The 51st edition of
Organisers, Veronafiere, say that more international than ever (+5%) attended the event (28 September-1October), while exhibitors and square metres sold also expanded with Germany, the United States and Spain confirming their status as key markets.
There was a major expansion for Chinese operators and a significant increase in buyers from Great Britain.
“The 51st edition set new records, starting off with +10% of exhibitors for a total of more than 1,650 companies from 53 countries, and 67,000 specialist operators arriving from 146 countries,” says Maurizio Danese, President of Veronafiere.
“The show covers the entire value chain, combining products, machinery and culture in an event with a strong history that continues to evolve, as evidenced by the new Marmo+Mac brand summarising our identity while equally looking to the future.”
Success comes in the shape of a sold-out exhibition centre, with all 12 halls and outside areas occupied, for a total show area of more than 80,000m² (+4% over 2015).
“Marmomacc is today the b2b and promotion platform for the sector thanks to more internationalisation than ever,” says Giovanni Mantovani, CEO and Director General of Veronafiere.
“International visitors attending this edition of the show increased by 5%, to more than 60% of total. We achieved marvellous confirmation from markets such as the United States, Germany and Spain, not to mention the astonishing 45% increase for Chinese operators and an equally significant increase of 11% from Great Britain.”
Attendance figures also include more than 300 new international top-buyers and architects selected as members of official trade delegations arriving from 32 countries, with debuts for Nigeria and Mozambique.
This is said to be thanks to Veronafiere’s continuous investment in incoming activities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development; ICE-Italian Trade Agency; Confindustria Marmomacchine and, for the first time, the Veneto Region, through Veneto Promozione.
The four days of the trade fair also paid close attention to initiatives and events dedicated to the world of design and training.
The Italian Stone Theatre, a Hall set up with the contribution of the special Made in Promotion Plan, outlined the interaction of stone, design and technology, while the International Stone Summit saw the main worldwide trade associations take stock of the natural stone sector, its future development and the relationship with the ceramic industry.
Marmomacc 2016 also staged two events resulting from new partnerships with Architectural Record and Archmarathon.
The stone installations highlighted by Marmomacc and the city in the historic centre of Verona will remain on show for the whole of October.
The 52nd edition is scheduled at VeronaFiere 24-27 September, 2017.
