Erzgebirge specialty company wants to conquer the Arab market

On 27.01.2015 at the "Arab Health" fair in Dubai: Louis Theodor Schmidt (left), responsible for order advertising and customer support in the Arab region at Möbelbau Sayda, explains the products of the Erzgebirge company to visitors using brochures. (Photo: André Uhlig)

The trade fair visit appeared promising: Arab investors showed interest in furniture from Sayda in the Erzgebirge region at "Arab Health" in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). This conclusion was drawn by André Uhlig. He is the managing partner of the furniture specialist company for healthcare and social services.

The goal of Sayda's first trade fair visit to Dubai was to establish their own products in the Arab region. "We believe it can work. The questions here mainly revolve around clinic equipment," summarized the Erzgebirge native by phone from the Persian Gulf. Furniture for cleanrooms was also explained to visitors at the fair.

The Sayda-based manufacturing company was represented with more than 3,700 exhibitors from 70 countries at the most important trade and congress event for biosciences and hospital equipment. For the region around the Arabian Gulf, "Arab Health," according to the Saxon Ministry of Economy, is the central trade fair with a catchment area extending far beyond these countries, reaching Iran, Iraq, North Africa, and India. The Saxon Economic Development Corporation organized the "Sachsen live" joint booth for eight Saxon exhibitors on behalf of the ministry.

"It is clearly noticeable that local rulers want to shape their countries for the future and are investing money in healthcare and research," Uhlig explained. According to him, the Arab states cooperate more intensively with each other than countries in the European area. "If there is contact with a country here, it is easier to establish a foothold in other states through networking," he said, reporting on a hospital operator from Saudi Arabia who has already made concrete inquiries about hospital equipment to Sayda. "These are now being processed at home," Uhlig said, announcing a trip to Saudi Arabia in April for specific discussions. Sayda furniture makers first established contacts in the Arab region in 2014 in Qatar. Through intermediaries, they supplied the Doha airport with cleanroom furniture. "We want to build a long-term partnership in the United Arab Emirates," Uhlig stated.

Furniture construction Sayda GmbH has 70 employees. The turnover is 7 million euros per year. According to André Uhlig, 2 million euros have been invested in the company over the past five years. Its roots go back nearly 130 years: in 1885, the company Reuter was founded in Sayda to manufacture household and kitchen furniture. Since 1993, the company has been operating as Möbelbau Sayda.