CONMEX Middle East 2009
Ewen Dobbie

Dowco President Ewen Dobbie traveled to Dubai, October 12th to 15th to participate as a guest speaker at Conmex Middle East. The BIM (Building Information Modeling) conference included various presentations from high profile international speakers and industry leaders, all of whom discussed how to apply technology, business processes and strategy to achieve the optimum level of success.

It was fitting that a conference titled "Succeeding in a Rapidly Changing Market" be held in Dubai. Being the home to one of the most vibrant construction markets in the world today, Dubai, in recent years, has experienced an incredible growth rate, but with the current global economic crisis hitting close to home, the market contraction in this region has impacted both revenue and profits significantly.

During boom years, there is little incentive to innovate, streamline, and invest in technology or to collaborate, as the costs of these inefficiencies are readily absorbed by rising property values.

The conference certainly did deliver on its promise to inform and educate attendees that there are innovative technologies and business processes that can meet the challenges of today's economic environment.

The conference was attended by Owners & Developers, Architects, Contractors, Project Managers, Steel Fabricators, Precast Manufactures, Estimators, Commercial, Planning and Tendering Managers, and I was fortunate to have personally made several new business contacts in the region.

Overall, the conference was a great success as the event was visited by industry professionals from across the region.

We would like to offer a special thank you to Tom Carpenter, from FabTrol Systems (Oregon) headquarters for his excellent half-day presentation on FabTrol MRP. In support of our new Middle East Authorized FabTrol Reseller, BIM Engineering Solutions, FabTrol were proud to be the sponsor for the entire Fabricator's day at the conference.

All in all, a worthwhile trip as we were able to meet and discuss with industry professionals from across the region. A side trip to neighboring Abu Dhabi to meet turnkey contractor/fabricator Larsen & Toubro was also worthwhile. While we remain interested in working (with steel detailing and BIM Services) in this region, it is clear that local representation would be required. For now, we will continue to research and investigate long term opportunities in this part of the world.