Malaysia Is Fifth Largest Contingent At INDEX 2003

The Middle East International Furniture, Interior Design & Shopfitting Exhibition (INDEX 2003) was held at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre (DIEC), United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 7 – 11 October 2003. Occupying 10 halls in DIEC as well as two specially built temporary pavilions, the 13th edition of INDEX that spanned 26,544 m2, was the largest ever furniture and interior decor exhibition to be held in the Middle East, INDEX 2003 featured 1,304 companies displaying their products in 1,096 stands. These companies came from 55 countries and this year's show featured 25 national and regional groups. The largest group of participants was from Italy with 177 companies followed by UAE (125), Turkey (121), France (74) and Malaysia (72).

MTC set up a booth to disseminate MTC's information materials on Malaysian forestry and timber industry as well as to display an array of timber product samples besides attending to trade enquiries. With 72 participating companies including MTC, Malaysia had the fifth largest number of participants from a single country at INDEX 2003.These include 26 companies in the Malaysian Pavilion organised by the Malaysian Furniture Industry Council (MFIC)

The total number of visitors recorded for INDEX 2003 was 32,735, an increase of 10.4 % over 2002. Product profile of INDEX 2003 included furniture for apartments, villas, palaces, hotels, offices, public spaces and outdoor areas, wall coverings, floorings, decorative lighting, art and accessories, interior design and turnkey contracting, semi-finished products and components, furnishing fabrics, retail design and display, and signage.

Meanwhile, the companies housed under the Malaysian Pavilion displayed a wide range of furniture and parts. The UAE exhibitors included those involved in turnkey interior fit-out works, manufacturers of customised furniture and agents for overseas manufacturers of furniture and interior decor projects. Customised furniture for high-end hotels, standard home and office furniture for retail and contract market which were manufactured locally (using imported raw materials) or imported were put on display by UAE exhibitors. A UAE-based building material supplier offered a wide range of timber and timber products such as plywood, veneer, MDF, doors and doorskins, wooden floorings and other materials for use in the furniture and interior decor products manufacturing. Additionally, four UAE-based flooring companies exhibited HDF laminated flooring, three-ply wooden flooring and solid wooden flooring products of their overseas suppliers from Malaysia, United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, France and Thailand.

INDEX remains the premier exhibition for furniture and interior furnishing products in the Middle East. As such, INDEX Dubai would continue to serve as a suitable platform for Malaysian companies to showcase their latest range of furniture and interior decor products to meet growing demands.