The Marmomacc stone exhibition in Verona, Italy, at the beginning of October was once again a major display case of the world\'s stone industry - the stone itself, the products made from it and the machinery to create those products. There was also a fair amount of man-made \'stone\'. It may not be appreciated by the purist, but customers seem to like it.

Trade continues to be difficult for the Italian stone industry, although it was not immediately obvious from the Marmomacc exhibition in Verona at the beginning of October.

There were more than 1,400 exhibitors, 500 of them from outside Italy, which was 100 more than last year. And while there were no figures available as we went to press, there were clearly visitors from all over the world as well as Italy itself.

Nevertheless, according to statistics supplied by the Italians, times are hard. The country\'s exports of stone last year dropped 3.4% by volume and 6.9% by value. In the first five months of this year, exports fell a further 8.25% by volume and 12.13% by value. Imports were down 9.23% by value.

One trend there did seem to be at Verona this time was an increase in man-made stone products, which often seem to make use of the word \'natural\' in their promotion. According to suppliers, these products are growing in popularity in the UK just as they are in the rest of the world. Breton, now famous for their stoneworking machinery, actually started life as the producers of machinery to make artifical stone. They say a plant producing Bretonstone will open in the UK within a couple of years.