Industry Growth Spurs Marmomac Interest
MILAN – With a, on-the-dock value of more than €22 billion in 2016, the global stone trade continues to grow … and so does Marmomac, the international surfacing event set for Sept. 27-30 in Verona, Italy.
Click for expanded photoIn a Milan press conference at the end of May, officials from Veronafiere – Marmomac’s producer – noted the industry’s strength as they previewed this year’s event.
“Marmomac,” said Maurizio Danese, Veronafiere president, “at every edition, strengthens its leadership as a global platform for business, training and innovation in the natural-stone sector.”
After uncertainly in the late 2000s, stone is again riding a sustained growth wave worldwide. According to data from the 28th World Stone Report (edited by Carlo Montani), global quarrying in 2016 grew by 3% from the previous year to produce 145 million metric tons of marble and granite.
And that, along with increase in international spending for dedicated machinery and technology, bodes well for the 52nd edition of Marmomac. Last year, 64% of 1,670 exhibitors and 60% of 67,000 attendees come from outside Italy’s boundaries.
“Figures once again this year indicate an increase in international companies,” said Giovanni Mantovani, Veronafiere CEO, “with new attendance from Argentina, Georgia, Ireland, Mexico and Slovenia, while group attendance by buyers already confirmed especially involve countries such as Iran, the fifth-largest producer of natural stone in the world, and South Korea, the third-largest importer of materials in Asia that posted boom figures of +24% in 2016.”
Action to promote incoming operators from abroad in 2017 sees Marmomac continue its cooperation with ICE and Confindustria Marmomacchine within the scope of activities involved in the Special Made in Italy Promotion Plan set in motion by Ministry for Economic Development (MISE). Verona will also see the arrival of selected trade delegations as the protagonists of b2b meetings, technical training events and visits to local companies.
Marmomac’s success especially lies in its ability to combine business with culture for a product that has traditions going back thousands of years in Italy but nonetheless now looks to the future.
This concept at Marmomac 2017 finds expression in The Italian Stone Theatre, A 3,500 m² hall set up in collaboration with the Ministry for Economic Development, ICE-Italian Trade Agency and Confindustria Marmomacchine, will host three exhibitions – ‘Territory & Design’, ‘Virtuous Machines’ and ‘Soul of City’ –
narrating the natural stone, processing technology, experimentation and design through cutting-edge projects by famous architects and designers.
The third edition of the International Stone Summit will also take place at Marmomac as the world conference dedicated to natural stone attended by the leading international associations in the marble sector.
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