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| Stone+tec Nürnberg 2013: smaller but smarter Stone+tec Nürnberg, the International Trade Fair Natural Stone and Stoneprocessing Technology, took place from 29 May to 1 June 2013 and proved that it is rightly one of the sector's top events in the world. The biennial gathering in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg attracted 543 companies in the three exhibition segments of "Natural Stone", "Technology" and "Gravestones" and 19,562 trade visitors. Focusing the trade fair on the German-speaking region and its Central European context was the result of detailed market observations. Stone+tec Nürnberg still ranks among the biggest international trade fairs for natural stone. The majority of the visitors – mainly stonemasons, natural stone traders, tilers, gardening and landscape contractors, and architects – come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland (altogether about 80 per cent) and the neighbouring European regions. Visitors from a total of 55 nations came to Nürnberg. The list of the largest exhibiting countries is headed by Germany, followed by Italy, China, India, Turkey, France, Austria, Portugal and Egypt. Nine out of ten visitors are involved in purchasing and procurement decisions in their company, and just as many were satisfied with the products offered at Stone+tec Nürnberg 2013, as almost 80 per cent of the exhibitors had brought along a new or improved product. Some 90 per cent of the companies were satisfied with the professional qualifications of the visitors and stated after the exhibition that they had reached their most important target groups here and made new business connections. Awards for outstanding achievements in architecture and craftsmanship were presented again at Stone+tec Nürnberg 2013. The winner of the German Natural Stone Award 2013 chosen from some 60 works entered is the new e-science lab designed by the Austrian architects Baumschlager Eberle for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. The German Natural Stone Award is presented every two years to user-orientated indoor or outdoor projects of natural stone that are examples of high architectural quality, technically innovative application and sustainable construction using natural stone. The Peter Parler Award presented for special achievements by the stonemasonry trade in the field of restoration and historic preservation is shared this year by Markus and Christof Traub for their restoration of the "wayside shrine" in Halle and Roland Heimbach and Christoph Mai, Monolith Bamberg, for their restoration and preservation of the choir of St. Lorenz Church in Nürnberg. A European skills competition to promote newcomers to the stonemasonry trade took place for the first time at Stone+tec Nürnberg 2013. Seven young male and female stonemasons from Austria, Switzerland and Germany pitted their skills against each other in the task of making a head of their own design from a sandstone column one and a half metres high. The Swiss stonemason Melanie Sterba won first prize with her work called "Der Schrei" (The Scream). The next Stone+tec in the cycle takes place in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg in two year's time from 13–16 May 2015. write your comments about the article :: © 2013 Exhibition News :: home page |