1,600 Construction Projects Worth US$ 560 Billion Active in UAE as Showcase Event Gets Under Way

Big 5 PMV opens in Dubai as research highlights scale of industry’s resilience

The Big 5 PMV, the Middle East’s leading exhibition dedicated to plant, construction vehicles, machinery and equipment, was opened in Dubai by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as new research provided a positive outlook for the industry.
An impressive international assembly of contractors, developers and suppliers have gathered at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre for the four-day event, encouraged by reports of the construction industry’s resilience.
The exhibition provides a platform for firms to increase their presence in the region and unveil new products for 2011. According to recent research an estimated 1,600 projects worth over US$560 billion are active in the UAE alone.
A major Abu Dhabi group of companies is using the Big 5 PMV to launch ground-breaking technology to protect engine components into Gulf markets. The Foresight Group GCC aims to take the region by storm with the introduction of a unique oil additive product, marketed under the Synionic brand name, which dramatically prolongs engine lives leading to major savings on spare parts.
Back at the Big 5 PMV for the second year, JCB’s Dancing Diggers is a mechanical dancing troupe famous for dare devil stunts, magic and formation dancing, intermingled with lots of comedy during a musical performance.
Comprising four 8.5 tonne JCB diggers, this powerful assembly of construction heavyweights have curtsied for the Queen of England, pirouetted for TV and thrilled thousands all over the world.
JCB, the third largest heavy equipment manufacturer in the world, will also be using the Big 5 PMV exhibition to showcase two of its new generation of products: a new walk behind roller, the VMD70 and a new eco backhoe loader, the latest version of the original backhoe loader which first rolled off the production line in 1953.
Other companies showcasing new products at the Big 5 PMV include Fibo intercon, a leading Danish supplier to the global concrete industry which manufactures and delivers mobile, semi-mobile and stationary concrete batching plants.
BEST Tyre Protection Sealant, a Greek company which manufactures and exports chemical additives for use in heavy duty vehicles, and exports them to North America, Europe, North Africa and the Far East will also launch three innovative products.
The exhibition will also cater for construction firms still trying to shrug off the effects of the economic crisis during a two-day Plant and Vehicle Management Best Practice Workshop which will run on November 23-24 at the Big 5 PMV.
Australian fleet management specialist and author of the acknowledged “Best Practice Plant & Vehicle Management Manual”, Grant Andrews will team up with the book’s editor, Ross Moody, to advise fleet managers how to save millions of dirhams through more effective management of their plant and vehicle fleets.

Now in its fourth year, the Big 5 PMV takes place inside The Arena, Sheikh Saeed Halls at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Part of the Big 5, the Middle East’s largest and most influential construction industry event, the specialised exhibition for plant, machinery and construction vehicles allows key buyers from across the region and oversees to meet face-to-face with leading manufacturers and suppliers.
In celebration of signs of the industry’s recovery, select restaurants at Jumeirah Emirates Towers are offering a 15 per cent discount on food to Big 5 PMV exhibitor and visitor badge holders this week. And for the first time, visitors can travel to and from the exhibition venue via the Dubai Metro, since Dubai World Trade Centre metro station is conveniently located adjacent to the venue.