During the event: focus on the Russian market at 10.00 a.m. on Friday 18 May at VeronaFiere Three days - 17-19 May - dedicated to promoting the Verona marble district in Russia. This is the objective of Verona Forum Stone, now at its second edition. The initiative, promoted by stone industry entrepreneurs in the Verona area, also sees the involvement of VeronaFiere in the runup to Marmomacc 2012 - the Vivaldi Room in the Congress Centre will host a convention analysing scenarios on the Russian market and business opportunities for local companies. The Veronese marble field closed 2011 with exports to Russia worth 9.1 million euros, up by more than 54% over 2010. Verona: 7 May 2012. The most important European marble production district and the seventh largest world market will enjoy an important appointment at the second edition of Verona Forum Stone. For three days, in short, from Thursday 17 to Saturday 19 May 2012, companies, architects and engineers in the Verona area will meet a delegation of major buyers from Russia. The event, organised by Centro Servizi Marmo, AS.MA.VE. Consorzio Marmisti Veronesi and Consorzio Val di Pan, also sees the involvement of VeronaFiere. In the run-up to the 47th edition of Marmomacc (www.marmomacc.com) scheduled 26-29 September 2012, the VeronaFiere Congress Centre on Friday 18 May will host the convention titled “Focus on the Russian market: business opportunities”, with the patronage of Ministry for Economic Development. The meeting, at 10.00 a.m. in the Vivaldi Room, will provide extremely useful analysis for stone industry entrepreneurs interested in exporting or investing in Russia: topics range from the general economic scenario to essential financial and insurance instruments and commercial contracts. The event will be attended by the CEO & Director General of VeronaFiere, Giovanni Mantovani, the President of Centro Servizi Marmo,Filiberto Semenzin, Antonio Fallico of the Conoscere Eurasia Association, the Director of the Banca Popolare di Verona Division, Leonello Guidetti, the President of the Verona Accountants Association, Giovanni Battista Alberti, and the President of the Verona Chamber Commerce, Alessandro Bianchi. The Verona marble district views the Russian market with great interest as one of those enjoying high growth rates. There are encouraging prospects: in 2011, the Veronese field finally resumed growth and improved exports from 5.8 million euros to 9.1 millions, with a leap forwards of more than 54%. Not forgetting that there are many projects in Russia providing incentives for international investments. "This initiative," said the CEO & Director General of VeronaFiere, Giovanni Mantovani, "together with the international tour to Las Vegas, Doha and Riyadh, is one of the stop-offs in the run-up to Marmomacc 2012, the international reference exhibition in the natural stone, design and processing technology sector. The focus on Russian buyers confirms VeronaFiere's determination to be the showcase for promoting the international business of companies, all the more so in its home territory - the Veronese marble district." As well as the convention at VeronaFiere, the calendar over the three days of Verona Forum Stone includes a series of B2B meetings with major Russian distributors promoting local excellence in the Valpantena and Valpolicella consortia, thanks to visits to historic companies and informative initiatives. The Centro Servizi Marmo in Volargne is home at 15.00 on Friday 18 May to the technical seminar titled “Using natural stone: examples of applications in ventilated facades”, in collaboration with the Verona Order of Engineers. The program continues in the evening at the Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella auditorium with a convivial occasion for guests based on typical Veronese cuisine and live music. The Centro Servizi Marmi at 10.30 on Saturday 19 May is home to another convention titled “The value of training in re-launching the territory” developed together with Cgil-Cisl-Uil in Verona, with the patronage of CPN and the Vocational Training Centre for Marble in Sant’Ambrogio (Cnos-Fap San Zeno). "Open House" events on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 May until 16.00 p.m. will ensure firsthand knowledge of Veronese marble companies: every company will also present also a wine cellar belonging to the Valpolicella Wine Route Consortium offering product tastings. The companies are: Alberti & Alberti S.R.L., Bauce Bruno & C. S.R.L., Graniti Marmi Affi S.R.L., Grein Italia S.R.L. e Marmi Zenatelli S.R.L.
