News

Bologna, 3 October 2006 – It comes as no surprise that Bologna has been host to Cersaie, the international trade fair of ceramics for architecture and bathroom furnishing, in a region that boasts 80% of the national production of tiles. Cersaie, which ended on 30 September, this year beat all records: over 90 thousand visitors over five days of the event, with an increase of 2.7% compared to 2005 and growth of 6.8% in the numbers of foreign professional traders. Figures that bring the share of foreign visitors to 29%, the highest among Italian trade fairs, rating Cersaie as one of the most important sector events on a worldwide level.

The Living sector in Emilia-Romagna includes the sectors of wood and furnishing, ceramics and building. As highlighted in the Ervet report ‘The traits of excellence in the Emilia-Romagna Living sector’, commissioned by the Region, it is one of the most important sectors of the region in terms of economic dimensions and number of employees. With a total of 133,899 employees and an export value of 4 million euro, with a growth of 15% from 2000 to 2004, this sector represents approx. 9% of regional employees and 12% of exports of Emilia-Romagna.

A strategic area in this sector is ceramics, made up of 895 local production units concentrated in the province of Modena (half of the total), Reggio Emilia and the remaining provinces, above all in Ravenna and Bologna. Production is located mainly in the district of Sassuolo (Modena) which supplies 80% of national production. In Sassuolo there are 260 companies, including international groups such as Granitifiandre and Florim Ceramiche as well as small and medium businesses, for a total of 22 thousand employees. Another giant of ceramics is present in Bologna, Marazzi, a group exporting products worldwide.
The sector has also seen significant developments in companies producing machinery and technology for tile manufacturers. In fact the manufacture of systems for ceramic tile production has become a strategic business of the sector and shows strong tendencies towards exports. 

The sector of wood and furniture is made up of 7,878 local units and is linked to the furnishing industry, in particular to the production of woodworking machinery, for which the region is one of the top in Italy.
The wood sector includes furniture and building products including doors, windows and gates. Production is concentrated in the areas of Carpi, Modena, Rimini and in particular in the province of Forlì-Cesena where there is a core of excellence in the production of upholstered furniture and lounge furniture with over 100 companies and 4,000 employees. Meanwhile the areas of Parma and Reggio Emilia are host to companies specialised in kitchens, home furniture and household appliances, with Parma specialised in bedrooms and kitchens, and Novi (Modena), in the manufacture of wooden staircases. Companies of excellence in the sector include Cierre Imbottiti (Forlì), Mascagni spa (Bologna), and the cooperative Coop Legno (Modena).

The building sector includes production materials and technologies for construction activities – lifting, excavation, earth-moving – as well as machinery for ceramics production. In Emilia-Romagna, there are 16,394 local units operating in the building sector, concentrated above all in the provinces of Bologna and Modena. The development of an intense building trade, a feature of the area since the 1950s, has contributed to the growth in the sector of earth-moving machinery, cranes and other lifting equipment, with a significant contribution made by the sub-contractor companies in the motor design and manufacture sector present in the regional territory. Companies of excellence include Bacchi (Reggio Emilia) regarding extraction activities, and Industria Laterizi Giavarini (Parma), and Trevi (Cesena).

- Ervet research(.pdf)
- www.cersaie.it