The Valencian industrialist takes over from Francisco Perelló in heading up Maderalia’s Organising Committee, with the next edition of the fair slated to take place alongside FIMMA next year, 2024.

Bermejo, who is also president of the industry’s independent trade association, FEVAMA, is committed to “promoting the entire industry” and “enhancing how the fair addresses the challenges of “digitalization and sustainability”.

Valencia, 16^th January 2023.- Alejandro Bermejo is new president of Maderalia. The 45-year-old Valencian industrialist has taken over from Francisco Perelló at the helm of the Organising Committee for the furniture, timber and carpentry sector’s ancillary industry, which returns, alongside FIMMA, in 2024. Perelló is stepping down from the presidency of Maderalia following more than 15 successful years in the post that positioned the timber biennial as the leading event for the industry in both Latin America and southern Europe.

Bermejo claims he is “thrilled” to be taking over and “very eager to get started” with preparing the next edition of the fair, set to take place next year on the back of the most recent event, in 2022, that saw FIMMA + Maderalia exceed the most optimistic expectations, with more than 35,000 trade visitors attending – 10% more than the previous edition – and the international market recovering.

Bermejo has set himself the challenge of “enhancing how the fair addresses the challenges that are emerging in this era of digitalization and sustainability”. Maderalia’s new president comments in this regard that “fairs should be a key meeting point for everybody involved in the industry: business owners, customers, specifiers, agents and so on. This fair is needed more than ever before and is on the facing what is going to be a period of significant challenges that we need to address by promoting the value of every aspect of the industry”.

Extensive industry experience

Alejandro Bermejo (b. Valencia, 1977) is a business leader with a long career in industry and in this particular sector. With an advanced qualification (Técnico Superior) in Environmental Health gained at the Universitat de València, Bermejo was instrumental in the genesis of Alto Turia in 2000, and the company has since, over the years, positioned itself as a major player in the competitive market for hardwood products and in the market for wood flooring and cladding and contract projects. 15% of the company’s annual turnover is already credited to exports, with its products going to markets worldwide.

Maderalia’s new president also takes part regularly in fora organised by the industry’s main associations and representative bodies. He has in fact been president of the industry’s independent trade association, FEVAMA (the Comunidad Valenciana Federation of Timber and Furniture Businesses) since 2020 and has been president of carpentry trade association ASEMAD (the Comunidad Valenciana Association of Carpentry and Associated Businesses) since 2017. Alejandro Bermejo is also a member of several working groups within the  Comunitat Valenciana Confederation of Businesses (CEV) and the Valencia Chamber of Commerce.    

+info

https://fimma-maderalia.feriavalencia.com/

The success of the last edition, visited by more than two thousand professionals, is behind the move to stage the sixth edition of Spain’s leading trade fair for functional ingredients, ‘novel foods’ and finished products.

Nutraceuticals 2023 is set to return to the Barcelona International Convention Centre exhibition space – CCIB – following the positive experience of it hosting the fair for the first time this year.

València, 2 January 2023.- the dates for the next Nutraceuticals Europe Summit & Expo have already been set. The sixth edition of Spain’s leading trade fair for functional ingredients, ‘novel foods’ and finished products will be taking place on 8^th and 9^th March, once again at the Barcelona International Convention Centre – CCIB.

The event returns to the schedule of international fairs for the sector following the success of this year’s show, which received massive support from members of the industry, with more than 2200 professionals visiting: 12% up on the number that attended the previous edition.

What is more, this year’s Nutraceuticals took place at a new venue following its time in Madrid. The modern facilities of the Barcelona International Convention Centre – CCIB hosted Nutraceuticals for the first time and, judging by the opinions voiced by both exhibitors and visitors, to great effect.

Excellent prospects

With the dates and venue now confirmed, the fair’s technical team, headed by the event’s director Esther Cano, has already started making contacts to put together a strong, quality showcase that will attract visitors from across the industry. The aim is to continue boosting Nutraceuticals Europe Summit & Expo as the best voice for the industry, showing the market the latest advances and innovations in the field, many of which are remarkable and give an indication of the trends set to emerge in the very near future.

This year’s edition of Nutraceuticals managed to almost fill the space booked for the fair at the Barcelona venue, with 107 exhibitors from 16 different countries. As regards the upcoming edition, the organisers have indicated that there has been significant interest from both companies that exhibited this year and from others that have expressed their intention to take part in the event.

Nutraceuticals Europe Summit & Expo has also started to put together the programme of parallel events, which will consist primarily of demonstrations and practical talks focused on the latest scientific innovations and advances on show at the fair.

