ORLANDO, Fla. (August 18, 2016) – Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) will host the Florida Showcase at Arab Health 2017. The exhibit will feature small and mid-sized Florida life sciences companies marketing their medical and healthcare products to an international audience. The show will be held in Dubai from January 30-February 2, 2017.

Manny Mencia, senior vice president of international trade & development for EFI said, “We’re looking forward to another great event at Arab Health next year. The Middle Eastern market is becoming increasingly stronger and more important to the global life sciences industry every year. Companies that attended the 2016 show earlier this year reported more than $87 million in total projected and actual sales, and we’re working to get those same results next year.”

Arab Health attracts decision-makers from the region’s healthcare sector and is the largest healthcare event in the Middle East. Over 5,000 exhibitors utilize this show as a launch platform for new products and services as well as showcasing new developments.

The 2016 show, held in January, attracted 115,000 visitors from over 64 countries around the world including medical staff, hospital management and dealer distributors. The Middle East healthcare industry is estimated to be over $44 billion per year, with an annual growth rate of 11 percent.

Who Should Exhibit at Arab Health?

• Electromedical Equipment
• Pharmaceuticals
• Rescue & Emergency Equipment
• Information Systems
• Disposables Diagnostics
• Medical Devices
• OR Equipment & Furniture
• Physiotherapy, Orthopedics
• Hospital Supplies & Textiles
• Rehabilitation Technology
• Emergency Medicine

The 2016 exhibit represented the largest group of small and mid-sized Florida businesses to attend an international trade show with EFI in the last year. The Florida Showcase, the largest state presence in the U.S. Pavilion, allowed life science companies to cost-effectively exhibit their products.

“Arab Health 2016, with tremendous help from Enterprise Florida, was a huge success for Infinium Medical,” said Oz Ozkaya, director of Infinium Medical in Largo. “With their onsite help, expertise and overall show management, we have received very good quality leads and potential sales. Due to increased demand, we are going to increase our sales staff and in the coming months. Receiving the trade grant is also a significant help for our company to continue attending these shows.”

“Our objective was to make our company known to a broad customer base. Although we have an office in Riyadh and have made sales in the region over the past ten years, we felt the exposure at Arab health would give us the opportunity to reach potential customers who may not have heard of our company,” said Keith Landry, CEO of Germfree Labs , Inc. in Ormond Beach.” The opportunity to meet face to face and answer questions directly is invaluable in building relationships and confidence in our capabilities. This trade show has been very effective in doing that. Enterprise Florida has been a helpful partner.”

Florida has the highest trade surplus among all states, with total trade exports plus imports reaching $147.4 billion. The Business Roundtable estimates that international trade – including exports of goods and services plus imports – supports 2.5 million Florida jobs. More than 61,000 Florida companies export, accounting for 20 percent of all U.S. exporters in 2014.

For more information on attending Arab Health 2017, please contact Michael Schiffhauer at 407-956-5634 or mschiffhauer@enterpriseflorida.com

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Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for Florida. EFI facilitates job growth through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses. EFI launched “Florida – The Future is Here” to promote the state as the nation’s premier business destination.