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We did not notice anything to write home about at the 41st Cersaie in Bologna (September 23 – 27, 2024), with a focus on architectural Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings. The trend towards more color and radiance, or more color depth, has only continued.

This continues a development that we noticed a few years ago: the ceramics industry is taking an ever greater liking to exotic natural stones such as onyx and quartzites as well as granites, which in the stone industry are mainly produced in countries such as Iran and Turkey or Brazil.

What is new here, however, is that, unlike previous copies of marble, the aim is not to place the stone on the ceramic carrier layer as close to the original as possible, but only to create similarities. It is astonishing how much luminosity the current printing techniques give the tiles.

It should be mentioned in this context that the machines can also guide a printed image around the edge of the tile. This is not yet perfect, but it is already so good that it gives the ceramic a strong resemblance to natural stone.

The major innovations of the last decade, the huge slabs more than two meters, has become the norm.

High energy costs continue to be a major issue in the industry. The opening congress on the first day of the trade fair, in the presence of the Minister for the Environment, therefore focused on the competitiveness of Italy’s ceramics industry. CO2 emissions trading was heavily criticized. In a press release, the Confindustria Ceramica association writes succinctly about the state of affairs in terms of energy saving: “There are currently no technological solutions that allow further significant improvements and the transition to a completely decarbonized energy vector is neither conceivable nor foreseeable for our companies today. “

The figures for Italy’s ceramics industry 2023: In detail, total sales increased by 0.4% in volume and decreased by (-)4.2% in value. In terms of the value of exports, America is on the rise (+6.8 %), while the EU (-6.9 %), non-EU (-8.3 %) and Italian (-5.7 %) markets recorded declines.

The following table shows the numbers of Cersaie’s visitors and exhibitors since Covid:

Cersaie 2025, September 22 – 26
 

Tagina (Italy).
 

Tagina (Italy).
 

Grespania (Spain).
 

NG Stone (Turkey).
 

NG Stone (Turkey).
 

Iris Ceramica Group (Italy).
 

Gruppo Romani (Italy).