It may be an old story, but very special for us. That’s why we like emphasizing it all the time. There is an emotional connection between Marble Trend and Stone+Tec. When we published our first issue in June 2007, Stone+Tec was the first natural stone and technologies event in which we participated. It was one of the most important places for the natural stone market and technologies in Germany, the heart of Europe. Held once every two years, the fair’s last edition was in 2018. Because of the pandemic, the fair opened its doors to the sector after four years.
Stone+Tec was facing serious problems in the last season. It turned a new page with a new organizer. What caught my attention the most was that after four years, the innovations in natural stone technologies were at the forefront throughout the event. The biggest hall of Messe Fair Centre was dedicated to natural stone machinery manufacturers and the biggest crowds were at that hall. The biggest technology company’s attendance at the event proves that. I think the fair’s name could have also been Tec+Stone.
Hosting 220 exhibitor companies, the fair lasted four days and was visited by 9600 people. Stone+tec’s new organizer firm AFAG’s general directors Henning and Thilo Könicke stated that they considered this year’s event as a good step towards taking a position in the sector and said, “Our first Stone+tec event motivated us, and expansion of the fair in 2024 has restored our trust in the project. We loved the sector and realized the potential of the fair. We want to proceed even further with our partners in Germany and abroad.”
From Turkey, Ak Stone, Adelsan, Attra, DS Stone, Mabella, Mahir Stone, Medmar, MKS, and Modamar exhibited at the fair. Rıfat Özdilek underlined that stone technologies were at the forefront of the event and said, “This is the 3rd time we’ve exhibited at the fair. Compared to the other events, we’ve observed that instead of natural stones, technological products were at the forefront. Cutting machines especially. And the fair has got slightly smaller compared to the previous years. Big companies from Germany and Austria were not present this time.” That’s what we’ve observed at Stone+Tec. Let’s see how 2024 will go.
