Cemtech Conferences and Exhibitions successfully concluded its seventh annual Middle East & Africa event over 12-15 February 2012. Returning to the luxury of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai, UAE, the meeting attracted 250 delegates from over 30 countries, all keen to discuss topics under the theme of “Growth Markets, Technology Advances and Operational Efficiency.”
While the North African cement sector has been hard hit by political turmoil over the past year, several oil rich countries in Africa and Middle East continue to show positive signs – all of which offered interesting points of discussion during conference proceedings. HSBC provided an in-depth presentation on the critical economic developments influencing the region while Global Investment House and Standard Bank reviewed development trends for the GCC and East African cement markets, respectively.
Other markets under discussion included Egypt where the domestic cement sector eagerly awaits a rebound, and west Iraq, which is seeing significant cement industry regeneration as the country aims to accelerate the pace of reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Regional producers including Dangote Cement (Nigeria), Messebo Cement (Ethiopia) and Yanbu Cement (Saudi Arabia) provided updates on expansion projects, which offered interesting insights into notable capacity increases.
From a technical perspective, experts from renowned companies including ABB (Switzerland), Holtec Consulting (India) and Gebr Pfeiffer (Germany), to name a few, covered the latest advances in cement technology and offered practical guidance to compete in today’s modern cement industry.
The technical programme was further enhanced by a workshop led by Michael Clark of e-Learning, focused on the cement kiln mass balance, clinker quality and emissions. Meanwhile, a cement plant tour was also arranged to the recently-expanded Fujairah Cement Works where the highlight proved to be the company’s new 7500tpd line, supplied by Polysius.
In addition, a busy international exhibition area provided delegates with an excellent opportunity to connect with 30 of the cement industry’s leading equipment suppliers, providing an informal platform to discuss efficiency improvements and the adoption of best-available technology.
Evening receptions, a partners’ programme including sightseeing tours of Dubai’s traditional and modern attractions, as well as a spectacular Gala Dinner filled with entertainment all combined to make this Cemtech meeting a thoroughly memorable event.
Sincere appreciation is due to all speakers and participating companies at this international event. Planning is now underway for next year’s Cemtech Middle East and Africa event. In the meantime, we now look forward to hosting Cemtech Asia 2012 and hope to see you there.
Companies that exhibited at this event:
