— Muhammed Kazi, Project Manager, The Big 5 Construct India 2013
For more than three decades, The Big 5 has been the main platform for suppliers of construction products and solutions looking to connect with high profile buyers from the Middle East, Southeast and Asian markets. Muhammed Kazi is optimistic of The Big 5’s maiden event in India, early next month, as evident from this interview with Sandeep Menezes.
Numerous events focused on the construction and construction equipment industry are held in India. What makes The Big 5 Construct India different?
Yes, there are several exhibitions in India, particularly in the construction sector. However, we feel there is a vacuum in product profiles. The Big 5 Construct India will be focusing on building material and construction-related products and the show will have a unique flavour of leading local and international manufacturers displaying their latest products.
We have also invested substantially in our marketing campaign this year to promote the event globally, and delivering quality visitors is where our expertise comes in.
The show has already confirmed 10 international country pavilions in its launch year including Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey, UK, Greece, Taiwan, Korea and China. In addition, there will be companies participating from India, Thailand, Japan, UAE, Oman, Vietnam, Portugal, Malaysia, Singapore, France and Australia among others.
The Big 5 network already has successful events running in the Middle East. Tell us about the main reasons for selecting India as the latest venue for hosting the event?
As one of the fastest growing economies in the world with construction projects worth in excess of $403.4 billion, DMG Events Middle East & Asia wanted to enter India with right partner and are proud to be partnering with FICCI and the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India.
In the past, we have had many requests from our regular Indian exhibitors participating at The Big 5 Dubai show to bring the brand to India. Encouraged by this and the support received from the government and other industry players, we decided that the time was right to launch The Big 5 brand in India.
Unlike many other international markets, construction in India continues to offer enormous opportunities within the building and infrastructure sectors. India continues to lure investors, developers and manufacturers of construction products with its $403.4 billion worth of projects.
After consulting with our loyal customers, many of whom exhibit at other Big 5 events, we felt there was a real opportunity for them to showcase their products in the Indian market. Equally, visitors expressed a need to see new and innovative products not yet distributed in India.
To strengthen our footprint in India we have partnered up with FICCI and the Ministry of Urban Development to organise a truly unique event for architects, consultants, engineers, contractors and builders to source a wide range of construction products
How will Indian industry benefit from The Big 5 Construct India 2013?
India is quickly adapting in bringing and accepting international construction technologies and one of the biggest benefit buyers will have at The Big 5 Construct India is to meet with international construction manufactures. A substantial amount of business is expected to be generated by the exhibitors and we will be sharing the numbers in our post-show report.
What were the main challenges in organising an event of this magnitude in India?
With the help of our partners FICCI and the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, we have been fortunate enough to implement a smooth process in launching the event in India; hence, we didn’t face any major challenges.
What has been the initial response from Indian industry towards The Big 5 Construct India 2013?
We’re quite excited and given the phenomenal support we’ve received from the industry and we’re very confident that we’ll have a successful Big 5 show. We have received excellent support from many industry bodies like ICCTAS, Indian Building Congress, Indian Paint & Coating Association, Solar Energy Society of India, India Plumbing Association, Triz Association of Asia and IAStructE among others.
We look forward to welcoming all construction professionals in India attending the show from September 2 to 4, 2013, at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
What is the number of visitors and exhibitors you are expecting?
We’ll have around 250 to 220 exhibitors comprising international and local brands and in the launch event we expect around 8,000-plus visitors.
