WIRE AND TUBE SOUTHEAST ASIA 2007 ALMOST FULLY BOOKED

Six months before wire Southeast ASIA and Tube Southeast ASIA 2007 will debut in Bangkok, 90% of the available exhibit space has been booked. Particularly positive is the fact that many companies which did not participate at the shows’ last staging in 2005 in Singapore will return this year, reflecting their interest in the Thai market. wire and Tube Southeast Asia will be held concurrently from October 16 – 18, 2007.

Commenting about the relocation of wire Southeast Asia to Thailand, Dr. Horst Birkmann, President of the International Wire and Cable Exhibitors Association (IWCEA), remarked: “Southeast Asia is still an emerging market and its growth is fueled by Asia’s incumbent super powers of India and China. The Southeast Asian economies are free from restrictions and we believe that Bangkok is a good place to gain strong access into the region. As it is, both Thailand and Vietnam have tremendous market potentials and will no doubt have great impact in Southeast Asia."

Phillip Knight, Executive Secretary of the International Tube Association (ITA), explained: “The ITA is delighted to support the move of the former Tube Singapore exhibition to Bangkok under its new title Tube Southeast ASIA. As Thailand and its neighbors develop their economies and instigate major infrastructure projects the relevance of being at the centre of this activity is unquestioned. Thailand, for example, is targeting a top ten global position in car manufacture, a market that is extremely important for both the tube and wire industries.”

International Wire & Machinery Association (IWMA) Chairman Peter Large stated that the last exhibition in Singapore “was a complete success with a good attendance of quality visitors. However, it was time for a change and the International Wire & Machinery Association was a leading advocate of a move to Bangkok, at the heart of one of the most dynamic economies in the region. The new location is truly the gateway to other important developing markets like Vietnam as well as Malaysia and Indonesia and the IWMA will have an excellent opportunity to widen its membership appeal.”

Exhibitors are also pleased about the move of the two shows to Thailand. Brad Scherer, Vice President, International Operations, at Fort Wayne Wire Die, Inc., commented: “The GDP growth rate of the southeast Asian region is among the highest in the world and Thailand has historically been at the forefront of this growth, partly because of their regional leadership role in the automotive industry. Additionally, Bangkok is geographically located in the center of the region and has been rapidly improving its infrastructure to handle such [major] events. Finally, the wire industry is quite well established in Thailand, with many foreign owned companies having established manufacturing plants there to serve the local market, complementing the many Thai-owned wire production enterprises that are also present.”

Added John Lindh, Sales Manager, Wire & Strip equipment, at CANDOR Sweden AB: “The wire Southeast ASIA show will be a very good venue for us to develop our customer relations and our position as a high-end supplier of equipment and chemicals in the Asian market. The location suits our customer base in South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Iran. In addition, the wire market of Thailand is for sure a growing one and we are also very interested to be a part of this increased demand for new technology.”

Bob Doran, Vice President Sales of Thermatool Corporation, remarked: “One major advantage which Thermatool sees in the move to Bangkok is that Thailand has a large established tube and pipe production industry which is expanding. The exposure to Thailand’s tube and pipe market which the Bangkok location offers coupled with the usual excellent attendance from the other Southeast Asian countries will make this a truly valuable show which cannot be missed.”

“Our confidence in wire Southeast ASIA 2007 is underlined by our decision to run a supporting seminar, Non-Ferrous Bangkok, co-organized with the ITA at the BITEC exhibition site on October 17, 2007,” noted IWMA’s Peter Large. The format will be a wire session in the morning and a tube session in the afternoon. Since Non-Ferrous Bangkok will take place in the exhibition hall, it will enable delegates and speakers to attend both the exhibition and the seminar. For more information on either attending or speaking at the seminar please contact the IWMA (info@iwma.org) or ITA (info@itatube.org).

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at wire Southeast ASIA and Tube Southeast ASIA 2007, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com. Or visit the web site http://www.mdna.com.

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