised by Trans Continental Fairs Management in collaboration with Edimet-Metef.
The aluminium business in the Middle East has never been as effervescent as it is today, which gives Alumex 2007 additional value, the organisers said.
The exhibition, covering an area of 4,000 sq m, will be a nerve centre for meetings in the industry and downstream operations ranging from extrusion to rolling, die-casting, surface treatments, machinery, products and applications. The show is expected to attract 4,000 professional visitors from the Gulf, the wider Middle East and international markets. It will also feature 100 delegates and more than 40 technical papers at the three-day collateral conference.
Mario Conserva, managing director of Edimet Spa, states: “According to estimates of the Arab Unified Economic Council, aluminium production in Arab countries already accounts for 8 per cent of the world’s production, but the short-term goals are impressive.”
The official recalled that in 1971 Aluminium Bahrain’s first smelter was installed, with a production capacity of 120,000 tonnes per year (tpy).  Today capacity there is 830,000 tpy. A few years later, in 1979, Dubal, the Dubai Aluminium Company, was founded and developed in an extraordinary manner. With a current capacity of 861,000 tpy of primary, the company is already looking at the 2015 goal of 2.5 million tpy. The Gulf area is showing a strong trend in terms of primary metal production, and Alumex is the ideal moment of synthesis in order to promote a meeting between technical and commercial aspects on one side and supply and demand on the other hand, ensuring that operators will become part of an international context with a high level of visibility, said Conserva.
 He observed that the increase in aluminium use on a world level was an established fact, conditioned nevertheless by the times, by the quality of the technical culture and by the knowledge of how to process, transform, design and construct with light alloys in the best way possible. 
 “In the Gulf and in the bordering countries there are enormous opportunities for aluminium, and we, through the contents of the exhibition and the conferences, seek to facilitate the exchange of experience and transfer of know-how,” the official said.  “It is a very important fact to have Dubal as the main sponsor of the event, because, seen from Europe and from the experience of Metef,  Dubal is today a key producer and can become the focus for the spread of know-how and the development of the downstream applications of aluminium.”
Alumex will grace the exhibition area at Dubai International Convention Centre with the richness of its display.  The exhibits include the latest equipment and technologies as well as products and applications. Exhibiting companies will have the chance to open a dialogue with the most important decision-makers, a targeted public made up of professionals, technicians, dealers, CEOs, consultants, subcontractors and entrepreneurs from the entire Gulf and its bordering regions.
The increase in international participation at Alumex reflects aluminium’s potential and the importance of the Middle East as a major player. However, what makes Alumex an event not to be missed is not just the exhibition aspect and the reference market, but also the fact that visitors have the opportunity to learn much about the industry thanks to the conference entitled “Growth via aluminium - technology and innovation” which will have 40 eminent speakers taking part.
Organised by Edimet-Metef together with Interall, the conference will provide the chance to acquire and share information on key sectors, the latest technological developments, optimal applications of light metal and future orientation. Of particular interest will be the use of aluminium in building. 
The ongoing construction boom has put the spotlight on the UAE where there is unprecedented excitement thanks to a series of huge investments in capital for designing and constructing residential and commercial complexes, hotels, schools and shops. The towns and cities of the UAE are gradually assuming a new and modern look, Conserva said.
Widespread activity in the construction field has led to an increase in demand for aluminium products including profile systems for frames, curtain walls, roofing and solar protection systems. There is also demand for expertise linked to surface finishing and final machining operations. Leading international companies involved in those sectors are represented among exhibitors and speakers at the conference. Many of these companies are Italian, because Italy is a country where the use of aluminium in construction is very high. The country has a number of small and medium-sized companies that enjoy a high level of technological skills.  “For experts in the field, it is a precious occasion to be enriched with new knowledge and to make good business deals.  In fact, the conference accompanying the exhibition will be a unique chance for architects, design engineers and engineers to discover the numerous qualities of light metal in structural applications and the building industry,” the organizers said.
Walter Dalla Barba, president of Interall, stresses that the industry will be the “undisputed protagonist of the next 20 years” with Dubai as the focal point. He noted that the emirate was the crossroads between the West and the Middle East, and where civil construction projects were dominating the “panorama.”
Some of the conference topics concern the outlook for aluminium in the Gulf area in sectors such as architecture and decoration; raw materials and the introduction of innovative technologies for improvements in quality and productivity in foundries, extrusion and surface treatment.
While the Gulf is strategic for aluminium, new players are emerging in Africa, India and Eastern Europe. “It is therefore natural that the entire world is interested in forming partnerships and creating import-export opportunities with countries that are part of the Gulf,” commented Barba.