The Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters’ Association hosted an event for companies interested in Turkish stone suppliers

Turkish stone connections

Stonemasons and other industry professionals such as architects, builders, importers, exporters and distributors could connect with natural stone companies from Turkey in a series of events facilitated by Blink Group

Turkish stone imports coming into the Australian market made up 18% of the total value of all natural stone imports during the 2018-19 financial year, according to data compiled by Discovering Stone contributor, Peter Halliday.

The percentage in value of natural stone imports from Turkey for that year was more than Italy (14.1%) but nowhere near China (45.3%).

Baris Atayma, founder of B2B matchmaking and marketing company, Blink Group has also seen data that indicates a year-on-year increase of Turkish natural stone

Murat Turkoglu and Ali Ozcelik from AKDO attended the Melbourne event

exports to Australia during December 2019 and January 2020.

His company was contracted by the Istanbul Mineral and Metals Exporters’ Association (IMMIB) to organise the one-on-one meetings. They were held at the Sheraton Melbourne and Hyatt Regency Sydney respectively.

In terms of promoting the events, Baris explains, “We ran an awareness campaign promoting the events through Discovering Stone magazine, e-newsletters and LinkedIn advertising. We also built our own contact lists through publicly available data, and researched the companies involved”. IMMIB contributes to the development of foreign trade that is aligned with the interests of the Turkish government. It represents around 25,000 members that produce and/or export products and services.

More specifically, it works to increase exports in the minerals sector that includes the natural stone industry.

The organisation also provides export advice and assistance to members to raise their competitiveness in global markets. IMMIB lifts the profile of the minerals sector through trade exhibitions, buying and trade missions as well as projects.

Stone origins Turkey has one of the world’s oldest marble production sites and has history dating back 4000 years producing natural stone, starting at Marmara Island. It provided material for statues and monuments for the ancient Greeks and Romans.

The country is also a leading supplier travertine. Similar to Italy, Turkey has a major reputation for stone quarrying. It has close to 5,000 natural stone quarries and approximately 1,750 workshops and factories located there. The country yields more than 250 different types of marble and travertine, shipping it to more than 130 countries around the world.

According to the Turkish government, more than 30 per cent of the world’s reserves of marble are in Turkey. Most of it comes from an area west of the 31st Parallel and south of Istanbul. White and travertine are its best-known natural stone products, but the country is a source of granite, limestone, and onyx too.

One of the top-selling Turkish products is Turkish Carrara. Not to be confused with Italian Carrara marble, it’s a white marble with more of a yellowish hue than the pure white Italian version. But it’s a choice that gives the same crisp, clean look of white marble at a fraction of the pr ice. n

AWISA exhibition postponement

The AWISA exhibition planned for July this year was going to include probably the largest display of stone processing machinery ever presented at an Australian trade show. Six major suppliers had booked for the show, at the very time when the stone industry is wanting to learn more about modern and automated equipment. However, at the AWISA Ltd board meeting on Friday 6 March the decision was made to postpone the AWISA exhibition planned for 1-4 July 2020. The reasons all relate to coronavirus. The board first and foremost considered the health and safety of visitors and the staff of exhibiting companies. It is clear that in Australia the coronavirus is only in its early stages, and on the basis of the experience in China and other countries it still has many weeks or months to run its course.

Normally an AWISA exhibition has a combined attendance in the order of 12,000, both visitors and exhibitors. At the moment, such gatherings are allowed but that may change. Then there is the subject of the confidence that people may have in planning travel in 15 weeks time. This confidence is already suffering. AWISA has never been in the business of running half-hearted exhibitions. The association did not hold an event in 2010 because of the GFC, and the board feels that the circumstances today have similarities. In the board’s view, the shows that followed 2010 were far stronger than if a diminished 2010 exhibition had taken place. Then the board considered the effect of coronavirus on the woodworking industry worldwide. Three of the key countries that contribute products to AWISA exhibitions are Germany, Italy and China. All have cancelled or postponed exhibitions in the last few weeks.

Many AWISA members are experiencing difficulty sourcing products from overseas in time for the planned July dates. Especially China where factories have been shut for weeks. Worldwide, there are shortages of components and of shipping containers, and in some cases products are not allowed to be moved within, or out of countries. There is also the problem of getting technicians and product specialists to travel to Australia - all essential to the running of the exhibition. Some companies and unions in Europe have banned international travel. Such travel is also currently uninsurable. Many major AWISA exhibitors bring between 10 and 25 technicians and other staff to the show. All of them are essential to the running of a show of AWISA’s size.

This decision has not been taken lightly. It is not a panicked or hysterical reaction, but a businesslike reaction to what is actually happening in other parts of the world, and to what is highly likely to happen in Australia. The board is bitterly disappointed that this decision has had to be made. AWISA 2020 was close to being sold out. The decision to postpone was made just as this magazine going to print, and discussions were about to be held with the venue regarding dates a few months later than originally planned. Up to date information will be available at www.awisa.com/exhibition. ■ AWISA 2020 1-4 July 2020 ICC Sydney Exhibition Centre Darling Harbour Sydney