Two of the UAE's leading trading houses clinched major international exclusive agency agreements at the recent Hardware & Tools trade show. Nearly 200 exhibitors displayed their wares at the show which was staged at the Dubai World Trade Centre last month.
The first was between French generator giant SDMO and Mona Trading, which is now the exclusive agent for the UAE, Oman and Qatar. This was quickly followed by the appointment of Al Fajer as the agent for German garden hand tools manufacturer Master Gartenhandgerate.
Mona Trading also used the show to place its first test order for two 20-ft containers of portable generators.
"This is worth $100,000 and is a Middle East breakthrough for us in the portable generator sector," said Patrick Le Guen, sales and marketing manager, SDMO.
Mona Trading says it hopes to tap into the re-export market for Iran, Russia and Africa through distributor affiliates.
"There is a very healthy market for portable generators in this region, which is growing with the development of the leisure sector," said Rami Dirbashi, mechanical engineer, Mona Trading.
Master Gartenhandgerate says it was taken completely by surprise at the interest from the Middle East in garden tools.
"We came really expecting very little because we wrongly thought of this area as mainly desert," said Hans Wollenberg, international sales manager, Master Gartenhandgerate. "Whereas in fact the development of landscaping and gardens is extensive and the market has good potential. We have also made excellent contacts with traders from Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia."
Meanwhile, the UAE's landscape specialist Oleander, revealed at the Housewares and Hometech exhibition - the sister show of Hardware & Tools - that it is investigating the possibility of establishing a garden furniture factory in Jebel Ali Free Zone. The firm was at the show to source regional distributors and to test response to the proposed factory, which would require a Dh1 million ($272,500) investment.
Indian precision welding equipment manufacturer Memco revealed it is eyeing a Gulf distribution operation in the UAE with the Jebel Ali and Ajman free zones shortlisted as bases.
Silk Road General Trading, the authorised UAE distributor for Mumbai-based Memco, which currently has a 45 per cent market share in India, revealed feasibility studies on the distribution project are currently under way.
Speaking at the show, Shishir Shukla, marketing manager of Silk Road General Trading, said investment projections were currently under consideration and a decision would be made in the next few months.
"Outside of India, the Gulf is Memco's main export market," he said. "A full business plan is being considered now with levels of investment required being thoroughly investigated.
The Hardware & Tools 2001 had the official support of key sector lobbyists, the UAE Contractors Association and the UAE Society of Engineers.
It featured pavilions from Germany, the US, UK, China and France and, for the first time, will have exhibitors from Argentina, China, Cyprus, Korea, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey and Jordan.
