Sometimes life makes you understand the value of things the hard way. Remember those days until 2020 when we used to run from fair to fair and we complained about transfers, long journeys and preparing luggage all the time. Then with the pandemic, we started missing all our friends in the sector. Everybody had one question. “When are we going to see those crowded fairs again?” Thank God, once more, the natural stone sector came together at Marble Izmir on March 24-27, 2022. The sector celebrated this natural stone fest just like the old days.
As we said, everything was like it used to be. Let’s start with the numbers. Having hosted 1077 exhibitors and more than 80 thousand visitors in 20219, Marble Izmir achieved similar numbers also in its 27th edition in 2022. According to the official announcement of İZFAŞ, Fuar Izmir welcomed a total of 78,069 visitors over 4 days. This great show was joined by 8590 international visitors from 145 countries. 1015 exhibitors presented their most elegant products to the sector.
Marble Izmir was once more held in an area of 150 thousand square meters. Held at the Halls A, B, C, D, and outdoor areas, the fair had a few novelties too. Hall C was promised to machinery producers by İZFAŞ in August 2021 during the 26th edition of Marble Izmir. The promise was kept and the Hall C was named “Machinery and Technologies Hall”. 60% of this area was given to machinery firms that complained about their places in the outdoor area last year.
The blocks were placed in the outdoor area. With varying weights from 20 to 30 tons, many elegant blocks were presented to the sector. This is a scene that we are used to seeing at Bursa Block Fair, but now also at Izmir Marble. Many of the blocks had already been branded and sold to their buyers before being brought to the fair area. On the last day of the fair, they had already been sold. Giant blocks with varying prices from $80 to $3000, were specially bought by Indian customers.
Let’s get to the opening ceremony. Hosted by Tunç Soyer, mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Gülteki Uysal, leader of the Democratic Party, deputies, Ali Fuat Atik, governor of Denizli, Mahmut Özgener, president of Izmir Chamber of Commerce, Cevat Genç, general director of MAPEG, Aziz Kocaoğlu, ex-mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, and other representatives and leaders from the sector were present in the event. Emphasizing the preparation phase of the fair, Soyer said, “We worked hard to contribute to the sector with Marble Izmir. We are ready to make you meet the world.”
Aydın Dinçer, president of the Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association, said, “I know that this fair will be as great as the previous ones. We can also say that it’s going to direct our future by opening new markets.” And Mevlüt Kaya, president of the Aegean Mineral Exporters’ Association, said, “We’ve opened our doors to the world thanks to this fair. We were in the beginners league but now we are playing in the champions’ league. İbrahim Alimoğlu, board chairman of TÜMMER, thanked Soyer, mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality.
Also, the exporters’ associations have contributed to the progress of Izmir Marble. İMİB, EMİB, Denizli Exporter’s Associaton (DENİB), and Western Mediterranean Exporters’ Association (BAİB) have cooperated and organized a buying committee. Within the scope of the program, 500 professionals from Germany, the USA, Arabia, Albania, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, the UAE, United Kingdom, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Algiers, Ethiopia, Palestine, South Africa, India, Iraq, Spain, Israel, Italy, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Macedonia, Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, Slovakia, Tunisia, Oman, Jordan, Greece, came to Izmir.
One of the most important aspects of the fairs is their international exhibitors. Even though Turkey is at the summit of natural stone production in the world, international exhibitors at Fuar Izmir are just as important. Marble Izmir hosted international exhibitors from Germany, the USA, Italy, Greece, India, and Hong Kong, but the most dominant one was Iran. The Iranian Pavillion was at the foyer of Hall C, where 20 companies from Iran exhibited their products. Mohammad Halajian, one of the Iranian visitors, gifted a special carpet to Canan Karaosmanoğlu, general director of İZFAŞ on the last day of the event, and said, “Marble Izmir is among the leading natural stone events of the world. And we always stand behind the organization.”
Boutique stones are the trends of the last season. With their linear shapes in different colors, they draw attention due to their mobile patterns. They again played the leading role at Izmir Marble. Many elegant bookmatch works adorned the stands and Fair Izmir has reflected the natural stone’s magic to its visitors. Everybody was in awe and Marble 2022 was the fair of huge bookmatches.
And creating difference is one of the keys to such events. Izmir Marble did a good job also in this matter. You should have seen the place! Music recitals of Çobanlar Marble, Marilyn Monroe – Elvis Presley show of Soylu Marble and the chess board made of marble by Yenidoğanay, and the soccer table, Mabella Marble’s zeybek show with a zurna made of marble and Natur Marbles huge Hulk statue. The fair was full of interesting ideas this year. Alimoğlu Marble, which draws attention with its technological studies in the natural stone sector, exhibited its stones with the metaverse technology.
In many interviews made during the event, experts mentioned the importance of natural stone uses in the sector. Speaking in the session “Different Uses of Marble in Design and Architecture”, Daniel Wood, an expert from the American Natural Stone Institute, said, “Natural materials should be used in architecture and design. Artificial materials are not as aesthetic as natural stones and are short-lived. They are also expensive and look fake.” Soheil Motevaselani Pour, an architect from Iran, said, “Nature is the teacher of all of us. We need to stick to the traditional approach in our designs and proceed by integrating the novelties.”
And Marble Trend. We’ve missed it a lot. Enjoying the fest-like atmosphere of Izmir Fair, meeting with friends and chattering with them. If we exclude Marble 2021, which was like a hybrid fair under the pandemic conditions, we’ve had a good fair like the old days after 2019. We distributed our 57th issue and welcomed our friends from the natural stone sector at our stand in the foyer. We chased the most accurate news and the best photos. We were tired but also happy when we were leaving the fair.
The dates of the 28th edition of Izmir Marble were also announced. Turkey’s huge organization in the natural stone sector is going to be held on April 26-29, 2023, on the 100th anniversary of the republic. Because it coincides with Ramadan on April 21-23, the fair has been postponed to the end of April.
