Gulf Construction Online - Marmomacc to host 1,400 exhibitors

Events

Marmomacc to host 1,400 exhibitors

01 September 2014

MORE than 1,400 exhibitors from 56 countries including debutants from Malta, Mexico, Thailand, Ukraine and Zimbabwe will be present at Marmomacc 2014, which opens its doors in Verona, Italy, this month.

The Veronafiere exhibition centre has been fully booked, with 75,000 sq m of business space and areas reserved for special shows at the event’s 49th edition.

To be held from September 24 to 27, this key international event for the natural stone industry, will for four days become the focal point for operators in the natural stone industry from across the world.

The industry in Italy alone boasts 3,340 companies, 33,700 employees and a turnover of €3.9 billion ($5.22 billion) in 2013 and is represented at Marmomacc comprehensively: from unhewn blocks to processed materials, machinery and equipment for marble and granite through to training courses and teaching tools for architects.

“This year, moreover, the event’s ties with the world of design are even closer. In fact, the show has been scheduled for the first time together with Abitare Il Tempo, an exhibition devoted to the contract, interior decoration and furnishing/furniture sector that complements and extends Marmomacc’s own offering,” said a spokesman for the expo.

As with every edition, there is a strong focus on international demand for processed marble and Italian technology – which saw the Italian industry in 2013 export 71.5 per cent of its production worth €2.4 billion ($3.21 billion).

The top ten markets of interest highlighted by Italian exhibitors at Marmomacc show the US in first place, followed by Russia, China, Italy, Brazil, Germany, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and Turkey.

“This is why Veronafiere, through its network of foreign delegates and in collaboration with Confindustria Marmomacchine and ICE – the government agency which promotes Italian companies internationally – has worked to attract the very best stone industry and contract buyers to Marmomacc with the aim of involving them in training programmes and B2B appointments,” concluded the spokesman.