An increasingly international and digital exhibition that seeks to promote business and industry culture alongside innovative courses for architects and interior designers, while also paying special attention to artistic experiments and projects involving major luxury brands. Growth is the keyword for the 54th edition of Marmomac scheduled at Veronafiere 25-28 September 2019: the most important global event dedicated to natural stone, marble, granite, processing technologies, means of transport and hoisting/lifting, applied design and services.
This high international profile is confirmed by facts and figures: this year, there are more than 1,650 exhibiting companies (64% international from 60 countries in addition to Italy), with more than 68,000 specialist operators and buyers expected from 150 countries. The overall exhibition area by now amounts to over 80,000 square meters distributed across 12 show halls and outdoor exhibition areas.
Marmomac is the landmark promotion platform for the natural stone sector - a market worth close to 18 billion euros in terms of global trade where Italy, especially for finished products and processing technologies, upholds its leadership for quality and added value thanks to exports totaling €2.9 billion in 2018 (data source: Confindustria Marmomacchine).
“Marmomac is the world's leading exhibition for all operators in this sector. It plays a fundamental role in promoting the Italian stone district", said Maurizio Danese, president of Veronafiere. “Inasmuch, this show will also receive the investments envisaged in our Business Plan through to 2022, for a total of 105 million euros, with the aim of further strengthening its international vocation and improving services for exhibitors and operators.”
Marmomac is the world's main meeting place for the natural stone industry and this is the direction taken by B2B appointments targeting 240 top international buyers as figures deemed to be strategic in helping companies approach new markets. One hundred and sixty buyers and architects in this group were identified in collaboration between Veronafiere, the Ministry for Economic Development, the ICE Trade Agency and Confindustria Marmomacchine as part of the Special Made in Italy promotion plan. The other 80 international operators, on the other hand, were selected by Veronafiere and will attend 15-minute “speed dating” meetings that will focus this year on three product segments: luxury, slabs and equipment.
“Marmomac is increasingly expanding its global community thanks to the already well-consolidated promotion platforms in Brazil and the United States, as well several new exploration initiatives in China, which ensure we can achieve an increasingly international and interconnected scope," said CEO Giovanni Mantovani, while introducing one of the innovations at this edition. “The show, in fact, aims to become increasingly digital. Exhibitors are asking for more visibility and we are responding by providing even more advanced tools, such as the new digital catalogue People+Products+Projects, whereby companies can promote themselves to the full by highlighting their history and their entire portfolio of completed projects. This year also sees the start of an experiment linked with geolocation of visitors that will study flows inside the show halls.”
Aspects such as culture, innovation, design and training are fundamental for the promoting products in natural stone. This concept finds ample representation during Marmomac in The Italian Stone Theater- the hall that presents sector operators with a complete overview of the opportunities offered by natural stone when matched with the potential of the most advanced machinery and processing technologies alongside the design creativity of internationally renowned architects and designers. The theme chosen for the 2019 edition is Naturality - the naturalness of marble in its most pure aspect enhancing uniqueness and geodiversity.
Innovations in 2019 also include an educational project targeting interior designers, titled "Meet The Inspiration". It seeks to teach interior decorators, surveyors and architects working in showrooms how to offer marble more effectively to end customers, with notions of the features of natural stone products and the way these materials can be used, through to the most popular furniture and social media trends.
Lastly, Marmomac also welcomes back awards: the Icon Award identifies the work within the scope of The Italian Stone Theater that will become the image for the 2020 promotional campaign. The Best Communicator Award acknowledges the dedication and originality of exhibiting companies as regards exhibit layout. Lastly, the Archmarathon Stone Award is a kind of talent event for the best international architectural studios.
