Europe\'s two big spring stone fairs, in Italy and Germany, might just have been hoping for slightly more positives results as the economies of the two countries pick up and trade in stone by world-leaders Italy improves.

Both shows had some headline positives to shout about - the number of visitors to Stone+tec in Nuremberg was up on last time and Marmotec in Carrara attracted more foreign exhibitors and visitors.

But the increase in visitors in Germany was due to more German visitors offsetting a fall in the number of foreign visitors while in Italy an increase in foreign visitors failed to increase the number of visitors overall.

Perhaps the optimism of the organisers was a little premature, reports Paul Daniel from Nuremberg, where there were even a few British companies exhibiting who seemed happy enough with the results they achieved.

This was the 15th Stone+tec exhibition and there have been huge changes in the \'old continent\' since the first. The enlargement of the European Union three years ago created possibilities for closer and simpler co-operation within the EU and also with neighbouring regions. The Eastern European countries have expectations of high levels of growth and the new exhortation in Western Europe is \'look east, young man\'.

If capital does turn eastward, the migration of labour from Eastern Europe that has facilitated the building boom in Britain could dry up.

For now, the United States is still top of the league for importing finished stone goods and Germany itself remains Europe\'s largest single importer of finished stonework - a lot of it coming from China, as it does in the rest of Europe.

At this year\'s Stone+tec, the Chinese were back in force (148 exhibitors) and Iran increased its presence with 12 direct exhibitors. Overall, there were 961 exhibitors (compared with 1,058 in 2005) from 42 countries. The organisers said there were just over 41,000 visitors, 11,000 of them from abroad.

In Italy there were 426 direct exhibitors representing the products of 1,700 companies. The organisers there say there were 19,650 industry visitors including 4,075 foreigners.

There were, as there always are, those at both shows saying they would not be exhibiting at the next in the series, which might just leave the Italian autumn exhibition, Marmomacc in Verona, to continue to consolidate its reputation as the not-to-be-missed show in Europe and, indeed, the world.

There were four exhibitors from the UK at Stone+tec. Block Stone were back. They have been regular exhibitors at the exhibition and have enjoyed export success in Germany as a result over the years. They had a sculptor, Shawn Williamson, on their stand and his frequent displays drew the crowds.

Director Andrew Gregory was on hand to explain that the company have been in existence since 1995, concentrating solely on quarrying and supplying raw dimensional block and currently working 10 quarries supplying sandstone and limestone.

The Pisani group were pursuing their ambition to grow internationally. They own five trading and factory units in the UK and have a factory in South India. They employ 320 people and as well as the UK and India have offices in Carrara and Athens.

Pisani own Frank England, who in turn set up Arkay Glenrock as a joint venture and who had a separate stand in Nuremberg. Arkay Glenrock specialise in granite and marble memorials. Lacomar-Pisani are another joint venture, supplying a wide range of blocks, slabs, tiles and cut-to-size material to customers all over the world.

On the Instarmac stand, Angus Longward expounded the advantages of Ultracrete Flowpoint rapid setting flowable grout. The compound, he explained, bonds paving stones firmly into place with an initial set in just 30 minutes. The fully pre-mixed dry-pack simply requires the addition of water on site.