Greece with 60 companies at the International Exhibition “The Big 5” in UAE

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Greece’s participation with 60 companies in the International Building Materials and Construction Exhibition “The Big 5”, organised by Enterprise Greece (Hellenic Investment and Foreign Trade Company), took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from December 5 to 8 and exceeded all expectations.

This year’s participation exceeded that of the 2019 event, where our country was ranked 2nd in Europe and 5th worldwide. Greek companies had the opportunity to showcase their products and promote the dynamics of the sector to many visitors and business people.

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“The Big 5” International Exhibition showcases the widest variety of products and services of the construction sector, such as building materials, marble, ceramics, air conditioning systems, solar systems, metallurgy and glass products, bathrooms, wood products, electrical equipment, airport equipment, cables, electrical machinery, water & environmental technology, etc. etc. to trade visitors, not only from the UAE and Middle East region but also from the neighbouring countries of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, India and Sub-Saharan and North Africa. It is worth noting that the sector’s exports to the Middle East in 2021, despite the economic impact of the pandemic, amounted to 18% of the total volume of Greek exports to the country, a figure expected to be higher in 2022.

Greek Marble stand opening

During the exhibition, a specially-designed area for the promotion of Greek Marble was operated for the first time. Enterprise Greece, cooperating with the Association of Marble Enterprises of Macedonia – Thrace Greece, curated and presented the first brand name for greek marble, “GREEK MARBLE”, aiming at a coordinated promotion of this excellent product abroad.

Two events were organised at the Greek Marble stand during the exhibition:

A) Inauguration Event, during which the Executive Director and Board Member of Enterprise Greece, Mrs Betty Alexandropoulou, along with the Ambassador of Greece to the UAE, Mr Antonis Alexandridis, welcomed the 60 Greek companies of the national participation.

B) Presentation event of the new sectoral branding of Greek Marble and its unique characteristics, organised on 06/12 by Enterprise Greece in cooperation with the Greek Embassy in the UAE and the Association of Marble Enterprises of Macedonia-Thrace, Greece.

The event was addressed by Betty Alexandropoulou, Executive Director and Board Member of Enterprise Greece and by the President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Marble Enterprises of Macedonia-Thrace, Greece, Mrs Tzouli Haida. The presentation was curated by Mrs Irini Papagiannouli, a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Marble Enterprises of Macedonia-Thrace, Greece.

Greece had, for the third consecutive year, the largest national presence in the Startup City area of “The Big 5”, with the participation of 10 Greek start-ups, which presented their innovative technologies in the building materials and construction industry and won the impressions.

The country was also present at the exhibition conference “EVERYTHING ARCHITECTURE”, which was organised by DMG for the first year. The participating companies had the opportunity to conduct business meetings with high-level architects and design offices invited by the organisers. Concurrently with “THE BIG 5” and in the same exhibition space, The Big 5 Heavy, Middle East Concrete, HVAC R Expo Dubai, The Big 5 Solar, Urban Design & Landscape Expo, Middle East Stone, Everything Architecture as well as the participation of Start-up companies in Startup City were held. The exhibition was also held digitally for participating companies who chose to do so.

In a statement, Enterprise Greece CEO, Mr Marinos Giannopoulos, said: “In recent years, Greece has made impressive progress in strengthening its business activities abroad, boosting exports of construction and industrial materials and products to foreign markets. Our participation in the industry’s most important exhibition in the Middle East, THE BIG 5, and the presence of so many Greek companies fill us with optimism for the future and prospects of the sector. Our companies had the opportunity to showcase their innovative products and meet with many visitors and business people. Especially for marble, I would like to point out that Greece promotes 76% of its domestic production to 120 countries (Eurostat and Stonenews.eu, 2022). The curation and promotion of a new identity for the sector, therefore, are exceedingly important, as it is expected to further contribute to the consolidation of this excellent Greek product in foreign markets.”

Executive Director and Board Member of Enterprise Greece, Mrs Betty Alexandropoulou, stated: “The national participation in this year’s BIG 5 Dubai exceeded all expectations in size and quality of participation. The Greek companies in the building materials sector impressed the trade visitors with the abundance of quality and innovative products they presented. Also, in collaboration with the Association of Marble Companies of Macedonia-Thrace, we had the great pleasure of presenting the new branding of the marble sector, a sector that, apart from its great contribution to exports, has been interwoven with Greek culture for 5,000 years. Finally, it is worth mentioning the significant participation of Greek start-up companies in the special area of the exhibition, where innovative technologies and products were presented, reinforcing the country’s profile as an emerging force of innovation and extroversion.”

In his remarks, Ambassador Antonis Alexandridis stressed the following: “I had the honour and pleasure to visit the BIG 5 building materials exhibition and to talk to the 60 Greek exhibitors, a record number of participants for Greece in this exhibition. The high participation, the 4th largest among all countries, confirms the dynamism and outward-looking nature of the Greek economy and the opportunities that the UAE and the wider region present for Greek entrepreneurship. Our Embassy, cooperating with Enterprise Greece, which successfully organised the national participation, will remain a supporter and supporter of the efforts of extroverted greek businesses.”

For her part, the President of the Board of Directors of the SEMMTH, Mrs: “With the completion of the presentation of the national pavilion within the framework of BIG 5 DUBAI, the famous Greek marble and the new branding GREEK MARBLE.THEN.NOW.FOREVER. The excellent cooperation between the Association of Marble Enterprises of Macedonia-Thrace, Greece and Enterprise Greece, which began with this event, provides a dynamic plan of action to achieve the national strategy for establishing a unique identity to support the promotion of our sector’s exports”.