FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 21, 2008
Contact: Alan Duff, Marketing Director for Clark Engineering Corporation at aduff@clark-eng.com or (763) 545-9196.

Clark Engineering Corporation makes business development trip to dynamic Dubai

Minneapolis, MN - The Minnesota Trade Office (MTO) and five construction-related Minnesota companies – including Clark Engineering Corporation -- recently completed a very successful business development mission to the fast-growing United Arab Emirates’ Dubai and Abu Dhabi. This part of the Middle East has become an international hub for commercial and residential real estate development.

Organized by MTO Middle East Trade Representative Paul Hansen, mission members met with Dubai and Abu Dhabi government and company officials, visited construction and development projects to experience firsthand the dramatic growth, and visited the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone, located at the Port of Dubai and at the entrance to the Persian Gulf. Mission members also attended the Big 5 Trade Show -- the most important trade show in the Middle East for the construction industry -- and participated in other activities to gain knowledge of this exploding market and meet potential business partners and customers.

Mission members also spoke with U.S. companies, including Turner Construction and Ellerbe Becket Architects, to learn of their experiences of doing business in this market. They also met and received valuable assistance from U.S. Commercial Service staff in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“We had excellent U.S. companies offering world-class products and services … They were well received by the Dubai and Abu Dhabi construction communities,” Hansen said. “I salute these companies’ efforts to not only expand their markets but to also put their products and services up against competing companies from around the world, in this most dynamic, interesting and demanding marketplace.”

Hansen added that Clark Engineering’s mission representative, Abi Assadi, Ph.D. P.E., a native of Iran and a very capable engineer and former University of Minnesota engineering instructor, was a valuable member of the mission.

“Abi was very engaged in the mission … taking in information about all aspects of the huge development projects,” Hansen said. “He readily shared Clark’s experiences in a wide variety and types of construction projects, from energy production to hospitals and schools.” Dr. Assadi and other Clark principals are currently considering proposals from United Arab Emirates companies interested in employing Clark’s engineering services for their projects as well as exploring the feasibility of opening an office in U.A.E.

About Clark Engineering Corporation
Clark Engineering Corporation provides structural engineering, civil engineering and land surveying services with a staff of competent, ethical, and client-oriented professionals in four office locations: Minneapolis, MN; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Aberdeen, S.D. and Brookings, S.D. In business since 1938, Clark's motto is "Making Visions a Reality.