New Beginnings on the Gulf: Wired for the Future in the Middle East

The visionary megaprojects emerging in Saudi Arabia are redefining the future – from NEOM with its car-free megacity “The Line” to luxurious eco-resorts in the Red Sea to smart cities focused on AI, green energy and sustainability. High-tech centers, hydrogen hubs and climate-friendly tourism oases are flourishing in a region once known for oil. The changes are profound: The desert is being transformed into a hotbed of innovation. At the heart of it all is the wire and cable industry – a sector considered the infrastructure backbone and continuously setting new standards for technological progress and sustainability.

“In the Arabian Gulf, highly specialized energy cable systems designed for extreme climatic conditions are currently in particularly high demand,” says Patrick Quitt, Sales Manager at Rosendahl Nextrom. Durable, low-maintenance cables with high energy efficiency are coveted, especially in the fields of renewable energy and grid expansion.

Since the region is also investing heavily in its digital infrastructure, particularly in the context of AI, cloud computing and smart cities, there’s also a growing need for cables for high-performance computers that must meet stringent performance and bandwidth requirements, Quitt says. “What’s more,” he adds, “gigantic construction projects such as NEOM are also boosting demand for low-voltage cables used in domestic installations.”

Long-Standing Market Presence on the Gulf

Rosendahl Nextrom has enjoyed many years of successful operations in the Middle East, where it has built up a broad customer base. The Austrian mechanical engineering company is one of the global market leaders in manufacturing and production solutions for cables, wires, fiber optic and shock tubes. “Our systems are custom-built to meet the specific requirements of our customers – tailor-made in Europe,” says Quitt. The company has long used the world’s leading trade show wire in Düsseldorf and its international spin-offs around the globe to promote its product portfolio internationally. It also exhibited at the first show ever organized by Messe Düsseldorf in Saudi Arabia, the metalflow ALLIANCE Saudi Arabia in May 2025. The premiere attracted 80 companies from seven of Düsseldorf’s leading global trade shows – wire, Tube, VALVE WORLD EXPO, GIFA, METEC, THERMPROCESS and NEWCAST – to Riyadh. Messe Düsseldorf thus contributed almost a third of the 220 exhibitors at the concurrently held Metal & Steel Saudi Arabia.

“The metalflow ALLIANCE event provides us with a great opportunity to stay in touch with our Arab customers and initiate new partnerships,” says Quitt. In-depth discussions with players from the private sector, science, public administration and politics are of paramount importance for Rosendahl Nextrom because one of the biggest challenges faced by the wire and cable industry is the great disparity of regional requirements, standards and regulations.

Messe Düsseldorf’s Growth Strategy

Like Rosendahl Nextrom, many international companies from all sectors of the economy are stepping up their activities in the Gulf region because of the attractive growth opportunities they find there. According to an analysis by the market research company MBB, annual growth rates in sectors ranging from plastics to retail and packaging are expected to be between 4% and 6% through the end of the decade. This trajectory is made possible by state-sponsored economic diversification on the Arabian Peninsula. As Wolfram N. Diener, President & CEO of Messe Düsseldorf, explains, “Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are diversifying their economies, creating numerous touchpoints for our broad trade show portfolio and new potential for our customers.”

That’s why Messe Düsseldorf is pushing ahead with its new business offensive in the Gulf region. With an annual exhibition space growth rate of 5.5% through 2030, it’s the world’s fastest-growing trade show market, according to the market research company jwc. The Messe Düsseldorf Gulf Office, which opened in Dubai at the beginning of the year, will for the first time host EuroShop Middle East in Dubai in October 2026. In addition, Wolfram N. Diener signed a cooperation agreement with Prince Saud Turki Al Faisal Bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Riyadh Exhibitions Company, in May of this year: The established trade shows Saudi Plastics & Petrochem and Saudi Print & Pack will in the future be expanded through the participation of Düsseldorf’s globally leading trade fairs K, interpack and drupa. Messe Düsseldorf is now represented in the Middle East with eleven of its 20 world-leading Düsseldorf-based trade shows. “We’ve brought more than half of our portfolio to the Gulf region – and more shows will follow,” Diener says approvingly.

Benefits for the Economy

Daniel Ryfisch, Director of wire and Tube, uses the example of metalflow ALLIANCE Saudi Arabia to explain how customers will benefit from these developments: “With the wire trade shows, we bring global technology leaders to the place where the markets of the future are emerging. Major infrastructure projects in the Gulf region unlock enormous opportunities for the wire and cable industry. Exhibitors such as Rosendahl are innovation drivers; they supply the technology that shapes the local transformation. The regional metalflow ALLIANCE trade shows are a logical next step for us, aimed at strengthening our network and facilitating direct business contacts."

Among the groundbreaking technological developments in the cable industry right now are the use of sustainable materials like green metals and recyclable plastics and the deployment of artificial intelligence. Both trends are reflected in Rosendahl Nextrom’s offerings: “We use AI primarily to make our customers’ equipment more resource‑conserving, energy‑saving and efficient. With production solutions based on recyclable plastics, we support the transformation of our industry towards sustainability,” says Patrick Quitt. Such innovations are also helping the company to score points in the Middle East: “We want to expand our position as the preferred technology partner for our existing customers in the Gulf region while gaining new customers at the same time. Trade show exhibits, like the recent one at metalflow ALLIANCE, help us to achieve this goal.”