THE FIRST GLOBAL EXHIBITION SYSTEM FOR THE NATURAL STONE INDUSTRY IS ITALIAN With SIMEST and SACE, Veronafiere has set up the first global exhibition system in the world bringing businesses in the natural stone sector together, through in Marmomacc Italy and Veronafiere do Brasil in the control room of the two Brazilian reference events for the entire Latin America stone industry. The focus is on the major infrastructural investments ahead of the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. And other sectors are now being considered, from agriculture to renewable energy up food production. Verona, 21 March 2013. The first global exhibition system in the natural stone sector "speaks Italian", thanks to Marmomacc in Italy and the agreement between Veronafiere, Simest and Sace for the South American market, whereby Veronafiere - through Veronafiere do Brasil - takes a seat in the control room of Vitória Stone Fair and Cachoeiro Stone Fair in Espirito Santo State, the two Brazilian reference events for the stone industry as a whole in Latin America. The focus is on the major infrastructural investments ahead of the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. And other sectors are also now being considered, from agriculture to renewable energy and even food production. "With this initiative, VeronaFiere continues to encourage the development of an industrial policy for the country system whereby exhibitions can be exploited as an international promotional tool for companies and excellence made in Italy. The partnership with Sace and Simest is a concrete and positive example of what it means to work truly at the service of companies," said the President of VeronaFiere, Ettore Riello, during the press conference presenting the Brazil Stone Fairs project held at Veronafiere alongside the CEO & Director General of Veronafiere, Giovanni Mantovani, the CEO of Simest, Massimo D'Aiuto and Simonetta Acri, the Director of Rete Italia-Sace. "VeronaFiere," said CEO & Director General, Giovanni Mantovani, "has always been a pioneer in finalising an international development programme and keeps a consistently close eye on the opportunities offered by new markets and strategic sectors. Currently, Italy is Brazil's second largest trading partner in Europe and eighth in the world. The project presented today is fundamental to our growth and that of our customers, yet its vital strategic importance goes far beyond this, since it opens an operational and distribution platform in Brazil and throughout South America. This outline of this scheme can now be replicated in other sectors and other markets." "Our involvement in this internationalisation project," said Massimo D'Aiuto, CEO of SIMEST, "meets a need to encourage the development of a Country System industrial policy in which exhibitions are a vehicle for international promotion excellence the Made in Italy. Brazil is an important destination for Italian companies and," as D'Aiuto went on, "we have already supported numerous companies in this country, through investments and through funds for export credit and commercial development. Seventy-five equity projects are underway worth over 1 billion euros in total investments, with a commitment by SIMEST and the Venture Capital Fund coming to 146 million euros." "According to the forecasts in SACE's Export Report, the guide to markets with the highest potential we will present at Veronafiere next 8 April, Brazil will be one of the top markets for Italy over the next four years, with expected average annual growth rates of 11.3% for our export," explained Simonetta Acri, Director of SACE–Rete Italia. In order to intercept these opportunities, Veronafiere's presence "in loco" ensures constant and important supervision for Italian excellence that will assist penetration by Italian companies in this strategic business market. The investment by Veronafiere is a concrete example of what we like to call 'system building' and of course found our full support, knowing that today more than ever before the choice of appropriate financial-insurance tools can make all the difference as regards the success of "Made in Italy" world-wide." Brazil is one of the most promising scenarios in sectors linked with the building-construction industry: it is the fifth largest country in the world, the ninth economic power and in coming years will see massive investments in infrastructures, as the host country for football World Cup and the Olympics. The natural stone industry in Brazil. The natural stone industry represents 8% of Brazil's GDP. With over 43,000 tons/year of unprocessed and finished material, Brazil is the third largest exporter of granite. About 50% of national production in Brazil is concentrated in the small Espirito Santo State, which also achieves 65% of exports, with 1.5.40 million tons of blocks and slabs (with 40% of the total number of quarries in Brazil): this region is home to the Vitória Stone Fair and the Cachoeiro Stone Fair. According to Confindustria Marmomacchine data, Brazil is the leading export destination for Made in Italy machinery and equipment with 56.6 million euros in the first 9 months of 2012, up by 43% over 2011. Istat data processed Marmomacc Observatory-Veronafiere also indicate that in 2012, Italy exported worldwide unprocessed, semi-finished and finished stone products worth an overall a value of 1.7 billion euros, up by 9.7% compared to 2011 - with a special emphasis on finished and semi-finished products, totalling 1.4 billion euros (+11% over the previous year).
