Marmomac Readies for a Big Show
MILAN, Italy – A focus on architects, a targeting of large-volume buyers, and an eye on Miami are some of the innovations a sold-out Marmomac will present during its 53rd edition in Verona, Italy, this September.
Click photo to enlargeEvent producer Veronafiere previewed some of the changes on June 5 during a Milan press conference.
The trade fair – set for Sept. 26-29 — is a landmark promotional platform for a sector involving trade worth more than €18 billion on a global scale. This is a market where processed products and stone technology Made in Italy hold second place in terms of exports – worth more than €3 billion – and the first for quality and added value.
“Marmomac is one of our most important business events,” said Maurizio Danese, Veronafiere president. “Today, it is the absolute benchmark for trade fairs in this sector worldwide. This is demonstrated by the higher levels of satisfaction among our exhibitors compared to competing events and the fact that – more than four months from the start of the show – the exhibition space of more than 80,000 m² has already been sold out.
“There is also a waiting list of more than 40 companies and requests for at least a further 1,000 m², of which 90% is from international companies.”
This guiding role has also been acknowledged by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development since 2015 – with the consequent inclusion of Marmomac in the Special Made in Italy Promotion Plan – as a strategic trade fair for the promotion of Italy’s natural stone industry.
Within the scope of planned initiatives, collaboration between Marmomac, ICE-Italian Trade Agency and Confindustria Marmomacchine for incoming activities targeting international operators continues for 2018: 300 top buyers will selected, invited, and hosted in Verona to attend b2b meetings, technical training sessions and visits to local companies.
All this is once again joined by the International Stone Summit – the world conference involving the world’s leading marble associations.
“Internationality is one of the key words for understanding the success of Marmomac,” said Giovanni Mantovani, Veronafiere CEO & Director General. “We have created a natural-stone community that can also rely on the events we organize in consolidated as well as developing markets such as the United States, Brazil, Egypt and Morocco.
“We are keen to strengthen this network this year through the creation of Marble Ambassadors and thereby spread knowledge and use of stone materials, as well as Miami Calling – an initiative in partnership with Platform Magazine that seeks to analyze real estate opportunities in Florida.”
The trade development of the show relies on fundamental aspects such as innovation, design and training, highlighted with The Italian Stone Theatre, the pavilion that brings together Italian research, experimentation, stone and technology. The theme for the 2018 edition is Water and Stone. This year also sees the debut of an initiative dedicated to artists to enhance dialogue between water and stone materials in hospitality and well-being contexts.
Another new item is the exhibition where major furniture and design brands – such as Baxter, Swarovski, Luxury Living Group – create specific projects for marble companies.
Considerable attention is also dedicated to architects arriving in Verona from all over the world. They benefit from exclusive training and refresher courses organised by the Marmomac Academy, as well as the new web portal tailor-made for designers who use marble. This is an increasingly widespread trend, as 88% of architects visiting the trade fair clearly state that stone will be included in their future projects.
Marmomac also welcomes back two awards: the Icon Award identifies the work displayed in The Italian Stone Theatre that will be used as the image for the 2019 promotional campaign, while the Best Communicator Award acknowledging the care and originality that exhibiting companies dedicate to their stand set-ups.
Last year, more than 1,600 exhibiting companies (64% international from 56 countries) showed their wares to 68,000 visitors (60% international from 147 countries); Veronafiere expects to improve those results this September.
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