+info

https://www.nutraceuticalseurope.com/

The man behind ‘Veles e Vents’ and 2021 Pritzker Prize winner are set to headline the Architecture Forum at the upcoming edition of Cevisama, slated to run from 27^th February to 3^rd March at Feria Valencia.

Valencia, 15^th November 2022.- Cevisama is still adding content to its upcoming edition, which takes place from 27^th February to 3^rd March at Feria Valencia. One outstanding element will be the participation of two top-level architects – David Chipperfield, creator amongst other things of the iconic ‘Veles e Vents’ at Valencia’s Marina, and 2021 Pritzker Prize winner Anne Lacaton. The confirmation of Chipperfield and Lacaton’s participation is excellent news, according to the fair’s director, Carmen Álvarez: “We are aiming to bring more of the foremost figures from the word of architecture on board”, she maintains. She also explained that the organisation is still working on recruiting more speakers of that level and that they are waiting for a few more confirmations from speakers of similar standing.

David Chipperfield, an architect with a language of this own

David Chipperfield (b. London, 1953) studied architecture at Kingston School of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London before founding his own practice in 1985, which now has offices in London, Berlin, Milan and Shanghai.  He is a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects. His many accolades include the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2010), the RIBA Gold Medal (2011) and the Praemium Imperiale, awarded by the Japan Art Association (2013).

The author of outstanding work such as the restoration of the Neues Museum in Berlin (2009) and the Zurich Kunsthaus extension (2020), his work in Spain includes the ‘Veles e Vents’ building, a joint project with Fermín Vázquez/b720 completed for the Americas Cup in Valencia (2006) and the City of Justice in Barcelona (2008).  As well as practicing his profession, David Chipperfield has also taught and lectured at schools of architecture all over the world. In 2012 he curated the Venice Architecture Biennale, that he styled ‘Common Ground’.  In 2017 he created the Fundación RIA in Spain, a private non-profit organisation that promotes economic, environmental and cultural development in Galicia. 

Anne Lacaton, Pritzker 2021, at the peak of her career

Anne Lacaton (b. Saint-Pardoux, France, 1955) is an architect and joint founder of the Lacaton Vassal studio and won the Pritzker Prize in 2021. She has been a teacher at the Federal Polytechnic in Zürich since 2017, and a visiting professor on the MCH (Master in Collective Housing) course at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. She founded her practice in partnership with Jean-Philippe Vassal in Paris in 1987, after graduating from the Bordeaux School of Architecture and completing their training as town planners. In their earliest pieces of work, such as the Latapie house in Bordeaux, they displayed an honesty and respect for the surroundings that they showed again in the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. 

Their study of construction extends to a huge range of types and scales, from the variable functionality approach in the Nantes School of Architecture to the technical innovation deployed in the refurbishment of the Bois-le-Prêtre tower in Paris and the simple shapes used in the shipyards that house the FRAC museum in Dunkirk.

The French practice has also demonstrated its architectural restraint and social commitment in projects such as the transformation of three blocks housing 530 homes in Bordeaux – completed in partnership with Frédéric Druot and Christophe Hutin and winner of the Mies van der Rohe prize in 2019— which champions refurbishment of obsolete building over demolition, along with an economy of movement and mediums focused on making the best of resources and providing comfort for the user. 

Cevisama booking up fast

Space at Cevisama is currently being booked “at a pretty fast pace”, according to the fair’s director, Carmen Alvarez, who has noted that more than 350 exhibitors have already confirmed their presence at the event. These include brands such as Neolith, Ceramica Mayor, Gres de Aragón, APE Grupo, Cerámicas Halcón, Ceracasa, Peronda, Baldocer, Keraben, Grupo STN, Aparici, Apavisa, Poalgi, Visobath, Vidres, Esmaltes, Smalticeram, Sigmadiamant, Chumillas Technology and Macer. It is expected that at this rate Cevisama 2023 will bring together over 500 brands as exhibitors and occupy eight of Feria Valencia’s. halls.

Cevisama’s director has also announced the launch of the guest buyer programme, adding that “This campaign is being exceptionally well received”. It is worth remembering in this regard that with support from the Generalitat Valenciana (the Valencia Regional Government) Feria Valencia has a budget of a million euros available to dedicate to recruiting quality visitors for this upcoming edition of Cevisama. “We hope that the presence of foreign buyers from the target markets will be the biggest and best that Cevisama has ever seen,” Alvarez commented.

+info:

cevisama.com

• The three fairs taking place at the same time translated into the number of visiting professionals being 30% higher than expected, according to closing figures. 

• Patricia Urquiola, born in Asturias but now based in Milan, put the final touch to Hábitat 2022, consolidating event as international point of reference for design.  

