International Business Wales will showcase two innovative products from two Welsh firms at this year’s International Defence Exhibition and Conference (Idex) in Abu Dhabi.

The ninth edition of Idex will run from February 22 to 26 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

Concrete Canvas will be introducing a ground breaking material technology called Concrete Cloth that allows creation of thin walled concrete structures, which are both robust and lightweight, by using inflation to create a surface that is optimised for compressive loading.

Concrete Cloth was originally developed for the award winning Concrete Canvas Shelters (CCS), a rapidly deployable hardened shelter packaged in a bag that requires only water and air for construction. The 16 sq mt CCS variant can be deployed by 2 people without any training in under 40 minutes and is ready to use in only 12 hours.

CCS consist of a cement impregnated fabric (Concrete Cloth) bonded to the outer surface of a plastic inner which forms a Nissen-Hut shaped structure once inflated.

Yet another Welsh company Faun will be launching Trackway – a heavy duty aluminium track, ideal for temporary roadways - into the Middle Eastern market during IDEX 2009.

Trackway is proving to be an important part of the North Wales’ company’s export business, manufacturing aluminium roadways for military and non government organisations. The launch of Trackway in Europe has doubled turnover for Faun year on year since 2006, and the majority of this has been through export business and after recently winning two contracts to the value of over £8 million ($11.4 million).

Faun has been involved in supplying tank bridges, floating bridges, assault boats and ground surfacing materials to the British Army, Royal Navy and Air Force – the ground surfacing materials are suitable for portable roadways and aircraft operations. – TradeArabia News Service