The fair, which will be held at the Parque de Exposias Carlos Caiado Barbosa and occupy an area of 30,000 square meters, is the only one of its kind in Latin America which will have more than 350 exhibitors of stone and related machinery, equipment, tools, raw materials and services in 2001.
As in the past, the fair will be the stage for launching new products, such as newly discovered varieties of granite and recently developed machines and tools used by the stone industry.
This coming event will bring a bigger number of international exhibitors, with 30 expected from Italy, along with firms from Argentina, the U.S., Spain, Portugal, and South Africa.
A stoneworking center
Not only is the exhibition itself growing in size, but it takes place in the center of a major stoneworking region of Brazil, allowing attendees to visit stone fabricators and quarries during their stay.The biggest Brazilian producer of ornamental stones, Espirito Santo is responsible for almost 50% of national production. It produces 1.5 million square meters of marble and granite, and 61,000 cubic meters of blocks. The state has more than 1,100 enterprises in the stone industry, and it has one of the most concentrated areas of stone deposits in Brazil, with more than 350 different varieties of marble and granite being exploited.
Moreover, the city of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim is at the center of Espirito Santo's production, as a total of 71% of stone firms from the state are located in the immediate area.
The U.S., Italy and Japan are the main importers of Espirito Santo stones, and the International Fair in Cachoeiro will give the decorative stone industry even higher visibility, attracting attention from an international marketplace.
