SURFACES GROUP AT CERSAIE 2021: interview with Simone Sorrentino
ASSESSING OUTCOMES WITH SIMONE SORRENTINO, EXPORT AND MARKETING MANAGER AT SURFACES GROUP
Cersaie 2021 certainly marked a positive turning-point, and a restart after the stop enforced by the pandemic crisis. Although far below those of previous editions, especially due to the reduction in incoming visitors from non-European countries, attendance data definitely reflected high, widespread interest, and a keen desire to gather information. As you walked along the corridors at the Bologna Fairgrounds, it was clear that the Surfaces Group stand was attracting a constant, large flow of professionals.
How did it go? What’s your overall assessment?
We achieved very good results because we succeeded in presenting products and innovations for every type of application: lapping, squaring and treatment. The vast horizon of applications offered embraced the whole of our target market. So we managed to engage with and interest virtually all our contacts.
Did anything surprise you?
I must say we’re not easily surprised! We are always closely aligned to the latest trends, we act in advance and we get very prompt feedback. So from the technical and professional point of view we are very satisfied. We were very well prepared, aware of the worth of our products, which we had developed to respond to specific demands from our target market, and especially from our customers, who proved to be very interested in them.
In general terms, I’d say it was a very pleasant surprise to see such a lot of people; we recorded very high numbers of very motivated visitors who expressed strong interest and engagement.
Surfaces has never stopped growing in recent years. Are you noticing a difference in the way the market regards you?
How beneficial is it to offer customers a single contact?
Certainly, we have now consolidated the position of opinion leader that we’ve always aspired to, as a result of both our organic growth and our expansion through acquisitions. I’m proud to be able to state that the market is recognising and embracing our status, and is paying us more and more attention.
You are different companies but you all define your market segments; apart from the major synergies, how is it possible to coordinate such diversified, heterogeneous organisations?
Coordinating is complex, but every different company’s specific nature and distinctive identity is at the heart of our success. Our group brings together six or seven companies that operate across four or five different sectors in terms of product destination. This provides us with access to a larger pool of users and potential customers, and this is the unique strength of the Surfaces Group.
How did the 2021 edition of Cersaie go in general terms? How important was it to be face-to-face once more?
In general, we received positive feedback from throughout the industry. The entrepreneurs I’ve spoken to have told me that they had important meetings, signed important contracts and opened out important business opportunities.
For us specifically, it went very well, and I’d definitely like to underline how happy we were to be able to meet our customers face-to-face once again. It was a real pleasure, and definitely a significant development.
How are you preparing for the next event, Cevisama?
We’re getting ready with great enthusiasm and great care, because in the finishings segment the Spanish market now equals the Italian market in terms of volumes and potential opportunities. I must confess that (I imagine like everyone else) in the lead-up to this event we are also experiencing a touch of apprehension about the latest news on the difficulties in procuring raw materials and their increasing costs, not to mention the rising energy prices.
Returning to the market, what are the current trends at the moment and the prospects for development in the near future?
The finishings market is very active. We are seeing new plants and new business opportunities evolving in all geographical areas, and naturally this makes us optimistic and very hopeful about the prospects for continuing our growth, by offering our products and applications more and more widely across a more and more global market.
We’re always ready!
In your opinion, in view of the current trends, how are companies intending to respond to these opportunities in terms of design, technology and innovation? Which aspects are or will be most in demand and what do you see as the key innovations?
Ceramics industry trends always originate in Italy. At this Cersaie we again saw some very interesting things and significant innovations, especially with regard to new decorative solutions. There are many ideas that work with three-dimensionality, and that definitely highlight the unique characteristics of ceramic materials. After the first revolution ushered in by digital decoration, which vastly extended finishing possibilities, the new technologies are able to create different thicknesses and overlapped layering.
From our point of view, we are focusing on the latest innovations through our new “World of Finishes” project, which selects and develops the best solutions for every type of surface.
One topic you think is worth emphasising.
It is highly significant that end-of-line treatment is now accepted as part of the complete layout of any state-of-the-art ceramics plant.
People used to talk about “finishing islands” but today finishing is an integral part of industrial plant design, and essential for producing quality solutions.
