Stone+tec 2007: The Dynamic Center

It’s also more than a German trade event. More than one in three of the trade visitors on the floor at Stone+tec 2007 will come from outside Germany’s borders, with a strong representation from EU countries.
Attendance from some of the new EU countries in Central-Eastern Europe showed distinct growth rates during the biennial event’s last outing in 2005, led by Hungary with a 48-percent increase from 2003 visitation figures. The Czech Republic and Poland also increased their numbers at Nuremberg, by 13 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
The enlargement of the European Union in 2004 further simplified the possibilities of closer and simpler co-operation within the EU and also with neighboring regions. Germany’s neighbors in Central Eastern Europe have attractive forecasts for the future with good growth rates and a rising share of the total European building volume.
One reason for this is the demand for new buildings in line with the growth of the rest of the economy in these countries. The rest of Europe has a saturated market, in which building activity is based more on extension and maintenance of existing structures.
U.S. participation, as with most stone trade shows abroad, isn’t particularly huge. However, attendees from the United States made up six percent of Stone+tec’s international contingent in 2005 – up from four percent in 2003. According to the marketing handbook STONE 2005, the United States is the top country for importing finished stone goods; Germany used to lead this category worldwide, but it still ranks as the number-one finished piece importer in Europe.
Of course, the biggest share of Stone+tec 2007’s audience will be the domestic German crowd, which – due to the country’s economics – may increase from 2005. According to development forecasts for the German industry in the first half of 2006, an upturn is emerging for almost all sectors of industry.
Euroconstruct, the federation of building industry research institutes from 19 European countries, presented its forecasts for the building sector in Europe at its conference in June 2006. This survey shows that Germany with a €198 billion profit was still the European leader in building volume in 2005, followed by Great Britain, Italy, France and Spain.
This advance came in spite of 2005 as one of the weakest years in this decade. After a period of negative growth rates, noticeable growth is expected again in Germany in the coming years.
All attendees at this year’s event will take in more than 425,000 ft² of exhibits placed through nine halls at Exhibition Centre Nuremberg. It’s a well-balanced mix of stone quarries and distributors from around the world – with a healthy representation of European companies – along with the fabrication side of machines, tooling and services.
Nearly nine percent of the trade visitors at Stone+tec 2005 said they were directly involved in this segment and more than a quarter all attendees noted that this product segment was one of the main reasons for visiting the exhibition.
At Stone+tec 2007, it gets its own exhibit area (Hall 3), but there’s more for memorials outside the hall.
A permanent special show of memorials has been part of Stone+tec since 1981, with an extension of the exhibition at the edge of the Südfriedhof cemetery in Nuremberg. It’s open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m., and is only about 15 minutes away from the exhibit halls via the city’s U1 underground line and #8 tram.
The model cemetery, which is not actually used for burials, serves as a guiding principle and provides ideas for individual cemetery and gravestone design. It’s also intended to show that a cemetery is a place for calm, contemplation and meeting people as well as for its actual purpose.
The model cemetery is managed by the Nürnberg Burial Institute, and by the members of the board of trustees of the model cemetery. (More information is available on the Internet at www.leitfriedhof-nuernberg.de.)
Natural-stone tiles – and installation – gets a special focus at Stone+tec 2007, with the “Recognizing, Processing and Laying Natural Stones” seminar at 1:30 p.m. (or 13:30, following the German custom of the 24-hour clock) on June 6 at CCN Ost (East) at the Exhibition Centre.
The free session will feature experts providing information about technical applications and processing natural stones, and showing the rules and special material features that need close attention. The seminar will be presented in cooperation with Fliesen und Platten magazine.
In other events, the fifth Peter Parler Award will be presented at Stone+tec 2007 on June 7. The award is for exemplary achievements by stonemasons in the preservation of historic buildings and monuments.
The Peter Parler Award is presented by the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz and the Bundesinnungsverband des Deutschen Steinmetz-, Stein- und Holzbildhauerhandwerks (BIV). The Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz provides €15,000 in prize money.
Also, the German Natural Stone Award will be presented on June 8 to the Berlin architectural firm Kleihues + Kleihues for the Galeria Kaufhof department store at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. The competition focuses on natural stone as a building material as a creative design element, achieved mainly through the individual treatment of details and finishes – even in smaller projects.
The €30,000 prize is presented by the Deutscher Naturwerkstein-Verband e.V. (DNV) in co-operation with the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA).
Stone+tec 2007 will be open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (09:00-18:00) on June 6-8, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (09:00-17:00) on June 9. One-day entry is (E)14 and an all-exhibition pass is €25; advance tickets are €12 and €20, respectively, and are available at www.stone-tec.com/ticketshop.
Stone+tec 2007 is organized by NürnbergMesse GmbH. Honorary sponsors include the DNV, BIV, Fachabteilung Natursteinmachinen im Fachverband Bau- und Baustoffmaschinen des VDMA and the Fachgruppe Diamantsägen und Diamanbohrer im Verband Deutscher Schleifmittlewerke e. V. (VDS)
For more information on Stone+tec 2007, go to www.stone-tec.com and click on “English” at the top of the home page; email visitorinformation@nuernbergmesse.de; or call +49-0-9-11-86-06-49-69.