Tecnargilla sees rise in international attendance
Tecnargilla 2012, organized by Rimini Fiera and Acimac, has set a new record in the number of international visitors. According to the trade fair organizers, 14 822 international visitors visited the trade fair, which was held in Rimini from 24 – 28 September. They made up almost 50% of the total number of visitors, that is 1.5% up on 2010. Outstanding was the high quality of attendees, including top managers from the world’s leading ceramic manufacturers.
48.6% of the visitors converging on the Rimini exhibition centre came from 110 different countries worldwide, uniformly distributed across all continents. “These figures once again demonstrate that customers are interested in the best and most innovative technologies that are making their international debut at Tecnargilla”, said Acimac’s chairman, Fabio Tarozzi. “At the exhibition our companies displayed a wide range of technological innovations that were well received by customers. Another important factor is the high profile of visitors”, added Tarozzi. “At the fair we received visits from the top managements of the world’s leading producers of ceramic tiles, sanitaryware, tableware and heavy clay products. Given the presence of large numbers of high-quality buyers, most exhibitors were able to establish a greater number of contacts than at the last few editions of the show, an important indicator for order intake projections over the next few months.”
The show was also strongly attended by Italian buyers. During the five days of the event, Tecnargilla was visited by 15 466 Italian professionals, 51.4% of the total – albeit 8% down on the 2010 edition. The smaller number of Italian visitors resulted in a small decrease (-3.6%) in the total number of visitors, which dropped to 30 458.
Claytech
Absent from the Claytech section were some plant and machinery suppliers who had already exhibited at Ceramitec in May. Most of these and even many Tecnargilla exhibitors showed little understanding for the staging of the two leading trade fairs Ceramitec and Tecnargilla in the same year and spoke out vehemently against this. Especially in the current crisis situation, the high trade fair costs are plain and simply beyond many plant and machinery manufacturers. And, as many exhibitors stressed, within a gap of just four months no one is likely to come up with any new developments. With regard to visitors to the Claytech section, the first two days of the trade fair were not satisfactory.
Support programme
On 25 September Acimac and Andil arranged a joint event “The world brick industry: scenarios and market prospects”. This event was mainly conducted in Italian with simultaneous translation into English. Fabio Schianchi, Vice-Chairman at Acimac, and Michele Marconi, Vice-Chairman Andil Assolaterizi, welcomed the attendees. Marconi explained the current truly dramatic situation in the Italian clay brick and tile industry. “Scenarios and trends in the world building industry” were the topic addressed by Giuseppe Schirone, Prometeia. The market researcher provided an overview of construction activity worldwide, starting from the decline in Europe to the BRIC countries. China and Russia, he said, were currently investing a lot in housing construction. Here, as in Brazil and Turkey, the emergence of new centres with 500 mill. new inhabitants was expected.
Adolfo Aiello, TBE Secretary General presented “The European brick industry: what are the prospects?”. He too discussed a negative trend in the building sector, especially in housing construction, in recent years. Most TBE members made losses in the 2007-2011 comparison; Spain registered, for example, -76%, Portugal and Italy -50%. Germany and France came off relatively lightly with ‑14%.
In the subsequent round table talks, representatives from the industry and associations explored global trends in the clay brick and tile industry.
Conclusion
For years now exhibitors have been demanding a solution that prevents that Tecnargilla and Ceramitec taking place in the same year. This year some exhibitors, including big manufacturers like Lingl, Keller, Händle, Bongioanni, Ceric and Keramik, just to mention a few, have responded to the situation and opted not to go to Italy. The two trade fairs are called upon to seek a satisfactory solution for exhibitors and visitors. This is particularly important as other local trade fairs such as, for example, MosBuild, Batimatec, Anicer, are taking up greater capacities and means. A shortening of the Tecnargilla trade fair to four days would also be greatly welcomed by many exhibitors.
