Exhibition World Supplements Italy Supplement

Italy Supplement ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP’S AMBITION ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP (IEG) OUTLINES ITS FAST-PACED EVOLUTION Andrea Cocchi, CEO - Carpigiani Group Palacongressi di Rimini Value to production chains that express the very best of Made in Italy and connection with the big global trade show players. These are Italian Exhibition Group’s two main objectives. IEG holds ﬁ rst place among Italian trade show players in terms of own products in its portfolio and second place for turnover volume with shows involving the Food&Beverage, Green, Technology, Entertainment, Tourism, Transport, Wellness, Jewellery and Fashion, Lifestyle&Innovation sectors. With top-class exhibition and congress locations in Italy at Rimini and Vicenza (as well as oﬃ ces in Milan and Turin) and abroad in Dubai, IEG favours the internationalisation of companies representing Italian ‘Beautiful and Well Done’ around the world, thanks to a solid presence and worldwide expertise with joint ventures in the United Arab Emirates, China, the USA, India and South America. At the beginning of 2018, IEG deﬁ ned some important international agreements: the joint venture with VNU Exhibition Asia (Utrecht Expo) became operative for two shows in China scheduled for 2018 in Shanghai w w w.exhibitionworld.co.uk Fiera di Vicenza and Chengdu, dedicated to the tourism industry. It also acquired a 51 per cent holding of FB International Inc., a company that specialises in trade show outﬁ tting in Oakland and Las Vegas. IEG’s 2017 closed with 15,649 exhibitors and 2,648,675 visitors. The calendar currently includes 60 shows - of which SIGEP, VICENZAORO, TECNARGILLA, ECOMONDO, TTG, RIMINIWELLNESS are the most distinctive – and IEG’s accreditation for promoting and implementing activities relating to Corporate Social Responsibility along the jewellery and precious metal production chain has also been renewed for 2018 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), through CIBJO (World Jewellery Confederation). Italian Exhibition Group is currently investing 21.5 million Euros to extend the Rimini Exhibition Centre and plans further investments to modernize the Expo Centre in Vicenza as well as yet another signiﬁ cant extension to Rimini. IEG, Italy’s top organiser in terms of earnings, forecasts achieving a turnover of 159 million Euros in 2018 (with a predicted operational margin of 27 million Euros). A long-lasting collaboration between IEG and Carpigiani rapidly extended outside the trade show perimeter. Carpigiani Group, the Bolognese company, was founded in 1946, and is now a world leader in the production of machinery for craft ice cream. It has been a participant in the Sigep adventure since the very beginning. “A indispensible moment for every production chain participant, where trends for the coming seasons are clearly deﬁ ned,” says Andrea Cocchi, CEO of Carpigiani Group, “Over the years, our collaboration has broadened and developed into a series of important international events for spreading the culture of craft ice cream. In 2013, we launched Gelato World Tour, the ﬁ rst inter- continental competition for ice-cream makers, and now we are preparing to face a four-year touring challenge with Gelato Festival, which will bring the world’s best ice-cream artisans to the fore.” Fiera di Rimini Issue 2 2018 19

Exhibition World Supplements Italy Supplement | Page 19