Launching the first day of the 26th Annual Cersaie exhibition in Bologna, Italy, was the International Press Conference, an event that was attended by nearly 250 journalists and guests from all over the world.

During the conference Confindustria Ceramica Chairman Alfonso Panzani, Chairman of the Association’s Promotional Activities Commission Vittorio Borelli, Chairman of Federchimica and MAPEI Giorgio Squinzi, and Director of the promotional and international cooperation department of the Italian Trade Commission ICE Marco Cimini provided a detailed picture of the state of the ceramic sector and the context within which the Italian ceramic industry finds itself operating today. The proceedings were coordinated by the Director General of Confindustria Ceramica Armando Cafiero, who in his opening remarks commented on the international success of an event that has been repeated for the last 26 years.

Confindustria Ceramica Chairman Alfonso Panzani

In his address, Confindustria Ceramica Chairman Alfonso Panzani listed the critical factors relating to the international financial and property crisis. “Although the United States has driven the world’s economy for the past 15 years, we now need to look towards other markets.”

Despite the disconcerting development in the U.S. however, Panzani advised that "we should not be afraid of the future" and predicted that the American economy would no longer be the primary driver of world demand.

Furthermore, Panzani stated that although economic predictions were of great concern, Tile of Italy’s promotion and efforts in the American market would continue without strategic changes.

Panzani added that Tile of Italy plans a strong promotional action after the November election coinciding with an expected upswing in economic activity, which typically follows a presidential election.

MAPEI Chairman Giorgio Squinzi

Vittorio Borelli outlined the promotional strategies adopted by the Italian ceramic tile industry. In his address he discussed the strategies pursued by the sector. “We have based our strategy on the concept of Italian spirit, expressed through a culture of integrated sustainable development, from raw materials through to the place of consumption, and an ethical scheme in which more than a hundred Italian companies voluntarily declare the origin of sold products.”

To explore the way that Italian spirit is expressed in modern architecture and interior design, Vittorio Borelli introduced “Le Case di Aida,” a video presenting about fifty major projects carried out in Italy and worldwide using Italian ceramic tiles. The enthusiastic applause demonstrated the audience’s appreciation of these Italian ceramic masterpieces set to the music of Giuseppe Verdi’s famous aria.

Winners of the Confindustria Ceramica Distributors Award, a competition open to European distributors that have excelled in their relations with the Italian tile industry, includeed Neoceramica SA from Spain

Promoting Italian tiles worldwide is the aim of the initiatives conducted by the Italian Trade Commission ICE, which were outlined by Marco Cimini, director of the promotional and international cooperation department. “ICE has 115 offices located in 98 different countries the world over and each year organizes numerous promotional initiatives in the various product sectors in which it operates, obviously including Italian ceramic tiles. Italian tiles have precise characteristics and the only way of securing large market shares is to keep product quality high. ICE’s goal in the near future is to continue to support Italian tile sector companies in consolidated markets without neglecting new markets characterized by strong manufacturing and building activities.”

Ragno's Cersaie exhibition booth

Floor Gres

The Cersaie gala evening featured the presentation ceremony for the Confindustria Ceramica Distributors Award, a competition open to European distributors that have excelled in their relations with the Italian tile industry. The winners were Nuova Comes srl from Italy, Galeries du Carrelage from France, Schmidt Rudersdorf from Germany and Neoceramica SA from Spain.

Finally, A new feature was the presentation of the Cersaie Award to the best booths at the show. A highly qualified jury consisting of Aldo Colonetti (director of IED Milano), Gilda Bojardi (editor of Interni) and Franco Origoni (Origoni&Steiner) chose Coem Ceramiche, Ceramiche del Conca and Refin Ceramiche as winners in the ceramic tile category. For bathroom furnishing – “one of the two sectors represented at Cersaie,” commented Panzani – the award went to Ceramica Dolomite, Falper and Rubinetteria Cristina.