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EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: This is Emerson Schwartzkopf. K. Schipper is off this week, so I’m stepping in with a special edition of Radio Stone Update.

00:33

Let’s find out more about the major stone show that’s yet to happen in 2022 – Marmomac, in Verona, Italy, during the last week of September. It’s an annual show that draw tens of thousands of members of the natural-stone trade, including more than a few coming in from the United States.

Marmomac isn’t the biggest trade event for stone; that’s the Xiamen Stone Fair in China which, coincidentally, is happening this week. Getting through China’s strict protocols to combat COVID-19, however, makes it all-but-impossible for most of the worldwide stone industry to attend.

Not so with Marmomac, however. While the event went exclusively online for 2020, it reopened the gates last fall to an in-person trade show and drew a respectable crowd of 30,000 visitors, with almost half coming from outside Italy – despite major entry rules from the Italian government that banned travel from important stone countries such as Brazil and India.

That’s not the case this year, as Italy’s opened up its borders to visitors without testing and proof of vaccination. And, while it might seem a bit late in the game to start lining up international travel, this might be the year to consider hopping the Atlantic and attending Marmomac.

There’s a benefit for 2022 that you might not see again, and I’ll get into that a bit later, along with some ideas on getting there. First, however, let’s get some background on Marmomac from Carlotta de Colloredo, who’s part of Veronafiere, the event facility that also produces the show.

02:15

First of all, how many companies will be exhibiting at Marmomac, and where are those companies based?

CARLOTTA DI COLLOREDO: 1000 companies and 43 countries represented. There are gonna be 46% from Italy and 21% from rest of Europe, This is the percentage more or less. We are still selling some spaces, so it’s changing in the next next month.

We won’t see China because of their COVID policies and restrictions There won’t be all the companies used to see in the past at Marmomac. Hall eight is going to be closed this year, because that was a place where China was exhibiting in the past. There will be some companies from China, but they are the companies that have branches or subsidiaries they are in Europe.

03:06

SCHWARTZKOPF: And, from those exhibitors, there’s going to be a LOT of natural stone, as it makes up the majority of products exhibited.

DI COLLOREDO: The percentage is 50% of the materials, so blocks, slabs, whatever, and 36% is devoted to machinery and tooling. So the rest are services, publishing companies … they’re not really connected with the stone, but they are in the business.

SCHWARTZKOPF: Make no mistake — Marmomac is a stone show. You’ll find a few quartz surfaces peppered into the exhibit mix, but the focus is on granite, marble and a full variety of other natural stone.

03:50

Marmomac is a showcase for materials and machinery, but di Colloredo explains that the event is also looking to encourage creativity with stone use and attract designers.

DI COLLOREDO: We are trying to change the focus, because we are going from from the only business to to education and design more. So, we are working to create a good environment for designers to find inspiration with companies that may have brands that are well known or known companies that are manufacturing something with stone. We are studying how to connect with the reality of their creation with the use of stone. We know that is difficult to find to give the reality to stone.

We encourage companies to create something different with stone that can go to the mainstream public. We are working with machinery with universities studying the use of stone in the landscape designer. So we are trying to focus more on application and give designers and architects inspiration to use the stone more and more.

SCHWARTZKOPF: Trade shows worldwide are still dealing with lingering after-effects of the pandemic. It’s still not quite the same as before, with events trying to find a way back after going dark during the lockdown.

05:22

Last year’s Marmomac provided plenty of challenges, including the need to check all attendees for vaccination certificates and their body temperature as well as admission tickets and passes. The surprising success in attracting 30,000 in 2021 is providing plenty of optimism for this year.

DI COLLOREDO: We can say that last year, we weren’t expecting such a good revenue, such a good environment, and good spirits at the fair. And they were they were very happy and they surely want to repeat that experience this year as well. Yeah, you know, it was our first exhibition with — our first international exhibition in two years and it was fantastic to see such a joyful spirit. Everybody was so happy to meet and to just talk and to just shake hands.

06:15

SCHWARTZKOPF: It’s also a place where attendees from the United States are welcome. It’s an experience that’s different than trade events on this side of the Atlantic, and it’s not just because of the sheer size.

DI COLLOREDO: The quality of relationships that this tradeshow has developed are so different from what happens in other countries. Maybe it’s the Italian lifestyle that makes this different for Verona is also a city of art well-known all around the world. And that offers maybe one of the best Italian experiences, so if anybody’s coming from overseas would find something very, very interesting in the for them. And the exhibition center is in town. You can walk to the town center and the Arena or many historic places that we have here.

07:08

SCHWARTZKOPF: Language doesn’t pose as much of a barrier as you might think. It’s a rare exhibitor that comes without English-speaking support, and Marmomac’s extensive lineup of presentations offer real-time translations.

