German manufacturer ic audio had teamed up with Millbank in a joint-branding exercise aimed at promoting and increasing the companies' presence in the Middle East's commercial sound installation market.
A.C. Lighting has been doing business in the region for years, and was at PALME in a supporting role for existing clients, but also to work on developing the projects side of their business in the Middle East.
French followspot specialist Robert Juliat, making its first appearance at the show, was sharing space with Australian staging automation company, State Automation. The issue of the need for technical training in the region was raised on this stand, and a number of others.
The team from Spanish manufacturer Vieta Pro were enjoying a good show. Launched into the pro audio market as recently as spring 2004, and seems to have found a niche in architectural and industrial install markets with its moulded cabinets. Brand new product lines are promised for the PLASA Show.
Sennheiser UK, making a substantial commitment to the market, had a large presence at PALME, supported by its recently-appointed UAE distributor, Venuetech. The full range of products from Sennheiser, Neumann, Rane, Klein & Hummel, Lab.Gruppen, NetCIRA and Rycote was on show.
Studio Due, represented in the Middle East by Wide Angle, reports that it is planning to transfer elements of its manufacturing to a factory in China, while maintaining all component manufacture and final assembly in Italy.
Judging from exhibitors' comments, this was generally a successful show. The introduction of new areas of the exhibition (Event 360, aimed at the event management market, and Install, aimed at installers, specifiers and architects) brings a promise of broader opportunities for exhibitors. However, there was a definite dissatisfaction at the apparent failure of the organizers to police the sound levels in the hall, which were at times highly intrusive, seriously affecting the ability to do business, and irritating more than one seasoned exhibitor. That aside, the event shows continued promise; however, the recent sale of show organizer IIR to T&F Informa for something in the region of £790m has left question marks over the future of this and other events, including CALM in Beijing and PALA Singapore. We will wait to see what the new owner has in store for PALME; in the meantime, the dates for next year's event are given as 23-25 April 2006.
