Stone sector gathers more than 10 thousand visitors at Stone Ibérica

Stone Ibérica was a success, with more than 10 thousand professional visitors over the three days of the event, which brought together more than 300 brands from 100 exhibiting companies, at Exposalão, in Batalha, Leiria.

On the first and second day of the fair there were many visitors from the Northern region of the country, who could see up close the innovations and trends in the industry of ornamental stones, marble, limestone, granite, among others.

The Stone Ibérica fair provided visitors with a wide range of activities, such as lectures, workshops and product presentations. Professionals were able to learn about new markets, technologies and products, as well as exchange contacts and do business.

"For the first time we bet on a shorter edition than usual, holding the event over three days, and we found it to be a wise choice. The visitors grew day by day, especially the professionals of the sector, who joined in force. In the first days we registered a strong presence of the Northern region", said José Frazão, CEO of Exposalão, promoter of the event.

With the presence of a wide range of companies in the stone industry, Stone Ibérica has created conditions for a new challenge, betting on a more northern location, with the next edition to be held in the first half of 2025 at Exponor, in Matosinhos, Porto, enabling greater dynamics given the proximity of the international airport, thus establishing itself as an important business point for professionals in the sector in the Iberian Peninsula and new international markets.

Sustainability is one of the challenges of the ornamental stones sector is contributing to the renovation and recovery of the quarries, integrating them into the surrounding environment.

The Secretary of State for the Economy, Pedro Cilínio, during his visit to the fair, recognized the strong contribution of this activity to the national economic viability, which contributes with 500 million euros a year to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"The visit was very interesting. I had the opportunity to see in loco a number of top Portuguese companies. Not only companies in the area of stone, transformation and extraction, but also companies that produce very advanced equipment for the industry. This also shows us that this whole sector has had a very interesting development in the sense of increasing value with the products that it delivers to the market. This is a fair already with some dimension and with a very interesting offer".

The Global Stone Congress, held in the Batalha Monastery, made of limestone with stone from the region, with a great work developed in the Gothic style, which lasts until today, was promoted by the Cluster of Mineral Resources, University of Évora and ASSIMAGRA. With an action, that attracted dozens of congressmen, architects, professors and businessmen, from several countries that visited several factories and quarries in the region, who also got to know the exhibition.

The program announced was also one of the most attractive elements during the course of the event, adding several participants. Stone Ibérica thus proved to be a unique opportunity for visitors and companies, consolidating itself as one of the main fairs of the sector in the Iberian market.