Fair adds two new pavilions to accommodate 838 brands and expects to beat record number of visitors, with more than 83,000 professionals poised to attend.
The increase in the number of foreign exhibitors, mainly from Italy, the boom in the bathroom furnishings sector and the presence this year of specialist machinery for the ceramic tile industry have made Cevisama 2018 the biggest edition of recent years. The fair takes place at Feria Valencia from 5th to 9th February and expects to beat the record number of visitors who attended last year, when 83,000 professionals flocked to the Valencia venue, with more than 16,700 – an unprecedented number – from overseas markets.
Well-established as one of the foremost events on the international trade fair circuit and considered by independent research (“Ranking of the 20 leading trade fairs”, Institute for Governance Co-ordinates and Applied Economics) as Spain’s fourth most effective fair in terms of the value it provides to professionals, Cevisama will be showing the very latest in floor and wall tiles, frits, glazes and colours, roof tiles and bricks, materials and tools, natural stone and bathroom furnishings, along with specialist machinery for the ceramic tile industry – a sector that is only featured in even-numbered years. In order to accommodate demand, the fair has had to take over an extra two pavilions and will thus be occupying ten, covering a total of 122,000 square metres. 838 companies will be exhibiting, directly or indirectly, across the ten pavilions: 506 Spanish and 332 foreign, from a total of 44 countries, mostly from the European market and principally from Spain and Italy.
Notable presence of Italian firms
The space occupied for commercial purposes has increased by 20% against 2016, the last comparable edition as it is the most recent one to have included machinery. Particularly significant is the increase in the number of Italian companies exhibiting – up by more than 50%. As Cevisama’s president, Manuel Rubert, explains, “the fair’s positioning, its power to draw visitors and exhibitors and the recovery of demand in Spain have all helped propel this growth.”
Equally, the rising number of exhibitors from the bathroom sector is driving the sustained growth Cevisama has experienced over the last few editions. “Right now, Cevisama is the only powerful sales platform for the bathroom sector in our country and the fair is now the foremost event for the industry,” Rubert points out, adding that this time “some of the major players in the industry are exhibiting, which clearly constitutes a draw that, combined with the effort we have invested in sales and marketing, means we have recruited a significant number of new exhibitors.”
Manufacturers go for innovation
Manufacturers’ confidence in Cevisama is reflected in the new collections and innovations in manufacturing that all the sectors involved will be showing at the fair. In fact, exhibitors have already listed around 200 new product developments in the catalogue, which can be viewed online via the fair’s website, https://catalogocevisama. feriavalencia.com/
The new propositions on view at Cevisama this year include minimum thickness high quality large formats and much smaller, exclusive tiles. Audacity and colour are back as important elements, but the major feature is the material, with faithful reproductions of marble, granite and veined and mottled stone.
Two Pritzker prize winners at CevisamaLab Forum
As well as the appeal of the showcase as a whole and the new products manufacturers are showing, this edition also boasts a first-rate programme of parallel events. The fair’s organizing committee has made a considerable effort to make a qualitative leap in this area and, led by celebrated architect and critic Luis Fernández-Galiano, has put together an exceptional programme for the Cevisama Lab Architecture Forum, featuring top-level speakers such as Pritzker prize winners Rafael Moneo and Eduardo Souto de Moura.The Trans-hitos exhibit of new uses for ceramic will look at the important part the material plays in the new “social architecture” trends, whilst the Alfa de Oro prizes will once again recognize the most innovative products on show at the fair, this time with the help of Spain’s Minster for Energy, Álvaro Nadal. The “Best Interior Design on a Stand” prize, the ceramic design and bathroom design competitions, the Exco technical sessions and the installation demonstrations given by Proalso are also part of the Cevisama 2018 programme of activities.
Tribute to Retailers
The aim is to make the fair more alluring so as to attract quality visitors, both specifiers involved in projects and the contract channel – architects, interior designers, designers and property developers – and major retailers. In line with this aim Cevisama is launching a fresh initiative this year, “Retailer Day”, to recognise the part retailers play in driving the ceramic tile and bathroom industries forward. “Retailer Day” is on 7th February and will include a presentation on the new digital era and the industry, and a ceremony at which a number of awards will be handed out.
On the international front, Cevisama has carried out a number of promotional activities over the last twelve months designed to attract visitors with buying potential and has struck deals with retail groups in the United States and the main European markets, as well as with associations of architects and interior designers.
