The 12th Xiamen International Stone Fair Just Keeps Getting Bigger
Torin Dixon
Special Correspondent
Arriving at the Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center in China’s Fujian Provence on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, the most noticeable change from last year, is a mammoth building that has seemingly arisen out of no where.
What was a vast parking lot only one year ago, now stands a four story building boasting 30,000 square meters (323,000 square feet) of conference and exhibit space and scheduled to be completed this August, adding to what is already one of the largest exhibition centers in Asia.
Shortly after arriving, I met with Xiamen Stone Fair Project Manager, Ms. Christabel Zhang and the General Manager for Xiamen Jinhongxin Exhibition Co., Ltd, a Holding Company of XICEC., Mr. Guoxiang Lai to learn more about the growth of the Xiamen International Stone Fair.
“The new building was urgently needed due to the increasing demand from exhibitors who last year needed to be housed in temporary structures,” noted Mr. Lai. “With the help of the local Xiamen City government, this new building was fast-tracked and will be completed in only eighteen months.
”This new investment is a glowing testimony not only to the success of the Xiamen International Stone Fair, but of this International city for many different industries.With this additional new area, the complex will soon house a massive 160,000 square meters (1.722 million square feet) of Conference and Exhibition space. For 2012, the show has added nearly 150 new exhibitors over 2011, for a total of 1,500 exhibitors from fifty-two countries. This year the show has added twelve new representative countries. The Show Manage-ment office had such demand that they had a lengthy waiting list of exhibitors, hoping that someone would cancel and allow them the opportunity to exhibit.
Before we entered the doors of the Conference Center, it was apparent that the outside exhibitor area had grown as well. With twelve new exhibitors outside, this space grew by nearly 33 percent.
Arriving at the registration area, the press of hundreds of people quickly and efficiently picked up their entry badges and proceeded into the Conference Center. Having been to many stone fairs and shows around the world, this show simply defies the senses.
With nearly 1,500 exhibitors, it quickly becomes hard to comprehend that so many stone companies, and stone related products can be represented in one venue.In just one year, the covered exhibition area has grown by nearly twenty percent, adding three new pavilions.
What last year was a nearly empty area with a few fast food vendors, the third floor Hall Q now boasts seventy new vendor-exhibitors, plus the VIP area with Wi-Fi and computer access. For 2012, the Xiamen International Stone Fair boasts exhibit halls A through O, a nearly impossible area to visit in just three and a half days. Pavillion O was interestingly, set up inside the first floor of the new building, yet still under construction, adding nearly 62 exhibitors in this new space.
Not only has the 12th Xiamen International Stone Fair grown in both exhibitors and attendees, the average size of booth space has grown as well by an estimated 20 percent over 2011. The machinery and tool pavilions added dozens more vendors over last year and the area covered by just machinery and tooling is more than 24,000 square meters (260,000 square feet). Talking with colleagues and friends attending the show, each were quite overwhelmed by the sheer mass of area to view.
Each was forced to stop short each of the three days to take a break from the show to try to absorb it all. For 2012 the Xiamen International Stone Fair added more to the conference schedule as well. This year, five sessions were very well attended and featured presenters from Switzerland, Japan and the United States.
I met with one of Xiamen’s premier stone factories, Xiamen Stone Enterprise Group, and spoke with Director, Ms. Rita Han about the 2012 Xiamen Stone Show. Ms. Han noted that certainly, this show represents one of the best venues in the world to showcase their company profile and to meet clients from more than twenty countries, including the United States. She also noted there were more visitors from the US and Europe than in years past. I also spoke with Mr. Rick Dilts, CEO of Dakota Granite, who has been a long-term exhibitor at the Xiamen Stone Fair.
Mr. Dilts indicated that this year’s show was a great success for Dakota Granite, reaching many Asian stone companies and factories. With completion of the new building, Xiamen Stone Fair organizers plan to move the International Pavilions to the new venue, and plan to add an American pavilion for the first time. Now is the time for American companies to begin making plans for 2013.For stone importers and distributors in attendance, there are hundreds of similar stone suppliers at your service all jockeying for business, and eager to make an introduction. Representing nearly 150 countries, 2012 has certainly seen an even larger global audience than in years past. The rough estimate is that more than 130,000 visitors attended.
The Xiamen Stone Fair Management is hoping to make a larger presence in the United States by sending a delegation of XICEC representatives to Coverings 2012 and KBIS 2012 to promote the 2013 Xiamen International Stone Show. With the dramatically larger venue, and with plans to add factory and quarry tours to next years agenda, along with a more robust conference schedule of leading American Architects, the management will certainly meet their goal of becoming the largest stone fair in the world. An accomplishment surely not unnoticed by Marmomacc organizers.From my perspective as an American stone professional, China continues to be a force to be reckoned with, and may easily be misunderstood. However, the Xiamen International Stone Fair is certainly a “must see” event on any stone professional’s conference calendar. For more than a dozen years, the Xiamen Stone Show has been a vital trade show to most of the world.
Americans are slowly catching on to this important venue, and next year will certainly see many more American visitors with perhaps a learning tour organized by the MIA or other US-based stone associations. The management of the Xiamen International Stone Fair is actively pursuing this possible tour arrangement for 2013.It will be very interesting, indeed, to see just how many attendees officially made the trek to Asia this year to attend this significant stone event when the final attendance numbers are released. With the new building ready for The 13th Xiamen International Stone Fair next March, it is hard to believe that this event could continue to grow, but it most certainly will.
Torin Dixon is a 34-year stone industry veteran and consultant on natural stone importing and stone care products. He may be reached at info@stonecareonline.org.