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Home > SAUDI ARABIA > Business events
ITALIAN CERAMICS MEET THE WORLD AT CERSAIE 2008
From September 30 to October 4, 2008, Bologna will host the 26th edition of the Cersaie Trade Fair , one of the major global exhibitions in the ceramics sector. The international showroom of architectural and bathroom design ceramics is a strategic time to discuss innovation, technology, materials and design culture for a manufacturing division that boasts very imposing numbers: 2007 sales for ceramics made in Italy came in at 5.78 billion Euros. Beyond bringing together sector professionals, the exhibition offers the opportunity to display new aesthetic and technological solutions, to interface with foreign companies, and to meet representatives from the distribution sector. In 2007, Cersaie hosted 91,300 visitors, a 3.8% increase from 2006. Exhibitors included 1,078 companies from 32 countries, arranged over a display floor measuring 160,000 meters.
Italian ceramics industry takes up about 20% of the volume and 40% of the overall value of the international tile business. Italian tile business dominates the high-end of the market, delivering a higher quality product than major competition. For an industry that promotes quality over price, offering superior solutions in technique and style, generating a targeted promotional activity is of primary importance. This promotional activity must be targeted to the most influential opinion makers (communicators, designers, architects, buyers, and sector professionals) of the end markets and must focus on consolidating the superior knowledge and expertise of Italian tile manufacturers.
With this goal in mind, ICE, the Italian institute for foreign trade, has decided to continue, in 2008, with an initiative introduced during the last edition of the trade fair and co-planned with Confindustria Ceramica (www.confindustriaceramica.it). The goal of this initiative is to host the international press conference “Ceramic Tiles of Italy,” a mission to attract journalists representing the major architecture-design publications and architects from major global design studios. The international press conference will be held on the opening day of the trade fair, representing a key moment for foreign media attending Cersaie and for representatives of foreign nations. Participation by ICE’s general director, as well as representative of professional associations, has again been confirmed for this year.
The countries of origin of the approximately 50 awaited foreign representatives have been selected based on the major areas for Italian export: Western Europe (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom); Central-Eastern Europe (Russia and the Ukraine); and North America (Canada and the United States). In 2007, the total export value of ceramics made in Italy was 4.18 billion Euros (up 0.61%). In volume, of the 380 million square meters of Italian tile exported (over a total of 559.1 million square meters were produced), 55.89% was destined to European markets, while the remaining 44.11% went to other continents. Notable was the presence of a few important players, such as Greece (up 4.28%) and Russia, whose imports increased by 7.51%. Last year, the Italian industry, now an established seller in major global markets, has continued in its strategy to productively go international: on December 31, 2007, 20 international companies were in operation (employing 6,726 people, up 3.8% annually) as fully-owned subsidiaries or partners of nine Italian ceramics conglomerates. Italian manufacture originating abroad was equal to 116.4 million square meters (up 1.41%), 77.29% of which came from Europe (up 5.38%), while the rest came from the United States. Sales for 123.3 million square meters generated revenues of 916.8 million Euros (up 4.67%).
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