Marmomac: 68,000, Again

VERONA, Italy – The international Marmomac stone trade show drew 68,000 attendees here late last month.

Preliminary counts from Veronafiere, the show’s producer, put the Sept. 26-29 show at the same level as 2017’s event, and slightly ahead of the 67,000 reported in 2016.

The attendee mix at the 53rd edition of Marmomac showed 62% came from outside Italy, up slightly from 60% in 2017. The 150 countries represented set a new record, besting last year’s 147.

U.S. attendance grew this year, according to Veronafiere, along with specialist operators from China, India and Russia.

Exhibitors from Iran reported sold out for their unhewn and semi-finished blocks on display, taken in particular by Italian and German buyers. Companies in the Balkans area and Turkey were satisfied (overall attendance up by 20%) – the latter present in strength despite the crisis affecting the Turkish Lira.

“This edition of Marmomac,” said Maurizio Danese, Veronafiere president, “once again achieved its objective of providing the world’s natural-stone supply chain with the most-effective tool for its development. This is also thanks to the skills of such a leading international exhibition center as VeronaFiere in promoting a manufacturing sector through creativity, culture and innovation.”

The b2b aspects of the trade fair mixed with the world of architecture, design, art and luxury brands as a means of enhancing the functional and aesthetic potential of natural stone. The Italian Stone Theatre showed the pavilion that narrates interplay between natural stone and Italian processing technologies, thanks to avant-garde installations by famous international designers.  

“Marmomac is the true heart of the international stone industry community and the thermometer for this market,” noted Giovanni Mantovani, Veronafiere director general. “Over the four days of the event, feedback from companies and buyers attending the show highlights very positive responses as regards business, which encourages us to be optimistic over the final balance for global trade at the end of the year.

“The 2018 edition also saw further growth in terms of operator quality, as well as of international arrivals, up by 2% of the total visitor numbers. Yet we are already thinking about how we can consolidate the network of inter-related events abroad: in addition to the Vitória Stone Fair-Marmomac Latin America in Brazil, we are also working on further developments in the United States, with TISE-StoneExpo Marmomac in Las Vegas, in agreement with our American partner, Informa Group.”

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