Valencia, 27^th September 2022.- The most optimistic forecasts are exceeded.  Feria Hábitat València, Home Textiles Premium by Textilhogar and Espacio Cocina SICI have run alongside each other for four days it is looking like more than 48,000 professionals have attended the three fairs since they opened last Tuesday. The figure represents a 30% increase over the figures for the last editions of each of the fairs, which took place separately in 2019, and vindicates the investment in creating a large-format fair with huge power to attract an audience from across the industries involved.

Equally, the figures ratify the sense running through the aisles at Feria Valencia almost as soon as the events started that turnout was considerably greater than expected. Solid proof was that hotel occupancy in the city of Valencia was extremely high throughout that week. According to industry sources, the hotels close to Feria Valencia were 92% full for the week and attribute 40 to 50 of that occupation rate to the fairs taking place.

Feria Hábitat Valencia director Daniel Marco has said he is “deeply satisfied” with the results of this edition, especially “by Feria Valencia’s ability to coordinate an event that all sectors joined up to, creating a huge fair with huge power to attract visitors.”  Also, Marcos says, “we have been the perfect showcase and the high point of Valencia’s celebrations as World Design Capital. But beyond that, we have generated business for our industry and the different sales channels, through both distributors and the contract sector”.

Juan Luis Salvador, president of the Espacio Cocina SICI fair and of the kitchen furniture association, AMC, has claimed for his part that he is “very satisfied” with his sector’s move to run at the same time as Hábitat in particular. “We expanded the scope of our visitor profile, so the opportunities for our exhibitors to do business multiplied accordingly”, explains Salvador, underscoring that the fair is a “magnificent showcase” for showing “the latest trends in the field of kitchens and how our homes are changing, revolving around the kitchen”.

In the meantime, Home Textiles Premium by Textilhogar, having returned to Valencia, has closed its doors with the nigh on 250 brands that took part expressing a high degree of satisfaction with this edition of the fair. According to its director, Máximo Solaz, the most frequently made comment was about a “very satisfactory” fair “because we’ve done a lot a business”. He also highlighted the significant number of buyers who visited the event and, especially, the “quality” of these visitors, both Spanish and international. Solaz made the point that the main Spanish multiple retailers visited, whilst buyers and specifiers from 44 countries boosted the fair’s international profile.

Patricia Urquiola delivers finishing touch

One of the most notable features of today was the presence of Asturian designer, now based in Milan, Patricia Urquiola, who presented the Ory collection for Andreu World. Urquiola is considered to be one of the most influential international designers of recent decades and her presence in Valencia along with other stars of design such as Phillipe Starck, Mónica Armani and Jaime Hayón, firmly placed the Feria Valencia events, in the context of the Street World Design Festival as a point of reference in the field of design. 

Trends in Interiors heading towards sustainability, health and digitalization

The Cuaderno de Tendencias del Hábitat 22/23 (Review of Trends in Interiors 22/23) was presented today as one of the events taking place within the Hábitat, Textilhogar and Espacio Cocina SICI fairs. Compiled by the Observatorio de Tendencias del Hábitat (Observatory for Trends in Interiors), the paper reviews trends that are demonstrating a commitment to health and sustainability, the search for digital solutions, the importance of multi-channel routes to market and the refurbishment of domestic and public spaces. The Trends in Interiors 2022-2023 revealed were:

• Emotional Luxury: where the luxury end of the market presents its audience with products that reflect a new perception more closely aligned with the values of sustainability and efficiency. 
• Nostalgia:creatingreminders of happy times amid the current convulsion, through retro style items and replicas of design classics; resurgence of a more vintage style in interiors.
• All Comfort: re-assesses an approach that is more holistic and geared to restoring health; the relationship between wellbeing and the environment is gaining traction and healthy interiors are being promoted.
• Nature Boost: the idea is to attempt to emulate garden spaces in interior spaces by using plants, furniture, objects and products all made from natural materials.
• Living Spaces: outdoor living and social contact are highly valued. Projects with a communal focus. 
• Optimistic Expression: linked to the pleasure of feeling good and enjoying leisure time, with eye-catching products laden with personality where colour is key. 
• Experimental:  keeps demonstrating a creative spirit with technology as a channel that is an ally for experimentation. 

ECSICI2022 Prizes

Espacio Cocina SICI, for its part, also held an award ceremony: for the first edition of business awards it is giving to companies exhibiting. In the business values category, manufacturer Mobalco was recognised, whilst the winners of the stand & corporate image and the product innovation categories were manufacturers Antalia and Saitra respectively.