A touch of normality – NOELKEN GROUP successfully showcases at the Arab Health trade fair

"We were honestly surprised when we learned that Arab Health 2021 would actually take place as a face-to-face trade fair," recalls Thomas Schnitter, Head of Sales & Marketing at Nölken Hygiene Products GmbH. "But naturally, we seized the opportunity and, looking back, we can say that our participation in the trade fair was a complete success."

Alongside MEDICA, which is scheduled for November 15^th to 18^th in Düsseldorf this year, Arab Health is the second largest international trade fair for medical technology and hospital equipment. It is considered the most important trade event in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, focusing on medical technology, electromedicine, physiotherapy-orthopaedic technology, and supplies and consumables.

Despite the special circumstances, around 78,000 visitors from 66 countries attended the 46^th edition of the annual trade fair in 2021, another year of Corona. On 64,000 sqm, visitors, mainly from the region, were able to find out more about new and tried-and-tested medical products, take part in accompanying trade conferences, refresh familiar contacts, and make new ones.

Among the 4,500 exhibitors from 150 countries was also the German NOELKEN GROUP, which had agreed to attend the fair together with two associated companies for the first time. After many years of cooperation, the two companies have been uniting their expertise since April 2020. Since 1982, Nölken, as a manufacturer of wet wipes, nursing pads, and cosmetic care products, has stood for the highest standards in the field of hygiene products. With the brand RHEOSOL and other products and services in the field of hygiene, NW-Chemie GmbH from Troisdorf complements the range of the NOELKEN GROUP.

Jointly, Nölken and NW-Chemie presented disinfectants and cleaning agents for the medical sector, skin disinfection and skin care products for professional applications as well as classic baby care products in Dubai.

Visitors to the joint stand under the roof of the German Pavilion, which is held in high esteem internationally, were impressed by the extensive range of products from the cosmetics, hygiene, medical and disinfection sectors. In particular, the disinfection products presented attracted strong interest from the international public. For the Arab region, which was particularly well represented, alcohol-free disinfectant wipes were the designated highlight of the fair and a product perfectly geared to the target group.

In addition to existing customers, who were able to use discussions on site for the first time to plan future distribution, the responsible persons of both affiliated companies, NW-Chemie Managing Director Jan Wachendorff, Sales Manager Dirk Rehage (NW-Chemie), and Head of Sales & Marketing Thomas Schnitter (Nölken), were able to lay the foundation for future business relations in productive discussions. Medical dealers from Portugal and two distributors from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain showed particular interest.

"We are confident that the new international contacts made in Dubai will lead to sustainable cooperation in the medium term," explains Jan Wachendorff, Managing Director of NW-Chemie. "Beyond that, however, the trade fair was not least another important building block for our productive cooperation within the NOELKEN GROUP."

The 47th Arab Health trade fair will already take place again from January 24^th to 27^th, 2022, after the MEDICA in Düsseldorf, which has been announced for November and which the NOELKEN GROUP firmly plans to attend.