American, European Stone Shows Join Forces
-- Tradeshow Week, 7/21/2008
Hanley Wood Exhibitions and Italy's Veronafiere have joined forces to mount StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas, a rebranded edition of StonExpo, Hanley Wood's natural stone tradeshow, and Veronafiere's stone and design sector tradeshow, Marmomacc. The jointly organized show will be held Oct. 15-18 at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Galen Poss, president of Hanley Wood, said his company's StonExpo grew 95 percent in the past three years, helping to propel it into a global market. Hanley Wood officials said they expect significant growth in the architecture and design market segments with this new alliance.
“The combination of resources between Marmomacc and StonExpo will bring extraordinary value to the industry and the participants of future events,” he added. “This is a big win for the North American stone community.”
Veronafiere, which will continue to hold its annual Marmomacc tradeshow in Verona, Italy, with the 43th edition scheduled Oct. 2-5, has had endorsement agreements with Hanley Wood in the past. StonExpo most recently was held Oct. 18-20, also at Mandalay Bay.
“We are excited about expanding the Marmomacc brand and increasing our exposure and visibility in North America,” said Flavio Piva, market director and co-director general of Veronafiere. “We feel confident this new arrangement will only continue to strengthen both of these leading events.”
Marmomacc brings with it an agreement with the Marble Institute of America to sponsor a new Grand Pinnacle Award, a worldwide competition for commercial and residential natural stone projects.
“This alliance between StonExpo and Marmomacc continues the growth and reputation of the leading stone tradeshow here in the U.S.” said Garis Distelhorst, executive vice president for MIA. “This new alliance and the rebranding of StonExpo completes a perfect circle in the stone industry.”
