Business & Money | Wednesday 18 January, 2017 5:01 am |

The first edition of the only dedicated Facilities Management, Cleaning, and Hygiene event in Saudi Arabia ended Tuesday after three successful show days. Co-located with HVACR Expo Saudi and running on Jan. 15-17 at the Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events, FM Expo Saudi and Saudi Clean Expo 2017 welcomed thousands of visitors and the region›s Facilities Management industry to discuss challenges and source solutions.

Saudi Arabia’s facilities management market, the largest in the GCC, has plenty of room to grow in both value and sophistication. Fuelled by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Plan, which includes improving facilities management across its healthcare infrastructure, the value of the FM industry in the Kingdom is rising from an estimated $20.3 billion in 2014 to a forecast $29 billion by 2017. Moreover, with the rapid increase in population and mega developments, demand for cleaning solutions that use less water, less energy and generate less waste is also gaining momentum.

It is in this framework that FM Expo Saudi and Saudi Clean Expo 2017 provided an effective platform for industry professionals to source new products, discover innovative solutions, network and learn. “As the industry leaders, FM Expo Saudi 2017 and Saudi Clean Expo offered a unique opportunity for our speakers, exhibitors and visitors to learn from experts, delve into key industry influencing trends and discover new and innovative technologies,” Alexis Wheatley, Event Director for dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa, said.

At the Facilities Management Leaders’ Summit hosted by the exhibition, industry leaders met to discuss the future of facilities management in Saudi Arabia, and solutions to improve efficiency as well as operational performance through a value-based approach.

According to Alistair Stranack, a partner at Credo Business Consulting and speaker at the Summit, without a significant change in approach and quality of FM provision, it is very hard to maintain the kind of new building stock being built in Saudi Arabia. “Technology can improve how buildings are maintained, but the challenge is that the prevalent contract structures in Saudi are very much input based and focused on cost per person. The overall economics of the whole building cycle can be handled much more cost effectively if you have a proper maintenance program,” Stranack said.

On the second and third days of the event, the Middle East Facility Management Association (MEFMA) hosted a series of certified CPD workshops addressing some of the most critical challenges in the Saudi Arabian market. “Continuing professional development is a vital tool for industry professionals who want to stay on top of the fast moving developments in their sector,” said Wheatley. “That’s why we believe the free-to-attend certified CPD workshops that we’ve worked with MEFMA to create are so important to the success of our event.”

“We are very optimistic about the facilities management market in Saudi Arabia,” said Saleh Al Rajhi, General Manager, Advanced Facilities Management, the headline sponsor of FM Expo Saudi 2017. “As the country enters a new era with the implementation of the National Transformation Plan, demand for facilities management is expected to grow in parallel to the projects being announced. We have seen a keen interest from the healthcare, industrial and real estate sectors.

Event organizers announced that the next edition of FM Expo Saudi and Saudi Clean Expo will take place on Jan. 15-17, 2018 at the Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events.