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STEELFAB 2026
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STEELFAB 2026
Middle East Favors Local Purchase as Chinese Suppliers Gear Up for Entry
SteelFab was held from January 12 to 15 at Expo Centre Sharjah, once again establishing itself as the leading event for the Middle East's steel materials and metalworking industries. The event focused on power tools, machine tools, welding and cutting, and pipe processing, while hosting welding competitions and B2B meetings that successfully forged business agreements, partnerships, and bolstered the UAE's industrial digital transformation and economic growth.
Exhibitors included steel mills, metal sheet processing equipment manufacturers, automotive parts factories, precision machined parts makers, robotic arm producers, and power tool companies. Given the show’s emphasis on steel and large-scale industrial components, fastener exhibitors were scarce, but Fastener World was able to engage with a handful of Chinese fastener exhibitors, as well as an exhibitor specializing in chemical coatings for fasteners.
Chinese fastener exhibitors revealed receiving numerous visitor inquiries on the first day. Amid global political tensions, Chinese manufacturers are accelerating multi-regional global market expansion, shifting toward high-end, high-quality, high-precision, and customized designs. Some premium Chinese fastener products now rival the quality of those from Europe, America, Japan, and Taiwan. Fastener World observes that if Chinese firms successfully establish a foothold in the Middle East, their price competitiveness and improving quality could position them as formidable rivals to European, American, Japanese, and Taiwanese players. On the other hand, the chemical coatings exhibitor serves as the Middle East agent for a European company, supplying high-quality coatings for local fastener surface treatments.
Compared to the previous edition, this year's visitors were predominantly end-users and manufacturers, far outnumbering traders. They told Fastener World they prefer purchasing fasteners locally in the Middle East, requiring foreign suppliers to establish factories or sales offices. These visitors hailed from electronics, automotive, construction, IT, quality inspection, laboratory equipment, power towers, elevators, and pump manufacturing sectors. They also included a Japanese company specializing in fastener gauges, several local engineering design companies, large-project firms, and representatives from a Middle East machinery equipment association interested in machines screws. While most sought standard fasteners, a small number expressed demand for large volumes of special fasteners. Fastener World successfully matched these visitors with high-quality fastener suppliers from Taiwan, China, and Japan.
SteelFab continues to serve as a key engine driving innovation in Middle East metalworking, delivering the latest products and expertise to the manufacturing sector. The event not only expands distribution networks but also strengthens the Middle East's position as a metal industry hub.
Fastener World at 4-5150