Stone+tec Nürnberg 2009: Confidence Instead Of Resignation

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Stone+tec Nürnberg 2009, 16th International Trade Fair Natural Stone and Stoneprocessing Technology, from 20th to 23rd May at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre, once again confir med itself as the meeting place for the participating sectors in Central Europe. Even if the worldwide crisis and social changes have left their mark on many companies, among the 770 exhibitors from 43 countries and 34, 458 trade visitors there was a predominantly good mood, marked not only by calculated optimism, but also by confidence and trust in the future.

Since Stone+tec was founded in 1979 in Nuremberg, the world economy has certainly not experienced such a difficult period as the current situation. Ahead of Stone+tec Nürnberg 2009, now in its thirtieth year, there was a correspondingly more subdued mood instead of one of celebration. But during the four days of the fair the general situation gave way mainly to realistic optimism and energy. New ideas and impulses were high on the agenda, aimed at maintaining the attractiveness of the tradition-steeped material natural stone.

In Nuremberg the spectrum of products and services from the exhibition segments natural stone, technology, gravestones and accessories showed the entire diversity and versatility of the material and everything required for its professional processing and working. The share of international exhibitors was 61 per cent. Many expert and specialist visitors, 23 per cent of them from abroad, seized the opportunity to make investments in the future.

In addition to Germany, trade visitors from Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Belgium and France featured prominently at the event. Visitors from the non-European regions also travelled to Nuremberg, in particular from India, China and Korea as well as the Middle Eastern countries. Around half the visitors were accounted for by the skilled trades, 19 per cent came from industry and 11 per cent from the wholesale trade. The share of architects, construction planners etc. was around 4 per cent.

Successful contact-making platform
"It's a good thing that we came to Nuremberg!" – that was the statement frequently heard during the four days of the fair. Surveys among exhibitors and visitors confirm that the 16th edition of Stone+tec was not only much better than expected for the majority of both groups, but also provided a genuine benefit. In many points included in the survey, Stone+tec Nuremberg 2009 even proved itself more successful than the previous event held in 2007. Nine out of ten exhibitors reached their most important target groups at Stone+tec and made new business contacts.

No less than 80 per cent of the exhibiting companies were able to conduct direct business deals and transactions during the fair and 85 per cent are expecting post-fair business – 6 per cent more than in 2007. 95 per cent welcomed visitors from outside Germany on their stands. Record figures were achieved by Stone+tec once again in terms of organization and service: 87 per cent of the exhibitors said they were satisfied with the facilities. And for more than three quarters of the companies one thing was already certain before the close of the 2009 fair: "We will be back again in Nuremberg in 2011!"

Nine out of ten trade visitors stated that they were involved in the purchasing and procurement decisions at their respective companies, around half of them to a decisive extent. For many visitors Stone+tec is already a permanent institution: one quarter of the visitors have already known the trade fair for more than ten years, but the organizers have also succeeded in arousing the interest of just as many new visitors in Stone+tec. After their visit, around two thirds of the trade visitors felt motivated to apply what they had seen at the fair to their daily business, and more than one third stated that they had concluded one or several purchasing deals at Stone+tec Nürnberg 2009. For 58 per cent of trade visitors Stone+tec is the only trade fair they attend covering all aspects of the natural stone theme.

Very much in demand: support programme and special shows
The support programme and special shows at Stone+tec Nuremberg were more in demand in 2009 than ever before: additional information connected with the special themes was very popular as were new ideas, such as those presented on the two "young innovative companies" joint stands.

A major attraction for the trade visitors proved to be the fourth edition of the seminar series for tile layers and pavers: with over 200 participants the lecture hall was fully booked on the afternoon of the fair's first day. And the Meeting Point organized by the Regional Association of the Bavarian Construction Guilds – Regional Group Tiles and Natural Stone (Landesverband Bayerischer Bauinnungen Landesfachgruppe Fliesen und Naturstein) along with the Bavarian Construction Academy (Bayerische BauAkademie) in Hall 1 was also very much in demand as a contact point for the sector.

On the second and third day of the fair the presentation of the Peter-Parler Award for outstanding restoration work along with the German Natural Stone Award in recognition of exemplary architectural achievements delighted numerous guests in the Event Area in Hall 1 at the Exhibition Centre. Here, based on specific examples, stonemasons and restorers along with architects and construction planners were able to see for themselves at first hand how natural stone is part of our culture – in history, but also in the present and future.

An additional highlight was the special presentation "Places good for the soul – the future of the gravestone industry" and the complementary presentation of a current study conducted by trend researcher Matthias Horx. Due to the great demand, the lecture had to be moved to another conference room at short notice and even here all the seats accommodating around 300 mayors and cemetery administrators from all over Germany were taken.

Coming events
In 2010, from 9th to 12th March, NürnbergMesse Brasil is holding REVESTIR, the exhibition for tiles and stone, at the Transamérica Expo Center São Paulo. In accordance with its two-year rotation, the next Stone+tec will be held again in May/June 2011 at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre.

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