Business & Money | Wednesday 20 May, 2015 8:45 am |

Exhibitors are showcasing the latest and greatest products in the stone industry, with the largest selection of marble, stone and ceramic products ever assembled in the region on display at the Middle East Stone Show, which is running until May 21 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

With more than 10,000 projects under construction or in the design and planning stage in the GCC, the market is worth USD 5.4 billion this year, according to Ventures Middle East. Middle East Stone is featuring more than 5,500 products from over 230 exhibitors representing 22 countries.

Gemstone Tile LC, the Gold Sponsor at Middle East Stone, is launching for the first time in the region its range of hand-crafted tiles manufactured from gem-quality turquoise. Mined from the celebrated Kingman Turquoise mine in Arizona, US, the unique products have been well received by visitors to the show.

“Knowing how important turquoise is in this part of the world, it is a natural choice to launch this product here at Middle East Stone,” said Danny Van Cleave, owner and partner Gemstone Tile. “We are bringing to the region a product that nobody else in the world does, with all the turquoise we use in our tiling being of jewellery grade. The visitors we have had at Middle East Stone have been extremely knowledgeable about the product and very enthusiastic – we have had a really good start at the show.”

Aseel Marble, the leading Turkish marble supplier in the Middle East, is showcasing two new materials at Middle East Stone, Macchiato and Perlato. Visitors to the booth have the opportunity to have their picture taken in traditional Turkish attire, with the company also hiring Abdul Jabbar, who at 225cm is the tallest man in the UAE, to ensure it stands out!

“We wanted to highlight that we have the finest and biggest resources of Turkish marble, and we want people to have fun when they visit our stand,” said Serhan Erol, Business Development Manager, Aseel. “Our aim is always to exceed the levels of customer satisfaction so we want to deliver the best possible experience in everything we do. An event like Middle East Stone allows us to showcase our products to high-quality visitors and reach a targeted audience.”

Starting today, the Designers’ Forum, a dedicated event tailored to meet the needs of the design community using natural stone and ceramics in both interior and exterior design, will provide a dynamic platform for discussion and sharing best practice for interior designers, architects, consultants, contractors, and manufacturers.


The Designers’ Forum will also provide practical guidance on stone selection, preventing and treating stone defects, design and installation of high performance, natural stone facades, natural stone sustainability and more. The forum will focus today on interior design concepts, with tomorrow being devoted to developments in exterior design.

Middle East Stone also features technical and design showcases, practical workshops, panel discussions and more across the four days of the event, with more than 40 CPD certified seminars about the latest global stone design, technologies, methodologies of testing and maintenance, and local, regional and international expert speakers.

Middle East Stone is free to attend and is running alongside other dmg events such as INDEX, workspace at INDEX and Middle East Covering.