DI COLLOREDO: The contents are available in English. Here at the fair there are simultaneous translationd going on for each event. And all the talks and meetings are also available on streaming on Marmomac Plus. Our platform goes on the web all the year long so you can find all the content from last year and from this year. Everything is translated in English, even if the talk is occurring in Italian.

07:49

SCHWARTZKOPF: So maybe going to Marmomac just might start to sound interesting to get a bigger outlook on the business. If you’re thinking about attending. Di Colloredo thinks there’s a great place to start — Marmomac Plus, the online segment of the event.

DI COLLOREDO: Marmomac Plus is the tool for attendees to get the most out of Marmomac. It is an evolution of the catalog, but it also contains projects application materials, tools, champion whatever as machinery. And you can find out what you will find what’s at the fair. So you can chat and connect with the exhibitors and build your agenda in advance.

If you download the app by September is going to be completely developed and you can download the last update. It’s the contain all the events, the tools to build an agenda and all the possibility of interaction with exhibitors at Marmomac.  So you can create your own agenda both business and casual. And that’s the best tool I believe to help prepare in advance.

SCHWARTZKOPF: You can find Marmomac Plus at marmomacplus.com.

09:13

Marmomac is also trying to make it easier for long-distance travelers to fit the show in the travel schedule … and maybe get a bit more appreciation of that Italian lifestyle.

DI COLLOREDO: Marmomac is going to be held from Tuesday to Friday instead than from Wednesday to Saturday and that will help visitors to spend some more time here in Italy on the weekend. It’s a wonderful destination and maybe it’s going to be helpful traveling better from abroad. This is a major change for us.

10:57

SCHWARTZKOPF: As someone who’s been there numerous times, I can tell you nothing beats going to Marmomac to get a real sense of the stone trade. It’s devoted exclusively to stone, and the ability to see everything – the different stone varieties, the full breadth of machinery, the tooling – and talk directly with manufacturers and suppliers gives you knowledge to make better decisions back home in the shop.

11:31

So why try for 2022, especially when any travel information out there highlights high airfares and major airport meltdowns?

The answer is: The Euro. Compared to this time last year, the universal currency of the European Union is down nearly 20% in value, and occasionally trading at par – one-to-one—with the U.S. dollar. This is an exchange rate that last occurred twenty years ago, and that strong dollar can offer benefits in the price of a room, a pizza or a CNC.

11:57

That change also takes some of the sting out of the high lodging rates in Verona that occur during major trade events. An answer for this is usually to stay in the next-closes large city … but that happens to be Bologna, where the even-larger worldwide tile event of Cersaie is taking place at the same time as Marmomac and experiencing the same high lodging costs.

However, if you’re willing to forgo the usual hotel scene, alternative lodging provided through Air B&B, VRBO, Booking.com and other websites can still turn up some good options. You may need to learn how to negotiate local bus routes and the Italian train system … but that’s also part of the lifestyle experience.

12:44

Unfortunately, the Euro price break doesn’t necessarily come with airfares, although the late September dates for Marmomac should put you past the summer tourist glut in main European airports.

Verona’s Villafranca Airport (also called Valerio Catullo) offers somewhat limited connections with the United States,  and will likely involve a Star Alliance carrier (Lufthansa or United) to get you to Germany, with a quick connecting hop on Lufthansa’s Air Dolomiti regional service.

The choices expand when considering the next-biggest international airport – Bologna – with even more flights by choosing Rome’s Leonardo DaVinci airport. And that’s where Italy’s medium- and long-distance rail network can get you to Marmomac.

13:30

Both Bologna and Rome feature light-rail service direct from the airports to main train stations. High-speed trains can get you to Verona in less than an hour from Bologna and three-to-four hours from Rome.

Booking Italian train tickets isn’t the mysterious process understood only by travel agents anymore.  It’s easy to do online, as long as you know the names of the central stations in each city. (That’s Porta Nuovo in Verona, Bologna Centrale in Bologna, and Roma Termini in Rome.)

The national train line, Trenitalia, and its competitor, Italo, have online booking – in English – that’s fairly simple and often involves getting tickets stored on your mobile phone. An independent online booking service – Omio, or omio.com – can find discounted fares.

And, you can wing it by buying tickets at automated kiosks at the stations. All of them offer English options for operation.

14:30

International travel may still be an adventure at times, but the experience of Marmomac and Verona is worth the time, the effort and the cost to open your eyes wider to the stone industry. And, if you decide to take the big leap and go … I’ll see you there.

And I’ll let K. Schipper wrap things up.

K. SCHIPPER: Remember, our online newsletter, Slab & Sheet, appears on alternate Wednesdays. For notes and a transcript of this podcast, go to www.radiostoneupdate.com.

For Radio Stone Update, I’m K. Schipper, and we’ll see you here again soon.