Many new partners in the Middle East and Africa are now selling the Intec range of printing solutions. This is the result of an event hosted in Dubai by Altech International, the Intec master distributor in the Middle East. More than 60 dealers attended as well as Intec founder and Managing Director Ian Melville and International Sales Director Kerry Button, who visited as part of their trip to the Arabian Peninsula. Altech has now placed a significant order to cope with the subsequent surge in demand for Intec printers.

As a consequence of the successful open house Al Abbas Group - one of the biggest names in this part of the world - has become a new Intec partner. With 1,500 staff at 18 member companies and seven associate organisations, the IBM authorised distributor and service centre was established in 1967.

“It was a pleasure to meet Vice Chairman Ismail Ahmed Al Abbas at his headquarters in Dubai,” says Ian Melville. “Mr Al Abbas oversees an enormous business empire and I am delighted that his group is now associated with the Intec brand. They will initially be offering our systems in Oman and then elsewhere.”

Kerry Button adds: “Following the sales training that I delivered at Al Abbas Group and the subsequent open house, I am more than happy with the commitment shown by the company. It’s very exciting. We’re already seeing results. There’s so much positive news in GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) right now.”

Al Abbas Group also distributes furniture, carpets, digital cameras and electronics. It has 30 retail outlets. The group is also the master franchisee in the GCC countries for the popular Marrybrown fast food restaurants.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is hovering around the 5.1 per cent mark compared to UK output, which has fallen by 0.7 per cent leading Michael Saunders, Citi economist to call it a “depression”. Saudi Arabia is home to 20 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves.