Carrara Cools in 2003

MARINA di CARRARA, Italy – International support for CarraraMarmotec 2003 remained strong this summer – but getting Italians to the trade event may be another matter.
Foreign visitors to the stone fair, held here on June 4-7, totalled 4,247, down from the 5,000+ reported for the event’s 2002 run. However, that amount showed strength when compared to overall attendance; the 19,784 professional visitors this year is significantly down from the 33,199 reported in 2002.
The Carrara fair’s timing may be the main culprit in lower attendance. Last year, CarraraMarmotec stood alone as the early summer stone event, with PIEDRA in Madrid, Spain, occurring nearly three weeks earlier. This year, however, the large biennial Stone+tec show in Nuremberg, Germany, ended only two days before the start of the Carrara event.
Exhibitors gave strong support to CarraraMarmotec in 2003, with the 751 vendors representing a rise from the 711 in 2002. On the 50,000m² of exhibition space, 38 percent of the area was devoted to stone, 36 percent to technology, and the rest to tools, accessories and services.
With attendees, the largest share – 24.5 percent – came as “building contractors,” which likely included many fabricators. Engineers placed second as a visitor group at 17.3 percent, with designers and architects following along with 11.5 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively.
CarraraMarmotec 2004 will be held on May 26-29, 2004, in Marina di Carrara.